Strange things: Beware! Cookies can kill

Be careful with those Christmas goodies;
salmonella and other pathogens can survive for at
least 6 months in cookies and crackers, according
to research published in the Journal of Food
Protection.
Researchers at the University of Georgia
(UGA) were prompted to investigate
salmonella in low-water-activity – or dry
– foods because of an increased number
of outbreaks of foodborne diseases.
Larry Beuchat, of the UGA College of
Agricultural and Environmental
Sciences, led a study to see how long
bacteria that cause foodborne illness can
survive in certain foods.
Salmonella is a bacteria that causes
diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps
12-72 hours after infection. Discovered
by an American scientist, Dr. Salmon, it
has been known to cause illness for over
125 years.
Salmonella infection usually passes after
4-7 days without treatment, but more
serious cases can occur, involving severe
diarrhea, a spread of infection from the
intestines to the blood stream, and then
to other body sites and sometimes death.
In severe cases, hospitalisation and
prompt treatment with antibiotics are
needed to bring the infection under
control. The elderly, infants and those
with impaired immune systems are more
likely to be severely affected.
It was not expected that salmonella
would grow in foods with a very dry
environment.
Researchers used five different serotypes
of salmonella that had been isolated
from foods with very low moisture
content, specifically cookie and cracker
sandwiches that had been involved in
previous foodborne outbreaks.
Alas! Salmonella survived at least 6
months in dry environment.
The investigators put the salmonella into
four types of fillings found in cookies or
crackers and placed them into storage.
They used cheese and peanut butter
fillings for the cracker sandwiches and
chocolate and vanilla fillings for the
cookie sandwiches, to make the kind of
product that is found in grocery stores or
vending machines.
After storing, the scientists determined
how long salmonella was able to survive
in each filling.
The salmonella survived longer in some
fillings than in others. The pathogen
survived better in the cookie sandwiches
than in the crackers, and in some cases,
it survived for at least 6 months.
Beuchat and study co-author David Mann
were surprised to find that the
salmonella survived in the cookie
environment and that it survived for so
long.
The study adds to a growing body of
evidence that salmonella and other
foodborne pathogens can survive for
unusual lengths of time in dry foods, say
the researchers.
As a result of the findings, researchers
are considering new measures for
preventing contamination and
outbreaks.
Beuchat says: “The next steps would be
to test all ingredients that are used in
these foods.”
He suggests that if there is a possibility
of foodborne pathogens being present in
specific ingredients, the use of those
ingredients should be stopped. Measures
should also be taken to ensure that
contamination does not occur during
manufacture.
Common sources of salmonella include
food and water contaminated with small
amounts of animal feces. Foods of
animal origin, such as beef, poultry,
milk, fish or eggs are most prone to
contamination; but any food, including
vegetables, fruits and processed foods
can carry the bacteria.
Salmonella is estimated to cause one
million cases of foodborne disease a year
in the US; 19,000 hospitalisations occur
due to salmonella each year and 380
Americans die each year from
salmonella poisoning.
Contamination can occur in stores or in
the kitchen, when drippings from raw
meat or poultry contaminate surfaces
and other foods in the refrigerator or in
a shopping cart.
Using a cutting board and knife to
prepare raw meat or poultry without
washing them thoroughly between uses
increases the risk. Contaminated foods
usually look and smell normal.