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Federal health officials are investigating an outbreak of salmonella that may be tied to seafood and sushi.
Government health officials are investigating a growing outbreak of salmonella food poisoning possibly tied to restaurant sushi that may have sickened at least 93 people in 19 states and the District of Columbia.
The outbreak of salmonella Bareilly that may have sent at least 10 people to the hospital is mostly clustered on the eastern seaboard and the Gulf Coast, although cases have been reported as far west as Missouri and Texas, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. No deaths have been reported in the outbreak that includes reports of illness between Jan. 28 and March 23.
The outbreak was initially reported Tuesday in an internal memo inadvertently sent to everyone at the Food and Drug Administration, said Curtis Allen, an FDA spokesman.
Officials with CDC on Wednesday issued an update, but said that a food source had not been conclusively identified.
However, interviews by state public health officials showed that many of the ill people reported consuming sushi, sashimi, or similar foods in a variety of locations in the week before becoming ill. Among 51 ill people for whom information is available, 35 or 69 percent reported eating those foods in the week before becoming ill. That's higher than the results compared with a survey of healthy people in which only 5 percent reported eating those foods in the previous week.
The initial email identified spicy tuna roll sushi as “highly suspect,” but Allen emphasized that that was a preliminary speculation that may be proved wrong later. The CDC notice said the investigation into specific types of sushi is continuing.
The federal agencies are focusing on six restaurant clusters in Texas, Wisconsin, Maryland and Connecticut, according to the FDA memo.
Salmonella Bareilly is a rare strain sometimes associated with bean sprouts. Salmonella infections can cause nausea, vomiting, cramping, fever, chills and headache. Symptoms usually last four to seven days.
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Maybe they should have used a little ammonia hydroxide gas to kill the pathogens....oh wait never mind
So much for an "award winning health beat reporter". Salmonella should be in capitalized and italicized as in Salmonella. So educate yourself Jo Nella ablogaretardo.
The period goes inside the quotations.
Oh, SNAP!
Our family doesn't eat raw meat, raw fish, or shellfish raw. We love all those things. but not raw. full of worms and worse. OR ALIVE, WIGGLING, SCREAMING, MOVING, MOANING, WHILE WE BITE OFF THE HEADS, ARMS, LEGS, poor sea animals.
Now that's fresh!
California rolls are still okay, aren't they? No fish, no guts, no gory.
FDA? We don't want governent in our business. Let the market handle it. If the sick do not have insurance, certainly do not treat them at my expense. It costs food companys more to procuce safe food. Buyer beware.
Why are you so freakin' observant?? You tryin' to embarrass somebody??
Modern sequel to old Alka Selzer commercial: "Mama mia, 'ats a spicy tuna roll! <baaarrrrrf>"
I don't care what kind of fish it is, where it came from, how fresh it is, I would NEVER eat raw fish.
Maybe 100 years it might have been safe, but with today's dirty waters that are contaminated with every thing one can think of, no way!
Actually, a hundred years ago the raw sewage ran straight into the rivers and lakes... and bays too, and people got sick from typhus and all sorts of things. But sushi is ocean fish. But shipping the stuff around all over the country, prepared in boxes, stored too long and sitting in some forgetful schmuck's refrigerator for a few more days is a recipe for disaster. You eat sushi ONLY in decent sushi places... the same day! It was never intended to be shipped around like dog-food.
Steven100: As an RN, I salute you for your comment. These days, be wary of EVERYTHING you haven't cooked yourself...Raw fish....NEVER anymore. Sorry, but a "sign of the times"!
Wash hands, ad nauseum...never too much!
Smeagol: SO many more people from "who knows where they had health care" today and so many others who are ready targets today... than 100 years ago!
Overpopulation=polution!!!!! Be aware, and vigil.
...This wasn't the fish - it was the mayonnaise or other additives. So calm your 3rd grade "cooties" fear and open a book one of these days.
Dr Sebby Expert Emeritus: Get back to us when YOU'VE experienced food poisoning from poorly cooked food as I have.
Mere dumb guesswork theory with the "mayo or other additives."
...SO many idiotic "experts"around, which is only discrediting online commentary these days. I speak from experience, not just education. You?
last time i checked they don't use mayo in sushi, but they do have a good point as rice is the most stable ingredient in the sushi and the fish/crab/etc. is a hotbed for germs once it starts to go above freezing and seaweed wrap is used to make agar which is used for petri dishes for a sterile food source for growing samples, as someone who has spent his whole career(currently) cleaning and fixing stuff including some of the nastiest stuff you can think of i know from experience just how dangerous improperly prepared food can get and due to some really messed up things that have happened to me i have an immunity to most germs and viruses, but food poisoning is no laughing matter, when some schmuck messes up it makes my family and friends sick and gives me lethal/painful gas for about 1 day to a week depending on the severity of the bad cooking or lack of cooking, from what ive learned i will never eat raw meat,fish,shellfish,crab or egg and will avoid cross contaminating because it can make a small problem a huge problem.
When was the last time you checked, exactly? There are many sushi rolls that are prepared with a mayo-based sauce drizzled on top. As for the fish, more times than not it's frozen anyway, to kill any parasites. It could be from mayo just as easily as the fish, since mayo is mostly eggs.
with as sick as the people got it could be both but when i was in cooking class i was told that the Asian culture didn't originally use mayo as they used egg whites for their coatings/sauces and other items usually fried. mayo is more of an American habit though so it is plausible but just because you freeze something doesn't mean its edible again, that's akin to freezing a piece of rotting meat and saying that its now safe to eat as the decay and bacterium leaves behind poisons plus most usually survive being frozen(excluding parasites) to continue growing again in Mass once thawed. as for your first question, i don't remember that far back but i know it was a long time ago. only time will tell what they ate, if they all ate sushi with a mayo sauce as you stated and the rest who didn't are fine then the answer is obvious.
I don't understand why americans have jumped on board with this sushi fad. Joining up with the Japanese in their incessant march to totally sterilize the seas. First the whales next will be your sushi favorite - tuna. Just like americans to elevate gluttony and ignore the reality.
umm... if it's salmonella it's likely from the handling and storage of the fish, really not the fish's fault. It's not like they're harboring salmonella in their flesh is it? at any rate, anyone eating raw fish should realize it comes with certain risks, just like any enjoyable adventure out there. if you dont like raw fish dont eat it and you won't get sick. if you don't like rock-climbing don't do it, so you won't fall... and on and on and on.... heck, even eating McD BigMac comes with the risk of getting fat, so don't do it if you don't want to get fat.
actually salmonella lives everywhere, quite literally it can live in almost any environment(it even lives in your GI tract and on your skin and on and in any living animal and water), keeping foods properly prepared and stored makes them safe and don't forget to sterilise your food handling surfaces and freeze the fish below -10c for about 1 hour to kill the parasites that live in it prior to bringing back up to serving temperature or you'll end up with deadly brain worms.
Not all sushi is raw. But I do agree that people should just accept a certain amount of risk when they choose the raw stuff. Or for that matter, when you dine out at all.
Then there was that girl back in ninth grade. I was twenty and she was nineteen. Oh Sushi, sorry I have a speach predicament.
The only problem I've ever had with sushi was when one time I got a box of sushi at my school. I'm allergic to crab meat so I checked the ingredients list on the box's label before I bought it and crab meat was not listed. After breaking out in hives, I found out that it did in fact have crab meat in it and upon further investigation, the label seemed to be some kind of "general" sushi label, not actually indicating what was in each specific box of the various different kinds of sushi. Needless to say, I was not happy about that at all and they promptly changed the labels to properly indicate what is in each box.
Doesn't have to be tainted to make me sick. Call it what you want, it's still BAIT.
lol
It's DELISH and, overall, very nutritious. Ever see an overweight Japanese person? NOPE! They also boast a # of the longest living humans on this planet. I don't eat Roast Beast, Yard Bird or Swine because they're full of crap, literally, as well as antibiotics, fattening agents, carcinogens. The only time I've ever contracted a food-born parasite or illness was from eating lettuce. I suffered for 2 very long months and I was incapacitated. I also lost 20 lbs., which I couldn't afford to lose at the time. If you don't want to catch anything, stop breathing, stop eating, stop bathing and/or stop living. As for me, Cest la Vie!
nothing like tapeworms to slim you down!LOL!
If you knew sushi like I know sushi ...
You wouldn't eat it anywhere else but Japan.
LOL...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lOHo4nGBj4
ROFL - I totally Googled that right after I posted.
We were actually trying to go out for sushi tonight but the restaurant was closed! Good thing otherwise we could have been sick too!
Haha.
Sushi = pickled/seasoned rice with various fillings, some of which MAY be raw.
Sashimi = Raw fish which MAY or may not be used as an ingredient in sushi.
Calling sushi "raw fish" is like calling all spaghetti "spaghetti and meatballs", Baka gaijin.
Thanks, but we are not all "stupid Americans" as you so eloquently put it. I love sushi, but I don't eat sushi that is mass produced, or sushi that I haven't seen being prepared. There is risk in every thing, but being wise about what you eat, and where it comes from is a way to minimize the risks.
Kanji61:
Raw fish in sushi is typical and that made sushi stand out from the other foods. If you can't eat raw fish, there aren't much to eat at sushi only restaurant. So it is very reasonable to assume that sushi equal raw fish.
You shouldn't be calling someone "Baka gaijin" just because he/she doesn't know your culture, and it's a discriminatory terms from twenty century. I can say, you are "Nihon no hajisarashi," shame on you!
By the way some of your explanations are not really accurate if you are so critical.
That's what happens when you eat bait.
I don't know about you but when I order sushi, it is at a sushi bar where they make it fresh. I think it is kind of strange that spicy tuna is "highly suspect" unless it was prepackaged and mass distributed. Do the "cluster of restaurants" in question mass distribute this stuff or what?
How about reporting on this when you can give us a few more facts?
I was just diagnosed this week after eating sushi on 3/24 in Baltimore MD. How do I alert the FDA?
1-888-SAFEFOOD
fda.gov/AboutFDA/CentersOffices/OfficeofFoods/CFSAN/ContactCFSAN/default.htm
consumer@fda.gov
Google is your friend :) They also have an office in College Park.
Thanks, calling in the morning.
What restaurant or location did you eat at??
Just got a craving for a crabcake...gee thanks Robin, I can't get a real one unless I go to MD =P
lol, there's only one place to get MD crabcakes, even when advertised elsewhere ;-)
just ask for your sushi frozen that kills the worms too.somehow im thinking fried sushi might be a more healthy choice?i have seen people drink swimming gold fish,how fresh do you want your lunch?
sushi is better with salmonella then with tapeworms ,those get huge and live for years inside your body
Let the Free Market Regulate...there will be no problems!
Miki H:
Why are you so freakin' observant?? Are you tryin' to embarrass someone?? (HA!!)
Life is short and I will eat my Sushi. One of my favorite foods. You can get the same from beef or chicken. Sushi is some gooooooooood stuff. Sushi, wasabi, Saki bombers, and a great time. The rest can go to McDonalds and bitch about Quarter Pounders.
mmmmmm, eyeballs on a stick! Yummmmmmmm! LMAO
Why in hell do people eat food that is not cooked, what are we cave men ?
Sushi has a very good taste! Uncooked Salmon taste better than cooked! Sushi made by a good chef has incredible flavors. You don't know what your missing.