Georgia among 10 states with Salmonella outbreak from mushrooms

ATLANTA — The Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning of a new Salmonella outbreak that involves mushrooms.

More than 40 people have been infected with Salmonella, with four hospitalizations. One of the hospitalizations was in Georgia.

The mushrooms suspected in the outbreak are wood ear mushrooms distributed by Wismettac Asian Foods, Inc. Four of the “illness clusters” were identified at restaurants serving ramen in three states.

The impacted states are: Arizona, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Eight of the nine ill people linked to restaurant clusters reported eating wood ear mushrooms or ramen containing wood ear mushrooms before becoming sick.

On Sept. 23, Wismettac Asian Foods, Inc., recalled all Shirakiku brand imported Black Fungus that was distributed to restaurants because it may be contaminated with Salmonella.

Restaurant employees should check for recalled dried mushrooms and not serve or sell them. If you can’t tell where your dried mushrooms are from, throw them away.

The mushrooms were distributed to restaurants in six packs of five-pound bags labeled as Shirakiku brand Black Fungus (Kikurage) with Universal Product Code (UPC) bar code 00074410604305, item #60403, imported from China.

The CDC says in general, dried mushrooms should always be reconstituted using boiling water to kill any pathogens. This advice does not apply to recalled mushrooms, which should be thrown away.

MORE INFORMATION HERE.

Symptoms of Salmonella Infection

• Most people infected with Salmonella develop diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps 6 hours to 6 days after being exposed to the bacteria.
• The illness usually lasts 4 to 7 days, and most people recover without treatment.
• In some people, the illness may be so severe that the patient needs to be hospitalized. Salmonella infection may spread from the intestines to the bloodstream and then to other places in the body.
• Children younger than 5 years, adults 65 years and older, and people with weakened immune systems are more likely to have a severe illness.

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Cox Media Group