Search

Outbreaks of food poisoning caused by Salmonella enteritidis have become more common in recent years, and eggs are often the source of the infection. In the past, cracked eggs were the source of the salmonella, but recent cases have apparently been transmitted by intact eggs. A salmonella epidemic in Tennessee provided convincing evidence for intact egg transmission of salmonella. Confirmed or probable cases of salmonellosis were documented in 81 patrons of a Knoxville, Tennessee, restaurant, all of whom had eaten at the restaurant on April 8, 1989, and nearly all of whom recalled eating a meal served with either hollandaise or bernaise sauce. The hollandaise sauce had been prepared that evening using two dozen intact eggs, with butter and lemon juice, and then heated briefly. The bernaise sauce was made from the hollandaise sauce with some wine and spices added. The restaurant met local health department standards for cleanliness. The eggs were traced to a farm in Illinois. The chickens on that farm tested positive for a strain of salmonella that was indistinguishable from that cultured from the victims of food poisoning. Eleven of the victims required hospitalization for their symptoms; unlike other salmonella outbreaks of recent years, none died. Prevention of salmonellosis will require destruction of flocks infected with the bacterium, proper cooking of eggs, and may require the use of pasteurized egg products, rather than fresh eggs. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)