One dead of salmonella poisoning from kosher chicken: CDC

At least one person died and 17 others are ill from salmonella poisoning after eating kosher chicken, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which issued an outbreak warning Thursday.

Ill people interviewed said they had eaten chicken from the Empire Kosher brand. Raw chicken from two facilities, including Empire Kosher, tested positive for the same strain of salmonella sickening the public.

The reported cases of salmonella occurred in four states on the East Coast, with the one death and 11 illnesses reported in New York, four sick in Pennsylvania, one illness in Maryland and one in Virginia. At least eight people have been hospitalized.

The first cases of the outbreak were identified in September and were documented up to June 4, the CDC said in its report. The age range of the patients was from less than one year old to 76 years old, with the average age being 14.

All of those interviewed said they had eaten chicken in the week before they got sick and at least seven people said they ate the brand Empire Kosher.

In a statement on their website, Empire Kosher said they are “shocked and saddened” to learn of a death linked to the salmonella poisoning from chicken but said they have no data that connects it specifically to their brand.

They said they are cooperating with the CDC and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety Inspection Service but have not issued a recall for any products.

“We take food safety and the health of our consumers very seriously and any illness, even potentially linked to our products, is unacceptable. We continue to very aggressively work to ensure the quality and safety of our products,” the company said.

Salmonella infection can cause diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps between 12 and 72 hours after exposure. Most people can recover within four to seven days although it can lead to hospitalizations. Children younger than 5, the elderly and those with compromised immune systems are most vulnerable to developing severe illness from infection.