Possible presence of Salmonella Oranienburg in Mexican onions

In Mexico, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, through the National Service for Agrifood Health, Safety and Quality (Senasica), began an investigation on the possible presence of Salmonella Oranienburg in Mexican onions, impulsed by an outbreak of infections in the United States.

As reported by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the supplying company ProSource Inc. (Hailey, Idaho, USA) is currently being investigated. As a precautionary measure, the company voluntarily withdrew from the US market yellow, red and white onions supplied from Chihuahua, Mexico, while the investigation is ongoing. 

The company reported that the onions were last imported at the end of August, however the product can be stored and remain in homes and businesses for months.

According to the CDC, a US salmonella outbreak linked to Mexican onions has sickened more than 650 people in 37 states, at least 129 people have been hospitalized. Almost all of the cases were recorded in August and September, with the highest numbers in Texas and Oklahoma. The US health authority is investigating whether there are other onion suppliers related to the outbreak.

Senasica is in charge of carrying out the samplings that allow confirming or ruling out the presence of the pathogen in Mexican onions and is waiting for the US health authority to share the genomic sequence of the pathogen, to compare it with those existing in Mexico.

In addition, it is recommended to Mexican producers the voluntary application of Contamination Risk Reduction Systems (SRRC) and Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) in order to avoid contamination in fresh fruits and vegetables with chemical, physical or microbiological agents.

The US health authority advise consumers not to buy or eat onions imported from Chihuahua and distributed by ProSource.