Volume 27, Number 10—October 2021
Synopsis
Novel Outbreak-Associated Food Vehicles, United States
Table 1
Food | Category | State (no. states) | Year of first illness | Etiology | No. illnesses | No. hosp. | No. deaths | Recall | Imported |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Almaco jack | Fish | Florida | 2014 | Ciguatoxin | 2 | 0 | 0 | No | Yes |
Apple† |
Fruit |
Multistate (12) |
2014 |
Listeria monocytogenes |
35 |
34 |
7 |
Yes |
No |
Bison | Meat | Tennessee | 2008 | STEC O157:H7 | 12 | 2 | 0 | No | No |
Multistate (5) |
2010 |
STEC O157:H7 |
10 |
NR |
NR |
Yes |
No |
||
Blueberries | Fruit | Multistate (6) | 2009 | Salmonella enterica serovar Muenchen | 14 | NR | 0 | No | No |
Minnesota |
2010 |
Salmonella Newport |
6 |
1 |
0 |
No |
No |
||
Carp | Fish | New York | 2012 | Other chemical or toxin, Haff disease‡ | 2 | 2 | 1 | No | No |
Cashews§ | Nut/seed | Multistate (6) | 2014 | Salmonella Stanley | 18 | 4 | 0 | No | Yes |
Chia seed¶ | Nut/seed | Multistate (19) | 2014 | Salmonella, multiple serotypes# | 45 | 7 | 0 | Yes | Yes |
Flour (wheat) | Grain | Multistate (24) | 2015 | STEC, multiple serogroups** | 56 | 16 | 0 | Yes | No |
Frog†† | Meat | Arizona | 2015 | Salmonella Javiana | 5 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
Goose‡‡ |
Meat |
New York |
2013 |
Campylobacter jejuni |
57 |
1 |
0 |
No |
No |
Hazelnuts | Nut/seed | Multistate (3) | 2010 | STEC O157:H7 | 8 | 3 | 0 | Yes | No |
Multistate (2) |
2016 |
Salmonella Typhimurium |
6 |
1 |
0 |
Yes |
No |
||
Kale | Vegetable | Florida | 2013 | STEC O157:H7 | 7 | 5 | 0 | No | No |
Wisconsin |
2014 |
Cryptosporidium parvum |
8 |
0 |
0 |
No |
No |
||
Lima beans | Vegetable | Florida | 2009 | Unknown | 13 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
Lionfish | Fish | South Carolina | 2013 | Ciguatoxin | 4 | 1 | 0 | NR | NR |
Mini peppers | Vegetable | Multistate (10) | 2014 | Salmonella Paratyphi B | 21 | 5 | 0 | No | Yes |
Monchong | Fish | Hawaii | 2013 | Scombroid toxin | 2 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
Moringa leaf¶ |
Herb/spice |
Multistate (24) |
2015 |
Salmonella Virchow |
35 |
6 |
0 |
Yes |
Yes |
Papaya | Fruit | Multistate (25) | 2011 | Salmonella Agona | 106 | 10 | 0 | Yes | Yes |
Multistate (4) |
2013 |
Salmonella Thompson |
13 |
6 |
1 |
No |
No |
||
Pepper¶ | Herb/spice | Multistate (4) | 2008 | Salmonella Rissen | 87 | NR | NR | Yes | No |
Multistate (45) |
2009 |
Salmonella Montevideo |
272 |
52 |
0 |
Yes |
Yes |
||
Pine nuts |
Nut/seed |
Multistate (6) |
2011 |
Salmonella Enteritidis |
53 |
2 |
0 |
Yes |
Yes |
Pistachios | Nut/seed | Multistate (21) | 2008 | Salmonella, multiple serovars§§ | 83 | NR | 0 | Yes | No |
Multistate (6) | 2013 | Salmonella Senftenberg | 8 | 1 | 0 | Yes | No | ||
Multistate (9) |
2016 |
Salmonella, multiple serovars¶¶ |
11 |
2 |
0 |
Yes |
No |
||
Pomegranate | Fruit | Multistate (10) | 2013 | Hepatitis A virus | 157 | 70 | 0 | No | Yes |
Sheep milk## | Dairy | Multistate (14) | 2012 | Listeria monocytogenes | 23 | 21 | 5 | Yes | Yes |
Skate | Fish | New York | 2008 | Scombroid toxin | 3 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
Sprouted nut butter*** | Nut/seed | Multistate (10) | 2015 | Salmonella Paratyphi B variant L(+) tartrate (+) | 13 | 0 | 0 | Yes | No |
Sugar cane | Sugar | Multistate (3) | 2013 | Salmonella Virchow | 7 | 1 | 0 | No | Yes |
Swai | Fish | New York | 2014 | Unknown | 3 | 1 | 0 | No | Yes |
Tempeh††† | Grain | North Carolina | 2012 | Salmonella Paratyphi B var. L(+) tartrate (+) | 89 | 8 | 0 | Yes | No |
*Data from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Foodborne Disease Outbreak Surveillance System (FDOSS), 1973–2016. Five of the 6 outbreaks linked to fish were caused by naturally occurring toxins that cannot be destroyed through cooking or freezing. Hosp., hospitalization; NR, not reported; STEC, Shiga toxin–producing Escherichia coli. †Apples were the contaminated ingredient in an outbreak associated with caramel apples. Prior apple cider outbreaks have been reported to FDOSS with no specific ingredient identified. ‡Haff disease is a syndrome of unexplained rhabdomyolysis caused by consumption of an unidentified toxin (rhabdomyolysis is a clinical syndrome caused by injury to skeletal muscle that results in the release of muscle cell contents into the circulation). §Cashews were processed into raw cashew cheese. ¶Product was processed and sold as a ground powder. #Salmonella Gaminara, Harford, Oranienburg, and Newport **STEC O26:NM and O121 ††Frog legs were from a noncommercial source. ‡‡Goose liver was the implicated ingredient of foie gras. Prior foie gras outbreaks have been reported to FDOSS with either no specific ingredient identified or a different implicated ingredient. §§Salmonella Montevideo, Newport, and Senftenberg. ¶¶Salmonella Senftenberg and Montevideo. ##Pasteurized sheep milk, the only dairy food vehicle identified, was used in making ricotta salata cheese, which was later contaminated. ***Multiple nut butters from 1 company were implicated (cashew, almond, and hazelnut). †††Tempeh was unpasteurized.