Cyclospora, Salmonella and Gummies, Oh My

According to Food Safety News and the FDA’s Outbreak page, the FDA is investigating two new outbreaks of foodborne illnesses.

One outbreak is from Salmonella Newport, and the other is from Cyclospora cayetanensis. The FDA has not yet identified a source of the pathogens. So far, each outbreak has two confirmed patients.

For the Cyclospora outbreak, the FDA has initiated traceback efforts but has not reported what food or foods are being traced.

In other outbreak news, the FDA has begun sampling related to an outbreak of Salmonella Irumu. The agency has not yet identified a source of the pathogen and is not yet reporting what food is being tested. The outbreak was first posted on July 11, and there are 32 confirmed patients. The FDA has not reported where the patients live.

The patient count for an outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium continues to increase slowly, with one case added in the past week, bringing the total to 88. The FDA has not reported where the patients live. The outbreak was first reported on June 19.

The FDA is continuing to investigate two other outbreaks of Cyclospora cayetanensis infections from unknown sources. One outbreak has 26 patients, and the other has 16. Both outbreaks were first reported on July 31. Traceback efforts have begun in both outbreak investigations, but the FDA has not reported what food or foods are being traced.

The FDA is also continuing to investigate an outbreak of Salmonella Africana and Salmonella Braenderup infections. The outbreak was first reported on May 22. It has sickened 449 people across 31 states. The FDA has not updated its outbreak report since July 2.

Laboratory, epidemiological, and traceback data have determined that cucumbers from Bedner Growers Inc. of Boynton Beach, Florida, are a likely source of illnesses in this outbreak; however, this grower does not account for all the illnesses in this outbreak. The implicated cucumbers are no longer on the market.

The FDA collected samples as part of the outbreak investigation and found the outbreak strain of Salmonella Braenderup in samples of untreated canal water used by Bedner Growers Inc.

Republished with permission from Bill Marler and Marler Clark. Copyright (c) Marler Clark LLP, PS. All rights reserved.