Multi-state E. coli outbreak expands, links celery mix to infection

What started with a four-state E. coli outbreak linked to Costco’s chicken salad has expanded to seven states with 19 impacted and the recall of more than 150,000 products.

What started with a four-state E. coli outbreak linked to Costco’s chicken salad has expanded to seven states.

Nineteen people have fallen ill and the farm identified as the source of the outbreak has recalled 150,000 celery products.

No deaths have been reported; five have been hospitalized, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Only one Washington state resident has fallen ill, according to a Nov. 23 Washington State Department of Health release. This person, a King County resident, has not been hospitalized.

In late October, public health officials urged people who recently bought Costco’s “chicken salad made with rotisserie chicken” to toss it out.

During preliminary testing of the Costco product, the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, also investigating the outbreak, discovered a link to a celery blend the California-based company Taylor Farms Pacific, Inc. produces.

Following the tests, Taylor Farms Pacific also voluntarily recalled more than 150,000 products that use the celery blend from stores, including Albertsons, Safeway, Sam’s Club and Walmart, according to the Montana health officials.

To view the entire list of items recalled, visit www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm474601.htm.

The Washington resident who fell ill had bought the product — item number 337719 — from a Shoreline Costco, according to Public Health — Seattle & King County.

The outbreak is now linked to six cases in Montana, five in Utah, four in Colorado, one in California, one in Missouri and one in Virginia. However, the celery product within the salad is also being recalled from several other states.

People who have eaten this product and are infected with E. coli generally get sick within two to eight days afterward.

Symptoms for those infected with the strain O157:H7 include bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramps, fever and vomiting.

Those who experience these symptoms should seek medical care immediately.

All state departments of health are investigating the outbreak along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.