ATLANTA – The CDC is investigating a multistate outbreak of Salmonella infections linked to onions processed at Gills Onions.

Release:

A CDC food safety alert regarding a multistate outbreak of Salmonella infections has been posted: https://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/thompson-10-23/index.html   

Key Points

• CDC is investigating a multistate outbreak of Salmonella infections that has resulted in 73 illnesses in 22 states. 15 people have been hospitalized, and no deaths have been reported.
• Interviews with sick people and traceback data show that onions processed at Gills Onions may be making people in this outbreak sick.
  • 14 of 19 people reported eating onions or being served diced onions.
  • Of the 14 people, 6 resided in long-term care facilities. Records from long-term care facilities showed that people were served diced onions from Gills Onions.
• On October 24, 2023, Gills Onions recalled some lots of fresh diced onion products with use-by dates in August 2023, including diced yellow onions (3lb bags and 8 oz cups), diced celery and onions (8 oz cups), diced mirepoix (10 oz cups), and diced red onions (8 oz cups).
  • Recalled onions were sold in stores and sent to restaurants and institutions nationwide and in Canada.   
  • Although the recalled products are beyond their August 2023 use-by-dates, people may have frozen them to use later. 

What You Should Do 

• Check your freezers and refrigerators for recalled onion products.
  • If you have any, throw them away or return them to where you bought them. Do not eat them.  
• Wash items and surfaces that may have touched the recalled onion products using hot soapy water or a dishwasher. 
• Call your healthcare provider if you have any severe Salmonella symptoms.

What Businesses Should Do

• Do not sell or serve recalled Gills Onions products or foods made with recalled onion products.  
• Wash and sanitize items and surfaces that may have come in contact with recalled onion products. 

Symptoms of Salmonella

• Most people infected with Salmonella experience diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps.
  • Symptoms usually start 6 hours to 6 days after swallowing the bacteria.  
  • Most people recover without treatment after 4 to 7 days. 
• Some people—especially children younger than 5 years, adults 65 years and older, and people with weakened immune systems—may experience more severe illnesses that require medical treatment or hospitalization.  
• For more information about Salmonella, see the Salmonella Questions and Answers page. 

If you have questions about cases in a particular state, please call that state’s health department.