A total of 39 people infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Litchfield were reported from 4 states – California, Arizona, Texas and Illinois.

Illnesses started on dates ranging from June 14, 2022, to October 23, 2022 (see timeline). Sick people ranged in age from 1 to 80 years, with a median age of 33, and 66% were female. Of 32 people with information available, 15 were hospitalized. No deaths were reported.

Several sick people in the outbreak were identified as a part of three illness clusters at restaurants. An illness cluster is defined as two or more people who do not live in the same household who report eating food from the same retail location before getting sick. If several unrelated sick people ate food from the same retail location, it suggests that the contaminated food item was served or sold there. FDA’s investigation traced the source of fresh, raw salmon eaten by sick people in the illness clusters back to Mariscos Bahia, Inc.

FDA collected an environmental sample that included multiple swabs at Mariscos Bahia, Inc., in Pico Rivera, California. Salmonella was identified from multiple environmental swabs collected at the facility. WGS indicated that Salmonella detected in at least one of the swabs from the facility was the outbreak strain.

On October 20, 2022, Mariscos Bahia, Inc. voluntarily recalled the following list of fresh (not frozen) fish: fresh salmon fillet, fresh deep skin salmon fillet, fresh salmon portions, Chilean seabass (fillet and portions), halibut (fillet and portions), tuna (fillet and portions), and swordfish (loin, fillet, and wheel). The firm shipped recalled product between June 14, 2022-October 17,2022. Businesses should not sell or serve recalled fish.

Salmonella:  Marler Clark, The Food Safety Law Firm, is the nation’s leading law firm representing victims of Salmonella outbreaks. The Salmonella lawyers of Marler Clark have represented thousands of victims of Salmonella and other foodborne illness outbreaks and have recovered over $800 million for clients.  Marler Clark is the only law firm in the nation with a practice focused exclusively on foodborne illness litigation.  Our Salmonella lawyers have litigated Salmonella cases stemming from outbreaks traced to a variety of foods, such as cantaloupe, tomatoes, ground turkey, salami, sprouts, cereal, peanut butter, and food served in restaurants.  The law firm has brought Salmonella lawsuits against such companies as Cargill, ConAgra, Peanut Corporation of America, Sheetz, Taco Bell, Subway and Wal-Mart.  

If you or a family member became ill with a Salmonella infection, including Reactive Arthritis or Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), after consuming food and you’re interested in pursuing a legal claim, contact the Marler Clark Salmonella attorneys for a free case evaluation.