UPDATED: Foodborne illness outbreak linked to onions from Chihuahua, Mexico

UPDATED: With reports of more than 600 people sickened and 120 hospitalized by salmonella infections, onions grown in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico, were implicated in a recall announced by the Food and Drug Administration on Oct. 20.

The FDA, along with CDC and state and local partners, said Oct. 20 it was investigating a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Oranienburg infections linked to whole, fresh onions.

While the FDA said in a news release that its traceback investigation is “ongoing,” the agency identified ProSource Inc., Hailey, Idaho, as a source of potentially contaminated whole, fresh onions imported from Chihuahua.

The FDA said that ProSource Inc. has agreed to voluntarily recall red, yellow and white onions imported from the state of Chihuahua with import dates from July 1 through Aug. 27 this year. The recall includes, but is not limited to, jumbo, colossal, medium and sweet onions, the FDA said.

With consumers in more than 30 states sickened, the FDA said illness subclusters investigated in this outbreak are currently associated with restaurants and foodservice locations.

“The investigation is ongoing to determine the source of contamination and if additional products or firms are linked to illness,” the FDA said in the release. “The FDA is working to determine if these onions were available to consumers through grocery stores. Additional information will be provided as it becomes available.”

Jennifer McEntire, senior vice president of food safety for the United Fresh Produce Association, said that the size and scale of the outbreak “underscores the need for the industry — more than just onion producers in this implicated region — to be attentive to food safety risks, especially those that have the potential to affect large areas and/or large volumes of product.”

“I’m anxious to see the outcome of this investigation and hope that a root cause can easily be determined,” McEntire said. “I understand if people question why an outbreak of this size still takes a while to figure out, and without breaching any confidences, want to credit CDC for formally engaging industry in the earlier stages of this complicated investigation.”

Traceback

The FDA reported epidemiological data collected by investigators from the CDC and state and local partners identified 20 illness clusters at restaurants where onions were served. State officials, the FDA said, gathered food items from some of the restaurants where sick people ate.

The outbreak strain of Salmonella Oranienburg, the FDA said, was found in a sample taken from a takeout condiment cup containing cilantro and lime. The sick person reported that the condiment container also contained onions, but none were left in the cup when it was tested, the FDA said.

“Because multiple food items were present in the container and in the sample that was tested, it is not possible to know which food item was contaminated,” the agency said.

The FDA said its traceback investigation identified ProSource Inc. as a common supplier for many of the restaurants that sick people reported eating at. That included the restaurant where the sample from the condiment cup containing cilantro, lime, and previously onions, was collected, the agency said.