Salmonella

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.

CHAPTICO -- Like detectives on a case, health officials and investigators have been reviewing each moment of 38 hams' journey from slaughter to a church hall's buffet table, trying to find out how and where they became tainted.State and local health officials have determined that the stuffed ham served at Sunday's dinner at Our Lady of the Wayside Church was the likely carrier of the salmonella poisoning that has sickened at least 702 people. Two people have died after eating food served at the dinner, although officials awaiting autopsy results have yet to tie those deaths directly to the tainted food.

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.

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.

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.

WASHINGTON -- President Clinton announced yesterday the most sweeping changes in the government's meat inspection system since it was created nearly a century ago, outlining new rules that would, for the first time, impose scientific tests for disease-causing bacteria.The new rules call for more inspection and controls by the meat- and poultry-processing industry itself and new testing by the Department of Agriculture.Drafted over the past two years, the rules will be final upon their publication in the Federal Register this week.

WASHINGTON -- An outbreak of salmonella poisoning that sickened at least 400 people in 16 states may have been caused by tanker trucks that carried raw eggs and then ice cream mix, federal officials said yesterday.The ice cream brand was Schwan's, which recalled the tainted )) mix, the officials said.An investigation of the outbreak over the past two weeks turned up the explanation, said Dr. David Kessler, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration. "We have also identified a practice which presents an unacceptable risk to the public and which must be corrected," he said.

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.