Recalled Peaches Linked To Food Poisoning Illnesses, Hospitalizations in 12 States

Following a number of recalls involving peaches sold at major retailers nationwide, including Walmart, Target, Aldi’s and others, health officials have identified dozens of salmonella food poisoning cases across at least 12 states.

The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued an update about Salmonella Enteritidis infections linked to recalled peaches on August 27, urging consumers to stop eating certain products following reports of at least 78 illnesses and 23 hospitalizations nationwide.

Officials identified several clusters of illnesses in early August, and issued an ALDI peach recall on August 19, after epidemiologic and traceback investigations pinpointed peaches grown in the California region by Wawona Packing Company as the likely source of infection.

Since the initial recall, officials have identified 10 additional illnesses and have announced several recalls involving both bagged and loosely sold peaches, as well as other food products containing peach ingredients, such as peach salsa.

The additional recalls announced by the FDA have included Aldi, Food Lion, Walmart, Target, Wegmans, Kroger, Russ Davis Wholesale and Hannaford grocery retailers who sold peaches in stores in various ways including loose bins, bags or as ingredients in salsa.

Peaches sold loosely in bins may be marked with stickers that have the following Price Look Up number; 4037, 4038, 4044, 4401, 94037, 94038, 94044, 94401.

Recalled peaches sold in bags may contain brand and product codes including Wawona Peaches 033383322001, Wawona Organic Peaches 849315000400, Prima® Peaches – 766342325903, Organic Marketside Peaches 849315000400, Kroger Peaches 011110181749, and Wegmans Peaches 077890490488.

Peach Salsa made from potentially contaminated products sold by Wawona was recently recalled on August 25, by Russ Davis Wholesale (RDW). The recall involves Crazy Fresh Perfectly Peach Salsa, Clear Label Perfectly Peach Salsa, Quick & Easy Perfectly Peach Salsa sold in Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, Michigan, Iowa, Nebraska, and Wyoming stores from June 25, 2020 through August 26, 2020.

While the investigation is still ongoing, CDC and FDA officials are warning restaurants, retailers and consumers not to eat, sell or serve any whole or partial peach products supplied by Prima Wawona or Wawona Packing Company LLC. If the origins of the peach products are unknown customers are being instructed to discard the product.

For healthy individuals, salmonella symptoms typically include diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain lasting between four and seven days. The illness can become worse due to the delay in treatment because the infection can only be diagnosed by testing stool samples and is usually treated with antibiotics.

Among individuals with a weakened immune system, such as the elderly, children or pregnant women, the illness can pose a much greater risk and may lead to death or still birth if left untreated. In rare circumstances, the infection can even spread throughout the blood stream and cause arterial infections, endocarditis and arthritis.

The CDC is instructing all of those in the supply chain to clean and sanitize any surfaces that may have come in contact with recalled peaches, including cutting boards, countertops, refrigerators, and storage bins. If recalled peaches were mixed with peaches from another supplier, all peaches should be discarded.