Salmonella: Not Good, Very Bad And Very Ugly
Posted July 4, 2007 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Just because it looks pretty it doesn’t mean it’s safe to eat. Food that’s contaminated with salmonella may not look or smell spoiled, but can make you very sick and cause high fever, severe headache, vomiting, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea.
The bacteria is commonly found in foods like uncooked chicken, raw eggs and other animal products. In the last few months alone, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has issued salmonella warnings for everything from chocolates, Veggie Snacks and peppercorns to Tahini. The problem is that food can be contaminated at any point during production before it even reaches the shelves at your local grocery store.
So the next time you’re at a barbecue, family picnic or party think twice before reaching for a burger or hot dog if it still looks raw. In fact, one of the best ways to avoid salmonella is to use safer food handling techniques, and to cook meats and other animal products thoroughly.
Here’s some helpful information on how to prevent the deadly bacteria from making an unwanted appearance at your next social gathering.
Background information on the bacteria (courtesy of Centres for Disease Control)
All the latest food recalls and allergy alerts (courtesy Canadian Food Inspection Agency)
And, if you want to receive personalized e-mail updates of food recalls and allergy alerts you can register for them here
