In yet another gross round of illness related to contaminated food, NBC News is reporting that bagged salad is the cause of an outbreak of parasite-borne food poisoning.
Health officicals in Iowa and Nebraska on Tuesday cited bagged salad mix as the source of cylospora—a severe stomach bug - that sickened at least 145 residents in Iowa and 78 in Nebraska.
Cyclospora is a rare parasite that causes a lengthy gastrointestinal illness, and outbreaks of the illness have been reported in 15 states. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday that it's not clear whether all of the illnesses are linked to a single source.
While not specifiying a brand (which we'd really really like to know) Nebraska officials said the bagged salad included iceberg and romaine lettuce, along with red cabbage and carrots, which was available at national chains. They are working with the US Food and Drug Administration to determine if the lettuce came from the same farm or producer. While we hate wasting food, if you suspect you have a mix like this in your home, you may want to throw it out.
Gathering information has been a challenge for the FDA, because the salads were eaten over the past few weeks (and here's the good news), and the product is no longer available in stores. At this time no recall has been issued.
A version of this story originally appeared on iVillage.