Onions Are Being Recalled Due to Salmonella Outbreak
Check your onions!
Thomson International of Bakersfield California is recalling all of their onions due to possible salmonella contamination. The onions have been shipped to all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Canada.
The onions were sold under the brand names Thomson Premium, TLC Thomson International, Tender Loving Care, El Competitor, Hartley’s Best, Onions 52, Majestic, Imperial Fresh, Kroger, Utah Onions and Food Lion. They were sold in 5lbs cartons, 10lb cartons, 25lb cartons, 40lb cartons, 50lb cartons, 2lb mesh sacks, 3lb mesh sacks, 5lb mesh sacks, 10lb mesh sacks, 25lb mesh sacks and 50lb mesh sacks.
Note that if you’re unable to tell what brand of onions you have at home, the FDA is recommending to toss them just to be safe. Note that the FDA is still investigating the salmonella outbreak and you can read more about it here.
Head here for more information on the recall.
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(Thanks, Benjamin!)
I know onions aren’t high dollar items but I always wonder when this happens-are most people just put their money? I mean I’m not going to go back to Kroger with my meat or onions or whatever that’s contaminated and who knows where my receipt is. The only time I’ve ever gotten refunded on a recall was with Sam’s club meat and that’s because it’s in their system as a recall and they store your purchase history. I had to drive 30 minutes to get the refund but I’d bought 2 bulk containers of meat so figured that was worth it. What do most people do? I feel like I always have these products-salads and meat and now I just bought onions last week, but I never get the refund.
I don’t often have the recalled products, but I hear you on this. We are on a budget and I hate just tossing food that we paid for. It’s frustrating to just be out the money.
I feel like the company which the FDA pinpointed as distributing tainted products should offer refunds to everyone who CLAIMS a purchase of the product with or without a receipt. What the company can’t trust a person’s word?? We the people trust that the are selling us a product that is safe for consumption, if not give a refund without question with limit of 1 bag quantity. Please let’s not be petty about refunds. Your customers will respect your decision and your company will have customers for generations into the future.
Agreed, especially now when stores aren’t taking returns at all. Even if you happen to have the receipt you can’t bring it back.
I personally can’t be bothered with recalls like this. In my opinion everything we buy can be “possibly contaminated”. People are gross, and before it gets to the store I’m sure it touches many unwashed hands. If we went by that, we’d be throwing out all meat, fruit, and veggies. I make sure to wash and dry all produce and make sure to store my meat correctly and cook it properly. I understand this doesn’t get rid of it, but I can’t spend everyday worrying if a salad is going to make me sick.
If you used your Kroger rewards card at check out they can look up your order vs finding a receipt. If you used a debit card they can also look it up.
i completely agree. recently spent 7$ on gluten free hamburger buns for my daughter. the next day went to use them and were covered in mold. store wouldn’t return or exchange due to covid. okay i get that but you can see the product has green hair you don’t need to touch it to give me a new one
I took back some gross drinks at Walmart this last couple weeks. Surprisingly they are taking returns.
Luckily walmart isn’t considered a grocery store so they didn’t suspend their return policy.
They did suspend their return policy at my store. They wouldn’t take any food returns for quite a few months. I believe it is back to normal but they did suspend returns for a time.
I have yellow onions included in a mail order vegetable food box I subscribe to. These have a sticker on them which says Ray Farms Vidalia Sweet Onion with the number 4159. Can anyone tell me if these are included in the recall?
Yes they are!!!
Does this include the Peak Walmart brand of Onions ?
Was wondering that myself
No, I did a search and there is a list of Wal Marts and the brand names
I don’t like wasting food either, but salmonella is miserable and the treatment is expensive. I had it years ago with the peanut butter in protein bars. I thank God for the urgent care doctor that recognized it and I feel saved my life. If a family all got salmonella, I can’t even imagine the misery. HTH ease the wasteful feeling, my fellow H2Savers!
I took some fruit back to the grocery and they refunded my money just two days ago. That’s not the only time either. So yes take it back and get your refund if you have a problem.
I have a full bag that I would probably return to the store if we were not in these current times. It is frustrating that money has been made off of these for the last few months and the consumer is expect to just throw out the onions at a personal loss. It’s not a lot of money, but it’s still a waste at a time when budgets are really tight for so many.
I agree. Each individual may only be out a little bit of money, but the amount the company has made off of us is frustrating. We are on a very tight budget so any loss is upsetting.
Thanks for heads up! We buy a ton of onions, like each week! Can u verify if organic is safe? We typically don’t buy them organic b/c it’s not classified under the dirty dozen. However, I would purchase organic if those weren’t necessarily affected. Thanks!
I thought everything could be possibly contaminated. Organic also doesn’t mean pesticide/chemical free, there’s just rules against what they use. I would think organic would be more susceptible. Knowledge is power though, read every article you can.
Yeah, everything I keep hearing is organic is much better overall than conventional. Even though there may be trace amounts of pesticides and chemicals, it’s a lot less. Over time, that accumulates in our bodies. The Organic seal – USDA has strict guidelines for products to be labeled Organic. So that’s good news. But you may be right, the chemicals may help kill the salmonella. Maybe for these recall purposes..choose local produce and food items:)
And how do you know for sure a product is grown organically? I always wonder about that. Does the FDA or some government department i spect each farm regularly?
Does anyone know if the onions sold by Aldi are included? The tag says it came from UT and didn’t have any of the names listed.
Ok I think I’m ok. Mine say onions 52. It’s only 2lbs. But should I return them????
Yours is included in the post. It’s completely up to you though.
I just checked my bag of white onions and unfortunately, yes it is included: “Onions 52”.
I was there onMonday. I purchased a 3 pack. The store personnel started their onions were not from Thompson International. If you are scared, cooking kills salmonella.
A lot of recalls when the food should have been checked before it was delivered.
Just wondering if recalls are not an excuse to raise prices. Or sell to a country willing to pay higher prices.
Anytime a recall, our prices seem to go up!
Maybe they should dock the pay of the ones responsible for the checking!
The article says cooking does not kill salmonella???
Cooking to a proper temperature most definitely kills Salmonella. That’s why we cook chicken before we eat it and why you can’t get chicken “medium rare.”
I store my onions with potatoes. Will potatoes get contaminated too? If bacteria does travel, then it is not safe all over the house. If it does not, then cooking the food to 167F for 10 min kill salmonella and it will be safe to eat.
You’d be cooking your potatoes. This is for ppl who eat raw onions. If cooked salmonella dies
Not necessarily. Friend made French onion soup…..onions sauté a long time before adding broth. She and her husband both got sick
Salmonella dies at 165 degrees, so they didn’t get sick from sautéed onions. Now if they cut up a salad on the contaminated cutting board after they cut their onions, then of course they could get sick from that.
winnie, advise to NOT store your potatoes & onions even near each other
I do imperfect produce for most of my fruit and veggies these days and they informed me of the recall yesterday and gave me a credit on my account for the onions I have bought that might have been impacted. They were very professional and I was very impressed!
I have Bland farm Visalia sweet onions and Tanimura & Antle red onions…I’m assuming they are ok. I am guessing because they are not Thomson International brand. Right? Thank you.
Not sure but I haven’t found that they are the affected onions. I have the same and will probably cook and eat them
I have the same brand but haven’t seen it on the list. I think it’s just Thomson International from my understanding. I haven’t read any recall on the Bland Farms.
They’re from Georgia so I’m hoping they’re ok. I have 2 bags in my refrigerator now.
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I have had salmonella and wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. Most people do recover fairly quickly without complications but others don’t. I had diarrhea for months and lost 30 pounds. It was another 2 months after the diarrhea stopped before I could eat normally. A few bucks for onions or months off work while sick as a dog? My onions are in the trash.
The article states it was mainly red onions but all are being recalled just in case.
Thank you for letting us know. My husband eats onions all the time.
You’re very welcome, Sue!
Hey food growers stop using poop water on the produce! Not all of us are allowed to grow are own gardens.
This is so funny because when recalls like this happen and people I know ask “how could this happen”, I just say “think about the entire growing process….” 💡
Whew! I think I’m safe. The onions I bought from Food Lion are from a local grower. I agree that it’s unfair to have to throw the onions away with no refund or other recourse. $2 is a lot when you don’t have much to begin with.
I wonder about my onion that came with my Every Plate order?
Same!
As an option, you could cook the onions – salmonella instantly dies at 165 degrees. This is the same reason we cook chicken to this same temperature in regular cooking. You can make sure it reaches that temperature with a good thermometer.
I know, right? We would not eat raw chicken because of salmonella risk. I am going to cook my onions to 165 degrees, just like I would raw chicken. Just wouldn’t eat these onions raw or under cooked.
Yes I work at a kitchen in my retirement home and we were told to STOP using onions since Saturday
It’s amazing to me how many fruits & vegetables these days are tainted. And I spent so much time worrying about getting tainted meat. 🙄
The Farmers to Family, Go Fresh and Mercy Chefs are giving out Boxes of fruits and vegetables which contain loose Red onions and 2 lb. bags of yellow onions, here in Oklahoma, daily….. There are no markings on the onions… wow… how is one to know where they came from.
I got the boxes here in Oklahoma as well, and have already consumed several onions. I did cook them, though, as I am not a fan of raw onion. Salmonella is killed at 165 degrees.
If an onion is tainted , you peel the outer layer anyway so you are getting rid of the salmonella right?
If the onion was grown in contaminated soil or watered with contaminated water the entire onion would be affected.
I bought bland farm Vidalia sweet onions. I live in Georgia and this farm is in Glennville ga. Georgia grown a d packed for Bland. Just don’t eat them raw
I bought Bland Farms onions from Georgia, in Oklahoma… I’m beginning to wonder if they made me real sick at my stomach. I was sick for days last week I had eaten onions raw with my food during the week.
Then I took lots of Pepto Bismol and drank Sprite and Gingerale for a few days. I Got better. But tonight I ate onions raw on my hamburger and now I’m real sick at my stomach again. Coincidence ? I’m thinking maybe not. If anyone else finds out anything about these onion in the mesh bag from there plz put it on here. I’m not eating anymore to see if it goes away again. It is bad. My husband complained also about his tummy not feeling right last week a few times too.
This is why class action lawsuits exist.
At Wegmans this past weekend, I got a 2 lb bag of yellow onions. It’s labeled as “Wegmans”….out of NY. I will call them tomorrow just to be on the safe side. I went to Wegmans and then to Kroger and then to Food Lion that day on my grocery run. The price was good at Wegmans. Sure am glad I didn’t get them from Kroger or Food Lion that day.
Thanks for posting this recall info.
No, I did a search and there is a list of Wal Marts and the brand names
Stupid question but if your onions say product of Peru you’re safe correct?
Did you ever get an answer. I have onions from Peru also. ” mayan sweets”
The Bland Farms and Shuman Farms onions should be good by the research I did (those are what I have) and yes – both are out of Georgia. Bland Farms is a colgolumorate of farms in GA but none of the ones recalled.. There are Thompson Brand onions sold to Wal-Mart in Va but not any stores in my area https://corporate.walmart.com/recalls and Food Lion https://www.foodlion.com/customer-service/product-recalls/ – also look at the premade food list too (like chicken salad & such) Hope this helps and health and safety to us all
I purchased Bland Farms onions at the Walmart grocery here in VA which research indicated was safe. Already eaten onions raw from Krogers with no issues so I guess I got lucky!!
Have charley Johnson onions from Walmart been recalled
Mine say sweetie sweet
4115 ???