Salmonella at the Source: What You Need to Know About Your Food

Most food recalls deal directly with simple mistakes: accidental ingredient omission on labels, or marking an item as gluten-free when it’s actually a gluten source. While these mistakes can lead to problems, primarily related to allergic reactions, news reports make it seem like every recall is an all out attack on the American public. While pathogens do play a part in recalls, for the most part they only affect those people who have low immunity to the bacteria, such as children, senior citizens, pregnant women, and individuals who have immune issues due to disease. 

Certainly, this is a large amount of people affected by the pathogens, but the majority of people can fight off most of the culprits. For healthy, risk-free people, cooking food thoroughly typically negates all concerns regarding tainted food. (This can be difficult with produce.) But for those who do suffer from a weak immune system or are otherwise compromised, the following foods pose the most common health threats.

Beef and Chicken

Airborne pathogens lead to food poisoning, and that often begins at the processing level. The Wolverine Packing Company in Detroit suffered a massive blow by recalling almost 2 million pounds of E.coli-tainted beef this year. But that was nothing compared to California's Rancho Feeding Corporation’s recall, which involved the contamination of 9 million beef and veal products. The source in those cases dealt with the practice of processing diseased animals and bypassing inspection procedures. 

At least a dozen salmonella recalls on chicken have already been reported this year, leading to 1.5 million pounds being recalled. Salmonella is not only dangerous but deadly, killing approximately 450 people annually. Campylobacter is another poultry-loving pathogen to consider as it kills close to 80 people per year. In both cases, symptoms include cramping, diarrhea, and fever, but Campylobacter takes it up a notch and helps you eliminate your lunch orally as well. 

Sprouts

Bacteria and sprouts love the same growth medium: warm, moist conditions. So, it should come as no surprise that bacteria easily cling to sprouts. Just a few spores on sprout stems can lead to infestation of an entire crop. The culprit? Typically Listeria. This pathogen is present on everything in nature, and most people are immune. Pregnant women, however, have a particularly high risk of developing Listeria-based complications and should always follow a doctor’s orders regarding food restrictions. 

Spices

Every agricultural product, before harvesting occurs, is exposed to pathogens, such as dust, dirt, animal waste. Based on FDA reports, 12 percent of imported spices contain animal feces, human hair, and insect casings. Seven percent are tainted with salmonella, which might be considered a low percentage. So why should that alarm? Two reasons: The percentage is twice as much as what has been found in other food sources, and salmonella breeds extremely quickly. So containment is impossible once it’s bottled and shipped.

Eggs and Milk

Eggs and raw milk are prime breeding grounds for salmonella. Cooking the yolk until it’s firm and insisting on pasteurized eggs are essential to killing the potential cause of infestation. The health benefits of raw milk are negated as soon as salmonella takes over. E.coli and Listeria are often present as well. To avoid these issues, consider dairy-free milk substitutes such as coconut milk, hemp milk, almond milk, rice milk, and limited amounts of soy milk.

Shellfish and Other Allergic Foods

Shellfish feed by absorbing microbes into their soft flesh. As a result, your beloved serving of lunchtime goodies may be laced with a disease agent known as vibrio. This can lead to common food poisoning symptoms and can also cause sepsis (blood poisoning) or infections in existing wounds. Shellfish is also one of the top allergy foods. As most recalls are due to improper labeling, lacking the inclusion of specific allergy foods in prepackaged food sources can, in some cases, lead to severe reactions and even death.

Fruit

Fruit and vegetables are usually consumed in their raw forms. And that’s essential to health since regular consumption of fruit can lower the chance of stroke by 32 percent and eating fruit lowers the risk by 11 percent. Such important foods, however, are often mishandled in the processing plant. Manure, dirty water, and unclean workers can cause microbes to develop on the fresh products. Washing at home helps, but it doesn't eliminate the contaminants.

Of course, proper microbiological testing utilizing modern rapid detection systems can help to contain all known pathogens and prevent them from wreaking havoc on your system. In most cases, within 18-48 hours, confirmation can be drawn based on current testing procedures. Once contained, the pathogens are eliminated from the food sources and sent on to be enjoyed by the consumer.

Restaurant Foods

In most restaurants, we have no idea who’s cooking our food, and yet we’re compelled to trust them implicitly. But a single omelet cooked in a restaurant may contain bits of over 100 eggs. In some cases, cleanliness is an issue. Always consider the health rating posted at the door of any food-related place you patron. And always insist your meat is cooked completely.

Accidents happen but uncleanliness is never acceptable. Pharmaceutical microbiology uses specific microbiology instruments and practices in order to control and contain avoidable outbreaks. The government has gotten involved in requiring this type of testing for food manufacturers. But every so often, a company breaks the rules and the nation pays for their sins. To prevent future problems, vow to stop spending your money on a guilty company’s product until it complies fully with proper safety standards. Sometimes hurting them where it counts – in their wallets – is the best way to ensure they put your needs first.

Find out how you can ensure food safety by contacting Biolumix today.

Biolumix
3928 Varsity Dr.
Ann Arbor, MI 48108
Phone: (734) 984-3100
Fax: 734-222-1830
Email: info@mybiolumix.com
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