Basil joins suspects in U.S. Salmonella outbreak
By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor
WASHINGTON, July 11 (Reuters) - Basil may have joined the list of food suspected in an outbreak of Salmonella food poisoning that has sickened more than 1,000 people, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Friday.
The FDA said Lucky Green Trading Inc. of Garden Grove, California, had recalled all of its Thai basil after random testing had shown it tested positive for Salmonella.
No illnesses were traced to the herb, the FDA said.
"The recall was as the result of a random testing by the FDA which revealed that the finished products contained the Salmonella," the FDA said in a statement.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 1,019 people had become ill in the outbreak, which affects 42 states and Canada.
The basil was grown in Mexico.
Mexican Agriculture Ministry spokesman Marco Antonio Sifuentes said he was frustrated with the U.S. government's investigation.
"First tomatoes, then cilantro, then jalapeno and now this?" Sifuentes told Reuters.
"They are not handling this right and as the agriculture ministry we are asking for a serious and responsible investigation -- not sending out communiques without proof or scientific analysis."
Sifuentes said there had been no official communication from the FDA to the Mexican government.
Mexican agricultural officials said Mexico's tomatoes were free of Salmonella Saintpaul, the strain involved in the outbreak, and said the strain found in the basil may be different.
The CDC said it had been frustrating to try to find the source of the contamination, in part because it involves fresh products that would have been discarded by the time people actually became ill.
TWO DEATHS
People who were ill reported they recently ate raw tomatoes, fresh jalapeno peppers, and fresh cilantro. "These items were commonly, though not always, consumed together, so that study could not determine which items caused the illnesses," the CDC said in a statement.
Some clusters can clearly be linked to jalapenos, the CDC said.
Two deaths have been linked to the outbreak, both elderly men in Texas who also had other illnesses.
The CDC says Salmonella poisoning is very common, with 40,000 cases and 400 deaths each year in the United States alone.
Salmonella infection causes diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps 12 to 72 hours after infection and most people recover after four to seven days.
Infants, the elderly and people with impaired immune systems may have severe illness.
Experts say outbreaks of foodborne disease can be difficult to trace as much produce is grown on large farms and processed and collected in central areas, then redistributed globally and nationally.
Disease-causing bacteria can get on or into food in the fields, during harvest, when it is packaged for shipping, when it is prepared or when it is served. (Additional reporting by Mica Rosenberg in Mexico City; Editing by Eric Beech)
WASHINGTON, July 11 (Reuters) - Basil may have joined the list of food suspected in an outbreak of Salmonella food poisoning that has sickened more than 1,000 people, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Friday.
The FDA said Lucky Green Trading Inc. of Garden Grove, California, had recalled all of its Thai basil after random testing had shown it tested positive for Salmonella.
No illnesses were traced to the herb, the FDA said.
"The recall was as the result of a random testing by the FDA which revealed that the finished products contained the Salmonella," the FDA said in a statement.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 1,019 people had become ill in the outbreak, which affects 42 states and Canada.
The basil was grown in Mexico.
Mexican Agriculture Ministry spokesman Marco Antonio Sifuentes said he was frustrated with the U.S. government's investigation.
"First tomatoes, then cilantro, then jalapeno and now this?" Sifuentes told Reuters.
"They are not handling this right and as the agriculture ministry we are asking for a serious and responsible investigation -- not sending out communiques without proof or scientific analysis."
Sifuentes said there had been no official communication from the FDA to the Mexican government.
Mexican agricultural officials said Mexico's tomatoes were free of Salmonella Saintpaul, the strain involved in the outbreak, and said the strain found in the basil may be different.
The CDC said it had been frustrating to try to find the source of the contamination, in part because it involves fresh products that would have been discarded by the time people actually became ill.
TWO DEATHS
People who were ill reported they recently ate raw tomatoes, fresh jalapeno peppers, and fresh cilantro. "These items were commonly, though not always, consumed together, so that study could not determine which items caused the illnesses," the CDC said in a statement.
Some clusters can clearly be linked to jalapenos, the CDC said.
Two deaths have been linked to the outbreak, both elderly men in Texas who also had other illnesses.
The CDC says Salmonella poisoning is very common, with 40,000 cases and 400 deaths each year in the United States alone.
Salmonella infection causes diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps 12 to 72 hours after infection and most people recover after four to seven days.
Infants, the elderly and people with impaired immune systems may have severe illness.
Experts say outbreaks of foodborne disease can be difficult to trace as much produce is grown on large farms and processed and collected in central areas, then redistributed globally and nationally.
Disease-causing bacteria can get on or into food in the fields, during harvest, when it is packaged for shipping, when it is prepared or when it is served. (Additional reporting by Mica Rosenberg in Mexico City; Editing by Eric Beech)
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