Salmonella threat prompts recall of green onions
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U.S. Department of Agriculture inspectors found salmonella in a routine test taken in New York last month. No illnesses have been reported.
Officials notified the shipper, Salinas-based Steinbeck Country Produce. The company issued a voluntary recall Aug. 28 for 3,360 cartons.
Steinbeck’s produce was distributed in California, Massachusetts, Texas, Indiana, New York, Michigan, Missouri, Kansas and Arizona.
Castroville-based shipper Ocean Mist Farms recalled 1,746 cases as well, after realizing they came from the same lot. Ocean Mist wouldn’t say where its onions were distributed. There’s another salmonella scare -- this time with ground beef from a Fresno packinghouse.
Last month the U.S. Department of Agriculture said that Beef Packers Inc. was recalling more than 800,000 pounds of ground beef products that may be linked to an outbreak of salmonella-caused illnesses. The company is a division of Minneapolis-based agribusiness giant Cargill Inc.
Salmonella is among the most common food-borne illnesses and can be life-threatening to people with weak immune systems, including infants, the elderly, those with HIV infection and those undergoing chemotherapy. People typically start to get diarrhea, abdominal cramps and fever within eight to 72 hours of infection. Additional symptoms include chills, headache, nausea and vomiting, and the disease can last up to seven days.
Salmonella sometimes appears in foods that are typically eaten raw, such as onions, tomatoes, peppers and melons. Also earlier this summer, a Salinas company recalled romaine lettuce because it was linked to the illness. And an outbreak linked to peanuts this year killed at least nine people.
-- Jerry Hirsch
