The Canadian Food Inspection Service (CFIA) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have issued emergency alerts warning consumers not to buy or consume onions grown in Mexico and sold all across North America under the ProSource Produce and other brand names…
Don’t buy or use Red, White or Yellow onions from ProSource Produce.
More than 650 people in 37 U.S. states are known to have become ill after eating onions grown in Mexico which were contaminated with salmonella. The onions were also sold in Canada, but no one here is reported to have been infected. No one has died from the outbreak in the U.S.
The CFIA bulletin advises, “Industry is recalling whole raw onions (red, yellow, and white) exported by Prosource Produce LLC of Hailey, Idaho, produce of the state of Chihuahua, Mexico from the marketplace due to possible Salmonella contamination. Consumers should not consume the recalled products described below or foods containing these raw onions. Retailers, distributors, manufacturers, and food service establishments such as hotels, restaurants, cafeterias, hospitals, and nursing homes should not serve, use, or sell the recalled products.”
What you should do
The CFIA instructs:
“If you think you became sick from consuming a recalled product, call your doctor.
“Check to see if you have the recalled products in your home or establishment. Recalled products should be thrown out or returned to the location where they were purchased. If you are unsure of the identity of the onions in your possession, check with your place of purchase.
“Food contaminated with Salmonella may not look or smell spoiled but can still make you sick. Young children, pregnant women, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems may contract serious and sometimes deadly infections. Healthy people may experience short-term symptoms such as fever, headache, vomiting, nausea, abdominal cramps and diarrhea. Long-term complications may include severe arthritis.”
My take
This recall is at least as serious and even more wide-ranging than the series of lettuce recalls over the past couple of years, in which lettuces from some parts of California, Texas and New Mexico were found to be contaminated with E.coli.
And who in our circle of cook-readers does not have at least one kind of onion in their pantry at all times?
The recall has just been expanded to Canada, by our own food safety authorities. It’s been in force in the U.S. for a few days already and the number of consumers affected may still rise.
If you don’t know where your onions came from, or bought them in bulk, just don’t use them. Onions are cheap enough that you need not agonize about ‘wasting food’ or denting your budget if you throw a couple away, just this once. It’s better to be safe then sorry.
~ Maggie J.