4-10-18 salmonella in chicken salad sickens 265 and kills one in eight states

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Chicken salad made by an Iowa food processing company and distributed by Fareway Stores in the Midwest sickened 265 people in eight states including Wisconsin and caused one death in Iowa from salmonella contamination, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.   The outbreak which sickened people from Jan. 8 through March 20, appears to have ended, the CDC said in an update posted on Friday. Ill people ranged in age from less than 1 year to 89 years. Sixty-seven percent were female.  Salmonella infection usually occurs when a person eats food contaminated with the feces of animals or humans carrying the bacteria.   “On behalf of everyone at Fareway, our sympathy goes out to the affected families, and we are working diligently to resolve this matter,” Fareway CEO Reynolds Cramer said in a statement.  The company is working with state and federal agencies on the investigation and hasn’t carried Triple T Specialty Meats’ chicken salad since it was pulled from the shelves and will not carry this product moving forward, he said.  The illnesses hit Iowa hardest with 240 sickened and one dead, the CDC said. Illinois reported 10 cases, Nebraska had five, Minnesota had four and South Dakota had three illnesses. Indiana, Mississippi and Wisconsin each reported one case linked to the chicken salad.