Young & Hungry » Salmonella

Did WaPo Salmonella Report Incite an Organic Chicken Scare at Local Farmers Markets?

Chris Shott — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 13:30:37 +0000

The blog Greater Greater Washington is blaming a recent article in the Washington Post for scaring customers of local farmers markets about the safety of organic chickens and prompting some vendors to stop selling the poultry. The report, written by journalism students at the University of Maryland and reprinted by the Post, found pathogens on raw chickens sold at a farmers market right outside the U.S. Department of Agriculture building. Report critic Ken Archer, who calls the WaPo article "poorly researched," says there's an easy explanation for that: "A lab paid by the writers found salmonella in chicken from one of the vendors. This is not surprising, as salmonella is not uncommon in chicken. That's why you're not supposed to eat raw chicken."

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Go Inside an Egg Processing Plant

Tim Carman — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 19:27:07 +0000

So many checks and controls, and yet so many problems.

Breaking News: CDC Investigating Salmonella Outbreak in 42 States

Tim Carman — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 23:57:04 +0000

CNN is reporting that the "Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is working with public health officials in 42 states to determine the cause of an outbreak of a particular type of salmonella called Typhimurium." At least 388 people have been infected and 69 hospitalized since the outbreak in early September.

Reports CNN:

The CDC has not identified what food or foods might be causing this outbreak. It is also not yet releasing a list states involved in the investigation, which they say is ongoing.

CDC officials and state public health workers are conducting case control studies, which means they're tracking down people who have been infected as early as September to determine what they may have consumed, to find a common cause.

The Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture are in contact with the CDC, but without a determination of the cause of the outbreak, their involvement is limited.