The summer season is high time for foodborne illness outbreaks, and 2013 is shaping up to be no different.
Salmonella has sickened 316 people across 37 states, according to a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. No deaths have been reported, though more than 150 individuals have been hospitalized. Earlier in the summer, raw vegetables sickened almost 600 people across 22 states.
Live poultry in backyard flocks are to blame for the most recent salmonella outbreak — specifically, chicks from a mail-order hatchery, which supplies poultry to agricultural feed stores, in New Mexico. Privett Hatchery in Portales, N.M. sells live baby chickens, ducks and other poultry by mail.
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More than 80 percent of sick individuals reported contact with live poultry in the week before their illness began. More than 97 percent reported purchasing live poultry; a total of 113 feed stores have been identified as sources of the salmonella-infected animals, the CDC found.
The CDC and the New Mexico Department of Health warn that sick poultry may not show signs of infection. “Salmonella can be present in the droppings of chicks and other baby birds, even though the animals themselves usually won’t show signs of illness," said New Mexico Department of Health public health veterinarian Paul Ettestad in a press release. "This makes it easy for people to let their guard down, and that’s when they run the risk of getting Salmonella.”
Salmonella is a bacteria that causes diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps 12 to 72 hours after infection, according to the CDC. Every year, approximately 42,000 cases of salmonellosis are reported in the United States — though CDC experts believe the actual figure is 30-times higher, as most people recover without treatment, so their cases are never reported.
Salmonella is most commonly found in undercooked meat or poultry, dairy and eggs.
It can also strike plant-based foods, however. Last year, an outbreak in tempeh, a type of fermented soy that's often used as a vegetarian protein source, sickened nearly 100 people in five states, according to a new review of the outbreak published in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases. The study found that the tempeh was made with infected ingredients imported from Indonesia.
Most tempeh is pasteurized and cooked before consumption, though the ingredients that caused the salmonella outbreak were unpasteurized. Researchers also said cross-contamination — when bacteria is transferred from surfaces, like cutting boards, to other foods after surface contamination — played a role. Cross-contamination is a common culprit in summer foodborne illnesses because of outdoor cooking techniques, according to the CDC.
Below, the foods most likely to make you sick, according to a previously published report from the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
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The Center for Science in the Public Interest publishes two annual lists: The FDA-regulated foods most likely to give you a foodborne illness, and the USDA-regulated meats most likely to give you a foodborne illness. See which foods are most likely to make you sick here. (Thinkstock/Jupiterimages)