An outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium in chicken salad that began in Iowa on Feb. 9 has spread to Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska and Texas. CDC reported on Feb. 22 that 65 people have been infected and, of those, 28 have been hospitalized with Salmonella linked to chicken salad prepared by Triple T Specialty Meats. The product was sold in all Fareway stores in Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska and South Dakota.

Triple T recalled more than 20,000 pounds of ready-to-eat chicken salad produced from Jan. 2 to Feb.7 because of possible Salmonella contamination.

The State Hygienic Laboratory tested samples of the chicken salad in consultation with the Iowa Foodborne Investigation Team, which includes SHL, the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) and the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals (IDIA).

SHL is the only facility of its kind in the state that provides real-time surveillance of enteric disease pathogens, including Salmonella, in both human and food specimens. The laboratory also performs DNA fingerprinting on pathogens using whole genome sequencing and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis.

Foodborne outbreaks due to Salmonella are not just a gastrointestinal illness, but can lead to other rare complications such as cancer of the gallbladder. It is important to prevent cases. In this case, as in others, it is impossible to determine how much illness was avoided by this rapid response.

Timeline of events

Jan. 4 - Feb. 13, 2018
• Fareway sells chicken salad produced by Triple T Meats in all its Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska and South Dakota stores.

Feb. 9
• IDPH notifies the US Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of its investigation of Salmonella-related illnesses.
• Fareway removes chicken salad from its Iowa stores.

Feb. 10
• IDIA collects chicken salad from many Iowa Fareway stores and brings samples to SHL for testing.

Feb. 12
• SHL provides test results that were presumptive positive Salmonella Typhimurium in two samples of chicken salad.

Feb. 13
• IDPH and IDIA issue an alert about suspected cases of the Salmonella contamination.

Feb. 14
• The USDA/FSIS issues an alert that chicken salad was sold at all Fareway stores in Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska and South Dakota.

Week of Feb 19
• SHL confirms Salmonella Typhimurium was identified in chicken salad samples.
• DNA fingerprinting results of the salad and clinical stool samples match, confirming that the product is the source of the outbreak.

Feb. 21
• Triple T Specialty Meats recalls all chicken salad that it produced from Jan. 2 to Feb. 7.

Feb. 22
• CDC begins reporting the number of cases of this multi-state outbreak on its website.

Feb. 26
• SHL estimates that it has tested more than 200 clinical specimens associated with this outbreak from hospitals and medical centers in Iowa and surrounding states from Feb. 9-26.