Salmonella

Salmonella is a gram-negative, rod-shaped bacilli that can cause diarrheal illness in humans. They are microscopic living creatures that pass from the feces of people or animals to other people or other animals.

The Salmonella family includes over 2,300 serotypes of bacteria which are one-celled organisms too small to be seen without a microscope. Two serotypes, Salmonella Enteritidis and Salmonella Typhimurium are the most common in the United States and account for half of all human infections. Strains that cause no symptoms in animals can make people sick, and vice versa. If present in food, it does not usually affect the taste, smell, or appearance of the food. The bacteria live in the intestinal tracts of infected animals and humans.

Salmonellosis is an infection caused by the bacteria Salmonella. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), salmonellosis causes an estimated 1.4 million cases of foodborne illness and more than 400 deaths annually in the United States. A Surveillance Report from the Food Diseases Active Surveillance identified Salmonella as the most common bacterial infection reported.

FOOD, SALMONELLA, AND THE TROJAN HORSE

Not all Salmonella types infect humans, and not all Salmonella infections will cause Salmonellosis in humans. The acid in human stomachs creates a very inhospitable environment for any food borne pathogen. The combination of Hydrochloric Acid, Potassium Chloride, and Sodium Chloride an acidic pH between 1.5 and 3.5 in an empty human stomach. This pH usually can kill most pathogens, which is why ingesting a high cfu of Salmonella directly into an empty stomach, even counts as high as several thousand, will not harm a human.

However, the food we eat is the Trojan Horse carrying the Salmonella into our lower gastro intestinal tract. A study by Scott Waterman of Imperial College, London, UK and P. Small of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at Hamilton, Montana, inoculated strains of Salmonella and other acid-sensitive bacteria onto the surface of some solid foods, which were then suspended in an acid growth medium at pH ranging from 2.5 to 4 for several hours. Waterman and Small’s research found that bacteria that would normally be killed in these acid conditions, survived on the food surface and would grow again when retrieved and restored to growth conditions, such as the intestinal tract, that suit them better.

Salmonella have also adapted a gene response to chemical stress resulting from food oxidation, which is why traditional antioxidants help support the growth of Salmonella. Salmonella also can survive inside a fat or lipid. In the refrigerated environment of most meat production facilities, these lipids remain in a solid form, and are impenetrable to almost all water-based acid intervention methods. Some Salmonella serovar types, such as Heidelberg, have been shown to have resistance to antibiotics. All of these factors prove that the adaptation and evolution of Salmonella will be a modern and continuing challenge for food safety professionals.

Any raw food of animal origin, such as meat, poultry, milk and dairy products, eggs, seafood, and some fruits and vegetables may carry Salmonella bacteria. The bacteria can also contaminate other foods that come in contact with raw meat and poultry. Safe food handling practices are necessary to prevent bacteria on raw food from causing illness.

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