On May 28, 2014, Navitas Naturals issued a voluntary recall for organic sprouted chia seed powder products.

No mention was made of sick people.

That’s OK, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control took care of that, publishing an outbreak alert on May 29, 2014,

• A total of 12 persons infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Newport have been reported from 7 states.

• One ill person has been hospitalized. No deaths have been reported.

• Collaborative investigation efforts of state, local, and federal public health and regulatory agencies indicate that organic sprouted chia powder distributed by Navitas Naturals of Novato, California is the likely source of this outbreak.           

CDC is collaborating with public health officials in several states and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to investigate a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Newport infections. Results from this ongoing investigation indicate that organic sprouted chia powder distributed by Navitas Naturals of Novato, California is the likely source of this outbreak. Chia powder is made from ground dried chia seeds.

Public health investigators are using the PulseNet system to identify cases of illness that may be part of this outbreak. PulseNet, the national subtyping network of public health and food regulatory agency laboratories coordinated by CDC, obtains DNA “fingerprints” of Salmonella bacteria through diagnostic testing with pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, or PFGE, to identify cases of illness that may be part of this outbreak. This PFGE pattern has never been seen before in PulseNet.

A total of 12 ill persons infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Newport have been reported from 7 states.

Several samples of leftover organic sprouted chia powder from ill persons’ homes and unopened packages from retail locations are being tested for the presence of Salmonella bacteria. Results of this testing will be released when they become available.