The Public Health Agency of Canada said on Thursday that an investigation it opened recently into an outbreak of salmonella infections linked to peaches imported from the United States has been closed.
According to the PHAC, the investigation findings identified exposure to peaches from Prima Wawona from the United States as a likely source of the outbreak.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) issued a consumer advisory for peaches recalled by Prima Wawona, sold from June 1, 2020 to August 22, 2020 in Canada.
These peaches included yellow, white and organic peaches and were sold under various brand names:
- Extrafresh
- Harvest Sweet
- Prima
- Sweet 2 Eat
- Sweet O
- Sweet Value
- Wawona
- Wegmans
The PHAC says it collaborated with federal and provincial public health partners, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S. CDC), and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to investigate the outbreak that occurred in two provinces. “Given that Salmonella illness reporting linked to this outbreak has significantly decreased over the last four weeks, the outbreak appears to be over and the investigation has been closed,” the PHAC said in a statement.
Investigation summary
In total, there were 57 confirmed cases of Salmonella Enteritidis illness linked to this outbreak in two provinces: Ontario (41) and Quebec (16).
Individuals became sick between June and August 2020. Twelve individuals were hospitalized. No deaths were reported. Individuals who became ill were between 0 and 91 years of age. The majority of cases (60%) were female.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) issued a related consumer advisory for peaches recalled by Prima Wawona. More information on products recalled by Prima Wawona from the United States is available on CFIA’s website.
The U.S. CDC also investigated an outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis illnesses with a similar genetic fingerprint to illnesses reported in this outbreak.
Symptoms
Symptoms of a Salmonella infection, called salmonellosis, typically start 6 to 72 hours after exposure to Salmonella bacteria from an infected animal, person or contaminated product.
Symptoms include:
- fever
- chills
- diarrhea
- abdominal cramps
- headache
- nausea
- vomiting
The symptoms usually last for 4 to 7 days. In healthy people, salmonellosis often clears up without treatment, but sometimes antibiotics may be required. In some cases, severe illness may occur and hospitalization may be required. People who are infected with Salmonella bacteria can be infectious from several days to several weeks. People who experience symptoms, or who have underlying medical conditions, should contact their health care provider if they suspect they have a Salmonella infection.
Canadians are advised not to eat any recalled products or any foods containing recalled products. Peaches grown in Canada were not associated with this outbreak.
