Salmonella outbreak tied to irrigation water

[RamboLiberal]

Source: MSNBC/AP

WASHINGTON - The salmonella strain linked to a nationwide outbreak has been found in irrigation water and a serrano pepper at a Mexican farm, federal health officials said Wednesday.

Dr. David Acheson, the Food and Drug Administration's food safety chief, called the finding a key breakthrough in the case, as did another health official.

"We have a smoking gun, it appears," said Dr. Lonnie King who directs the center for foodborne illnesses at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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The officials insisted that tomatoes still cannot be ruled out and that it is quite possible that the outbreak was caused by several different kinds of contaminated produce.

The outbreak has sickened more than 1,300 people since April.



Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25935332/

[dbonds]

1. I thought salmonella need a live host.

Although seems grey water has been the cause of all the other tainted food.

[kestrel91316]

3. Can be spread by fomites and food/water. Does NOT require

direct transmission from animal to animal.

http://www.cdc.gov/nczved/dfbmd/disease_listing/salmonellosis_gi.html
"....It is important for the public health department to know about cases of salmonellosis. It is important for clinical laboratories to send isolates of Salmonella to the City, County, or State Public Health Laboratories so the specific type can be determined and compared with other Salmonella in the community. If many cases occur at the same time, it may mean that a restaurant, food or water supply has a problem that needs correction by the public health department..."

"...Some prevention steps occur everyday without you thinking about it. Pasteurization of milk and treatment of municipal water supplies are highly effective prevention measures that have been in place for decades. In the 1970s, small pet turtles were a common source of salmonellosis in the United States, so in 1975, the sale of small turtles was banned in this country. However, in 2008, they were still being sold, and cases of Salmonella associated with pet turtles have been reported. Improvements in farm animal hygiene, in slaughter plant practices, and in vegetable and fruit harvesting and packing operations may help prevent salmonellosis caused by contaminated foods. Better education of food industry workers in basic food safety and restaurant inspection procedures may prevent cross-contamination and other food handling errors that can lead to outbreaks. Wider use of pasteurized egg in restaurants, hospitals, and nursing homes is an important prevention measure. In the future, irradiation or other treatments may greatly reduce contamination of raw meat...."

[matt819]

2. Regardless of the cause. . .

Consider for a moment that this was a genuine, for real, attack on the US food supply. These clowns have been running around like the Keystone Kops. No sense of urgency. No coordination. No answers. Just speculation and some goofy recommendation that someone, somewhere, track individual pieces of produce from field to table. A poster here complained a few weeks ago about paying 82 cents for a nectarine. Watch those prices skyrocket when everyone in the food chain adds their cut.

[uppityperson]

4. OMG! Ban water! Actually, I am glad they are figuring it out finally.

It would be nice if there was a mechanism in place (again) to trace food's travel easier, just in case something really bad happened.

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

5. I've always thought the use of greywater in crop irrigation was crazy.

I'm surprised this kind of thing doesn't happen more often- actually, it probably does and nobody catches (or reports) it.