The federal food safety agency is warning the public not to eat green onions sold at Highland Farms grocery stories in North York and Scarborough because they may be contaminated with salmonella.
The onions were sold July 30 and 31 and Aug. 1 at five Highland Farms supermarkets in the Greater Toronto Area, including at 4750 Dufferin St. north of Finch Avenue in North York and at 850 Ellesmere Rd. west of Kennedy Road and 148 Bennett Rd. southeast of Morningside and Lawrence avenues in Scarborough.Salmonella is a serious food-borne illness, according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.The agency first issued the warning about green onions sold at the North York Highland Farms store on Sat. Aug. 14 but has since expanded its alert.In healthy people, salmonella can cause high fever, severe headaches, vomiting, nausea, diarrhea and abdominal pain. Long-term complications include severe arthritis,In young children, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems, it can cause serious and sometimes deadly infections.Food contaminated with salmonella may not look or smell spoiled.The affected green onions were sold unwrapped with a rubber band. There is no code sticker, UPC or product name on the individual bunch of onions.For more information, consumers and industry can call the agency at 1-800-442-2342 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Friday.For more information about salmonella, visit the agency's food facts web page at www.inspection.gc.ca/english/fssa/concen/cause/salmonellae.shtml