"salmonella" news and stories

Jared might want to find an alternative to Subway subs if he's planning a visit to Illinois anytime soon. It was just announced that the fast food chain has had a salmonella outbreak in 22 counties in Illinois.

Earlier this week the State's Department of Public Health announced that in the middle of May, 71 people had been sickened by the bacterial strain ominously called Hvittingfoss. Seventeen of those required hospital stays but all are said to be recovering. The symptoms are the usual yukky ones like diarrhea, vomiting, fever and stomach cramps.

No specific food was found to be responsible but Subway voluntarily withdrew all lettuce, green peppers, red onions and tomatoes from the restaurants in question and replaced them with new and hopefully bacteria-free produce.

"The Subway brand will continue to work with the Department of Health to assist in pinpointing the exact cause of the outbreak," a representative for the chain said according to Nation's Restaurant News.

And if you're one of the unlucky folks who downed a sub and got sick, a law firm has already filed a class action suit.

California food-manufacturer Caldwell Fresh Foods is recalling its alfalfa sprouts because they may be contaminated with Salmonella, NewsOXY.com reported.

The company is recalling all sprouts manufactured under the Caldwell Fresh Foods, Nature's Choice and California Exotics brands after an outbreak of Salmonella Newport sickened more than 20 people in 10 states, including 11 people in California.

The last known case was on May 21, 2010. No deaths have been reported but 4 people have been hospitalized in the outbreak. Symptoms of Salmonella Newport include fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.

"Consumers who are experiencing illness after consuming our sprouts should seek medical attention. Consumers that have purchased alfalfa sprouts manufactured by Caldwell Fresh Foods are urged to return them to the place of purchase for refund or dispose of them," the company said in a statement.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is stepping up its standards for young chicken (broilers) and turkey inspections to reduce contamination by Salmonella and Campylobacte, CNN.com reported.

This marks the first revisions to the Salmonella standards for chicken since 1996 and the first-ever standards for Campylobacter, a corkscrew-shaped bacteria that can cause diarrhea, pain, fever and abdominal cramping. The new guidelines set standards for poultry slaughter facilities to prevent contamination and offer best-practices to keep live birds bacteria-free.

The USDA estimates that the new Salmonella standards will result in 26,000 fewer illnesses from contamination during the first two years of their implementation. The new Campylobacter standards should help avoid 39,000 illnesses.

"There is no more important mission at USDA than ensuring the safety of our food, and we are working every day as part of the President's Food Safety Working Group to lower the danger of foodborne illness," Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said in a statement.

"The new standards announced today mark an important step in our efforts to protect consumers by further reducing the incidence of Salmonella and opening a new front in the fight against Campylobacter."

It's the great potato blight of 2010: Supermarkets across ten Western states, including Hawaii and Alaska, are recalling two potato salad products, both containing red potatoes and dill. Safeway -- which also owns Vons, Carrs, and Pavilions -- volunteered to pull the salad from those stores' delis following another voluntary recall by the supplier, Reser's Fine Foods.

Teena Massingill, director of Safeway's corporate public affairs, spoke to Slashfood late yesterday. "Reser's recalled the product because it contained hydrolized vegetable protein (HVP) manufactured by Basic Food Flavors," Massingill explained. That ingredient had been identified by the FDA as containing salmonella.

Beef Packers, Inc., has recalled 22,723 pounds of ground beef on fears it could be contaminated with salmonella.

The Fresno, Calif., company issued the recall Friday, according to the United States Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service.

The beef was packaged on Sept. 23, 2009, with the code "EST. 31913" on the case labels. According to the FSIS, the beef subjected to the recall are "60 pound cases of 'GRD Beef Fine 93/07 10/60.' Each case bears the identifying case code W69363 with Use/Freeze by dates of 10/11/09."

The beef was sent to a retail distribution center in Arizona.

In August, the same company issued a beef recall for 825,000 pounds of ground beef.

Salmonella can be life-threatening to the elderly and young children. It causes diarrhea, abdominal cramps and fever within eight to 72 hours of exposure. It's recommended that ground beef be cooked to an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit to kill any bacteria.