A 10-state Salmonella outbreak linked to dried wood ear mushrooms has sickened 41 people hospitalizing four of them, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Several clusters of illness have been linked to restaurants that served the mushrooms in ramen soup and other foods.
Wood ear mushrooms are also called Kikurage, Dried Black Fungus, Dried Fungus, or Mu’er/Mu Er/Mu-Err. Wismettac Asian Foods, Inc. issued a recall for Shirakiku brand Black Fungus imported from China on September 23, 2020. The product, packed in five-pound bags with the UPC code 00074410604305 and item number 60403, was distributed to restaurants in cartons containing six bags.
The people sickened in this outbreak, who range in age from 2 to 74 years old, told health officials they began experiencing symptoms including diarrhea, abdominal cramps and fever on dates ranging from January 21, 2020, to August 26, 2020. DNA tests on the Salmonella Stanley cultured from these patients identified the “genetic fingerprint” of the outbreak strain.
The California Department of Public Health has tested a sample of mushrooms collected from a restaurant associated with an illness cluster and found it to be contaminated with Salmonella. Further tests are underway to determine if the Salmonella fingerprint from the product matches the one cultured from the people who were sickened. This investigation is ongoing.
If you are part of this outbreak and would like a free consultation with an experienced Salmonella lawyer, please contact the Pritzker Hageman Salmonella Legal Team. We have represented clients in every major Salmonella outbreak in the U.S. You can reach us by calling 1-888-377-8900, sending a text to 612-261-0856, or by completing the form below. There is no obligation and we don’t get paid unless we win.