Salmonella outbreak - scant on details so avoid all food?

Not much you can do if its the eggs… Except not using mayonnaise made from raw eggs!

This was certainly a surprise to me. I worked there years and years ago as a kitchen hand and they are good with hygiene I saw it with my own eyes. I ate so much food there including free pastries for months with not one problem. I still go there every week or two for the chilli jam eggs (yummy) and never had a problem. If the outbreak did come from Silo the mistake certainly wouldn’t of been made by Leanne – the head pastry chef/baker/co owner. She is an absolute master perfectionist at what she does, she has caused grown men (pastry chefs etc) to break down and cry because they got one little thing wrong in a recipe and in the bin it goes. Leanne really is an absolute master trademan – she has reached the pinnacle of her trades. I look up to her as a tradesperson and hope that I can translate that kind of excellence to my trade. It will take years to achieve. I love that place, it really is excellent.

The only critique I would level against them would be the front counter staff. They are not perfectionists like Leanne and the kitchen staff, but they act so pretentious and arrogant always treating you like they do not need your patronage. But with food, bread and pastries like that – who cares about a rude counter jockey.

imarty said :

Coincidentally a research paper on FoodBorne disease Outbreaks in Australia 2001-2009 crossed my desk this very morning.
Of the total number of the 336 outbreaks of Salmonella, 6,573 fell ill, 1138 were hospitalised and 21 died.

My OH was almost one of those 21 who died and one of the 1138 hospitalised.

Just before they took him to surgery to cut open his stomach/bowels (something down there) to find out why he was almost dead, they discovered salmonella. Took 10 days in TCH to get to that point.

He’s very much alive now and still a PITA.

Sad & shocked in a way – it’s our favourite bakery. But we’ve been a bit sick from the mayo before – it’s not so much a hygene issue as one of proper food storage. Raw egg mayo is how to make real tasty mayo but it doesnt have a good shelf-life and needs to be stored at proper temps.

ABC Canberra is now reporting a link to Silo bakery.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-12-07/kingston-bakery-linked-to-outbreak/3718614/?site=canberra

Have to say, not surprised. I went in once and left because something didn’t sit right. I went back with a friend a few months later, he without prompting mentioned something wasn’t right and we left again. It just didn’t have that nice bakery smell and the vibe was crowded and frenetic. The co-owner is claiming that she is scrupulous about hygiene and we shouldn’t rush to conclusions. Fact is though you can wash your hands all you want, if you’re making mayo on site using raw eggs, it won’t do anything.

Hasn’t this site already named it?

theoutsider said :

There’s a Silo around the place that cannot be named…

One of the owners is outing her business on 666ABC right now.

Still not naming the business, what an absolute joke. Hurry up Gallagher and make the name of this business and others who receive notices public. After all, if you can’t make the hospital work properly, at least you could take some steps to make sure we don’t need to use it.

This from Feb:
“Thirty-eight prohibition and warning notices were issued to Canberra eateries over the last two years, but under current legislation, there is no obligation to inform the public about the breaches.
ACT Health Minister Katy Gallagher is investigating whether to make the information public.”
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/02/18/3142860.htm?site=canberra

powerpuffpete said :

Not to fret: the affected outlet is CLOSED so you’re not at risk.

So, care to give us a hint as to the business in question? Or if that is risky territory, anyone care to list the food business in Canberra currently shut, and if they serve home-made mayonnaise?

imarty said :

Interestingly enough vegetables/salad was also at 7%, but 30% due to Salmonella.

Vegetables and salads I think are the often overlooked sources. CDC warned back in 2009 about totally avoiding Raw Alfalfa Sprouts because of Salmonella. And earlier this year there were recalls in the US of grape tomatoes due to Salmonella. Unfortunately you don’t tend to cook these items, basically reliant on the producer getting the cleaning procedures (I think a bleach bath typically) right.

Not to fret: the affected outlet is CLOSED so you’re not at risk.

Coincidentally a research paper on FoodBorne disease Outbreaks in Australia 2001-2009 crossed my desk this very morning.
Salmonella was most frequently identified as being implicated in outbreaks (40% or 6,573/16,411),
Food vehicles associated with the highest burden of illness included egg/egg products (9% or 1,404, 97% due to Salmonella.), poultry (7% or 1,155, 40% due to Salmonella).
Interestingly enough vegetables/salad was also at 7%, but 30% due to Salmonella.
Of the total number of the 336 outbreaks of Salmonella, 6,573 fell ill, 1138 were hospitalised and 21 died.

The most common setting where food implicated in outbreaks was prepared was restaurants (409 outbreaks) followed by private residence (101).

Basically people, make sure your hot food is hot, your cold food is cold and wash your hands. The rest is out of your control.

Peptis said :

EvanJames said :

In the US, people are very reluctant to have raw or almost raw eggs, as factory farming has resulted in eggs being infected with Salmonella almost routinely.

The latest data that I could find is from 2001 and it said that 11 cases were reported per 100,000 people. That’s hardly “routine”. That data is from the Center for Disease Control.

yes, the reality is probably less than the perception, but try getting someone to serve you something with raw or almost-raw eggs in the US. They are terrified of their eggs. And so they’re all cooked unless you go to the trouble of getting “safe” organic etc ones.

London Burgers & Beers was named fast enough, despite finding nothing wrong.

That entire episode stinks. Three government agencies (health, workcare and coppers) sicked on a small business, while two local media agencies just happened to “wander past” as it went down.

Back on topic, the ACT Health comms unit is … problematic to deal with and agree with other posts, this release serves no useful function.

EvanJames said :

In the US, people are very reluctant to have raw or almost raw eggs, as factory farming has resulted in eggs being infected with Salmonella almost routinely.

The latest data that I could find is from 2001 and it said that 11 cases were reported per 100,000 people. That’s hardly “routine”. That data is from the Center for Disease Control.

So-far, the US problem with eggs isn’t a problem here. Yet. In the US, people are very reluctant to have raw or almost raw eggs, as factory farming has resulted in eggs being infected with Salmonella almost routinely. Egg shells are porous and the way they’re processed sees poo being able to penetrate the shells. Ditto chicken meat, I’ve never had chicken in the US that wasn’t cooked to death and dry (unless it was pumped full of solution and fat to prevent the dryness).

So here, you’ll get salmonella usually from chicken meat or eggs that have been allowed to become warm and the salmonella to develop.

As for “being careful”, how?! We can “be careful” with our own food, ensure the chicken/eggs stay in the fridge until be served, and/or ensure they’re heated up to hot, and never sit there warm, but what about purchased food? Do we fix the server with a beady eye and demand to know if there’s salmonella? I’m sure that would end well.

There’s a Silo around the place that cannot be named…

poetix said :

As OP says, this just scares everyone to no purpose.

Can you get salmonella from any food, or is it just meat or eggs? (And salmon, presumably…)

I had a terrible dose of salmonella from cheese I bought in Paris – it had been cut with a knife that had been used probably on chicken.

I think they’re just trying to say focus on food preparation. In this season many people prepare food in advance (at home, and with caterers), so they want people to be extra careful.

More your gourmet wrap I’m thinking.

poetix said :

As OP says, this just scares everyone to no purpose.

Can you get salmonella from any food, or is it just meat or eggs? (And salmon, presumably…)

Poultry is a leading vector for Salmonella, with over 130,000 people being infected with the strain found in eggs in the US per year. It can however be caught from just about anything depending on handling and hygiene conditions, including from taps and water coolers.

There is actually some concern now about the design of automatic taps (the ones like at Westfield and CC in Canberra now which use sensors to turn on) after US testing found they have much higher bacteria counts typically, presumably because of the more complicated mechanisms.

Please don’t tell me it has anything to do with potato scallops or crumbed chicken wings..That would send me into a downward spiral.

As OP says, this just scares everyone to no purpose.

Can you get salmonella from any food, or is it just meat or eggs? (And salmon, presumably…)

Well, you’re not helping

Chicken or eggs, most likely, not kept at the right temperature. But agree, kind-of pointless announcing it without giving people any useful information.