Trader Joe’s Co., located in Monrovia, California, has issued a recall of select lot codes of 7.4-ounce boxes of Chocolate Chip Chewy Coated Granola Bars over concerns that the product could be tainted with the <"https://www.yourlawyer.com/practice_areas/food_poisoning">Salmonella pathogen, reports the Daily News. Bloomfield Bakery, which is a subsidiary of Ralcorp Holdings Inc., manufactured the recalled bars said the Daily News.
Trader Joe said boxes of its Chocolate Chip Chewy Coated Granola Bars with use-by dates/lot codes 16JUL10H2 and 17JUL10HI should not be eaten. The bars or boxes can be returned to any Trader Joe’s for a full refund, according to the Daily News.
Meanwhile, all Trader Joe Chocolate Chip Chewy Coated Granola Bars have been removed from sale and destroyed, said the Daily News. To date, citing the Trader Joe Website, said the Daily News, there have been no reports of illness.
Salmonella is one of the most common causes of food borne illness outbreaks and infections can be life threatening, especially to those with weak immune systems, such as infants, the elderly, and persons with HIV infection or undergoing chemotherapy. The most common manifestations of Salmonellosis—the food borne illness caused by contamination with the Salmonella pathogen—are diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and fever within eight to 72 hours. Additional symptoms may be chills, headache, nausea, and vomiting that can last up to seven days.
Healthy persons infected with the Salmonella pathogen often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e. infected aneurysms), endocarditis, and arthritis.
Some Salmonella bacteria are resistant to antibiotics and Salmonella is the most frequently reported cause of food-related outbreaks of stomach illness worldwide. Salmonella poisoning can lead to Reiter’s Syndrome, a difficult-to-treat reactive arthritis.
