The mysterious outbreak of Salmonella Newport solved: red onions from California are the culprit

For several weeks an outbreak of Salmonella Newport is casing illnesses in numerous states in the US and Canada. The FDA and CDC had difficulty identifying the source. The outbreaks in the US and Canada have a genetic fingerprint closely related to each other. Earlier Friday, the Public Health Agency of Canada announced a recall by Sysco of its red onions because traceback work in that country showed them to be related to the outbreak there. Based on the Canadian information, and epidemiologic data on the US outbreak from CDC, the FDA’s traceback investigation identified Thomson International (Bakersfield, CA), Inc. red onions as the potential source of the infection. In the US, the outbreak caused 398 illnesses, 50 hospitalizations, and no death. States with Cases: AK (6), AZ (14), CA (49), CO (10), FL (3), ID (5), IL (10), IN (2), IA (15), KS (1), KY (1), ME (4), MD (1), MI (23), MN (10), MO (6), MT (33), NE (5), NV (5), NY (4), NC (3), ND (5), OH (7), OR (71), PA (2), SC (1), SD (11), TN (5), TX (1), UT (61), VA (4), WA (2), WI (5), WY (11). The Public Health Agency of Canada had found another 114 cases with those illnesses reported becoming ill after eating red onions at home, in menu items ordered at restaurants, and in residential care settings. No deaths have been reported in Canada. Thomson International will recall all varieties of its onions that could have contacted potentially contaminated red onions, due to the risk of cross-contamination. @ https://www.fda.gov/food/outbreaks-foodborne-illness/outbreak-investigation-salmonella-newport-red-onions-july-2020?utm_campaign=OutbreakAlert_SalmonellaOnion_07312020&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua