Health officials in Iowa and Nebraska have tagged a prepackaged salad mix as the source for an outbreak of parasite-borne food poisoning, according to NBC news.
The bagged salad is said to behind the cyclospora outbreak that sickened at least 143 people in the state of Iowa and 78 people in Nebraska. According to reports, 372 people in 15 states have become sick since June, by the rare parasite. At least 21 people have been hospitalized due to the outbreak.
"The evidence points to a salad mix containing iceberg and romaine lettuce, as well as carrots and red cabbage as the source of the outbreak reported in Iowa and Nebraska," said Steven Mandernach, Iowa's top food inspector and chief of the Food and Consumer Safety Bureau of the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals. "Iowans should continue eating salads as the implicated prepackaged mix is no longer in the state's food supply chain."
Neither state chose to name the brand of salad mix that caused the outbreak.
According to the Food and Drug Administration, federal officials are working to see if the outbreak has spread.
"FDA is following the strongest leads provided by the states and has prioritized ingredients of the salad mix identified by Iowa for trace back investigation, but is following other leads as well," agency official said in a statement according to NBC News.
Investigators found the salad mix was a single source that was common in 80 percent of the cases in Iowa. Nebraska state spokeswomen, Leah Bucco-White said 85 percent of the cases linked to the prepackaged salad mix.
According to NBC news, those who were infected by the outbreak, ate the salad during the past several weeks, and by the time the illness was identified, most of the products were no longer on shelves.
Cyclospora is a rare parasite spread by feces in contaminated food or water. It can cause lingering diarrhea and other flu-like symptoms and can be treated with common antibiotics.
The Health Department is reported illnesses in Texas, Wisconsin, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York and Ohio.