CDC Warns People to Throw Away Their Onions Amid Salmonella Outbreak

If you have some onions in your kitchen, the CDC says you need to throw them out.

There’s currently a Salmonella outbreak that has sickened more than 600 people in 37 states, all stemming from onions, according to federal health officials.

"Throw away any unlabeled onions at home. Do not eat, sell, or serve red, white, or yellow onions imported from Mexico and distributed U.S.-wide by ProSource Inc," the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tweeted.

Not only have 652 people fallen ill with salmonella, 129 of them have been hospitalized. No deaths have been reported yet.

"Epidemiologic and traceback data show that one source of infections in this outbreak are whole red, white, and yellow onions imported from Chihuahua, Mexico, and distributed throughout the United States by ProSource Inc," the CDC said in a statement.

Some of the people who contracted the infection ate at the same restaurant, officials said. 

Officials believe the number of people actually infected may be higher due to the fact that some are able to recover without being tested. There’s also a possibility the outbreak is in more than 37 states, according to officials

People should not only throw away their onions, but wash down their surfaces that had contact with the onions, officials said. 

Symptoms of Salmonella include: bloody diarrhea and a high fever, extensive vomiting and signs of dehydration.

About 1.35 million Salmonella cases occur annually in the US, with about 420 deaths, according to the CDC.

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