The Minnesota Department of Agriculture on Thursday cautioned consumers not to eat fresh cilantro sold at certain stores after routine testing found a sample of the herb with salmonella.

The agency is working with the FDA and California regulatory agencies to determine the source of this product.

The fresh cilantro was sold in bunches shipped to retail stores in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan between July 26 and Aug. 6, 2012. A list of stores where the product was sold is available on the MDA website at www.mda.state.mn.us. All retail stores that received the cilantro have been notified to remove this product from store shelves.

MDA advises consumers who bought the cilantro bunches not to eat them and to throw them out or return them to the store where purchased for a refund. No confirmed illnesses have been reported in association with this cilantro.

Salmonella cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in very young children, frail or elderly people and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy people infected with salmonella often experience diarrhea, fever and abdominal pain.

STAFF REPORT