Owing to E.coli contamination threat, a California-based food processing company has had to recall 90 tons of pre-packaged salads and sandwich wraps.
Per the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the sandwiches and pre-packaged salad with grilled chicken may be contaminated with the toxin-producing strain E.coli.
According to the USDA, the pre-packaged salads and sandwiches were produced between September 23 and November 6 and shipped to Trader Joe's, Whole Foods and Walgreens in California, Arizona, New Mexico, Oregon, Nevada, Texas, Washington and Utah.
On Wednesday, November 6, the FDA notified the USDA that California authorities were reporting illnesses linked to grilled chicken and pre-packaged salads.
Trader Joe's recall of the food products comes after E.coli threat affected people in three states. Reportedly, 26 people have fallen severely ill under E.coli bacterial strain due to bad chicken sandwiches and salads that are processed by Glass Onion Catering company, per the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).
Per the USDA, it is unusual to find E.coli O157:H7 in chicken and Trevor Suslow, a food safety expert at the University of California is in agreement.
"There have been some rare isolations of O157 reported, but I am not aware of outbreaks,"Suslow said.
Suslow is of the opinion that the contamination is more likely due to some ingredients common with the salad rather than the chicken itself.
E. coli bacterial threat can cause bouts of bloody diarrhea, intense abdominal cramps and even dehydration. Usually, people recover within a week; however, in some instances the outbreak can cause liver failure.
A complete list of recalled products, some of which are packaged under the name Atherstone Fine Foods, is available here at the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) website.
