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You might want to think twice before you go on a sushi binge. A salmonella outbreak stemming from frozen raw tuna distributed to restaurants and grocery stores has left 62 people in 11 states ill.
The most reported cases have been in California. There have not been any reported deaths, but 11 people have been hospitalized, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Most of the people who fell ill said they ate sushi made with raw tuna in the same week they got sick. The youngest person who fell ill is under 1 years old, and the oldest is 83.
Osamu Corporation, a company from Gardena, Calif., announced on Tuesday two voluntary recalls of their frozen yellowfin tuna that came from their processing plant in Indonesia. One of the recalls is of the tuna that was distributed to AFC Corporation, a sushi-making company in Rancho Dominguez, Calif. that distributes their products to grocery stores, from May 20 to May 26. Their sushi comes in rectangular plastic trays with clear lids, and the affected lot number is 68568. (Visit this website to see the stores where AFC distributes to throughout the nation.) AFC has removed their sushi product from distribution and is destroying the affected products, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Osamu has also recalled their frozen tuna sold to restaurants and grocery stores throughout the U.S. from May 9 to July 9. The products can be identified by purchase order numbers 8563 through 8599 that you can find on each carton box.
People who become ill from the salmonella bacteria usually experience these symptoms about 12 to 72 hours after exposure: diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps.
Besides California, the other cases of illness coming from frozen tuna were reported in Arizona, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, South Dakota, Virgina, Washington and Wisconsin.
