At least 338 in 20 states and Puerto Rico have been found to be ill with Salmonella in connection to an outbreak from chicken produced by Foster Farms, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That number is up 21 illnesses from the last reported number of 317.
At least 40 percent of victims have been hospitalized, and 75 percent reside in California.
Foster Farms has not initiated a recall, instead opting to comply with U.S. Department of Agriculture requests to mitigate issues at three central California facilities tied to the outbreak.
Kroger Co. stores, which also include Fred Meyer, Fry’s, King Soopers and others, pulled implicated packages of Foster Farms chicken from their shelves earlier this month.
The products involved in the outbreak are identified by one of three USDA mark of inspection numbers: P6137, P6137A and P7632.
On Thursday, Costco stores expanded an earlier recall of rotisserie chickens from one stores in South San Francisco, Calif., in connection to the outbreak.
Persons infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Heidelberg, by State as of October 17, 2013
Persons infected with the outbreak strains of Salmonella Typhimurium, by date of illness onset as of October 17, 2013
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