Canadian Salmonella outbreak linked to chicken products

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) is investigating a Salmonella Enteritidis outbreak that has affected patients in three provinces.

A chicken fries product from Loblaw Companies has been linked to a Salmonella Enteritidis outbreak in Canada. | Photo courtesy of Canadian Food Inspection Agency
A chicken fries product from Loblaw Companies has been linked to a Salmonella Enteritidis outbreak in Canada. | Photo courtesy of Canadian Food Inspection Agency

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) is investigating a Salmonella Enteritidis outbreak that has affected patients in three provinces.

Currently, there are seven cases of Salmonella Enteritidis. There have been three confirmed cases each in British Columbia and Ontario, while the seventh case is in Alberta. One person has been hospitalized, but no deaths have been reported. The average age of the affected consumers is 12, with ages ranging from 1 to 42 years.

The outbreak has been traced to products distributed by Loblaw Companies.

As part of these outbreak investigations, CFIA issued food recall warnings on July 20, 2018 and July 21, 2018 for the following products:

  • No Name brand Chicken Nuggets (907g), with a best before date of May 15, 2019 on the outer package and a lot code of 1358M on the inner package. UPC - 0 60383 89685 0. The product was distributed nationally.
  • Unbranded $10 Chicken Fries (1.81kg), with a best before date of March 23, 2019. UPC - 0 60249 01411 4. The product was distributed nationally.

Based on the findings from the investigations to date, exposure to frozen raw breaded chicken products has been identified as the source of illness. Several of the ill individuals involved in the outbreaks reported eating No Name brand Chicken Nuggets (907g) or unbranded $10 Chicken Fries (1.81kg) before their illness occurred.

Food samples of these products, No Name brand Chicken Nuggets, with a best before date of May 15, 2019 on the outer package and a lot code of 1358M on the inner package and unbranded $10 Chicken Fries, with a best before date of March 23, 2019, tested positive for Salmonella Enteritidis.

The positive food samples had genetic fingerprints (using whole genome sequencing) that matched the genetic fingerprints of the cases of human illness reported in these outbreaks.

The CFIA is working with industry to ensure that these products are removed from the retail market. The investigation is ongoing, and it is possible that more products linked to the outbreak investigations will be identified. The PHAC public health notice will be updated as the investigations evolve.

An earlier Salmonella Enteritidis outbreak was tied to Loblaw Companies products in June. In that outbreak, 59 people were initially affected in eight provinces.

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