Wegmans Pine Nuts Linked to Salmonella Outbreak in New York, Arizona, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia
Our law firm is representing a New York resident hospitalized in a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis infections has been linked to Turkish pine nuts purchased from bulk bins at Wegmans grocery stores. A total of 42 individuals infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Enteritidis have been reported from 6 states. The number of ill persons identified in each state with the outbreak strain is as follows: Arizona (1), Maryland (1), New Jersey (2), New York (26), Pennsylvania (8), and Virginia (4).
Among 42 persons for whom information is available, illnesses began on or after August 20, 2011. Ill persons range in age from <1 to 94 years, and the median age is 43 years old. Fifty-seven percent of patients are female. Two patients were hospitalized.
Contact our attorneys for a free consultation regarding a Wegmans lawsuit for Salmonella poisoning from pine nuts.
Investigation of the Salmonella Outbreak
Epidemiologic and laboratory investigations conducted by officials in local, state, and federal public health, agriculture, and regulatory agencies linked this outbreak to eating Turkish pine nuts sold in bulk bins at Wegmans grocery stores. Some Turkish pine nuts were consumed as an ingredient in prepared foods, such as Caprese salad or asparagus with pine nuts, sold at Wegmans stores.
Among 30 ill persons for whom information is available, 19 (63%) reported consuming Turkish pine nuts or products containing these pine nuts in the week before their illness began.
Early in the investigation, shopper card information was collected and used to identify which specific products to suspect as sources of illness. Ill persons gave permission for public health officials to retrieve shopper card purchase information. A review of shopper card records identified that ill persons had purchased the same type of Turkish pine nuts from bulk bins at different locations of Wegmans grocery stores before becoming ill.
Laboratory testing conducted by the Virginia Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services isolated the outbreak strain of Salmonella Enteritidis from Turkish pine nuts that were purchased from bulk bins at Wegmans stores and collected from an ill person’s home. The Virginia Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services also isolated the outbreak strain of Salmonella Enteritidis from retail samples of Turkish pine nuts collected from a Wegmans store where ill persons reported shopping. Laboratory testing conducted by the New York State Department of Health, Wadsworth Center Laboratory, isolated Salmonella Enteritidis from two separate samples of homemade pesto containing Turkish pine nuts from two unrelated ill persons' homes, and from Turkish pine nuts which were purchased from bulk bins at a Wegmans store and collected from another ill person’s home. Both samples of homemade pesto have been tested and it is determined the Salmonella in these pine nuts is also the outbreak strain. Further tests on the whole bulk pine nuts are pending.
Wegmans Pine Nuts Recall
Wegmans Food Markets, Inc. is recalling approximately 5,000 lbs. of Turkish Pine Nuts sold in the Bulk Foods department of most Wegmans stores in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, and Maryland between July 1 and October 18, 2011 due to possible Salmonella contamination.
The recalled Turkish pine nuts were imported from Turkey by Sunrise Commodities of Englewood Cliffs, N.J. The recalled pine nuts were not sold at the company’s Northborough, Massachusetts store, which opened on Sunday, October 16.
Wegmans Food Markets, Inc. is a 79-store supermarket chain with stores in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland, and Massachusetts.
