Iowa City, Iowa — If you purchased chicken salad from Fareway recently, you may want to throw it out.
The Iowa Department of Public Health and the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals have issued a consumer advisory for chicken salad sold at Fareway stores.
The chicken salad, which is produced and packaged by a third party for Fareway, is implicated in multiple cases of salmonella illness across Iowa. The health department says preliminary test results from the State Hygienic Laboratory at the University of Iowa indicate the presence of salmonella in the product.
They say that Fareway voluntarily stopped the sale of the product and pulled the chicken salad from its shelves after they were contacted. No chicken salad has been sold to the consuming public since last Friday evening, February 9th, 2018.
The health department is investigating multiple cases of possible illness associated with the chicken salad. Iowa Department of Public Health Medical Director, Dr. Patricia Quinlisk says that the bottom line is that no one should eat this product. She says that if you have it in your refrigerator, you should throw it away.
Salmonella infection is a common bacterial disease that can cause illness and rarely, it can be severe. Usually, people who get salmonella infection develop symptoms within 12 to 36 hours after ingesting the bacteria, but symptoms can appear as early as six hours and as late as three days after ingestion.
Symptoms of salmonella infection generally last four to seven days and include:
· Diarrhea
· Headache
· Fever
· Nausea
· Abdominal pain
· Dehydration
· Vomiting
· Muscle pains
· Bloody stools
Most people get better without treatment, but in some cases, the diarrhea associated with a salmonella infection can cause dehydration, which can sometimes result in hospitalization. It is important whenever you have diarrhea to make sure you drink plenty of fluids. If you are ill, you should contact your healthcare provider.
Consumers who have purchased chicken salad from Fareway should throw it out and not return the product to the store.
