First, cashews were recalled. Then, roughly 3.7 million pounds of frozen chicken. Now, the nation's second-largest grocery store chain is recalling black pepper, cinnamon, garlic powder and Bac'n Buds—all due to a potential salmonella contamination. All in the past two weeks.
This wave of outbreaks raises all sorts of questions, from "How serious is the salmonella threat, really?" to "Is everything going to kill me?!" Whew, deep breaths. Here's the most crucial information.
It Affects An Overwhelming Number of People.
It's not as common as, say, getting into a car accident (which injured 2.3 million people in 2013) or being diagnosed with skin cancer (about 2.2 million people are diagnosed each year), but you shouldn't write off the recall alerts as all hype. Roughly 1.2 million people get sick from the bacteria each year—and it kills 450 of them, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That's more people infected than the entire population of Montana, Rhode Island or the Dakotas.
You Can Get It In Terrifying Ways.
It's not just from eating undercooked chicken and raw eggs, though they are the two biggest causes of infection, or salmonellosis (AKA the term your Hermoine Granger-esque friend is quick to throw out—along with an eye roll—when someone mentions "getting salmonella").
Not to terrify you, but you can also get it from undercooked pork and beef, as well as contaminated fruits, vegetables, dairy, and even processed foods, like peanut butter.
You can also get it from ill-prepared foods, hence those "employees must wash hands after using the restroom" signs: The general advice is to wash your hands after handling raw meat or eggs.
It's Not Just Found In Meat.
You'll find the bacteria on fruits and vegetables through, wait for it, animal poop. Simply put, the bacteria lives in an animal intestines, and when they go to the bathroom, the bacteria spreads to anything it touches. If there's infected poop in the water that's used to irrigate a field, it can infect everything that's growing there, according to FoodSafety.gov.
It Will Make You Feel Awful.
Most people start getting a fever, cramps and diarrhea anywhere from 12 hours to 3 days after getting infected—and those symptoms last for 4-7 days, the CDC reports. You could also start throwing up, getting chills and headaches, and seeing blood in your poop. And it may take months for your bowels to feel normal again, according to the Mayo Clinic.
There Are Some Ways To Make Yourself Feel Better.
Drinking a lot of water, eating foods that are high in potassium, getting a little salt in your diet will all help you flush the bacteria out of your system. If you have diarrhea, are feeling lightheaded, see blood in your stool, or have a fever above 101 degrees, call your doctor. You may be prescribed antibiotics.
It's Not Likely You Can Get It From Cookie Dough.
This issue has been hotly debated for years. While your chances of getting salmonella poisoning are low (Slate found that if you ate cookie dough twice a month, it'd take 833 years to come across a batch with a contaminated egg in it), there's still the threat of E. coli—which could come from the flour, based on a study of the 2009 Toll House Cookie Dough recall. Since then, Nestlé has switched to heat-treated flour to avoid future outbreaks, but that doesn't mean all cookie dough is safe.
...But You Still Shouldn't Lick The Batter Bowl.
Again, you might not get salmonellosis, but you could still get very sick (or even die) if the batter is contaminated with E. coli.
You Could Get it From Egg Shells.
Salmonella has been found on the outside of eggshells, according to the FDA, so yes. Also, if you visit a petting zoo or own chickens, take note: Touching, cuddling and kissing the animals sent 33 people to the hospital in early July.
There Are Ways To Prevent It.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has a few guidelines:
- Wash all fruits and vegetables before eating them.
- Wash your hands, knives and cutting boards before and after touching raw meat, and DON'T rinse the meat before cooking it—that can actually spread the bacteria.
- Avoid unpasteurized dairy products and juices.
- Make sure meat, eggs and seafood are cooked to the recommended temperatures.
Some People Are More Prone To Infection.
Okay, this is where we sound a little bit like the last five seconds of an ad for prescription drugs: If you have a weakened immune system, have been diagnosed with Crohn's Disease or ulcerative colitis, recently used antibiotics or medicines that block stomach acid production, work in a hospital, or own a lizard/turtle/snake, you're more likely to catch salmonellosis, the National Institutes of Health reported.
