Costco Rotisserie Chicken Salad Found to be the Cause of E. Coli Cases in 7 States

Centers for Disease Control and public health partners are investigating an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 infections in 7 states linked to Costco rotisserie chicken salad.

At least 19 people have been sickened from the chicken in California, Missouri, Virginia, Washington, Colorado, Montana and Utah, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday.

The epidemiologic evidence available to investigators at this time suggests that rotisserie chicken salad made and sold in Costco stores is a likely source of this outbreak. The ongoing investigation has not identified what specific ingredient in the chicken salad is linked to illness.

Consumers who purchased rotisserie chicken salad from any Costco store in the U.S. on or before November 20, 2015, should not eat it and should throw it away.

• The product is labeled “Chicken Salad made with Rotisserie Chicken” with item number 37719 on the label.
• The product has a typical shelf life of 3 days.
• Even if some of the rotisserie chicken salad has been eaten and no one has gotten sick, throw the rest of the product away.

Rotisserie chicken salad purchased from Costco could be contaminated with E. coli and may make people sick.

• Contact your health care provider if you think you may have become ill from eating rotisserie chicken salad from Costco.
• Most people infected with Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) develop diarrhea (often bloody) and abdominal cramps an average of 3-4 days after swallowing the germ.