Federal officials have concluded their investigation into a Salmonella Virchow outbreak traced back to Garden of Life brand organic shake and meal replacement powders, warning that additional people could become ill.

Garden of Life provided the label sample on the left to the FDA for posting with its recall notice. As the outbreak linked via DNA to its "Organic Raw Meal" powders spread across the country, the company redesigned its labels and changed the word order in the product name to "Raw Organic Meal" as shown on the right.
Garden of Life provided the label sample on the left to the FDA for posting with its recall notice. As the outbreak linked via DNA to its “Organic Raw Meal” powders spread across the country, the company redesigned its labels and changed the word order in the product name to “Raw Organic Meal” as shown on the right.
Laboratory tests confirmed that at least 33 people in 23 states were infected with the outbreak strain, according to an update posted Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The victims ranged in age from 1 year to 84 years old. Six had such severe symptoms they required hospitalization. State and federal public health labs confirmed Garden of Life brand Raw Meal Organic Shake & Meal Replacement powdered mixes were contaminated with the same strain of Salmonella Virchow as the sick people. Samples of the products collected from outbreak victims’ homes revealed the connection between the illnesses and the organic powders. “Of the 30 ill people who were interviewed, 28 reported consuming powdered supplements or meal replacement powders in the week before illness onset; 27 of these 28 ill people specifically reported consuming RAW Meal products made by Garden of Life LLC,” according to the CDC update. “This outbreak investigation is over. However, the recalled Garden of Life RAW Meal Organic Shake & Meal products have a long shelf life and may still be in people’s homes. Consumers unaware of the recalls could continue to eat the products and get sick.” Among people for whom information was available, illnesses started on dates ranging from Dec. 5, 2015, to March 18 this year. Garden of Life, headquartered in Palm Beach Gardens, FL, posted its first recall of 30 lots of RAW organic products Jan. 29. The company expanded the recall Feb. 13 to include 31 more lots. All of the recalled lots have expiration dates in 2017. Ultimately tests by the Food and Drug Administration traced the Salmonella Virchow contamination to organic moringa leaf powder in the RAW products. “Because other Garden of Life products containing moringa use different suppliers, only Raw Meal is exposed,” according to the expanded recall notice. Garden of Life products are sold throughout the nation, both online and in retail stores. In late March the Florida company renamed the recalled products, transposing the words “Meal” and “Organic” and redesigned labels. The recalled “Raw Meal Organic Shake & Meal Replacement” products are now marketed as “Raw Organic Meal Shake & Meal Replacement” (To sign up for a free subscription to Food Safety News, click here.)