The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has expanded its onion recall, adding more products to a list of onions linked to a salmonella outbreak that has sickened at least 892 people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Salmonella outbreak was first reported in September, but the FDA did not link the growing outbreak to onions until October, according to USA Today.
All impacted onions were imported from the State of Chihuahua, Mexico between July 1 and Aug. 31 and supplied by ProSource Produce LLC and Keeler Family Farms, according to the CDC. The onions have been distributed to wholesalers, restaurants, and retail stores.
As of Tuesday, the salmonella outbreak has caused at least 183 hospitalizations across 38 states and Puerto Rico, according to the CDC. The agency says the investigation is still active. There have been no deaths associated with this outbreak.
The outbreak now spans 38 states and Puerto Rico.
Are onions safe to eat?
The FDA and the CDC are asking people to either throw out or return the affected products to where they were purchased.
“If you can’t tell where the onions are from, don’t buy or eat them,” the CDC says. “Wash surfaces and containers these onions may have touched using hot soapy water or a dishwasher.”
The onions can potentially be contaminated with salmonella, which can cause fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain among healthy people. The bacteria can lead to serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children or elderly people, and in rare circumstances can produce more severe illnesses such as infected aneurysms, endocarditis, and arthritis, according to the FDA.
