A New York Salmonella Outbreak? Wash Your Nuts to Avoid Illness

Wash your nuts to help avoid Salmonella or E. coli! It appears that "Novel Foods" could be the source of a recent Salmonella outbreak in the United States. Think of a smoothie, for example, with ingredients such as sugar, spices, fruits and nuts that you can't wash to get rid of bacteria. They go into a smoothie and could make you sick.

The CDC is investigating what may be causing a mysterious outbreak of Salmonella in 25 states, including New York. More than 100 cases have been reported, mostly in the month of August. It is feared that even more cases went unidentified due to home remedies or were not tested for Salmonella Oranienburg strain.

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According to NBC 30 Connecticut, CDC officials are interviewing people, as young as 1-year-old to 82 with more than half being female, to determine which foods they ate within a week of feeling ill. I would imagine interviewing a 1-year-old is most challenging. Texas had the most individuals diagnosed with Salmonella poisoning and New York isn't far behind.

Johns Hopkins Medicine explains the symptoms of Salmonella as diarrheal infections caused by the bacteria salmonella.. Here are some warning signs:

• diarrhea
• fever (102 or higher)
• abdominal cramps
• 12 to 72 hours after infection chills
• headache
• nausea
• vomiting

Most people infected recover within 7 days without medical attention. On occasion the case is severe enough to be hospitalized. To avoid this it is best to wash your hands before preparing foods, wash utensils and countertops. Separate raw foods refrigerate perishable foods within 2 hours and avoid using a food thermometer.

In addition to New York and Texas Minnesota, Connecticut, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania were among the states with infected individuals.