Salmonellosis is a disease caused by the bacteria called Salmonella. In Australia, most Salmonella infections occur after eating contaminated food or sometimes after contact with another person with the infection.
Salmonellosis is a common cause of foodborne illness and hospitalisation across Australia.
A range of paratyphoid Salmonella have been found in Australian chickens. However, not all of these poultry-associated Salmonella are capable of causing human disease. The most common paratyphoid Salmonella found in chickens is S. Sofia (36% of chicken isolates in one study and 90% in another study).
“For the samples from processing plants, Salmonella was detected in 21.4% of samples and Campylobacter was detected in 86.7% of samples,” said the NSW Food Authority.
Salmonella was responsible for more than half of all foodborne outbreaks in Australia in 2017, according to recently released figures. A total of 179 foodborne outbreaks were reported in 2017. They affected 2,130 people resulting in at least 290 hospital admissions and five deaths.
In Australia: There are at least 4.1 million cases of gastro each year. On average, there are more than 230,000 cases of Campylobacter and 55,000 cases of Salmonella each year.
The frequency of Salmonella-contaminated eggs in Australia is very low. Despite this, there is a potential risk of illness from consumption of raw or lightly-cooked eggs, or the consumption of uncooked foods containing raw egg.
There is currently no commercial vaccine available in Australia for Salmonella enteritidis. ST vaccination may provide some cross-protection against SE. However, research has shown that vaccination alone is not an effective control strategy to prevent Salmonella infection in birds or humans.
It is not recommended to wash chicken meat before cooking. This recommendation has the endorsement of the Food Safety Information Council (FSIC). Washing is likely to splash raw meat juices and any bacteria in to the kitchen sink, bench top and utensils and washing will not remove all bacteria.
There is much less chance of contamination in eggs than in poultry meat, but that does not mean there's no chance. For backyard chicken owners, dirty nesting boxes (think wet winters), egg collection, and storage are risks for Salmonella transmission through eggs.
Washing any raw poultry, whether it's chicken, duck, goose or turkey, is unsafe as it can spread bacteria to your hands, surfaces and other foods that may not be cooked. Washing is also unnecessary as cooking poultry to 75°C in the centre of a fillet or the thickest part of the thigh will kill any bacteria.
Signs of Salmonella in My Backyard Chickens
In young birds and chicks, you can see signs of depression, dehydration, diarrhea, stunted growth, and general weakness. If usually happy chickens are acting strange, you should take them to a veterinarian.
Salmonella infections are diarrheal infections caused by the bacteria salmonella. Symptoms of a salmonella infection may include diarrhea, fever, abdominal cramps 12 to 72 hours after infection chills, headache, nausea, or vomiting.
Most salmonella infections get better on their own with home remedies. That includes getting rest and drinking lots of fluids since vomiting and diarrhea can lead to dehydration. You may want to use over-the-counter pain medication for discomfort and fever.
Salmonella illness can be serious.
Symptoms usually start 6 hours to 6 days after infection. They include diarrhea that can be bloody, fever, and stomach cramps. Most people recover within 4 to 7 days without antibiotic treatment. But some people with severe diarrhea may need to be hospitalized or take antibiotics.
Heat your meat
Poultry naturally contains Salmonella, which you can kill by cooking the meat to an internal temperature of 165°F or higher. Cook all raw ground beef, pork, lamb, and veal to an internal temperature of 160 °F – and don't rely on guesswork. Measure the temperature with a food thermometer to be sure.
Natural way to tenderize
To ensure tender meat, Chinese cooks wash it thoroughly. The meat is tenderized as they rinse the meat and wring it out (via Milk Street).
Australian farmed chickens, including organic chickens, are always treated with chlorine. With organic chickens, the final wash spray lasts for 3 to 4 seconds, where chlorine is added at a rate of 20 parts per million (p.p.m.). Then the birds are put on racks for draining and air-chilling.
Typically, any symptoms of illness after eating raw chicken will resolve without the need for medical treatment. However, people should ensure that they drink plenty of fluids, especially if they experience vomiting or diarrhea. To replace fluids and electrolytes, a person can drink: water.
Eggs and salmonella
The British Lion mark on eggs means that they have been laid by hens vaccinated against salmonella and they have been produced to the highest standards of food safety. Find out more about the story of the British Lion scheme.
The further removed we are from growing our own food, the more it is handled by humans, the higher the risk of becoming sick from germs like Salmonella. Self-reliance by way of raising backyard chickens actually reduces the risk of becoming one of the one million cases of food-borne Salmonella.
At present, the only licensed live oral attenuated salmonella vaccine is Ty21a, (produced using chemical mutagenesis).
The process of producing, washing and selecting eggs in Japan is very strict. Even though eggs are healthier eaten raw, you can still get infected by salmonella bacteria. Despite this risk, Japanese people still eat raw eggs because the process of producing, washing, and selecting eggs in Japan is very strict.
Depending on the type of food, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend cooking food to a temperature between 145 degrees F and 165 degrees F to kill Salmonella.
Here's the bad news: Salmonella is only detectable under a microscope, so the average person has no way to know if their egg is infected. “Just because the egg looks and smells okay doesn't mean that salmonella is absent,” Dr. Schaffner warns.