Usually we think of eating salad as a good, healthy thing to do. Usually we would probably be right, but certain bagged salads have been causing people in the Midwest to get sick over the past couple months.

If you shop at ALDI, Hy-Vee or Jewel-Osco, check your refrigerator to see if you have any of the following brands of bagged salad:

• ALDI Little Salad Bar brand Garden Salad
• Hy-Vee brand 12-ounce bagged Garden Salad
• Jewel-Osco Signature Farms brand 12-ounce bagged Garden Salad

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a recall for these salad brands due to an outbreak of a parasite that has already caused 122 people in the Midwest to get sick. In a total of 7 states, health officials are reporting patients with confirmed cases of Cyclospora infections, and these infections are linked to these bagged salads. So far, nobody has died, but 19 people have been hospitalized.

The CDC recommends throwing away these bagged salads even if you have already eaten some of it and haven’t gotten sick. If you’re not sure if your salad brand has been recalled, play it safe and throw it away, especially if you live in one of the following states: Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin.

 

The most common symptom of a Cyclospora infection is watery diarrhea, but other common symptoms include weight loss, loss of appetite, cramping, bloating, nausea, fatigue and increased gas. Other less common symptoms include a low-grade fever and vomiting.

If you have symptoms of a Cyclospora infection, call your doctor, write down what you have eaten for the previous two weeks, and report your illness to the health department.