A recently published report has detailed the largest multi-provincial Salmonella outbreak in Canada in more than two decades, linking 515 confirmed cases to contaminated red onions imported from the United States. The outbreak, which occurred between June and August 2020, affected residents across seven provinces, with 19 percent of those infected requiring hospitalization. The findings, outlined in a report from the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) and other health agencies, underscore the complexity of foodborne illness investigations and the challenges posed by fresh produce contamination.
A separate report from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2020, found that a sheep farm was likely a contributing factor in the contamination of the onions.
The U.S. finding came when investigators searched for the cause of the 2020 outbreak of Salmonella Newport foodborne infections associated with red onions from the Southern San Joaquin Valley and Imperial Valley in California.
“The outbreak, which caused 1,127 reported domestic illnesses and 515 reported Canadian cases, is the largest Salmonella outbreak in over a decade,” according to the U.S. research report.
“This outbreak is also remarkable because the food vehicle, whole red onions, is a raw agricultural commodity that had not been previously associated with a foodborne illness outbreak.” The FDA found that Thomson International Inc. was the producer of the onions.
According to the new report out of Canada, th.
