Health officials are adding Saskatchewan and British Columbia to the list of provinces where salami and cacciatore products connected to a salmonella outbreak were distributed.
The Public Health Agency of Canada says 87 people have now gotten sick after eating contaminated lunch meat, with nine of those people landing in the hospital.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) previously reported the contaminated products were sold in Ontario, Alberta, Manitoba and Quebec.
Salmonella is a bacteria that can cause severe illness and potentially deadly infections, particularly for children, pregnant people, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems.
Healthy people may experience short-term fever, headache, vomiting, nausea, cramps and diarrhea.
A string of product recalls, including some involving E. coli, Listeria and salmonella, has sparked concerns about food safety. Lawrence Goodridge, director of the Canadian Research Institute for Food Safety at the University of Guelph, says the data doesn’t indicate an increase in recalls but adds the pandemic did cause some disruptions in food safety.
The CFIA has recalled over 65 products linked to the outbreak, including Rea brand salamis, Bona brand salamis, Cosmo’s Smoked Meats, Imperial Meats and other brands sold in grocery stores, specialty markets, restaurants, cafes, delis and butcher shops. A list of the specific products and their package codes is available on CFIA’s website.
Consumers can subscribe for updates from CFIA on recalled products here.
