What foods do you associate with Salmonella?
Most likely your answer will be raw meat and eggs, not flour or nuts. Nevertheless, Salmonella is a very resistant bacterium and can survive in all kinds of foods.
Salmonella in brief
Salmonella is a major cause of foodborne disease. Salmonella bacteria are estimated to cause over 90 million diarrhoea-associated diseases worldwide every year.
The most common symptoms of Salmonella infection are diarrhoea, abdominal cramps, and fever within 12 to 72 hours after eating the contaminated product. The illness usually lasts 2 to 7 days, and most people recover without treatment. But for susceptible populations, Salmonella infection can be severe and even lead to death.
Common sources of Salmonella in the food industry
Salmonella is a pathogen that is prevalent in the gut of many animals such as poultry, pigs, cattle, and pets, as well as in insects and people. Salmonella can get into soil, water and food from the faeces of animals or people. The bacteria can easily be introduced into and spread throughout food production facilities via raw ingredients, dirty packaging, equipment and workers’ hands and clothing.
Once introduced into a food production environment, Salmonella thrives in moist, warm environments such as drains, floors and processing equipment.