Tomatoes Source Of Latest Salmonella Outbreak
Salmonella has again been in the news a lot lately, from contaminated tomatoes to other vegetables.
What is salmonella? Salmonella is a food-borne intestinal illness that can range in severity from a mild upset stomach to death. It is our most common food related bacterial illness, with over a million cases a year in the United States and perhaps two thousand or more deaths.
In this country, it costs an average of about $1,300 per case to treat the infection. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that the number of deaths worldwide due to salmonella infections numbers in the millions. The disease is caused by several of the bacterial strains of the bacterial Salmonella genus.
Salmonella have been around forever. Alexander the Great died in 323 BC. Based on his symptoms recorded by the Greek author Arrian of Nicomedia, modern scientists believe his death was due to a salmonella infection.
More than 6,000 New World settlers died of salmonella in the Jamestown settlement between 1607 and 1624, basically wiping out the colony. In Queen Victoria’s day in England, about 50,000 of the populace died each year from salmonella, including her consort, Prince Albert, in 1861.
Salmonella infections have always plagued combatants in warfare. More than 20,000 Americans died from the disease in the Spanish American War in 1898. In the Boer War in South Africa at about the same time, 13,000 soldiers succumbed to salmonella, compared to only 8,000 killed in battle.
There basically are two types of salmonella infection. The most serious type is typhoid fever, caused by two different strains. The vast majority of cases, however, is nontyphoidal and is caused by contaminated food. About five percent of the cases are caused by pets, particularly reptiles (especially the Iguana) and birds.
Food-contamination cases have been linked to cheeses, fresh fruits and vegetables (a recent cantaloupe outbreak), juices, dry cereals, ice cream premixes, dairy foods, sea food and other sources, including beef, pork and other meats. Ten restaurants in Dallas with salad bars were the source of another recent outbreak. The single greatest sources of infection, however, are poultry products and, especially, eggs.
The source that has received the most intense recent attention is the fresh tomato. Last year there were major outbreaks attributed to peanut butter.
The year before it was Cadbury Swapper chocolate bars, Hershey chocolates, and even Wild Kitty Kat food. And the year before that in this country, similar major outbreaks were linked to Orchard Island orange juice, soft cheeses, raw milk, almonds and frozen chicken.
Tomatoes are a recurring problem. In the current outbreak, no grocery chain, particular farm, or other specific source has been identified. Full-sized round tomatoes, and especially the Roma variant, have been identified as posing the greatest risk. Those tomatoes sold in the market that are still on the vine are probably safe, as are all home grown tomatoes.
One single bacterium contaminating a food can increase to 16 million bacteria within eight hours at warm, un-refrigerated temperatures. It requires only several hundred thousand bacteria in an exposure to cause human salmonella infection. The incubation period in the body before symptoms appear is about six to 72 hours. The symptoms include nausea, vomiting diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps. The disease may mimic acute appendicitis and other inflammatory bowel diseases.
In healthy people, the disease is generally self-limited, even without treatment, and lasts for about three to seven days. In those who are infirm or have a compromised immune system, the outcome may be fatal. Antibiotics are not recommended for patients with uncomprimised gastroenteritis because treating an infected person with antibiotics may prolong the course of the illness and induce a chronic carrier state.
About 0.5 percent or fewer of those with nontyphoidal salmonella and approximately 3.0 percent of those with typhoidal salmonella become chronically infected and can become carriers of the disease that infect others. The most famous carrier was “Typhoid Mary” Mallon of New York, a cook in private homes who went from residence to residence eventually infecting hundreds.
Salmonella diseases can be avoided and eliminated by safe handling, proper cooking and careful storage of foods, except of course where there is a major contamination in our food supply, as occurred with the tainted peanut butter.
The first line of defense is cleanliness and good hygiene. It is important to keep your hands, working areas, and all utensils immaculately clean. When cutting poultry, which is a major source of salmonella contamination, use a separate cutting board.
Potentially contaminated cutting boards can be adequately cleaned by running them through the dishwasher. At a minimum, always at least wash all boards and knives with hot soapy water. Use a thermometer to make sure all meats are cooked to an adequate internal temperature.
Keep hot foods hot (140 degrees F or warmer) and cold foods cold (40 degrees F or cooler). Tomatoes should be cooked at 145 degrees for at least 15 seconds to kill salmonella. It is important to serve foods that contain eggs, milk or meat soon after preparation.
Refrigerating leftover foods adequately also helps. Avoid purchasing damaged of bruised tomatoes. Once tomatoes have been prepared, they need to be refrigerated within two hours.
Salmonella infections are generally memorable events and ones you would be better off avoiding.
There is no way you can totally protect yourself at this time, for the most part, but you can significantly reduce your risks by being careful.
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