Who eats these things? Can you add more adjectives? 11 sick Multistate outbreak of Salmonella Virchow infections linked to Garden of Life organic shake meal

As of February 1, 2016, 11 people infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Virchow have been reported from nine states.

raw-mealOne ill person has been hospitalized. No deaths have been reported.

The epidemiologic and laboratory evidence available at this time suggests that RAW Meal Organic Shake & Meal products made by Garden of Life, LLC are a likely source of this outbreak.

Of 10 ill people interviewed, 10 (100%) reported consuming powdered supplements or meal replacement powders in the week before illness onset, and all 10 (100%) specifically reported consuming Garden of Life RAW Meal products.

Utah and Oregon health officials reported that Salmonella was isolated from open containers of Garden of Life RAW Meal collected from ill people’s homes. Additional laboratory testing is ongoing to determine the DNA fingerprint of the Salmonella.

On January 29, 2016, Garden of Life, LLC voluntarily recalled a limited quantity of its RAW Meal Organic Shake & Meal products available in chocolate, original, vanilla, and vanilla chai because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella Virchow.

These products have a long shelf life and may still be in people’s homes.

Consumers should not eat and retailers should not sell recalled RAW Meal products.

A list of the recalled Garden of Life RAW Meal products is available on the Recall & Advice to Consumers and Retailers page.     

The recalled products were available for purchase nationwide in many retail stores and online.

This investigation is ongoing. Updates will be posted when more information is available.

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About Douglas Powell

A former professor of food safety and the publisher of barfblog.com, Powell is passionate about food, has five daughters, and is an OK goaltender in pickup hockey. Download Doug’s CV here. Dr. Douglas Powell editor, barfblog.com retired professor, food safety 3/289 Annerley Rd Annerley, Queensland 4103 dpowell29@gmail.com 61478222221 I am based in Brisbane, Australia, 15 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time