Some 90 tons of ready-to-eat salads, wraps recalled

RICHMOND, Calif. More than 90 tons of ready-to-eat salads and sandwiches from a California catering company are being recalled after 26 people in three states were sickened by a bacterial strain of E. coli linked to its products, federal health officials said Sunday.

Richmond-based Glass Onion Catering is recalling approximately 181,620 pounds of salads and sandwich wraps containing cooked chicken and ham, the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service said.

The products were produced between Sept. 23 and Nov. 6, and were shipped to distribution centers in California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Texas. The Contra Costa Times reports the company supplies food to Trader Joe's, Super Fresh Goods and Delish.

Products include select lots of Walgreens' Delish Greek Style Orzo Salad, Asian Style Noodle Salad and Vegetarian Wrap. Some lots of Trader Joe's Classic Greek Salad along with Whole Foods' Southwestern Salad and Wheat Berry Salad are also included.

The FSIS said it began monitoring a cluster of illnesses involving E. coli O157:H7 on Oct. 29 and then was notified by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that California authorities had reported people sickened from eating pre-packaged salads with grilled chicken.

In Washington, three people who were sickened with the bacterium told investigators they ate ready-to-eat salads from Trader Joe's, said Tim Church, a spokesman with the state's Department of Health.

The shiga-toxin producing strain of the bacterial infection, E. coli O157:H7, can cause an illness with bloody diarrhea. Although most healthy adults can recover completely within a week, some people -- including the elderly and young children -- may develop a form of kidney failure called hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), which can lead to serious kidney damage and even death.

The Food and Drug Administration has a full list of products being recalled on its website.