Salmonella outbreaks in US

Dear Forum,

Got this shockin news from Yahoo! In case you wondering about stuff like this...

http://news.yahoo.co...onella_tomatoes


Regards,


Arya

Isn't it odd that an outbreak that was once associated with chickens and eggs now seems to appear in almost any food but. Lately it's turned up in peanut butter, tomatoes, Cadbury Schweppes chocolate bars, Hershey's chocolate,"Wild Kitty" Cat Food, basil, orange juice, soft cheese, raw milk, almonds and frozen chicken. Surprisingly, there have been no major outbreaks involving chicken eggs!

But, according to the CDC:

Every year, approximately 40,000 cases of salmonellosis are reported in the United States. Because many milder cases are not diagnosed or reported, the actual number of infections may be thirty or more times greater. Salmonellosis is more common in the summer than winter.

Children are the most likely to get salmonellosis. The rate of diagnosed infections in children less than five years old is about five times higher than the rate in all other persons. Young children, the elderly, and the immunocompromised are the most likely to have severe infections. It is estimated that approximately 400 persons die each year with acute salmonellosis.

What we have happening now is the discovery of salmonella in products that were once considered a very low risk (but a risk nonetheless) and some active media scaremongering.

An interesting page can be found on the CDC website where it shows the various salmonella strain outbreaks in a map form. Granted, it's a map of the USA but it's still a good idea.

http://www.cdc.gov/s.../outbreaks.html

Even tomatoes are not spared from the salmonella outbreak but in the case of such veggies that happens mainlhy due to shoddy cleaning. There have been cases of salmonella outbreak on account of unwashed tables, unwashed utensils and so on. It is often a case of laziness on our part that contributes to this huge increase in salmonella outbreaks.

Dear Sirius and Sandman,

Surely, the hygiene procedures is become a critical issue for the Salmonella outbreaks. I mean how come, veggies that usually linked by coliform and E. coli issue now become major cause for a catastrophe outbreaks? Beside the hygiene problems, I am also suspecting the transportation. Ive seen a literature (I forget the exactly) that mention there has been a major Salmonella outbreaks which caused by Ice Cream. And after investigation, the authorities found that the troublesome ice cream is transported together with eggs and other poultry products. Its obvious, how a simple misshandling can lead into major disaster...

Regards,


Arya

Yes, I believe you are referring to the incident in Minnesota (U.S.) resulting from contamination of pasteurized ice cream premix during transport in tanker trailers that had previously carried nonpasteurized liquid eggs containing S. enteritidis.


http://content.nejm....ull/334/20/1281

Tim