Certain foods, like a chicken salad left to stew in the sun, just sound like a recipe for food poisoning. Others, like cereal and frozen fruit, surprise us — and leave us wondering what the !@#$ is really going on with our food.
It’s fair to wonder. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that salmonella — a common cause of food poisoning that leads to diarrhea, fever, and horrible, stomach churning cramps — causes about 1.2 million illnesses and about 450 deaths a year.
This year, there have already been 12 outbreaks — 10 from foods, two from animals (live chickens and pet guinea pigs), and there might be yet another coming down the pipeline. This week, Pepperidge Farms voluntarily recalled four types of Goldfish after learning a whey powder in the crackers’ seasoning could be contaminated with salmonella. Other products, including some kinds of Ritz crackers and Hungry Man BBQ wings, have also been pulled due to the whey powder, although no sicknesses have been reported yet.
While in 2017, there were only six outbreaks of salmonella all year, it’s hard to know if foodborne illnesses are on the rise. Preliminary data from the CDC finds that the numbers of infections from bacteria like Campylobacter, Listeria, Salmonella, Shigella, Vibrio, and Yersinia increased 96 percent in 2017 compared to 2014 through 2016 averages, but some experts believe that figure boils down to better detection, reporting, and investigating of contaminated foods.
Today, here’s where the numbers stand with salmonella outbreaks from food in 2018, according to the CDC. Now go wash your hands.
Products affected: Raw turkey
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When was the outbreak? November 2017-June 2018
States affected: 26 in total — AK, CA, CO, FL, GA, HI, IA, IL, IN, KA, KY, MA, MI, MN, NJ, NY, NC, OH, OR, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, VA, WI
People affected: 90
Products affected: Hy-Vee Spring Pasta Salad
Hy-Vee
When was the outbreak? June 2018-July 2018
States affected: 5 in total — IA, MO, MN, SD, NE
People affected: 21
Products affected: Kellogg’s Honey Smacks Cereal
Kellogg's
When was the outbreak? March-July 2018
States affected: 33 — WA, OR, CA, MT, UT, CO, AZ, CO, OK, TX, LA, MS, AL, GA, FL, SC, NC, TN, VA, KY, WI, IL, MI, IN, OH, WV, MD, PA, NJ, NY, CT, RI, MA, NH
People affected: 100
Products affected: Pre-cut melon
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When was the outbreak? April-June 2018
States affected: 7 in total — MI, IN, OH, KY, IL, TN, MO
People affected: 70
Products affected: Eggs (Rose Acre Farms)
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When was the outbreak? November 2017-May 2018
States affected: 10 in total — AK, CO, FL, NJ, NY, NC, PA, SC, VA, WV
People affected: 45
Products affected: Dried coconut
CDC
When was the outbreak? September 2017-February 2018
States affected: 8 in total—CA, CO, CT, DC, ID, MI, OR, TX, UT
People affected: 14
Products affected: Chicken salad
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When was the outbreak? January-March 2018
States affected: 8 in total — IL, IN, IA, MN, MI, NE, SD, WI
People affected: 265
Products affected: Kratom
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When was the outbreak? January 2017-May 2018
States affected: 41 in total — AL,AK, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, NE, NV, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, WV
People affected: 199
Products affected: Raw sprouts
CDC
When was the outbreak? December 2017-January 2018
States affected: 3 in total — MN, WI, IL
People affected: 10
Products affected: Frozen shredded coconut (Coconut Tree)
CDC
When was the outbreak? January to November 2017
States affected: 9 in total — CA, CO, CT, MA, NJ, NY, OK, PA, WA
People affected: 27
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