By Miriam Raftery

July 9, 2014 (Fresno) -- At least 621 people in 29 states have been sickened by a salmonella outbreak linked to Foster Farms chickens.   The government has  ordered a shut down of one of the company’s facilities in California and a voluntary recall has been issued by the company on chicken products sold at major retail outlets including large grocery store chains as well as military bases.

The outbreak has gone on for 16 months, but the company did not agree to recall most products until early July.  The outbreak includes seven strains of a drug-resistant form of salmonella that makes infections hard to treat.  Almost 40 percent of the victims have been hospitalized and 13 percent developed serious bloodstream infections, NBC news reports.

October 11, 2013 (San Diego) – Nearly two dozen San Diegans have fallen ill with salmonella due to raw chicken products from Foster Farms facilities in California.  However the products were also sold under other brands and store names including Ralph’s, Safeway, Kirkland (sold at CostCo), O Organics, and Eating Rights. 

Foster Farms announced yesterday that it has reached an agreement with federal inspectors to make improvements to its processing.  They company has not recalled products, insisting that cooking the tainted chickens thoroughly eliminates risk.  But Consumer Reports contends that the chicken products should be recalled to protect consumers.