A Salmonella outbreak in Sweden has been linked to a type of produce.
Sixteen people fell sick in the Salmonella Napoli outbreak that was suspected to have been caused by arugula from Italy.
The Public Health Agency of Sweden (Folkhälsomyndigheten) said patients are eight men and eight women. They range in age from less than 1 to 84 and the median age is 57 years old.
Illness onset dates are between Aug. 17 and Sept. 6. There are a couple of cases with later onsets that were either secondary cases or did not have gastrointestinal symptoms.
Twelve ill people were interviewed or replied to trawling questionnaires and eleven of them had purchased arugula from the same supermarket chain. The other person also bought a salad mix containing arugula from this supermarket. All purchases were made within a relatively short period.
One patient kept an empty bag from their purchase of arugula, intending to put it in the plastic recycling. Based on this information, the Swedish Food Agency (Livsmedelsverket) conducted a trace-back investigation.
Traceability of the empty package from one of the cases homes led to Italy. However, this batch of arugula was not sampled since there was no product left.
Salmonella Napoli is not a very common serotype in Sweden with only eight reported cases in 2025.
Listeria finding
Also in Sweden, meal deliveries to home-care recipients have resumed in Uppsala following an earlier detection of Listeria.
Test results show contamination was limited to seven containers of bean stew. All other samples from the kitchen and other dishes have passed an inspection and show no traces of Listeria.
On Sept. 30, pre-packed meals supplied to 400 users were recalled after Listeria was found at the municipality's food supplier. The recall was issued as a precautionary measure and the supplier halted production. Operations have since resumed.
According to Uppsala’s infection control unit, the risk of anyone falling ill is very low and there is no confirmed link to any illnesses.
"It is a relief to note that the issue was limited and that food deliveries are back to normal. We will now follow up on the incident together with the supplier," said Rasmus Sundström, head of home care services.
