UPDATE: The recall has increased to a dozen retailers in 16 states, according to USA TODAY.
Dive Brief:
- The CDC has identified a celery and onion blend as the likely cause of an E. coli outbreak linked to Costco's rotisserie chicken salad, which has sickened at least 19 people in seven states.
- As a result, Taylor Farms is recalling a slew of products that contain the Celery and Onion Diced Blend "out of an abundance of caution," the FDA said in a statement.
- Five people have been admitted to the hospital due to the Costco E. coli outbreak, with two in kidney failure.
Dive Insight:
"Health officials urged people who bought chicken salad at any U.S. Costco store on or before Nov. 20 to throw it away, even if no one has gotten sick. ... The number of people sickened in the outbreak will likely grow over the next few weeks, even though the product has been removed from store shelves, the CDC said Wednesday," according to The Wall Street Journal.
Earlier this year, a report from reinsurance company Swiss Re found that both the number and costs of food recalls in the U.S. are on the rise.
Jennifer McEntire, the vice president of science operations at the Grocery Manufacturers Association, told Food Dive in April that despite all the recalls this year, the food supply is safer than ever. Previously, all the problems might have otherwise gone unknown.