Hundreds of Illnesses Linked to Salmonella Smoked Salmon

Smoked salmon contaminated with Salmonella is responsible for sickening hundreds of people in the Netherlands and the United States, according to Dutch public health officials. Multiple news outlets reported the outbreak late Monday, but U.S. public health officials have not released any information about the outbreak. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration referred Food Safety News to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC spokeswoman Lola Russell told Food Safety News that the agency is in the early stages of an investigation and had nothing to report yet. According to an international wire service, the product linked to the outbreak was made in a Dutch fish factory owned by Foppen. At least 200 people have fallen ill in the Netherlands and 100 people people have been infected with the same strain of Salmonella in the U.S., but, as the Dutch National Institute for Public Health (RIVM) noted in a statement, "The real number of infected people is likely to be higher." Foppen apparently supplied smoked fish to major grocery chains in the Netherlands. Dutch health officials have ordered a recall. "An international recall is being prepared," added RIVM. © Food Safety News More Headlines from World »