CDC, public health and regulatory officials in several states, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS) investigated a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis infections.

Epidemiologic, laboratory, and traceback data showed that raw frozen breaded stuffed chicken products produced at the P-2375 Serenade Foods facility in Milford, Indiana, made people sick.

A total of 36 people infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Enteritidis were reported from 11 states. Illnesses started on dates ranging from February 21, 2021 to August 16, 2021. Of 32 people with available information, 12 were hospitalized. No deaths were reported.

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture collected five raw frozen breaded stuffed chicken products from a grocery store where a sick person purchased these products. Testing identified the outbreak strain in two samples of Kirkwood’s Chicken Cordon Bleu. USDA-FSIS and Indiana officials collected unopened packages of Kirkwood Chicken, Broccoli and Cheese from a sick person’s house for testing and identified the outbreak strain in the product. USDA-FSIS investigated and found that these products were produced at facility P-2375.

WGS analysis of bacteria from 36 sick people’s samples and 5 food samples did not predict any antibiotic resistance. Testing of three sick people’s samples using standard antibiotic susceptibility testing methods by CDC’s National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS) laboratory also showed no resistance.

On August 9, 2021, Serenade Foods recalled approximately 59,251 pounds of frozen raw breaded stuffed chicken that bore establishment number “P-2375” inside the USDA mark of inspection.

The outbreak was declared over on October 13, 2021.