RP365 The Food Poisoner

 RP365 The Food Poisoner

Salmonella is a noxious little bacteria that has been infecting humans and other mammals for thousands of years. How does it make us sick? Often via eating contaminated foods such as eggs, meat, poultry, and even fruits and vegetables. Symptoms of salmonella poisoning include diarrhea, dehydration, fever, and vomiting. Occasionally, salmonella can cause serious complications if it travels from the intestines into the bloodstream without being treated with antibiotics. In some cases, it can even be deadly.
Salmonella is not rare. Quite the contrary, it is the most common foodborne illness in the United States. America's Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that 19, 336 people were hospitalized and 378 died as a result of salmonella poisoning in 2011.
Deadly salmonella outbreaks are big news in America. Every year, there are a few high-profile outbreaks that result in food products being recalled. In 2011 alone there were salmonella outbreaks involving pine nuts, boiled chicken livers, papayas, alfalfa sprouts, and turkey burgers.
Unfortunately, scientists are predicting that future outbreaks of salmonella will be more deadly. This is due to the bacteria's growing resistance to antibiotics. Clinical studies have shown that the more a bacteria is exposed to a certain kind of antibiotic, the less effective that antibiotic is. Scientists in Asia, America, and Europe have already discovered a few strains of salmonella that are highly resistant to most kinds of antibiotics.
Some scientists believe that this resistance is being caused by excessive use of antibiotics in large-scale chicken farms, or factory farms. In fact, the World Health Organization has been issuing warnings over the use of antibiotics in factory farming for several years.
The fight against salmonella and several other food safety issues can be boiled down to a simple equation: the more food that's produced, the less safe it is. For example, a food company wants to produce more chickens to make more of a profit. However, so many chickens packed together breed disease. To keep the chickens healthy, the company injects them with antibiotics, and voilà, an antibiotic resistant outbreak of salmonella.
To beat salmonella, we may need to start putting food safety before food industry profits.