FDA declares 3 outbreaks over
The Food and Drug Administration has closed its investigations into three foodborne illness outbreaks.
For an outbreak of Salmonella Oranienburg, based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s epidemiologic investigation, sick people reported eating sprouts before becoming ill. There were five confirmed patients. The FDA first reported the outbreak on August 20.
CDC, FDA, and state and local partners conducted epidemiological and traceability investigations, and collected and analyzed product and environmental samples. All samples taken as part of the investigation tested negative for Salmonella.
Once investigators had enough information to confirm that the sprouts were the cause of this outbreak, the outbreak was no longer considered ongoing, and the sprouts had passed their shelf life and were no longer available for sale.
For Salmonella Anatum outbreak linked to sprouted beans, FDA investigation closed. There were 12 confirmed patients. The agency first reported the outbreak on July 9. The outbreak was traced to Deep brand frozen Mat (Moth) and Moong (Mung) sprouted beans and Deep brand Premium Select frozen surti undhiu mix.
For an outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis linked to eggs, the FDA investigation is closed. There were 105 confirmed patients. The source of the outbreak was determined to be large, brown, cage-free “sunshine/golden omega-3” egg yolks from Country Eggs LLC of Lucerne Valley, California.
There were likely many more patients in the three Salmonella outbreaks than had been confirmed. The CDC reports that for every person identified as an outbreak patient, 29 patients are infected because some do not seek medical attention and others are not specifically tested for Salmonella infection.
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