Salmonella

One person has died and more than 30 others were hospitalized in what the state health department says is one of the largest instances of salmonella poisoning in state history.All told, 118 people got sick at a Korean wedding reception in Columbia Aug. 29. They ate contaminated food that guests had brought to the reception from as far away as New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, according to Tory Leonard, health department spokeswoman."We're not sure how they handled the food or if they had proper food care," she said.

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.

Traditionally I get badgered at this time of year by people who ask me to make good on some promise I made weeks earlier.Among the most persistent badgerers are family members who want me to (a) write them a letter, (b) buy them overpriced toys or (c) clean my closet. To them I say, "I'm working on it."But to the other pesterers, namely my dear readers, who want (a) the recipe for the hominy casserole that goes well with roast turkey, and (b) the annual reprint of the recipe for the world's greatest eggnog, I say, "You win."

Fresh from celebrating her roommate's birthday at a cozy Baltimore restaurant, the 20-year-old Loyola College student retired contentedly for the night. The piquant flavor of Caesar salad lingered as a pleasant memory. She drifted into sleep.With a start, she awoke a few hours later with knife-like stomach pains. Then came a cascading series of symptoms: intense vomiting, diarrhea, muscle pains, and alternating fevers and chills that left her too weak to climb stairs without help.After three days of escalating misery, she checked into the hospital, where doctors found her blood pressure dangerously low and her kidneys verging on failure.

Most of us know we should handle raw eggs and raw poultry with special precautions or increase our chances of getting sick from salmonella food poisoning.But now, in a first for produce, federal officials have declared all cut melons -- cantaloupes, watermelons and honeydews -- as "potentially hazardous foods" that require the same safe handling as raw eggs and poultry. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory came in an internal memorandum that was sent to all field offices in mid-July.

Every time someone gives advice on how to avoid salmonella food poisoning, he or she suggests substituting pasteurized eggs that have been heated to kill the bacteria rather than the troublesome raw eggs.Good advice. But pasteurized eggs just haven't been readily available for the home cook locally.The wait is almost over. Table Ready Egg, a pasteurized and homogenized whole egg product from Papetti's Hygrade Egg Products Inc. of Elizabeth, N.J., should be in the dairy cases of Baltimore's major chain supermarkets right after Labor Day, according to president Arthur Papetti.

Millions of turtle eggs exported from the United States to be hatched and the turtles sold as pets may harbor strains of salmonella bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics and could pose a serious international health threat to young children, U.S. and Canadian health officials say.Salmonella carried by healthy reptiles and livestock can infect people and cause severe abdominal cramps, nausea, diarrhea and vomiting. The condition is rarely fatal in adults, but in young children it can require hospitalization.

Chances are, the eggs in the batter you lick from the beater tonight, or the ones you'll fry "over easy" tomorrow, won't kill you, or even make you sick.But federal officials are worried enough about the spread of a mutant salmonella bacterium in the nation's egg supply that they want state and local authorities to crack down on food handlers who don't take the threat seriously.The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently designated eggs a "potentially hazardous food," capable of supporting the growth of dangerous Salmonella enteritidis bacteria if not stored and cooked properly.

The American Heart Association has established that three egg yolks a week are a pretty safe bet for your coronary arteries, even if your blood cholesterol needs lowering.But with recent outbreaks of food poisoning caused by salmonella enteritidis, are they safe for your tummy as well?While there are a few groups who must be extremely careful, most people can relax and enjoy freshly prepared eggs, according to the Public Health Service -- Centers for Disease Control.And last week, the federal Food and Drug Administration issued new guidelines and precautions for serving and preparing eggs.