Celery Listeriosis Outbreak in Texas
The president of Sangar Fresh Cut Produce in San Antonio, Texas, says state health officials have erred by linking his company's products with a Celery Listeriosis outbreak. Five people in Texas have died of Listeria poisoning this year, including three in Bexar County.
The Texas Department of State Health Services said in a news release this week that 10 cases of Listeria have been investigated and "six of the 10 cases have been linked to chopped celery from the Sangar plant.''
The state health department ordered Sangar to stop processing food and recall all products shipped form the plant since January. According to a story in the San Antonio Express newspaper, Sangar President Kenneth Sanquist Jr. is refuting the state's findings.
“The state's claim that some of our produce now fails to meet health standards directly contradicts independent testing that was conducted on the same products,” the statement from Sanquist said. “This independent testing shows our produce to be absolutely safe, and we are aggressively fighting the state's erroneous findings.”
Texas originally asked the company to close voluntarily, but it refused, state health department spokeswoman Carrie Williams told USA Today. At that point, Texas health officials ordered the closure of the Sangar plant and recall. The outbreak tracked by Texas officials began in January. By May, two people had died but no cause was identified. According to the state's investigation, all of the illnesses were in people who had serious underlying health problems.
