Recent Salmonella case linked to recalled pot pies, USA
Date: 18 October 2007

Yet another case of Salmonella poisoning was reported to the Mason County Health Department Wednesday. The case came on the heels of an extensive investigation by the health department into the sources of several cases of salmonella and E. coli poisoning all reported since mid-July of this year.

The most recent case of Salmonella poisoning has been linked to one of the Banquet pot pies recently recalled by ConAgra Foods Inc., according to Tim Stump, director of the health department. At least one of the previously reported cases also appears to have been related to the pot pie recall.

Stump said tracking down a source for Salmonella or E. coli poisoning can be difficult, due to the time frame during which each can manifest itself.
Stump said it may take anywhere from six to 72 hours for the symptoms of Salmonella poisoning to occur, and longer for E. coli poisoning, making the tracking of previous meals difficult.

Stump said people who become ill from food tend to attribute it to the last meal eaten, which is often not the case with either Salmonella or E. coli.
The cases of Salmonella poisoning, Stump said, were spread over the five-county Buffalo Trace area. Previously, regional cases were not reported to the Mason County Health Department, but the hiring of a regional epidemiologist made it easier to track those cases.

Stump said the number of cases does not appear to be atypical for the area for the time frame for which they were reported. In addition to determining if there is a common link between the cases, each of the meal histories of the patients have been compared to previous recalls, though no definite source can be confirmed for every case.

Stump said anytime an item is recalled, the health department "always" checks with local stores to make sure the product has been taken from the shelves. All of the Salmonella cases and the most recent E. coli case were in adults. The adult with E. coli poisoning was hospitalized, but Stump said has been released and appears to be doing well.

Cases of E. coli poisoning from earlier this year were in children, and also resulted in hospitalization.

According to the Centers for Disease Control Web site, the best way to protect against salmonella or E. coli poisoning is to make sure produce which could be contaminated is thoroughly cleaned before consumption, and all meat products are cooked thoroughly.
In addition, hands should be washed regularly, including before handling food products, and between handling different food items.

Reference
http://www.foodhaccp.com/memberonly/newsletter276.html

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