A salmonella outbreak linked to cashew butter has sickened dozens of young children in Germany and Austria, health officials have warned.
The illnesses are linked to Salmonella Infantis, a form of the bacteria typically associated with contaminated chicken.
Since Germany detected the outbreak in late May, it has reported 52 salmonella cases among children under the age of 5, including 24 hospitalisations.
Another 13 cases have been confirmed in Austria, mostly among young children, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
Health authorities interviewed about two dozen parents, allowing them to identify the culprit behind the outbreak: a ready-to-eat cashew butter that the ECDC said has now been recalled.
According to Germany’s food safety notice, the recalled mousse is a raspberry-flavoured cashew butter sold in supermarkets throughout the country.
Where else has the product been sold?
“Consumption of food contaminated with salmonella can lead to diarrhoea, headaches, abdominal pain, malaise, vomiting, and a mild fever,” the notice said.
“Infants, young children, and the elderly or those with weakened immune systems are particularly at risk and may develop more severe illnesses”.
Beyond Austria and Germany, the cashew butter was sold in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Czechia, Hungary, Italy, Slovakia, and Slovenia – but as of June 4, none of these countries had reported any salmonella cases linked to the food, according to the ECDC.
But that could change, the agency said.
“Given the [mousse’s] long shelf-life, there might still be a possibility for the food products to be present in consumers’ homes,” the ECDC said, meaning additional illnesses could be reported in the coming weeks.
The ECDC is monitoring the incident and has asked countries to share any available data on the outbreak-linked salmonella samples for further analysis.
It is not the only salmonella risk in the European Union recently. In March, the agency issued a warning about “widespread” outbreaks tied to alfalfa seeds from Italy.
