The CDC is linking a new, resistant strain of salmonella bacteria to ✅soft, unpasteurized Mexican cheese and beef from both Mexico and United States. The emergence of the new strain was not noted until 2016. ✅This strain of salmonella is particularly disturbing because it is RESISTANT (unresponsive to treatment) to treatment with both Ciprofloxacin and azithromycin, the two main oral antibiotics used to treat severe salmonella. Most strains of salmonella that cause infection in humans cause less severe illness and do not require the use of antibiotics for treatment.
Over 250 persons in the United States have become severely ill with this new strain and there have been two deaths. Over 40% of persons that have become ill have reported recent trips to Mexico. The CDC suspects that cattle in both the United States and Mexico are affected by this salmonella strain. The CDC has done some genetic testing of the salmonella strains from both countries in order to make this determination.
✅In order to stay safe; avoid ingestion of any unpasteurized soft cheese from Mexico and cook all beef to the recommended temperatures of 165°F for ground beef and 145°F for steaks and roasts. Use a meat theremometer to check temperatures. I use mine every time I cook. I clean the meat thermometer if I stick it into meat that has not reached fully cooked temperatures. I clean and dry it before putting it away.
Wash hands after handling raw beef and clean surfaces and utensils that come into contact with raw or under cooked beef.
This is just my quirk, but I never set the packaging of meats and poultry on my counter or in my sink. I always set the package on top of a plastic grocery bag and then I throw the bag away without touching the the part of the bag that has come into contact with the meat. I never stick the spoon I’ve stirred raw product with back inside the fully cooked product. I either switch to a new spoon or I leave the spoon inside the cooking product long enough to kill whatever is on it. I wear disposable latex or disposable plastic gloves when I make burger patties because I can’t wash all the residue meat from under my nails. I use Chlorox with water to disinfect my sink and I use kitchen disinfectants to clean my counters. I am also careful to disinfect my faucet handle too. I often cut my veggies on disposable paper plates. It’s so much easier to avoid cross contamination this way. Same with raw meats, fish and poultry. I often cut these on disposable paper plates because I’m tired of cleaning my cutting boards. I no longer use wooden cutting boards. If I do use my cutting boards I have separate ones for meats and poultry and for veggies. I clean them with water and Chlorox solution after each use. I never place cooked foods anywhere near surfaces that have not been cleaned yet. In other words, I don’t put my cooked roast on the cutting board I placed the raw roast on if I haven’t cleaned it yet. I don’t reuse the plastic wrappings left from the from raw products to cover the cooked food. My mantra is, “If it touched the raw meat, throw it away.” I don’t use a kitchen towel to wipe my hands when I cook. I use disposable paper towels, otherwise I could transfer pathogens from my hands to the towel and the towel can become a source of infection. I know this sounds wasteful to the environment but I’d rather stay safe. I try to make up for wasteful habits I have in other ways.
I wash wash my hands with a Dial antibacterial foaming liquid soap. This is controversial, I know, because use of antibacterial products, including those with benzalkonium chloride (for bar soaps) and benzethonium chloride (for liquid hand soaps) can lead to the presence of even more resistant bacteria. This is the same problem I’m posting about and I know I’m two faced about this. I’ve tried switching back to plain liquid soaps but a little voice keeps telling me to stick with foaming Dial liquid. It does get under my nails to remove dirt.
Blogs & Forums
