49 Illinois Salmonella Cases Linked To Onion Recalls

ILLINOIS — HelloFresh issued a voluntary recall of onions included in recent meal kits, saying the onions received by subscribers in Illinois and others could possibly be contaminated with salmonella. According to the recall alert, the contaminated onions in HelloFresh meal kits were received from the same supplier named in an earlier recall affecting onions sold at Walmart, Trader Joe's and other grocery chains.

In the earlier alert, the potentially contaminated onions were recalled by Thomson International Inc. California. Those onions have been linked to a multistate salmonella outbreak linked to red, yellow, white and sweet yellow onions that’s sickened nearly 870 people in 47 states, sending 116 people to the hospital, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC reported 49 cases of salmonella illness in Illinois linked to the recalls.

According to HelloFresh — one of the nation’s leading subscription meal kit services, with more than 1.5 million subscribers — the recall affects onions received in meal kits between May 6 and July 31.

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Subscribers should check product codes, which are on the bottom square of the shipping box shipping label, a statement from HelloFresh says. See the full list of product codes.

Anyone who received onions should dispose of them immediately.

In the statement shared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, HelloFresh said it has taken “immediate steps to ensure onions are no longer sourced from this supplier.”

Signs of salmonella poisoning include diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps, which typically manifest between six hours and six days after exposure to the bacteria. Those under age 5, those over 65 and people with weakened immune systems are more likely to experience severe illness.

In some cases, the infection can spread from the intestines to other parts of the body and require hospitalization.

The CDC encourages anyone with symptoms of salmonella poisoning to contact a doctor, write down what they ate the week before they became sick, report the illness to the health department and communicate with health investigators about their illness.