Salmonella Facts: Chicken Salad At Fareway Grocery Stores Kills 1, Sickens 265

Prepared chicken salad sold at Fareway grocery stores across the upper Midwest was linked to the death of one person and health problems in a total of 265 people. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) late last week announced the chicken salad was infected with Salmonella bacteria.

The latest Salmonella outbreak spread to several states with the most cases in Iowa. Reports said 240 cases were found in Iowa while Illinois had 10, Nebraska had five and Minnesota had four. 4. Indiana, Mississippi, and Wisconsin each reported 1 case.

The packaged chicken salad that was contaminated with the bacteria was dated from Jan. 4, 2018, to Feb. 9, 2018. Triple T Specialty Meats, the producer of the chicken salad based in Ackley, Iowa, recalled 20,630 pounds of ready-to-eat chicken salad products.

"The recalled chicken salad was sold in containers of various weights from the deli at Fareway grocery stores in Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska, and South Dakota," the CDC said. "CDC recommends people do not eat any remaining recalled chicken salad sold at Fareway grocery stores, including any that has been frozen. Throw it away or return it to the place of purchase," the CDC said.

Officials from the Iowa Department of Public Health and the Iowa Department of Inspections were the first to identify the contaminated chicken salad, after samples were collected from Fareway stores for lab testing in February.

Several sickened customers have filed lawsuits, and dozens of others are considering it.

In a statement Monday, Fareway leaders said they were "just as disappointed and concerned as our customers" after learning the chicken salad made by Triple T was the source of the salmonella outbreak.

“On behalf of everyone at Fareway, our sympathy goes out to the affected families, and we are working diligently to resolve this matter,” Fareway Chief Executive Officer Reynolds Cramer wrote in the statement, adding that they stopped selling the product after learning about the contamination in the food product.

Salmonellosis and its symptoms:

Salmonellosis is a type of food poisoning caused by the Salmonella enterica bacterium. Salmonellaserotype typhimurium and Salmonella serotype enteritidis are the most common types in the U.S.

Salmonellosis is more common in the summer than in the winter. Symptoms of salmonella can begin 12 to 72 hours after a person is infected. In rare cases, complications from salmonella can become deadly. Most of the symptoms of a salmonella infection is stomach-related.

1. Cramps in your stomach

2. Bloody stools

3. Diarrhea

4. Cold and chills

5. Fever

6. Headache

7. Vomiting

8. Nausea