Salmonella Is Everywhere
From granola to guacamole, a wide variety of foods have been recalled lately over salmonella risks. Experts say common-sense precautions go a long way.
In the United States, a widespread salmonella outbreak is linked to contaminated jalapeños sourced from Sinaloa, Mexico. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports 431 illnesses across 32 states, with 57 people hospitalized. The affected jalapeños are distributed by Coast Citrus Distributors and have been recalled by various retailers, including Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, Kroger, and Target. Chipotle and Qdoba also stopped serving these jalapeños.
Separately, a salmonella outbreak tied to eggs has sickened 98 people in 17 states, with 26 hospitalizations. Health officials suspect Midwest Poultry Services, but the company's egg recall does not cover all cases, prompting an investigation into other sources. The eggs were produced in Texas, and the company initiated a voluntary recall of 19 million eggs in July.
Another salmonella recall involves Hampton Grocers' Lacnola Lactation Granola, due to a possible contamination risk from organic moringa powder. The moringa ingredient has previously caused salmonella outbreaks in various food products.
Salmonella can also be found in dog food. Oma’s Pride is recalling bags of Woof Complete Canine Chicken Recipe after the FDA identified the product as a source of three dog-related salmonella infections.
Symptoms of salmonella infection include diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps, typically emerging 12 to 72 hours after consuming contaminated food. The bacteria can cause severe illnesses in vulnerable populations, such as young children, the elderly, and those with weakened immune systems.
Food safety expert Ellen Shumaker explains that warmer summer temperatures create ideal conditions for bacteria like salmonella or parasites like cyclospora to grow. Unrefrigerated food left out for over two hours can become unsafe to eat. Salmonella, unlike cyclospora, can affect both humans and animals. In egg-related cases, the Salmonella enteritidis strain infects laying hens, contaminating eggs before the shell forms.
Laying hens can contract salmonella through contaminated feed, water, soil, or contact with infected wildlife.
To prevent salmonella contamination, health officials recommend washing hands before handling food, cleaning food-prep surfaces, refrigerating perishables promptly, cooking foods to safe internal temperatures, and separating raw meat, eggs, and poultry from other foods. Cooking, according to food science professor Edward Dudley, is the most effective method to eliminate salmonella outbreaks, but consuming fresh produce remains a common practice.
Written by urgent.news from Wired Science's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
