Salmonella is a bacteria that causes diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps in people. Food contaminated with salmonella is the most common route of infection. One million cases of foodborne salmonellosis occur each year in the United States. Of those cases, 450 result in death.*
Salmonella can enter a restaurant via:
- food contaminated at its source
- employees
- customers
Adequate and frequent handwashing is key to control the spread of salmonella. As well, adequate cooking can help control salmonella.
Salmonella can spread through the following:
- unclean hands can contaminate food
- cross contamination can transfer salmonella from one food to another
* Source: Scallan E, Hoekstra RM, Angulo FJ, Tauxe RV, Widdowson M-A, Roy SL, et al. Foodborne illness acquired in the United States—major pathogens. Emerg Infect Dis. 2011 Jan. wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/17/1/p1-1101_article.htm
Read more about Salmonella at the CDC.