AU: Salmonella: what is it, and how can you protect against it?
Image © Superheang168 / Fotalia
CSIRO: The recent Salmonella contamination of fresh produce has led to possibly more than 100 people becoming ill, sparking a nationwide recall of 30 bagged leafy green products and a nationwide drop in sales for other bagged-salad producers.
Unfortunately, food-borne illness from Salmonella isn’t unusual. Meat and salad rolls from a Sydney bakery were the likely cause of an outbreak in January 2016, for example, as was raw egg mayonnaise at Melbourne’s Langham Hotel in August 2015. A large outbreak affecting 250 school principals who were attending a conference at the Brisbane Exhibition and Convention Centre in February 2015 was attributed to cross contamination and poor hygiene (as opposed to a Bart Simpson-esque prank). Salmonella is the second highest cause of bacterial foodborne gastroenteritis in Australia, after Campylobacter. And Salmonella, along with Listeria monocytogenes, is responsible for more deaths in Australia than any other foodborne disease, each accounting for about 15 deaths per year.