Des Moines, Iowa — The Iowa Department of Public Health is passing on a warning from the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (the CDC) — of an outbreak of salmonella in onions.
The CDC advises people not to eat, serve, or sell recalled onions from Thomson International, Inc., or food made with these onions. Onion types include red, white, yellow, and sweet yellow varieties.
They advise that at home, you should check your refrigerator and kitchen for recalled onions or foods made with them, such as salads, wraps, tacos, sandwiches, etc. Check the package or look for a sticker on the onion to see if it is from Thomson International, Inc., or one of the other brand names (listed below). If it is, don’t eat it. Throw it away.
Other brand names that may be on labels include Thomson Premium, TLC Thomson International, Tender Loving Care, El Competitor, Hartley’s Best, Onions 52, Majestic, Imperial Fresh, Kroger, Utah Onions, and Food Lion.
See the recall notice to check for further details and pictures of the products.
The CDC says if you can’t tell where your onions are from, don’t eat them. You can usually call the store from which you purchased the onions to find out if they sell that kind. But if you can’t tell, throw them away, says the CDC.
If you used onions to make any other food and don’t know where the onions were from, don’t eat the food. Throw it away, even if no one got sick, says the CDC.
They also remind you that prepared food may contain them as well, such as salads, sandwiches, wraps, salsas, and dips.
People sickened in this outbreak reported eating raw onions in freshly prepared foods, including salads, sandwiches, wraps, salsas, and dips.
Walmart is one of the stores that carry the onions, according to the CDC.
We checked with Hy-Vee and Fareway as well. Fareway officials say they do not sell onions from Thompson International.
Hy-Vee spokesperson Christina Gayman says that out of an abundance of caution, “We pulled all onions in question from our shelves last Saturday. Those onions had a sticker with the number ’52’ on them. If customers purchased an onion with ’52’ on it Saturday or prior, they are welcome to bring it in for a new onion or a refund, or if they no longer have the onion or the sticker was removed/fell off, we will still take care of the customer. All onions purchased since Tuesday (even those with the ’52’ sticker) are from a supplier in Washington and not from the supplier in question.”
