.png)
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today said that 13 people from eight states have been sickened in a Salmonella Typhimurium outbreak linked to dried coconut and that products from a second company have been implicated in the event and have been recalled.
Earlier reports had said the source of the outbreak was Natural Grocers Coconut Smiles Organic dried coconut, which is sold at Natural Grocers stores. Today's announcement from the CDC said International Harvest, Inc., has recalled bags of Organic Go Smile! Raw Coconut and bulk packages of Go Smiles Dried Coconut Raw.
The CDC is urging people who bought the products to throw them away or return them to the place of purchase, even if some it was eaten and no one got sick.
Three of 13 patients hospitalized
The 13 people infected in the outbreak are from California, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Missouri, Oregon, Texas, and Utah. Whole-genome sequencing on bacteria isolated from sick patients shows that the Salmonella samples are closely related. Illness onsets range from Sep 2, 2017, to Feb 26. Ages range from 1 to 73 years, and two thirds of the patients are female.
Three people have been hospitalized, but no deaths have been reported.
Of 11 samples from patients, only 1 isolate contained resistance genes for ampicillin and azithromycin. Susceptibility testing by the CDC National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS) found 2 isolates with no resistance, but 1 with resistance to streptomycin, which isn't likely to affect antibiotic choice to treat most people, though some infections might require a different antibiotic.
Second company recalls products
The first International Harvest product that is subject to the recall was sold online and in stores in 9-ounce bags with sell-by dates from Jan 1, 2018, through Mar 1, 2019. The recalled bulk product was sold in 25-pound cases labeled with batch/lot numbers OCSM-0010, OCSM-0011, and OCSM-0014.
In its Mar 16 Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recall notice, the company said the recall was prompted by FDA lab tests that identified Salmonella in the product. The recall involves 14,620 pounds of bulk and 24,270 bags of its products. The products were directly distributed to 14 states: New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, California, Colorado, Oklahoma, Georgia, Vermont, Illinois, Florida, Maine, Washington, New Hampshire, and Utah.
International Harvest said it was working with the FDA to find the root cause of the problem, and it urged retailers who sold the bulk coconut to clean and sanitize the containers used to hold the product.
Outbreak strain in coconut samples
Today's CDC report also provided new details on epidemiologic and lab investigations. Interviews with 8 sick people found that 7 had eaten dried coconut from grocery stores, and of those, 4 had bought the products at different Natural Grocers stores. Interviews with patients is ongoing.
FDA and state health departments have been testing leftover dried coconut from patients' homes, Natural Grocers stores, and a Natural Grocers' distribution center. FDA tests turned up the outbreak strain in unopened samples of Natural Grocers Coconut Smiles Organic collected from a store. Also, the outbreak strain was found in an opened leftover sample from a sick patient's home.
The FDA's tests on packaged and bulk coconut from International Harvest also found the outbreak strain.
Earlier reports had said the source of the outbreak was Natural Grocers Coconut Smiles Organic dried coconut, which is sold at Natural Grocers stores. Today's announcement from the CDC said International Harvest, Inc., has recalled bags of Organic Go Smile! Raw Coconut and bulk packages of Go Smiles Dried Coconut Raw.
The CDC is urging people who bought the products to throw them away or return them to the place of purchase, even if some it was eaten and no one got sick.
Three of 13 patients hospitalized
The 13 people infected in the outbreak are from California, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Missouri, Oregon, Texas, and Utah. Whole-genome sequencing on bacteria isolated from sick patients shows that the Salmonella samples are closely related. Illness onsets range from Sep 2, 2017, to Feb 26. Ages range from 1 to 73 years, and two thirds of the patients are female.
Three people have been hospitalized, but no deaths have been reported.
Of 11 samples from patients, only 1 isolate contained resistance genes for ampicillin and azithromycin. Susceptibility testing by the CDC National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS) found 2 isolates with no resistance, but 1 with resistance to streptomycin, which isn't likely to affect antibiotic choice to treat most people, though some infections might require a different antibiotic.
Second company recalls products
The first International Harvest product that is subject to the recall was sold online and in stores in 9-ounce bags with sell-by dates from Jan 1, 2018, through Mar 1, 2019. The recalled bulk product was sold in 25-pound cases labeled with batch/lot numbers OCSM-0010, OCSM-0011, and OCSM-0014.
In its Mar 16 Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recall notice, the company said the recall was prompted by FDA lab tests that identified Salmonella in the product. The recall involves 14,620 pounds of bulk and 24,270 bags of its products. The products were directly distributed to 14 states: New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, California, Colorado, Oklahoma, Georgia, Vermont, Illinois, Florida, Maine, Washington, New Hampshire, and Utah.
International Harvest said it was working with the FDA to find the root cause of the problem, and it urged retailers who sold the bulk coconut to clean and sanitize the containers used to hold the product.
Outbreak strain in coconut samples
Today's CDC report also provided new details on epidemiologic and lab investigations. Interviews with 8 sick people found that 7 had eaten dried coconut from grocery stores, and of those, 4 had bought the products at different Natural Grocers stores. Interviews with patients is ongoing.
FDA and state health departments have been testing leftover dried coconut from patients' homes, Natural Grocers stores, and a Natural Grocers' distribution center. FDA tests turned up the outbreak strain in unopened samples of Natural Grocers Coconut Smiles Organic collected from a store. Also, the outbreak strain was found in an opened leftover sample from a sick patient's home.
The FDA's tests on packaged and bulk coconut from International Harvest also found the outbreak strain.
No comments:
Post a Comment