Plant-based 'crab' cakes among products recalled in onion Salmonella outbreak

On Friday, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency announced that three products made by The Modern Meat, Inc. had been added to its lengthy list of items recalled as a result of the outbreak. (CFIA)

Vancouver — More products have been recalled as a result of the ongoing Salmonella outbreak in Western Canada, which is linked to red onions imported from the United States.

On Friday, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency announced that three products made by The Modern Meat, Inc. had been added to its lengthy list of items recalled as a result of the outbreak.

Those products are Modern brand Tarragon Remoulade and two different sizes of Modern Meat "Crab" Cakes, which are plant-based and contain no actual crab. They were sold in B.C., Manitoba, and possibly other provinces and territories, according to the CFIA.

The remoulade sauce was sold in 250-millilitre jars and had a "best before" date of Sept. 23, 2020. The cakes were sold in 300-gram packages and packages with six, 50-gram cakes inside. Both packs were labeled best before Jan. 18, 2021.

More details about the products, including their universal product codes, can be found on the CFIA website.

The products were made with onions grown by Thomson International Inc., the California-based company to which the Salmonella outbreak has been traced. The CFIA advises anyone who has purchased the affected products to either throw them out or return them to where they were purchased.

The same advice applies to a long list of products - including raw red, yellow, white and sweet yellow onions, as well as several items made from them - that have been recalled previously. If you don't know where your onion was grown, you should not consume it, the CFIA says.

As of Friday, 339 people across the country have contracted Salmonella during the current outbreak, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada. Most of the affected people are in Alberta (208 cases) and B.C. (78), though there have also been cases in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Prince Edward Island.

Most people who contract Salmonella recover fully after a few days, but children ages five and younger, as well as older adults, pregnant people and those with weakened immune systems face a greater risk of serious illness, according to the PHAC.

The agency says symptoms of Salmonella include fever, chills, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, headache, nausea and vomiting. They typically start six to 72 hours after exposure and last four to seven days.