Salmonella is a very confusing bacteria. Every time a new Salmonella outbreak emerges, it is normally associated with a differing form of Salmonella bacteria. This week’s Salmonella strain of importance is Salmonella enteritidis. However, Salmonella enteritidis is only one form of Salmonella bacteria. Three main strains of Salmonella bacteria include Enteritidis, Typhi, and Typhirium. Let’s take... [more]

Typhoid fever is relatively unheard of outside of third world countries. However, this week, California and Nevada both reported incidences of Typhoid fever. Typhoid fever is an illness caused when an individual comes in contact with the bacteria Salmonella typhi. Salmonella typhi is a bacteria that is typically acquired from contaminated food or water. Salmonella typhi can also be found in contaminated... [more]

According to the CDC website: The CDC and FDA are currently investigating an outbreak of Salmonella Typhi which causes typhoid fever. Typhoid fever is a very rare illness in the United States among non-international travelers and can cause serious symptoms, often times requiring hospitalization. Typhoid fever is contracted when food and water are contaminated by an infected individual and are then... [more]

Caldwell Fresh Foods, of Maywood, CA, is voluntarily recalling all alfalfa sprouts manufactured under the Caldwell Fresh Foods, Nature’s Choice, and California Exotics brands, because the alfalfa sprouts may be contaminated with Salmonella. Salmonella is an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune... [more]

Here is a press release we sent out: Louisiana’s Department of Health and Hospitals and other regulatory agencies are investigating a possible foodborne illness outbreak, which left 40 sickened and three dead at Central State Hospital in Pineville, Louisiana. “This is one of the potential hazards associated with institutional dining settings…one tainted food handler or poisoned food item can... [more]

Each of the victims that have been sickened in the mysterious foodborne illness outbreak at Pineville’s Central State Hospital reportedly ate chicken salad before becoming ill. The spokesperson for Louisiana’s Department of Health and Hospitals said they are investigating various things at the hospital including, “the chicken, the lettuce, the mayonnaise” and believe the cause of the illnesses... [more]

It’s hard to miss the hundreds of articles and blogs buzzing around a singular subject, the recently published Pew Charitable Trusts’ commission report on the cost of foodborne illness for the United States. After the numbers provided by the FDA, CDC and USDA (among other government agencies) were crunched, the final cost of foodborne illness was significantly higher than previous estimates, a... [more]

Current CDC estimates suggest that contaminated food causes about 76 million incidents of foodborne illness, 325,000 hospitalizations, and 5000 deaths every year. However, the majority of the food-related illnesses, hospitalizations, and deaths are from unidentified sources. It is estimated that known pathogens account for 14 million illnesses; 60,000 hospitalizations; and about 1800 deaths. Greater... [more]

Here is the continuation of yesterday’s post about the worst foodborne illness complications. Today we cover the top five nastiest complications. 5. Organ Damage Most “simple” food poisonings are anything but simple. While most food pathogens are not considered a serious threat to a normal healthy person, foodborne pathogens can infect and threaten the life of anyone unfortunate enough to... [more]

For most people who get a foodborne illness, it is a 2 or 3 days of sickness followed by a quick recovery with no serious long term effects (except for the memories of how intense a food poisoning illness can be). But for an unfortunate few and their families, a foodborne bacteria, virus or parasite can change everything in an instant. There are quite a few pathogens that use food as a transmission... [more]