Officials say five Minnesotans and four others from North Dakota and Wisconsin have been sickened by e-coli linked primarily to Fresh Express Sunflower Crisp Chopped Salad Kits. Doctor Kirk Smith with the Minnesota Health Department says like the larger national outbreak earlier, “This product has romaine, but I have to stress that we do not know what the contaminated component was, because it also contained other ingredients like kale and red and green cabbage.”
The suspect products have a “use-by” date of December 7th, 2019 and should be thrown out. Smith says if someone believes they’re ill from the contaminated product or otherwise concerned, they shouldn’t hesitate to contact their health care provider. Two of the Minnesota cases were hospitalized. The cases ranged in age from 21 to 91. Four were from the metro area and one from Greater Minnesota.