According to the FDA, one of the largest onion outbreaks was most likely caused by contaminated water
The US Food and Drug Administration found no definitive evidence as to what caused last year's huge Salmonella outbreak caused by red onions, which resulted in 1 127 confirmed illnesses in the US and 515 in Canada. According to the FDA, this was the biggest onion outbreak in a decade - red onions had actually never been linked to an outbreak before.
The source of the outbreak was linked to red onions grown by Thomson International, which has facilities in Holtville and Bakersfield, California. Samples were taken from various sites in both facilities by federal and state authorities, who discovered several forms the crop may have been infected. Several different strains of Salmonella were found in a field where onions were grown, investigators suspect it was most likely contamination in irrigation water. Although investigators were not able to find a Salmonella strain that was perfectly matching the one linked to the outbreak, they did collect samples from onion farms throughout the region. Salmonella was found in samples from ten different sites, according to the study.
The standards for water quality and inspection for most operations are still in the rulemaking process, even though the FDA has been working on enforcing food safety legislation for agricultural operations through the Food Safety Modernization Act's Produce Safety Provision. Nevertheless, produce growers and processors are urged to take preventive steps, regarding water monitoring and treatment, and improve their traceability system so that outbreak sources can be rapidly and easily identified.
Before these things will be completely enforced, the onion outbreak and the study on it serve as reminders to the industries that organizational improvements must be made sooner rather than later.
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