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Salads and Wraps Sold at Trader Joe's, Kroger, Walgreens May Be Contaminated with Cyclospora Parasite

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A Trader Joe's in Pinecrest, Florida.
A Trader Joe's in Pinecrest, Florida. (Image credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Just when you thought it was safe to eat salad again, there's news that more salad products may be contaminated — this time, with a parasite called Cyclospora.

This week, federal officials warned consumers not to eat certain salad and wrap products sold at certain stores, including Kroger, Trader Joe's and Walgreens, according to CNN, because the products may be contaminated with Cyclospora cayetanensis, a microscopic, single-celled parasite that causes intestinal illness.

The products — which include beef, pork and chicken wraps — have "best by," "enjoy by," "best if sold by" or "sell by" dates ranging from July 18 through July 23, 2018, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). A full list of the affected products is available here, and the product labels are available here.

The salad and wrap products were distributed by Caito Foods LLC, which received a notice from its lettuce supplier, Fresh Express, that the chopped romaine used in some of the products was being recalled. [Top 7 Germs in Food That Make You Sick]

Even though the products are past their "best by" dates, the USDA is concerned that they may still be in people's refrigerators. Consumers who have these products should not eat them; rather, people should throw the products away or return them to the place of purchase, the statement said.

The USDA warning comes after an outbreak of Cyclospora tied to McDonald's salads sickened at least 286 people in 15 states. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently announced that the McDonald's outbreak was tied to Fresh Express salad mix, which was distributed to McDonald's.

Earlier this year, a separate outbreak of E. coli tied to romaine lettuce sickened 210 people in 36 states.

Originally published on Live Science.

Rachael Rettner
Rachael Rettner
Contributor

Rachael is a Live Science contributor, and was a former channel editor and senior writer for Live Science between 2010 and 2022. She has a master's degree in journalism from New York University's Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program. She also holds a B.S. in molecular biology and an M.S. in biology from the University of California, San Diego. Her work has appeared in Scienceline, The Washington Post and Scientific American.