Salmonella on the rise in US
06/01/2000
ATLANTA—The rate of foodborne illnesses in the United States is dropping overall, however, certain types of Salmonella reached their highest level since the government began record keeping in 1996. News of foodborne infections and recalls of possibly contaminated products makes headlines almost daily.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC; Atlanta) estimates that 76 million Americans suffer a foodborne illness each year. The data published in March shows a 19 percent decline in bacterial foodborne illnesses from 1997 to 1999.
That's the good news.
 |
The bad news is that Salmonella infections rose from 12.3 per 100,000 people in 1998 to 14.8 per 100,000 in 1999. Tom Skinner, a CDC spokesman, says it is not known why Salmonella infections continued to increase last year, but research suggests several outbreaks were linked to unpasteurized orange juice, mangoes and uncooked bean sprouts. Rates for the most common Salmonella serotype, Salmonella Typhimurium, remained constant. The second most common serotype, Salmonella Enteritidis, frequently associated with eggs, continued a several-year decline. Salmonella infections with serotypes Muenchen, Newport and Heidelberg increased 348 percent, 79 percent and 44 percent, respectively.
"All of this shows progress is being made, but more work needs to be done," Skinner says. "Consumer awareness and education about eating raw or undercooked food contributed to the decline, but we have more work to do when it comes to natural products, or products that are not pasteurized."
Other common foodborne illness rates declined. Campylobateriosis, the most widespread cause of food poisoning, fell from 25.2 cases per 100,000 people in 1997 to 17.3 per 100,000 in 1999. Rates for Shigella, which causes gastrointestinal symptoms similar to Salmonella, were 8.9 per 100,000 people in 1996, declined to 7.5 in 1997 and rose 8.5 in 1998. Cases of E. coli were down 22 percent since 1996, Skinner says.
E. coli prompted a May 8 recall in Red Oak, TX, of Brookshire's Store's 160 pounds of ground beef packaged under the store label May 1. Routine USDA FSIS microbiological testing discovered possible contamination with E. coli 0157:H7, potentially deadly bacteria that can cause bloody diarrhea and dehydration. FSIS spokesperson Beth Gasten says there were no reports of illness associated with these products.
Despite the numbers, recalls due to foodborne illnesses are announced on an almost daily basis. Headlines translate to headaches for the manufacturers, who must deal with cautious consumers, increase testing, check documentation and ensure meeting federal requirements for GMP.
Yet recalls can mean more business and higher profits for companies such as Scientific Certification Systems (SCS; Oakland, CA), a third-party consulting and certification organization founded in 1984. According to Jim Knutzon, chief operating officer, his company had a 200 percent increase in business during the last year alone.
He declined to give actual numbers, but says the jump in business is directly related to the government's continuing emphasis on food safety. "It's a given that companies have to stay on the good side of the FDA," he says.
He explains that due to the recent increase in food safety problems, SCS developed a certification program for Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point-based (HACCP) food safety management programs. Certification entails documenting all the required elements of a food safety program, including the steps taken to establish it, the sanitation standard operating procedures, and the documentation and methods for the HACCP plan.
"Certification means that safe and sanitary practices are maintained, monitored and documented and that a facility meets or exceeds governmental regulations," says Knutzon.
One of SCS's new customers is Pacific Coast Sprout Farms, Sacramento, CA. An
April 18 outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis was linked to Pacific Coast Sprout Farms brand raw mung bean sprouts. The company voluntarily recalled the sprouts, which were distributed to restaurants and grocery stores in Northern California and the Reno area in 12-ounce and 16-ounce plastic bags and in bulk.
Tim Frame, chief financial officer for Pacific Coast, admits that a recall can mean a dip in sales and a revenue loss because all products suspected to be contaminated have to be destroyed. He says his company hired SCS to ensure that from an environmental and regulatory standpoint, everything has been done to ensure that the problem is solved. This is the first reported outbreak of salmonellosis associated with raw mung bean sprouts in this country.
The source of the contamination at Pacific Coast has not yet been found, despite tests of the water system and equipment at the plant, Frame says. He adds that the California State Department of Health Services is working with the company, the FDA and SCS to trace the source of the problem.
Finding the problem that leads to product recall can be as big a headache as the recall says Dominic Marlia, director of quality assurance at California Day-Fresh Foods, Glendora, CA.
On April 20, the company voluntarily recalled all of its unpasteurized orange and grapefruit juices as well as tangerine, lemonade, strawberry lemonade and old fashioned lemonade, sold under the brand names of Naked Juice and Ferraro's. It also included orange and grapefruit juice sold under Von's private label. Three cases of salmonellosis associated with the juice have been reported in Southern California, Nevada and Colorado.
"So far, nothing has been found. The FDA and the CDC suspect the juice because the people involved all drank it, but all of our tests have come back clean," Marlia says.
The challenge for a company making fresh citrus juices is to test the product quickly. Some tests may take five to six days and are useless for making fresh juice, Marlia says. He adds that some tests approved by the government and used in the past couldn't detect Salmonella strains in an acid environment like citrus juice. He says companies are currently scrambling to come out with an FDA-approved Salmonella test for citrus juice that gets results in hours rather than days.