Updated 12/13/18 The 25-state JBS Tolleson ground beef Salmonella outbreak has hit California hard. Of the 333 illnesses reported from 28 states, 107 are in California, just shy of one-third of all case-patients.
Stores that sold the recalled beef products include Food 4 Less, FoodMaxx, Food Co, Lucky Stores, Ralph’s, Sam’s Club, Savemart, Smith’s and Sprouts locations statewide. Also affected are at least 80 stores operated by smaller grocers. To see a complete list, click the retail distribution list that accompanies the initial recall (October 4, 2018) on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s website.
Salmonella Beef Recall
JBS has issued two recalls associated with this outbreak, one on October 4, 2018, and one on December 4, 2018. Together they include 12 million pounds of ground beef and ground chuck products that were sold under a variety of brand names.
Ninety percent of people sickened in this outbreak told health officials they ate ground beef in the week before they became ill. A traceback investigation of the products they consumed indicated that JBS was the common supplier.
JBS issued the first recall after health officials provided evidence that ground beef produced by JBS contained the outbreak strain of Salmonella Newport. Health officials used genetic testing to identify the “fingerprint” of the outbreak strain cultured from patients’ stool samples. They found a Salmonella Newport strain closely resembling this fingerprint in an unopened package of ground beef from a patient’s home. That recall included 6.9 million pounds of ground beef.
The company expanded the recall on December 4 to include an additional 5.2 million pounds of ground beef products after some case-patients reported eating beef produced by JBS that was not part of the initial recall.
Ground Beef Salmonella Outbreak
Case-patients, who range in age from less than one year old to 88 years old, have reported onset- of- symptoms dates ranging from August 5, 2018, to November 9, 2018. These symptoms include diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and fever.
Fifty-nine of the 246 people sickened in this outbreak got so sick they needed hospitalization. Other states with cases linked to this outbreak are: Arizona (50), Colorado (58), Connecticut (1), Hawaii (4), Idaho (3), Iowa (2), Illinois (1), Indiana (1), Kansas (1), Kentucky (1), Michigan (1), Massachusetts (1), Minnesota (2), Mississippi (1), Missouri (3), Montana (8), New Mexico (11), Nevada (13), Ohio (9), Oklahoma (6), Oregon (1), South Dakota (9), Texas (19), Utah (11), Washington (3), West Virginia (1), and Wyoming (5).
Contact the Salmonella Team
If you have an illness associated with this outbreak, contact Pritzker Hageman’s Salmonella Team to request a free consultation about a lawsuit. Or, call 1 (888) 377-8900.