An International Outbreak Investigation of Salmonella Enteritidis Infections in the United States and Canada Linked to Peaches - 2020

Asma Madad; Michael Vasser; Stelios Viazis; Karen P Neil; Margaret Kirchner; Tyann Blessington; Arthur Pightling; David T Ingram; Laura Grunenfelder; Stephen Hughes; Rebecca L Bell; Hua Wang; Brittany Nork; Estefania Fernandez; Kevin Gerrity; Evelyn Ladines; Kelley Hise; Omar Hummadi; Amber Barnes; Krista Grant; Anne-Marie Lowe; Ashley Kearney; Laura Gieraltowski; Monique Salter; Michael Bazaco; Christina K Carstens

doi:10.1016/j.jfp.2025.100519

An International Outbreak Investigation of Salmonella Enteritidis Infections in the United States and Canada Linked to Peaches - 2020

J Food Prot. 2025 May 22;88(6):100519. doi: 10.1016/j.jfp.2025.100519. Epub 2025 Apr 24.

Authors

Asma Madad¹, Michael Vasser², Stelios Viazis³, Karen P Neil², Margaret Kirchner³, Tyann Blessington³, Arthur Pightling³, David T Ingram³, Laura Grunenfelder³, Stephen Hughes⁴, Rebecca L Bell³, Hua Wang³, Brittany Nork⁵, Estefania Fernandez⁶, Kevin Gerrity⁷, Evelyn Ladines⁸, Kelley Hise², Omar Hummadi⁹, Amber Barnes⁹, Krista Grant¹⁰, Anne-Marie Lowe¹¹, Ashley Kearney¹², Laura Gieraltowski², Monique Salter³, Michael Bazaco³, Christina K Carstens³

Affiliations

¹ Human Foods Program, Food and Drug Administration, College Park, MD 20740, USA. Electronic address: Asma.Madad@fda.hhs.gov.
² Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
³ Human Foods Program, Food and Drug Administration, College Park, MD 20740, USA.
⁴ Human Foods Program, Food and Drug Administration, Laurel, MD 20708, USA.
⁵ Office of Inspections and Investigations, Food and Drug Administration, Loveland, Colorado, USA.
⁶ Office of Inspections and Investigations, Food and Drug Administration, Suisun City, California, USA.
⁷ Office of Inspections and Investigations, Food and Drug Administration, San Diego, California, USA.
⁸ Human Foods Program, Food and Drug Administration, Irvine, California, USA.
⁹ California Department of Public Health, Sacramento, California, USA.
¹⁰ Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
¹¹ Public Health Agency of Canada, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
¹² Public Health Agency of Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

PMID: 40287140
DOI: 10.1016/j.jfp.2025.100519

Abstract

During August-October 2020, United States federal, state, and Canadian partners investigated an outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis infections, in the U.S. and Canada, linked to fresh, whole peaches packed and supplied by a grower and packer with multiple orchards (Farm A). In the U.S., a total of 101 ill people and 28 hospitalizations were reported in 17 states, while in Canada, 57 ill people and 12 hospitalizations were reported in two Canadian provinces. The U.S. traceback investigation included 14 points of service (POS), representing 18 illnesses in eight states. Multiple distributors, packinghouses, and orchards supplied bagged and loose peaches during the timeframe of interest to identified POS, with peaches and packinghouses linked to Farm A being the primary source. Orchards of interest were identified for peach fruit, orchard tree leaf, and soil drag swab sample collection using traceback and geospatial analysis. Geospatial analyses showed that several orchards were in proximity to animal operations. While none of the Salmonella isolates recovered matched the outbreak strain, Salmonella Alachua was recovered from peaches and leaf samples, and Salmonella Montevideo was recovered from orchard tree leaves. Whole genome sequencing indicated that these Salmonella isolates were closely related to historical poultry and cattle isolates. Farm A voluntarily recalled loose peaches sold from June 1 to August 3, 2020, and bagged Brand A conventional and organic peaches sold from June 1 to August 19, 2020. Recalled products were likely distributed to at least 14 different countries. Findings suggest that adjacent animal operations may be a potential contributing factor to Salmonella contamination of peaches, with windborne or fugitive dust as a possible route. The findings from this first reported international outbreak of Salmonella linked to peaches grown in the U.S. highlight the importance of grower awareness of adjacent land use.

Keywords: Adjacent land use; Foodborne illness outbreak; Peaches; Salmonella; Stone fruit; Windborne or fugitive dust.

MeSH terms

Animals
Canada / epidemiology
Disease Outbreaks
Food Contamination / analysis
Food Microbiology
Humans
Salmonella Food Poisoning* / epidemiology
Salmonella enteritidis* / isolation & purification
United States / epidemiology