In the news

The Packer reported that 829 employees of Dole’s salad processing plant in Springfield, Ohio, were tested for COVID-19 on June 13, of which 235 employees tested positive (28%). According to a statement from Bill Goldfield (director of corporate communications at Dole Food), the company is following the health district’s recommendations to protect further the health of employees, contractors, and community, all Dole employees who tested positive were asked to self-quarantine. The Springfield plant continued operations with all cleared personnel. The county health department hired 14 additional contact tracers and, by June 23, found 281 total confirmed cases related to the outbreak at Dole’s plant. In Clark County by June 22, there were 627 confirmed cases and seven confirmed deaths from COVID-19, according to the county health district. The average age of those with the new coronavirus is 38. @ https://www.thepacker.com/article/236-employees-ohio-dole-plant-are-covid-19-positive

The FDA reports that on June 22, 2020, ALDI, in association with Fresh Express Inc., recalled ALDI’s 12-ounce Little Salad Bar Brand Garden Salads from stores due to Cyclospora. The recall affects products sold in Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Earlier, Hy-Vee and Jewel-Osco recalled their 12-ounce bagged and labeled “garden salad” products. Hy-Vee recalled its 12 oz. Hy-Vee Bagged Garden Salad product on June 20, 2020, across its eight-state region. Fresh Express is the manufacturer of these salads. In a press release, Jewel-Osco stated its recall of bagged Signature Farms Garden Salad, sold in its stores in Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa was “in cooperation with the Fresh Express recall of bagged salads potentially linked to an outbreak of Cyclospora infections” in Midwestern states. @ https://www.fda.gov/food/outbreaks-foodborne-illness/outbreak-investigation-cyclospora-bagged-salads-june-2020?utm_campaign=Outbreak_Cyclospora_06232020&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua

The CDC, FDA, and local partners are investigating a multistate outbreak of Cyclospora infections linked to bagged salad mix purchased at ALDI, Hy-Vee, and Jewel-Osco stores in Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, and Nebraska. The recall includes all ALDI Little Salad Bar Brand Garden Salad sold Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, and Minnesota; all Hy-Vee Brand Garden Salad. As of June 19, 2020, a total of 76 people with laboratory-confirmed Cyclospora infections associated with this outbreak have been reported from 6 states:  IA (28), IL (23), KS (1), MN (10), MO (7) and NE (7). The products were sold in Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, and Nebraska, and all Jewel-Osco Signature Farms Garden Salad sold in Illinois. Illnesses started on dates ranging from May 11, 2020, to June 14, 2020. Sixteen people have been hospitalized. No deaths attributed to Cyclospora have been reported. Epidemiology evidence indicates that ALDI Little Salad Bar Brand Garden Salad, Hy-Vee Brand Garden Salad, or Jewel-Osco Signature Farms Garden Salad are likely sources of this outbreak, but does not explain all of the cases. @ https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/cyclosporiasis/outbreaks/2020/

The coronavirus infected workers at a slaughterhouse in Germany. Germany is attempting to stop the virus after 650 workers in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia tested positive for Covid-19. 

Toennies, the company that owns the meat processing facility, temporarily shut the plant. The plant had several foreign workers who have traveled in recent weeks and might have been carrying the virus with them. As in the US, Germany also has seen outbreaks in meat facilities. In reaction to the outbreaks, the German government announced it would bring in new laws to protect the workers. Outbreaks of coronavirus among workers in the food industry in the United Kingdom and Canada have also been reported. @ https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2020/06/18/europe/germany-meat-processing-plant-coronavirus-cases-intl/index.html