It’s a good thing I never became a judge, because if I had, Stewart Parnell, president of Peanut Corp. of America would have been in jail by now.

The public evidence is overwhelming: He showed blatant disregard for the safety of millions of Americans, including children. He allowed contaminated peanut products to end up in our food supply.

People have died here! Where is the outrage??!! Stop the hearings, and send this guy and people like him to jail! Just this afternoon, medical examiners confirmed another salmonella-related death in Ohio, which brings the death toll up to nine people that have fallen victim to this profit-mongering filth.

Earlier today, e-mails were released as evidence where Parnell was quoted as saying he wanted to “turn the raw peanuts on our floor into money.” And this man had the audacity to respectfully decline to answer questions at his hearing on the advice of his counsel.

I believe in due process, but I also believe that there are certain circumstances that call for more immediate action.

I have three beautiful children, all school-aged, and one of them had to come home from school today because he was nauseous. Yes, this is probably your run-of-the-mill flu virus, but for a fleeting moment, I actually thought to myself, “I hope he didn’t contract salmonella.”

When anyone or anything threatens the welfare of our children, due process must change and you should be guilty until proven innocent.

CLICK HERE FOR THE LIST OF RECALLED PEANUT PRODUCTS. (You can also find the list on our Health home page next to the most up-to-date salmonella story in headlines)

Health Officials Report Salmonella-Linked Death | RECALL

How afraid should we be of peanuts and peanut butter? The answer is: Not as afraid as we currently are. Before the current scare, we were already overly fearful of peanut allergies. True, peanut allergy is the most common cause of food-related death, but this tragic event is very rare, affecting approximately one per 830,000 children with food allergy every year. The prevalence of peanut allergy is about 1percent — this incidence appears to be on the rise, but the perception of allergy even where it doesn’t truly exist is rising even faster. This exaggerated perception is due to fear. As I describe in my book “False Alarm: the Truth About the Epidemic of Fear,” we tend to personalize and hype publically-touted risks, and peanut allergy is a prime example.

Now, along comes Peanut Corp. of America, with its unsanitary conditions, primed for contamination, and worse, its history of knowingly shipping salmonella-laced products to manufacturers. With all the attention this problem has received, it is hard to believe that the contaminated peanut butter traced to the Georgia plant is only a small amount of the total $800 million in annual sales by the peanut butter companies in the United States. Common peanut butter products including Jif, Skippy and Peter Pan are not affected, though peanut butter sales overall are down 25 percent and continue to drop. Keep in mind that though the bacterial outbreak has been linked to just 575 cases and 8 deaths, more than 1,500 products have now been recalled by the FDA. This may be a wise precaution, but it is also important that we in the news media learn to properly context this kind of message so we don’t spread unnecessary fear.

I believe it is important that we learn a new language of risk.

It is possible to publically expose shoddy and even criminal practices among our food manufacturers without this leading automatically to the conclusion that all of our food is unsafe. If you still have a recalled peanut cookie or cracker in your closet, and you accidentally bite into it, the chances of you becoming ill from a harbored salmonella is extremely small.

Terrorists of all kind can kill us. But the fear and perceived risk they spread is always far greater than the actual risk.

Dr. Marc Siegel is an internist and associate professor of medicine at the NYU School of Medicine. He is a FOX News medical contributor and writes a health column for LA Times, where he examines TV and movies for medical accuracy. Dr. Siegel is the author of “False Alarm: The Truth About the Epidemic of Fear“ and “Bird Flu: Everything You Need to Know About the Next Pandemic.”  Read more at www.doctorsiegel.com

Salmonella is an animal bacteria that lives in the intestines of cows and chickens.  It has become prevalent in these animals and can easily spread to humans through live chicken handlers and food handlers. We raise our poultry in close quarters and squalor, injecting them with steroids and antibiotics that weaken their immunities and create resistant bugs. Salmonella can also easily spread to crops from manure and irrigation, so people can then become infected from eating contaminated produce. Peanuts have not been part of previous outbreaks, but the bacteria is spreading to vegetables never before affected.

At this point there are 2 to 4 million cases of salmonella food poisoning every year in the U.S., with close to 1000 deaths.
  
The current outbreak involves a resistant salmonella that is becoming a growing problem. Peanut Corp of America has not done an effective job — in fact, salmonella was found on the floor of one of its Georgia factories. The bacteria probably got into the peanut butter in the manufacturing process.
 
More than 125 products have been recalled, including 7 million cases of Kellogg Keebler crackers and Amos cookies, General Mills products, Perry ice cream, NutriSystem granola bars and Pet Smart dog biscuits.

Despite these recalls, the overall risk to the consumer remains statistically quite low. For those who don’t want to take even the slightest risk (I can’t blame them for this) a listing of the 125 products that have been recalled is available at the FDA website.

How to solve the growing Salmonella problem?
*  FDA regulations and manpower need to be increased because the problem is very difficult to oversee. The current outbreak is an example: Peanuts grown in Georgia are made into peanut butter in Minnesota and then sold throughout the country
*  Other techniques that should be considered to protect our peanut crop and other vegetables include radiating vegetables, altering crops genetically to make them resistant to bacteria, and using chlorine dioxide compounds which kill salmonella in the growing and food-handling process.

What should you do if you think you are sick with salmonella poisoning?
*  Symptoms of salmonella poisoning include nausea, fever, and diarrhea
*  Dehydration is a primary concern, so keep well-hydrated
*  Consult with your physician
*  Antibiotics may be considered if the infection is not resolving

To check out my oped in Newsday this past week on the Salmonella/peanut butter outbreak, click here.

Dr. Marc Siegel is an internist and associate professor of medicine at the NYU School of Medicine. He is a FOX News medical contributor and writes a health column for LA Times, where he examines TV and movies for medical accuracy. Dr. Siegel is the author of “False Alarm: The Truth about the Epidemic of Fear“ and “Bird Flu: Everything You Need to Know About the Next Pandemic.”  Read more at www.doctorsiegel.com

We’ve been hearing a lot about the gram negative bacteria Salmonella this summer, a strain of which to date has sickened over 1,000 people across 42 states. First we thought it was contaminating tomatoes, and the industry took a multi-million dollar hit. Lately the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has shifted its focus to cilantro, jalapenos, serrano and other peppers used in salsa.  I think there are several lessons we can learn from this mystery:

• Though Salmonella doesn’t sicken produce, it does sicken humans. Unfortunately, it is developing an ability in some species to deeply infect and spread among produce. The current strain, Salmonella Saint Paul, although it is not more virulent than other common strains - causing nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and cramping, it is more easily spread.
• There is an inadequate tracing or regulating of produce entering the U.S.  The USDA regulates farming, and the FDA regulates food, but too often food safety falls in the gap between these two agencies.
• Salmonella and other bacteria that are prevalent in cattle and chickens, can easily be spread by irrigation or by food handlers to our produce. We can partially protect ourselves from salmonella in our meats by cooking them thoroughly, but we eat many of our fruits and vegetables raw.  This raises the stakes for more effectively tracking our produce.
• Washing produce is not effective at completely removing pathogenic bacteria like salmonella. Chemicals which are useful in the food handling process such as chlorine dioxide (kills salmonella more than 95 percent of the time) are not commonly used. Genetic splicing techniques and irradiation are other ways to make produce more resistant to bacteria.

Despite a continuing concern in the media over the salmonella outbreak, it is also important to keep in mind this summer that your chances of getting sick from eating salsa or peppers remains extremely low.  Unfortunately, mystery and lack of answers from our federal agencies breed fear and cause us all to personalize the risk. It is hard to eat a delicious fruit or vegetables right after seeing it practically criminalized in the news without thinking you could be infected next. Many of my patients have told me their concern that the last case of diarrhea or nausea they got was really the terrorist Salmonella Saint Paul in disguise.

Statistically, chances are slim of getting salmonella poisoning.  Our food remains largely safe. 76 million Americans get sick from food every year, but this number is much better than any other time in history. We should be able to raise the need to better regulate the growing and handling and importing of our food while at the same time continuing to enjoy eating it.

Marc Siegel MD is an internist and associate professor of medicine at the NYU School of Medicine. He is a Fox News Medical Contributor and writes a health column for LA Times, where he examines TV and movies for medical accuracy. Dr. Siegel is the author of False Alarm: the Truth About the Epidemic of Fear (Wiley 2005) and Bird Flu: Everything You Need to Know About the Next Pandemic (Wiley 2006). Read more at www.doctorsiegel.com

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says an outbreak of salmonella has been linked to contaminated dry dog food for the first time ever. 

CDC officials say dry dog food may be an under-recognized source of illness in humans, and they are unsure how the bacteria got into the dog food. Usually, Salmonella comes from undercooked meats and eggs.

“They are a number of possible ways that that could happen,” said Dr. Casey Barton Behravesh, a CDC epidemiologist, who co-authored a report on the finding. “That’s something we are still trying to figure out.”

Humans became infected with Salmonella in 2006 and 2007 from dry dog food produced by Mars Petcare in Pennsylvania. Dogs were not affected, according to the May 16 issue of the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, but a number of those affected were infants.

“The most important thing is to wash your hands right after you handle any dry dog food, any other pet food, pet treats, even supplements or vitamins,” Barton Behravesh said. “In addition, keep infants and other young children away from pet food, because kids tend to want to see what their dogs are eating and grab at the pet food and play with it or even put it in their mouth.”