Salmonella outbreak linked to ShopRite lean ground beef: 16 sick, 6 hospitalized

Lean ground beef sold in ShopRite stores in Connecticut, New Jersey and New York has been linked to a salmonella outbreak that has sickened 16 people, six of whom were hospitalized, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

The agency said that ground beef labeled 80 percent lean was the only common food item that the people who fell ill in the outbreak ate.

The source of the ground beef is still being investigated, the agency said in a statement.

One more person in Massachusetts also reported salmonella illness, and the outbreak may affect other states besides the ones with known cases, the C.D.C. said.

ShopRite said in a statement that nine of the 16 people who became sick bought ground beef from different ShopRites, and the origin of the other seven cases is unknown.

The illnesses happened between April 27 and June 16, and no new cases have been reported since then. Ground beef is still on sale at ShopRite, and the U.S. Agriculture Department has not issued a recall, ShopRite said.

Salmonella bacteria can cause diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps. They live in the intestines of people and animals and can be transmitted through contaminated food, water, and surfaces where food is handled.

The rod-shaped bacteria is destroyed when beef is cooked to 160 degrees Fahrenheit, and consuming raw or undercooked ground beef can make people ill.

Ground beef is not the only food that can be contaminated with salmonella; in recent years, salmonella outbreaks have also been traced to raw fruits and vegetables.

In 2020, red onions grown in California caused an outbreak that affected more than 640 people in 43 states in the United States and Canada. The outbreak was related to products shipped from May to August 2020, and cases continued to appear into the fall of 2021.

In 2018, a salmonella outbreak was connected to precut melons from a food distributor in Indiana, leading to the recall of products in eight states.