Paighten HarkinsOfficials linked more than 60 cases of salmonella in Utah to onions brought here from a California farm.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Friday that the cases appear to stem from red onions from Thomson International Inc., located in Bakersfield.
Illnesses from the contaminated onions have been reported in 34 states. The biggest outbreak is in Oregon, where 71 cases have been reported. Utah has the second most cases, 61, followed by California, with 49, according to the FDA.
(Image courtesy of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) A map showing Salmonella cases in the U.S. on July 31, 2020. The cases have been presumptively linked to red onions coming from Thomson International, Inc., Bakersfield, California.
Nationwide, 59 people have have been hospitalized, and just under 400 people have been infected. No one has died.
The FDA said Thomson International Inc., will be recalling its red, white, yellow and sweet onions from stores.
Officials warned that no one should eat, sell or serve onions that came from Thomson International Inc.
“If you cannot tell if your onion is from Thomson International Inc., or your food product contains such onions, you should not eat, sell, or serve it, and should throw it out,” according to the FDA.
Paighten is an Enterprise reporter at The Salt Lake Tribune. She covers a variety of topics, including business, health, growth and the legal justice system — sometimes all at once. She is from southern Oklahoma, and lived and worked in the state, most recently at the Tulsa World, before starting at The Tribune in October 2017.