Health officials have discovered Salmonella poisoning in smoked salmon supplied by the Dutch company Foppen, triggering recalls in both the Netherlands and U.S.
Foppen supplies salmon to Costco Wholesale Corp., but the supermarket chain maintains that their independent studies have not found any instances of contamination in fish stock. Costco also sells smoked salmon under its proprietary brand, Kirkland. According to the AP, Costco will contact all customers who purchased potentially contaminated items through a phone call and a letter.
While there are no official links to the salmon, an outbreak of Salmonella infections has afflicted 85 people in 27 states since July 1, according to Center for Disease and Control and Prevention representative, Lola Russell. "Without an outbreak, she said the average number of cases over that time would be 30," writes the AP. Although 10 people have been hospitalized, no fatalities from the illness have been recorded.
Russell asserts that the CDC is "investigating a possible link between the cases in the U.S. and cases in the Netherlands."
In the Netherlands, about 200 cases of infection have been reported by the Dutch public health institute. A phone line confirmed 350 callers who "reported symptoms consistent with a salmonella infection."
The strain, known as Salmonella Thompson, originated from an unknown source.
News of Salmonella Thompson arrives hot on the heels of another strain found in peanut butter, which has affected Arizona, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Virginia, and Washington.
Symptoms include diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps 12 to 72 hours after infection. Typically, illness passes after four to seven days.
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