CDC warning to not eat or sell certain salad kits due to multistate E. coli outbreak

CDC, public health and regulatory officials in several states and Canada, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are investigating a multistate outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 infections linked to Fresh Express Sunflower Crisp chopped salad kit.

Do not eat or sell Fresh Express Sunflower Crisp Chopped Salad Kits with this identifying information: UPC 0 71279 30906 4, beginning with lot code Z, and a best-before date up to and including 07DEC19. This information is printed on the front of the bag in the top right corner.

-Check your fridge for this salad kit.
-Don’t eat it. Throw it away.
-Even if some of the kit was eaten and no one got sick, throw the rest away.
-Wash and sanitize drawers or shelves in refrigerators where the salad kit was stored.
-Retailers and restaurants should not sell or serve this salad kit.

Take action if you have symptoms of an E. coli infection.

-Talk to your healthcare provider.
-Write down what you ate in the week before you started to get sick.
-Report your illness to your local health department.
-Assist public health investigators by answering questions about your illness.
-Wash your hands thoroughly after changing diapers, using the toilet, and before/after preparing food.

Eight people infected with the outbreak strain of E. coli O157:H7 have been reported from three states.
Three people have been hospitalized. One person has developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a type of kidney failure. No deaths have been reported.

Information collected to date indicates that Fresh Express Sunflower Crisp chopped salad kits are a likely source of this outbreak.

The investigation is ongoing to determine what ingredient in the salad kit was contaminated.

Romaine lettuce is one of the ingredients in the salad kit, but we do not know yet if this outbreak is related to a current outbreak linked to romaine lettuce from the Salinas, California, growing region.

People usually get sick from Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) 2 to 8 days (average of 3 to 4 days) after swallowing the germ.

Some people with E. coli infections may get a type of kidney failure called hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS).

E. coli infection is usually diagnosed by testing a stool sample.