33 Residents and Patients in
4 Healthcare Facilities Sickened by
Salmonella-Contaminated Pre-cut Fruit
After thirty-three residents and patients were sickened by pre-cut fruit contaminated with Salmonella in four nursing homes and hospitals, the Pennsylvania Department of Health (PDH) on December 6, 2019, advised businesses to not sell or distribute pre-cut fruit products from a specific New Jersey distributor.
The PDH issued this statement: “We recommend that any facility who uses [distributor’s name removed] pre-cut fruit to immediately stop and throw it away. The cases have been seen in facilities that provide care to some of our most vulnerable patients.” The distributor “is working with health officials and will be issuing a voluntarily recall. All of the healthcare facilities involved in this outbreak have removed this product from their kitchens and are working with us to determine the source of the contamination.”
The distributor agreed to recall its mix of cantaloupe, honeydew melon, pineapple, and grapes distributed between November 15 and December 1.
Symptoms of Salmonella include diarrhea, abdominal pain, and fever. Symptoms usually begin within 12 to 72 hours after exposure, but they can begin up to a week or more after exposure. Salmonella infections usually resolve in five to seven days, but may require hospitalization, especially for patients who are immunocompromised. Invasive infections (for example, blood stream infections, meningitis) may occur. In rare cases, Salmonella infections can lead to death.
Compliance Perspective
Failure by facilities to ensure that food preparation staff follow proper handling and disinfection practices to reduce the risk of bacterial infection such as Salmonella that greatly increases the risk for immunocompromised residents to experience illness or death may be considered provision of substandard quality of care, in violation of state and federal regulations.
Discussion Points:
- Review policies and procedures regarding protocols to ensure that food is only purchased from distributors who are reputable and employ proper temperature, handling, and disinfection controls.
- Train food preparation staff on infection prevention and control protocols for proper handing, temperatures, contamination prevention, and disinfection practices to reduce the risk of food borne illness for residents and staff.
- Audit to ensure that all food items are obtained from industry-approved vendors who use proper food handling procedures to prevent the distribution of contaminated products. Monitor the practices of staff who handle food items that are intended for resident consumption.
