WASHINGTON, DC – After an investigation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) into Salmonella illnesses in Washington state, the state’s department of health and the US Dept. of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) concluded the illnesses were linked to a chicken salad sold at a Costco Wholesale Corp. store in Lynwood and issued a public health alert on Oct. 9.
The rotisserie chicken salad was produced between Aug. 26 and Sept. 26, 2016, and epidemiological evidence indicated that the onset of four Salmonella patients’ illnesses ranged from Sept. 2 and Sept. 6, 2016. Three of those case patients consumed the suspected product after purchasing it on Aug. 26, Aug. 31 and Sept. 2, 2016 from Costco’s Alderwood store (No. 1190). Product subject to the alert includes: Varying weights of Costco Rotisserie Chicken Salad.
According to a statement from the FSIS, “Clinical isolates associated with this investigation were tested for antibiotic-resistance, and three isolates from Washington state were found resistant only to tetracycline and susceptible to other antibiotics commonly used to treat salmonellosis. FSIS continues to work with Costco and public health partners on this investigation, and will provide more information as it becomes available.”
Product that may have been frozen is a concern of both Costco officials and the FSIS.
The company was linked to an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak spanning several states in Nov. 2015, after its rotisserie chicken salad was thought to be the source of 19 reported illnesses.
