Preppermed 101: Salmonella & Preppers

Salmonella is all over the news this Thanksgiving (2018) as an outbreak of the food poisoning hits the turkey market and people get sick from the disease.

Unfortunate, right? But what does this have to do with prepping?

I’ll get to that in just a bit, I promise.

What is Salmonella?

According to the United States Food & Drug Administration (FDA), Salmonella is a bacterium that makes people sick. The illness people get from a Salmonella infection is called salmonellosis. Most people infected with Salmonella develop diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps between 12 and 72 hours after infection. The illness usually lasts 4 to 7 days and most people recover without treatment.

BREAKING: Food regulators urge Americans not to eat any romaine lettuce because of new food poisoning outbreak.

— The Associated Press (@AP) November 20, 2018

According to Salty, it’s a nasty disease that makes you wish you were dead. Seriously. It’s kind of a hard choice between whether this or a case of the norovirus is worse, but I think the salmonella wins if for no other reason that the symptoms last about a day longer.

Let’s Talk Turkey

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), there’s been a major outbreak in the USA due to salmonella in turkey. Here’s information they have made public:

• As of November 5, 2018, 164 people infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Reading have been reported from 35 states. (Spice’s note: Those are the ones who got tested for it at doctor’s offices. For infections like this, that’s a small fraction of cases.)
  • 63 people have been hospitalized, and one death has been reported from California.
• Epidemiologic and laboratory evidence indicates that raw turkey products from a variety of sources are contaminated with Salmonella Reading and are making people sick.
• In interviews, ill people report eating different types and brands of turkey products purchased from many different locations. Three ill people lived in households where raw turkey pet food was fed to pets.
• The outbreak strain has been identified in samples taken from raw turkey pet food, raw turkey products, and live turkeys.
  • On November 15, 2018, Jennie-O Turkey Store Sales in Barron, Wisconsin recalled approximately 91,388 pounds of raw ground turkey products.
  • A single, common supplier of raw turkey products or of live turkeys has not been identified that could account for the whole outbreak.
• The outbreak strain of Salmonella Reading is present in live turkeys and in many types of raw turkey products, indicating it might be widespread in the turkey industry. CDC and USDA-FSIS have shared this information with representatives from the turkey industry and asked about steps that they may be taking to reduce Salmonella contamination. (Spice’s note: Window dressing. They all know turkey often harbor Salmonella. They’re avoiding classifying it as a contaminant. It would be very expensive to eliminate.)

Spice spills the beans on Salmonella

Salmonella bacteria often live in association with fowl (and also turtles). They don’t usually make the animals sick. Bacteria in the feces or on the skin of the beast get transferred to people who handle the animals or their products. They can also get transferred by tools and surfaces.

Some strains usually cause no illness or only mild illness; others are nastier. The Reading strain’s pretty nasty.

Reduce the risks of salmonella poisoning

Do these things to reduce your risk of salmonella making you sick, according to the CDC. 

• Wash your hands. Salmonella infections can spread from one person to another. Wash hands before and after handling raw turkey products.
• Cook raw turkey thoroughly to kill harmful germs. Turkey meat should always be cooked to 165 degrees Fahrenheit or 75 degrees Celsius. 
• Don’t wash raw poultry. Germs in raw poultry juices can spread to other areas and foods. Thoroughly wash hands, counters, cutting boards, and utensils with warm, soapy water after they touch raw turkey. Use a separate cutting board for raw turkey and other raw meats if possible.

This is great advice for Thanksgiving, but what does it have to do with prepping?

Prepping specific food is not immune to salmonella concerns. Salty & Spice have been affected by this (thankfully we didn’t get sick).

Back in 2013, one of our preferred vendors for our long-term prepping food, Thrive Life, had a big recall of their canned scrambled egg freeze dried powder.  We had bought several cases.

In fact, we had opened up one of the cases and were about half way through the first can when the recall arrived. 

According to the good people at Thrive Life, “The supplier of this product discovered a discrepancy in their lab results that resulted in this product no longer meeting federal regulatory standards. FSIS and the company have received no reports of illnesses due to consumption of these products.”

We are happy to say we were among the many customers of theirs who didn’t get sick, even though we disposed of the rest of the can we had opened. We made a claim with the company, and they quickly shipped out a new case of 6 #10 cans to replace the affected ones.

There’s more to the prepping aspect than a single recall

Although the crowded quarters of modern animal agriculture is a great way to spread germs, Salmonella is also found on/in wild animals. People sometimes get salmonellosis from wild turtles they’ve caught for pets, for example. (Can you imagine that wild turtle, sprinting madly for its freedom but scooped up by the adoring eight year old?)

You can also get infected from wild animals caught to eat; particularly waterfowl. Eggs are commonly sources of contamination, and home operations are not immune. Cleaning home-butchered birds is another source of risk. It’s very easy to get breaks in your skin that let the bird’s juices snuggle up with your juices.

In short, the good food handling practices don’t only apply to store-bought foods. Hunted and home-raised sources need to be treated with the same care. Salmonellosis is not usually fatal, but it would Absolutely ruin a bugout, degrade the abilities of any group, and waste many calories. Plus, it’s flat miserable.