Salmonella poisoning from chicken processed by Foster Farms
of California continues to show up across the United States.
The Centers for Disease Control says
that as of July 4 there have been 621 people
infected with seven outbreak strains of Salmonella
Heidelberg that have been linked to Foster Farms.
Most of the people who suffered food poisoning
live in California, but there have been victims in 29 states and Puerto Rico,
since March 1, 2013.
Epidemiologic, laboratory and traceback
investigations conducted by local, state and federal officials indicate that
consumption of Foster Farms brand chicken is the likely source of these
illnesses, the government says.
On July 3 Foster Farms announced yet another
expansion of recalls, this one for “an undetermined amount
of chicken products that may be contaminated with a particular strain of Salmonella Heidelberg.”
The new recall came after government officials
identified one of the outbreak strains of Salmonella Heidelberg in an intact sample of Foster Farms brand
chicken with labeling information collected from the home of a person infected
with the same strain in California.
Officials at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s
Food Safety Inspection Service and from the Centers of Disease Control worry
that some of the recalled chicken going back more than a year might still be in
people’s freezers.
Of those infected, 36 per cent have been
hospitalized; none have died. Seventy-seven per cent of the reports are from
California.
The outbreak strains of Salmonella Heidelberg are resistant to several commonly
prescribed antibiotics.
The Centers for Disease Control says that although
these antibiotics are not typically used to treat salmonella bloodstream
infections or other severe salmonella infections, antibiotic resistance can be
associated with increased risk of hospitalization.
Salmonella are widespread in retail-ready
chicken in the U.S. and Canada, so consumers are cautioned to avoid
cross-contamination from raw chicken in their kitchens and to cook chicken well
enough to kill harmful bacteria. One of the recommendations is to not wash raw
chicken in the sink.
