A Salmonella outbreak reported Feb. 13 by Iowa officials as being linked to chicken salad was officially acknowledged Thursday by the federal Centers of Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC outbreak announcement about the outbreak traced to chicken salad sold at Fareway Stores Inc. grocery stores in five states does not include confirmed Salmonella cases in South Dakota. It does, however, include a confirmed case in Texas.
Between Jan. 8 and Feb. 10, a total of 65 people became sick from Salmonella infections linked to the chicken salad made by Triple T Specialty Meats Inc. in Ackley, IA, according to the CDC.
As of Thursday, 28 of the victims had been admitted to hospitals. No deaths have been connected to the outbreak. Additional people have likely been infected, but it takes two to four weeks for cases to be diagnosed, confirmed and reported to the CDC.
Of 58 victims who have been interviewed as part of the outbreak investigation, 45 reported eating chicken salad from Fareway grocery store delis in the days before becoming ill.
Investigators in Iowa collected chicken salad samples from two Fareway stores. Both samples tested positive for the outbreak strain of Salmonella Typhimurium.
Fareway company officials directed the chain’s 120 stores to stop selling the chicken salad and reported it was no longer available to customers as of Feb. 9. The company has stores in Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, Nebraska and South Dakota.
The manufacturer of the chicken salad, Triple T Specialty Meats Inc., did not recall the implicated chicken salad until Wednesday this week.
The states and number of people confirmed so far in the outbreak, according to the CDC’s announcement Thursday are:
- Iowa — 55;
- Illinois — 4;
- Nebraska — 3;
- Minnesota — 2; and
- Texas — 1.
Although the CDC did not report any cases in South Dakota, the state’s epidemiologist Dr. Joshua Clayton said two cases have been confirmed, according to the Sioux Falls Argus Leader newspaper.
(To sign up for a free subscription to Food Safety News, click here.)