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Salads, Sandwiches Sold At Trader Joe's, Whole Foods Recalled Over E. Coli Fears

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Thousands of pre-packaged salad and sandwich products sold in the Southland were being recalled Monday after more than two dozen people were sickened by a strain of E. coli.

KNX 1070's Ed Mertz reports products from the Richmond-based Glass Onion Catering company are sold under a variety of popular labels.

Salads, Sandwiches Sold At Trader Joe's, Whole Foods Recalled Over E. Coli Fears

The firm is recalling approximately 181,620 pounds of its ready-to-eat salads and sandwiches with fully cooked chicken and ham that may be contaminated with E. coli, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced Saturday.

As many as 26 people in three states have been affected by the outbreak of the E. coli strain, which is a potentially deadly bacterium that can cause dehydration, bloody diarrhea and abdominal cramps anywhere between two and eight days after exposure, according to the FSIS.

The recall affects products that were produced between Sept. 23 and Nov. 6, 2013, and shipped to distributions centers intended for retail sale at Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, and Walgreen's stores in Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah and Washington.

A new California food safety law was proposed in 2011 to start controlling outbreaks, but the measure has not been finalized, according to Erik Olson, food programs director at Pew Charitable Trusts.

"We're still sort of treading water, and we don't have our full safety program in place yet.

Glass Onion was founded in 1992 by Northern California native Tom Atherstone, who has worked as a sous chef at the Beverly Hills Hotel's Polo Lounge and has experience working with renowned celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck and others, according to the company's website.

Click here for a full list of affected products.

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