Outbreaks

Outbreaks - Food Alert!

• Fully Cooked Chicken – Listeria Infections.


• Frozen Cooked Shrimp – Salmonella Infections


• Raw Frozen Breaded Stuffed Chicken – Salmonella Infections


• Backyard Poultry – Salmonella Infections


• Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Listeria Outbreak Linked to Fully Cooked Chicken

Facts - July 3, 2021

• Illnesses: 3
• Hospitalizations: 3
• Deaths: 1
• States: 2
• Recall: Yes
• Investigation status: Active

Recalled Food

Frozen, fully cooked chicken products, such as chicken strips and diced chicken, and products made with fully cooked chicken, supplied by Tyson Foods Inc.

• Shipped nationwide to retailers and institutions including hospitals, nursing facilities, restaurants, schools and Department of Defense locations.
• Products include frozen, fully cooked chicken strips, diced chicken, chicken wing sections, and fully cooked pizza with chicken.
• Products were sold under many brands including Tyson, Jet’s Pizza, Casey’s General Store, Marco’s Pizza, and Little Caesars.
• The products subject to recall bear establishment number “EST. P-7089” on the product bag or inside the USDA mark of inspection
• CLICK HERE TO SEE the complete list of recalled products, including product and date codes, on the USDA-FSIS website.

Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Frozen Cooked Shrimp

Facts - June 25, 2021

• Illnesses: 6
• Hospitalizations: 2
• Deaths: 0
• States: 2
• Recall: Yes
• Investigation status: Active

Recalled Food

Frozen cooked shrimp supplied by Avanti Frozen Foods

• Sold under multiple brand names including 365, Censea, Chicken of the Sea, CWNO, Hannaford, Honest Catch, Meijer, Open Acres, and Waterfront Bistro.
• Imported between December 2020 to February 2021, but may have been sold in stores more recently.
• Salmonella was found in a sample of Avanti Frozen Foods shrimp that was collected as part of FDA’s Imported Seafood Compliance Program.
• CLICK HERE TO SEE the Recall Notice.

Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Raw Frozen Breaded Stuffed Chicken Products

Facts - June 2, 2021

• Illnesses: 17
• Hospitalizations: 8
• Deaths: 0
• States: 6
• Recall: No
• Investigation status: Active

Investigative Notice

Carefully read the labels on raw frozen breaded stuffed chicken products. Always cook poultry products to an internal temperature of 165°F. Never eat raw or undercooked poultry.

• Follow cooking instructions exactly as they are written on the label.
  Use an oven to cook raw chicken products thoroughly to 165°F.
  Never use a microwave or an air fryer to cook raw frozen breaded stuffed chicken products.
  Microwaving or air frying will not always cook a raw product thoroughly.
• Read the label carefully.
  Look for words like “Raw” or “Uncooked” to know if the product is raw.
  The product may not look raw. It may look because it might be breaded or browned.
• Use a food thermometer to check that the product has reached an internal temperature of 165°F, checking at the center, the thickest part, and the surface of the product.
  Color is NOT a reliable indicator that poultry has been cooked to a temperature high enough to kill harmful bacteria.
• Wash your hands and any surfaces and utensils used to prepare the product with warm soapy water for 20 seconds before and after handling the raw product.
• Keep raw poultry away from other food that will not be cooked before eating.
• CLICK HERE - For all raw poultry products (frozen or fresh), follow these FOUR FOOD SAFETY RULES.

Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Backyard Poultry

Facts - June 24, 2021

• Illnesses: 474
• Hospitalizations: 103
• Deaths: 1
• States: 46
• Investigation status: Active

Investigation Notice

One in three sick people is a child younger than 5 years. Don’t let young children touch chicks, ducklings, or other backyard poultry.

Backyard Poultry and Salmonella - Backyard poultry, like chicken and ducks, can carry Salmonella germs even if they look healthy and clean. These germs can easily spread to anything in the areas where the poultry live and roam.

You can get sick from touching your backyard poultry or anything in their environment and then touching your mouth or food, and swallowing Salmonella germs.

• Wash your hands
  Always wash your hands with soap and water immediately after touching backyard poultry, their eggs, or anything in the area where they live and roam.
  Use hand sanitizer if soap and water are not readily available. Consider having hand sanitizer at your coop.
• Be safe around backyard flocks
  Don’t kiss or snuggle backyard poultry, and don’t eat or drink around them. This can spread Salmonella germs to your mouth and make you sick
  Keep your backyard flock and supplies you use to care for them (like feed containers and shoes you wear in the coop) outside of the house. You should also clean the supplies outside the house.
• Supervise kids around flocks
  Always supervise children around backyard poultry and make sure they wash their hands properly afterward.
  Don’t let children younger than 5 years touch chicks, ducklings, or other backyard poultry. Young children are more likely to get sick from germs like Salmonella.
• Handle eggs safely
  Collect eggs often. Eggs that sit in the nest can become dirty or break.
  Throw away cracked eggs. Germs on the shell can more easily enter the egg through a cracked shell.
  Rub off dirt on eggs with fine sandpaper, a brush, or a cloth. Don’t wash them because colder water can pull germs into the egg.
  Refrigerate eggs to keep them fresh and slow the growth of germs.
  Cook eggs until both the yolk and white are firm, and cook egg dishes to an internal temperature of 160°F to kill all germs.

COVID-19 Outbreak - Ongoing

There is an estimate of over 605K Deaths in the United States caused by the COVID-19 Virus.

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