What do 68 diners, across 10 states, who like Taco Bell, have in common? Unfortunately, it’s Salmonella. Between October and November, 2011, the fast food chain was undergoing scrutiny by the Center for Disease (CDC) due to one of the largest reported outbreaks of salmonella poisoning in recent years. However, to the public, the mega food chain restaurant would only be known as the mystery “Mexican food chain restaurant” while over 68 cases were accumulating directly through one linked fast food chain Taco Bell. Instead of sharing this information with the public, the CDC kept it under wraps. Why? Who knows, but the greater lesson learned here is clear: Fast food chains are often notorious for having problems with bacterial infections. What’s even more alarming is the likely idea that our government knows there’s a problem and does nothing to even “vaguely” alert us. So what can you do to try and avoid this problem when you eat out? Probably very little. The truth is salmonella and e-coli are both bacteria that can be encountered wherever food is involved. What you can do to cut down on the problem at home is a little more predictable than when you eat out. 

Washing hands, fully cooking at a high temperature and keeping food fresh are easy to remember measures to keep. But how do you know if the restaurant serving you is practicing those steps? You don’t.  However, notice how most the “outbreaks” are related to fast food chains versus local restaurants.  It could be due in part to the mass production of fast food products effecting the end product. Meat is no longer fresh from the cow but fresh from the re-production line where the quality of the meat cannot be easily ensured. Remember the ground-turkey salmonella scare in September, 2011? One leading manufacturer was brought under scrutiny as the spread of salmonella reached across the U.S., pointing the finger at Cargill Manufacturing a leading turkey supplier. That one recall caused one death, 111 related illnesses, across 31 states, recalling over 36 million pounds of turkey.

So how does this happen? The culprit behind the food quality problem could simply be a lack of checks and balances. The USDA is responsible for the initial inspection of food production. Local health agencies are responsible for inspecting restaurants and suppliers of food. And “Big brother” is responsible for disseminating the data back to the public. Whenever one of those systems fail to detect a problem “we” suffer the consequences. Considering the size of our population in the U.S. (over 300+ million people) there is almost no way any health system can capture everything that happens to everyone. By the time an outbreak is beginning to spread across the U.S., the problem is already in place going unnoticed. What we can do is simply this: Avoid products and establishments that have a history of problems. Eat locally produced and freshly prepared/cooked food from establishments who have an excellent reputation. Check out the health inspection score of the establishment. Report any illness immediately to the restaurant and local health department and insist on a follow-up response. Pay attention to the facilities public appearance of cleanliness. If the serving area is unclean, the bathrooms are a mess and the wait staff is un-kept then the likelihood is your food will suffer the consequences when being prepared. 

Recalls are issued by the USDA and are more common than we realize. Not all “recalls” make the headlines. Just this past week another recall was issued by the USDA for salad mixes, preceded by a recall for marinated beef and chicken for mislabeling. One way to keep up on what’s happening with food is to stayed linked with the recall center. Click on the following link to see which products are currently being recalled (http://www.fsis.usda.gov/recalls/).

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