Salad Mix Sold in Midwest Linked to Parasite Outbreak

Local consumers are being warned to check their refrigerators for a product that has been linked to an illness that has hospitalized 19 people across the Midwest.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration are investigating a multistate outbreak of Cyclospora infections linked to bagged salad mix containing carrots, red cabbage, and iceberg lettuce purchased at ALDI and Hy-Vee stores in South Dakota, as well as Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Wisconsin.

Health officials are advising consumers in those states to not eat, sell, or serve:

• Recalled ALDI Little Salad Bar brand Garden Salad sold in South Dakota, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, and Wisconsin
• Recalled Hy-Vee brand 12-ounce bagged Garden Salad sold in South Dakota, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Wisconsin

Consumers are advised to throw any remaining salad away, even if it has been partially eaten and no one has gotten sick.

As of Monday (June 22), 122 people with laboratory-confirmed Cyclospora infections associated with this outbreak have been reported in seven states: Illinois (30), Iowa (54), Kansas (1), Minnesota (13), Missouri (7) Nebraska (8), and Wisconsin (9). Officials caution that the number of infections could rise because it takes four to six weeks before some of the illnesses are reported.

At this point, no deaths have been linked to this recall.

Cyclospora symptoms include watery diarrhea, with frequent, sometimes explosive, bowel movements. Other common symptoms include loss of appetite, weight loss, stomach cramps/pain, bloating, increased gas, nausea, and fatigue. Vomiting, body aches, headache, fever, and other flu-like symptoms.