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Peanut butter and multi drug resistant salmonella
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Photo credit: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
The news keeps getting worse when it comes to the latest salmonella outbreak linked to peanut butter. The list of recalled products is growing like a Kudzu on a telephone pole. (You have to be from the South to appreciate the metaphor). Already over 400 products have been linked to the Peanut Corp of America in Georgia. The company’s president Stewart Parnell released a statement saying the recall was expanded out of an abundance of caution. He was quoted as saying "We have been devastated by this, and we have been working around the clock with the FDA to ensure any potentially unsafe products are removed from the market immediately." That appears to be in conflict however with news that they shipped peanut butter products from their plant in 2007 and 2008 after receiving test results that salmonella was present. According to the USA today, senior congressional and state officials are calling for a probe to see if their actions are criminal. There are now allegations that not only did they knowingly sell tainted products but that were trying to cover up the evidence by “lab shopping” for a facility that would provide them with the results they were seeking. If this is found to be true, all of those involved need to be punished and placed in prison. I am certain that the more than 500 people have been reported to have been sickened (which is most likely only a small percentage of the true number) and the families of the 8 that have died would agree. It is truly criminal. Peanut butter and Multi drug resistant salmonella
As horrible as this all seems it is only a wake up call for us. According to the World Health Organization (W.H.O.) there are 2,500 known types of salmonella! That number is difficult to imagine. Luckily there are only handfuls that cause severe illness in humans however. The part that is scary to me though is the risk of drug resistant salmonella. The groups of drugs that are usually prescribed are fluoroquinolones (Cipro), cephalosporins (Keflex), ampicillin (Penicillin) or trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (Bactrim/Septra). Often times these same drugs are prescribed for staph infections and pseudomonas. These antibiotics have been the so popular and inexpensive that it has led to their over use. In fact in August 2007, a popular grocery chain here in Florida by the name of Publix, started to provide all of these antibiotics for FREE with a doctor’s script. Between the over use of antibiotics as well as the increase in use in animal feed (leading to unintentional human ingestion) multi drug resistance in all pathogens are on the rise. This now includes salmonella as well as staph and the pseudomonas infection that killed 20 year old model Mariana Bridi last week. According to the W.H.O., drug resistant salmonella has been on the rise since the early 1990’s. The strain of salmonella at the Georgia peanut butter plant appears to NOT be drug resistant, however maybe next time we will not be so lucky.
As a society we need to be aware of these issues and do our part. We should take antibiotics ONLY when needed. There are numerous natural substances such as garlic, oregano, olive leaf and grape fruit extract that are very effective for minor infections. We should build our immunity through nutrition, probiotics, exercise and rest. We need to buy and support our local organic farms. If we eat meat we should seek out products from antibiotic free sources. We need to contact our local and state government offices and inquire about what is being done to protect our food and water supplies. I can tell you though I am NOT a proponent of irradiating food. It is merely a band aid for a much larger problem (a dangerous one too).
Do your part and don’t become a statistic to drug resistant salmonella or other bacteria.
Healthy Blessings,
Tracy Lynn
More on the Peanut Butter Scare at: www.examiner.com/x-2196-Miami-Womens-Health-Examiner~y2009m1d29-Peanut-butter-recall-shows-need-for-FDA-overhaul-a-food-safety-advocate-says
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