Costco Points to Vegetable Mix as Possible Source of Bacterial Infections

Costco Wholesale Corp. said federal investigators are examining whether the celery and onion mix used in the retailer's rotisserie chicken salad was the source of an E. coli outbreak that infected 19 people.

Costco vice president responsible for food safety Craig Wilson said there is no problem with the retailer's rotisserie chickens which it continues to sell. No further infections have been reported, Mr. Wilson said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said five people had been hospitalized and two developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a type of kidney failure. Costco's Mr. Wilson said all of the hospitalized people have been discharged. The majority of the infections were in the western U.S., the CDC said.

The retailer removed the chicken salad from its shelves after the CDC notified the company of the issue on Friday.

Another recent E. coli outbreak, linked to Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc., widened from the Pacific Northwest to other states, the CDC said Friday. The CDC said 45 people have become ill from the E. coli strain linked to Chipotle. Chipotle said it has conducted deep cleaning at the restaurants that have been linked to the incident, replaced ingredients in those restaurants and changed food-preparation procedures.

The Costco product being investigated is labeled "Chicken Salad made with Rotisserie Chicken" with item number 37719.

Costco, the second-largest U.S. retailer behind Wal-Mart Stores Inc., said on Nov. 4 that sales at established stores fell 1% in October, as total sales rose 1% to $8.78 billion. Costco operates 690 warehouses, including 482 in the U.S. and Puerto Rico.

Write to Sarah Nassauer at [e-mail]

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 25, 2015 16:35 ET (21:35 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2015 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.