The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced an expanded recall of frozen vegetables as a salmonella outbreak has sickened 11 people — including one in Florida — and hospitalized four.
The Chetak LLC Group first initiated a recall on multiple lots of its frozen sprouted beans on July 16 after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) linked the products to a multi-state salmonella outbreak.
The recall has since been expanded twice: once on Aug. 22 for mixed frozen vegetable products and again on Sept. 8 to cover a wider spread of beans and fruit and vegetable mixes that were created using the same equipment from Dec. 18, 2024 to Aug. 18, 2025. Production has stopped while the company investigates to find the source of the contamination.
“Salmonella is an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems,” the FDA said. “Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.
“In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis.”
All of the impacted products were from the Deep brand and were distributed nationwide through retail locations and mail orders, according to the FDA notice.
Chetak LLC Group includes six companies, including Chetak Orlando LLC in Kissimmee.
Which products are included in the recall?
Originally, on July 16, the following products were recalled:
The next recall on Aug. 22 expanded to include:
The latest recall on Sept. 8 added a wide variety of Deep=branded frozen fruits and vegetables, including:
Where did people get sick from Salmonella in the frozen vegetable outbreak?
As of Sept. 10, the CDC is reporting the following:
What to do if you have a recalled product
Any recalled products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase for a full refund.
Anyone who has purchased or received the recalled products should carefully clean and sanitize any surfaces or containers they could have come in contact with with hot, soapy water. If you suspect you may have become ill as a result of eating contaminated food, the FDA advises contacting your healthcare professional.
“For all other frozen vegetables, please cook thoroughly,” the FDA said.
What is salmonella?
“Salmonella are bacteria that make people sick,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says on its fact page.
Salmonella can make people ill with diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps which can last from four days up to a week. Symptoms usually begin six hours to six days after infection, the CDC said. Most cases of Salmonella infections pass, but some people may need to be hospitalized.
Salmonella bacteria cause “about 1.35 million infections, 26,500 hospitalizations, and 420 deaths in the United States every year,” the CDC said. “Food is the source for most of these illnesses.”
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Frozen vegetable recall expanded. Salmonella outbreak sickens 11, including in Florida
Reporting by C. A. Bridges and Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
