CDC, public health and regulatory officials in several states, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are investigating a multi-state outbreak of Cyclospora infections linked to bagged salad mix containing iceberg lettuce, carrots, and red cabbage produced by Fresh Express, according to a news release from the CDC.
On June 27, 2020, Fresh Express recalled Fresh Express brand and private label brand salad products produced at its Streamwood, IL facility that contain iceberg lettuce, red cabbage, and/or carrots due to possible Cyclospora contamination.
How to identify recalled products:
- Products were sold in many states under either the brand name Fresh Express or the store brand labels ALDI Little Salad Bar, Giant Eagle, Hy-Vee, Jewel-Osco Signature Farms, ShopRite Wholesome Pantry, and Walmart Marketside.
- You can identify the recalled products by looking for the Product Code, located in the upper right-hand corner of the front of the package.
- The recall includes products marked with the letter “Z” at the beginning of the Product Code, followed by the number “178” or lower.
- A full listing of recalled products is available on the Fresh Express recall page.
What to do if you have recalled products:
- Do not eat, sell, or serve recalled salad products.
- Check your home for any of these recalled salads. Throw any remaining salad away, even if some of it has been eaten and no one has gotten sick.
- If you don’t know whether the bagged salad mix you have in your home is one of the recalled salads, do not eat it. Throw it away.
Take action if you have symptoms of a Cyclospora infection:
- Talk to your healthcare provider.
- Write down what you ate in the two weeks before you started to get sick.
- Report your illness to the health department.
- Assist public health investigators by answering questions about your illness.
Recalled products were distributed to select retail stores between June 6 and June 26 in various states including, for example, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, Vermont, Wisconsin, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.
No other Fresh Express products are subject to recall.
Latest Outbreak Information
- 206 people with laboratory-confirmed Cyclospora infections and who reported eating bagged salad mix before getting sick have been reported from 8 Midwestern states (Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and Wisconsin).
- Illnesses started on dates ranging from May 11, 2020 to June 17, 2020.
- 23 people have been hospitalized. No deaths have been reported.
- Epidemiologic and traceback evidence indicates that bagged salad mix containing iceberg lettuce, carrots, and red cabbage produced by Fresh Express is a likely source of this outbreak.
- CDC and FDA continue to investigate to determine which ingredient or ingredients in the salad mix was contaminated and whether other products are a source of illnesses.
- CDC will provide updates when more information is available.