About 40,000 reported cases of salmonella infections occur each year in the United States, although the actual number may approach 1.4 million per year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Food contaminated with the bacteria causes diarrhea, abdominal cramps and fever within 12 to 72 hours of ingestion. Most patients recover within a week but approximately 400 people die each year from complications. Prevention includes avoiding potentially contaminated foods and careful hand washing.
Raw Eggs
Between April and October 2010, an 11-state outbreak of salmonellosis from raw eggs caused illness in 1,813 people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC advises consumers -- especially children, the elderly, and patients with depressed immune systems -- to avoid eating raw or undercooked eggs. Since some homemade foods, including Hollandaise sauce, Caesar salad dressing, tiramisu, ice cream, mayonnaise, cookie dough and some frostings may contain raw eggs, avoid these items as well, unless prepared with pasteurized eggs. When preparing eggs at home, cook them until the whites and yolks appear firm.
Raw Dairy Products
Foods from animal sources may transmit salmonella bacteria to humans unless producers take steps to prevent contamination. The pasteurization process prevents contamination of milk and other dairy products but consumers should avoid drinking raw or unpasteurized milk and milk product's, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For infants, the CDC recommends breast milk as the best protection against salmonellosis.
Raw Meat and Poultry
Avoid eating raw or undercooked beef, chicken, pork and other meats and poultry, as they may also transmit salmonella. Cook meat and poultry, including hamburgers, thoroughly until no pink remains in the middle. If served undercooked food in a restaurant, send it back. When preparing meat and poultry at home, avoid contaminating other foods by washing your hands, cutting boards, counters, knives, and other utensils with soap and water after handling.
Other Contaminated Food
Safe food handling includes avoiding contamination by animals or their feces; careful hand-washing; excluding ill workers from working with food; and cooking eggs, poultry and meats thoroughly. Avoid eating food prepared or harvested under unsafe conditions, as well as any food listed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as the subject of a salmonella outbreak.
Between 2008 and 2010, reported outbreaks involved frozen fruit pulp, alfalfa sprouts, peanut butter, cantaloupes, raw produce, cooked cereals, a frozen entree, a prepared meat product and food prepared at a particular restaurant chain, although no recalls of these foods remain active as of November 2010.
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