Major Salmonella Outbreak Happening in New York State?

A big outbreak of salmonella is happening everywhere. The government has issued a warning after getting reports of a lot of salmonella cases. New York State is one of the states listed.

Investigators found out that the most commonly ingested food among all of the people that have been affected was raw dough. More specifically, it is the flour in the raw dough that is making people sick. An official report was issued late last week, according to the CDC. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention listed this on their website after the outbreak:

Flour doesn’t look like a raw food, but most flour is raw. This means that it hasn’t been treated to kill germs that cause food poisoning. Any raw (unbaked) flour used to make dough or batter can be contaminated with germs like Salmonella, but Salmonella germs are killed when flour is cooked or baked. You can get sick after eating or tasting raw dough or batter. Children can get sick from handling or eating raw dough used for crafts or play clay.

This does not mean that you cannot use flour. You can still use the flour, just make sure that it is fully baked. The CDC also notes that once the flour is baked, any contamination is killed.

Also, make sure that you are cleaning bowls and utensils that come into contact with dough or raw batter very well. How do you know if you have food poisoning or salmonella? You might know if you caught the salmonella outbreak if you have diarrhea, fever, or stomach cramps.