Salmonella

To kill the salmonella organism, the temperature of an egg or egg dish must reach a temperature of 160 degrees (or be held at 140 degrees for 3 1/2 minutes). A quick-read thermometer provides a quick, easy way to measure the internal temperature of egg dishes. -- Cole's Cooking A to Z

The state medical examiner ruled yesterday that the death of a St. Mary's County woman was caused by eating salmonella-tainted food at a church supper.Dr. John E. Smialek released a statement confirming suspicions that the death of Grace Oatley, 81, of Chaptico was due to the Nov. 2 outbreak.She died the evening of Nov. 4.Nearly 750 people became ill after they ate a ham-and-turkey dinner at Our Lady of the Wayside Church in Chaptico.Health officials said a Baltimore woman who died after eating food from the supper was likely a heart attack victim.

HELEN -- For lovers of Southern Maryland's church dinners, the best and worst possible outcomes from last week's salmonella outbreak occurred yesterday in St. Mary's County.At St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church's annual dinner in Helen, hundreds of parishioners, neighbors and county officials -- all with hearty appetites -- gobbled plates of old or salted ham, turkey, oysters, kale and green beans. Many said they attended to show their support for the area's tradition, including some who had recovered from being ill with salmonella.

The outbreak of intestinal illness among people who attended a church supper in St. Mary's County is a sobering reminder of the risk posed by salmonella -- the leading cause of foodborne sickness in the United States.And the death of an elderly woman -- who was among the 143 people who reportedly got sick after the dinner -- illustrates the fact that the aged are particularly at risk for serious and even fatal complications of the bacterial infection.Health officials in St. Mary's County do not know what caused the disease, but are leaning toward turkey as a possible culprit.

Health officials investigating the salmonella poisoning of nearly 750 people at a church supper in St. Mary's County this month have determined that the stuffed hams served to patrons were contaminated during the cooking and cooling processes at two local markets.The officials said yesterday that they will not penalize the markets."We're not considering taking any action," said Dr. Ebenezer Israel, county health officer. "If we felt there were serious problems at either of the [markets], we would deny them an operating permit.

It seems like there have been a lot of stories in the paper recently about contaminated food causing problems in children. How can I protect my family?It is hard to know how many cases of food-borne illness actually occur each year because such illnesses are difficult to track. Many individuals do not seek care when they become ill, assuming that it was a virus or something they ate. Nonetheless, it is estimated that up to 4,000 deaths and 5 million illnesses are caused annually by contaminated meat and poultry alone.

CHAPTICO -- One person has died from food poisoning and at least 143 others became sick after eating a stuffed ham, turkey and fried oyster dinner at a small Catholic church in this tiny Southern Maryland community.Health officials said yesterday that the culprit is salmonella, a bacterium that is a common source of food poisoning.The incident represents the largest salmonella outbreak in Maryland in at least five years.Investigators have not determined what specific food triggered the illness that spread among the 1,400 people who purchased a dinner Sunday afternoon at the annual Fall Festival at Our Lady of the Wayside Church in Chaptico, little more than a crossroads about 40 miles southeast of Washington.

Q: I have always loved seven-minute frosting that's made with sugar syrup and whipped egg whites, but I worry these days, with all the talk of salmonella, about whether it's safe?A: This recipe should be safe from any chance of salmonella if you are careful to follow precise steps. First, make sure the sugar syrup reaches 240 degrees and is still boiling as you are pouring it into the beaten egg whites. Salmonella is killed at temperatures of 160 degrees and over, so you may want to also use a thermometer to test the hottest temperature of the icing as the syrup is being poured in. Also, look for pasteurized egg whites in your supermarket, which would eliminate the potential problem.

Q: Should I pay attention to my wife when she says that we should not order Caesar salads in restaurants?A: The easy answer is to tell you that you should always listen to what your wife says. She may not be right on every occasion, but it is true that Caesar salad dressing, made with raw eggs, has been responsible for many outbreaks of gastrointestinal illness due to contamination of eggs with salmonella bacteria.These bacteria pose no threat when eggs are properly cooked, but salmonella may infect the intestine if you eat foods containing raw or undercooked eggs.

Q: Should I pay attention to my wife when she says that we should not order Caesar salads in restaurants?A: The easy answer is to tell you that you should always listen to what your wife says. She may not be right on every occasion, but it is true that Caesar salad dressing, made with raw eggs, has been responsible for many outbreaks of gastrointestinal illness due to contamination of eggs with Salmonella bacteria. These bacteria pose no threat when eggs are properly cooked, but Salmonella may infect the intestine if you eat foods containing raw or under-cooked eggs.

WASHINGTON - The peanut company at the center of the nationwide salmonella scare has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection and will begin liquidating its assets as a crush of legal claims pile up against Lynchburg, Va.-based Peanut Corp. of America. "Given that PCA is under criminal investigation, I'm not surprised they've gone bankrupt," said Bill Marler, a Seattle-based lawyer representing 47 clients who are suing the company, including family members of two victims who died after reportedly consuming peanut products tainted with salmonella.

WASHINGTON - Turf struggles, bad communication and weak leadership undermined the federal response to a recent salmonella outbreak that cost the tomato industry huge losses, witnesses told a House of Representatives subcommittee yesterday. Lawmakers joined farmers in a wholesale attack on the Food and Drug Administration's performance, potentially laying the political foundation for a regulatory overhaul and multimillion-dollar compensation package. "We have been the primary injured party," Reginald Brown, the executive vice president of the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange, told the House panel, "and we look forward to Congress addressing that in the future."

In Maryland and across the nation, tomatoes have been missing from salads, BLTs, burgers and salsa after a salmonella warning from the Food and Drug Administration that prompted supermarkets and restaurants to yank the fruit from their shelves and menus. While the FDA's alert was welcome, the agency's leaders should acknowledge that the salmonella outbreak, which has led to the infection of 145 Americans and hospitalization of 23 since mid-April, offers fresh evidence that not enough is done to keep America's food safe.

President Bush's appointment this week of a high-level panel to recommend reforms to ensure the safety of imported food and other items would be a worthy idea except for two things: Congress is already working on a package of reforms, and it's no mystery what needs to be done. The Food and Drug Administration is woefully ill-equipped to do more than a cursory inspection of a tiny fraction of the food coming into this country. It needs to be beefed up, so to speak - in the sense that beef is one of the very few items that fall under the purview of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (along with other meats, poultry and eggs)

FEARING outbreaks of salmonella, health inspectors have banned the sale of unrefrigerated eggs at Baltimore's popular downtown Farmers' Market. Is this going too far? We don't think so. As new virulent strains of salmonella have appeared, prudence requires that particularly the vulnerable - infants, children and old people - are protected against the preventable dangers of food poisoning. Some patrons and vendors are upset at the crackdown, which has effectively eliminated egg sellers from the Sunday morning market.

Agriculture Department officials say they are discussing the possibility of easing their new standards for preventing salmonella contamination in ground beef used for the nation's school lunch program. The reconsideration, provoked by criticism from the food industry, has angered consumer advocates. Since June, the department, which provides 70 percent of the ground beef used in schools, has required that every batch it buys be free of salmonella, bacteria responsible for about 600 deaths and 1.4 million illnesses last year.

THE FOOD that children eat in school cafeterias should meet cleanliness standards at least as high as those of McDonald's and other fast-food chains. That's why the U.S. Department of Agriculture must establish safety standards for the 125 million pounds of beef it buys each year for school lunch programs. The dangers of E. coli or salmonella pathogens are too ominous, even if thankfully infrequent, to risk exposing our children. Until recently, the assumption was that USDA inspections of slaughterhouses and meat processing plants assured a uniform safety standard for all consumers.

To kill the salmonella organism, the temperature of an egg or egg dish must reach a temperature of 160 degrees (or be held at 140 degrees for 3 1/2 minutes). A quick-read thermometer provides a quick, easy way to measure the internal temperature of egg dishes. -- Cole's Cooking A to Z

Health officials investigating the salmonella poisoning of nearly 750 people at a church supper in St. Mary's County this month have determined that the stuffed hams served to patrons were contaminated during the cooking and cooling processes at two local markets.The officials said yesterday that they will not penalize the markets."We're not considering taking any action," said Dr. Ebenezer Israel, county health officer. "If we felt there were serious problems at either of the [markets], we would deny them an operating permit.

The state medical examiner ruled yesterday that the death of a St. Mary's County woman was caused by eating salmonella-tainted food at a church supper.Dr. John E. Smialek released a statement confirming suspicions that the death of Grace Oatley, 81, of Chaptico was due to the Nov. 2 outbreak.She died the evening of Nov. 4.Nearly 750 people became ill after they ate a ham-and-turkey dinner at Our Lady of the Wayside Church in Chaptico.Health officials said a Baltimore woman who died after eating food from the supper was likely a heart attack victim.