The spice company, McCormick & Company, has just recalled over 74,000 bottles of ground oregano due to possible salmonella contamination.

A routine US FDA testing of the company's factory and products revealed that the oregano contained salmonella.

Salmonella is a bacteria that causes a weakening of the immune system, diarrhea and nausea associated with food poisoning and, typhoid fever.

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Consuming salmonella can be fatal, especially in young children, the elderly and in individuals who have weak immune systems. Around 500,000 to 600,000 cases of fatal typhoid fever caused by salmonella are reported by the World Health Organization each year.

Three people have already died of salmonella in a recent outbreak in London.

Around 150 have been infected by the bacteria in the UK due to the recent outbreak.

The said patients are among the 34 individuals who caught the bacteria at Birmingham's Heartlands Hospital.

On the other hand, McCormick spokesperson Lori Robinson said that the company is still investigating what cause the salmonella contamination.  

Despite the lack of information regarding the cause of the contamination, McCormick moved quickly to prevent an outbreak.

The company issued a public statement that consumers and grocery stores should be weary of 0.75-ounce bottles of McCormick Ground Oregano which are labeled  with a Universal Product Code of 0-523561-6. The best-buy dates indicated in the recalled bottles are Aug. 21 and Aug. 22.

Consumers and stores were asked to call McCormick for a refund and destroy the products.

The ground oregano were shipped to 41 states and internationally between April 4 and August 5.

Robinson also shared that they don't know yet how much the recall will cost, but that they expect it to be relatively inexpensive.

McCormick assures the public that other products were not contaminated.

For your concerns or refund requests, the company can be contacted at 1-800-632-5847.