Buncombe County, North Carolina health officials are emphasizing that strict food safety measures should be followed during the current outbreak of Salmonella Paratyphi B to prevent further person-to-person transmission.
As of May 4, 2012, 46 people in five states (Georgia, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee) have been sickened, and seven of those patients have been hospitalized. Gibbie Harris, Health Director of Buncombe County, held a press conference where she announced that the recalled tempeh is connected to the infections. The outbreak is still occurring, especially since some students from University of North Carolina at Asheveille have gone home and “we’re starting to see symptoms in some of those people,” Harris stated.
She said that only about 50% of the infected patients have eaten tempeh. That means person-to-person transmission and cross-contamination of food has been occurring. All of the recalled tempeh is off the shelves and out of restaurants, but “we are still in the middle of an outbreak,” Harris added.
Cross-contamination is still possible if utensils used on the contaminated tempeh are not disinfected before touching other foods. Disinfecting kitchens, bathrooms, and other commonly touched objects is critical, as is thorough hand-washing, with warm water and soap. “It’s important to not share food, cook food, or serve food to other people if you are ill,” Harris said.
Chad Oliphant of Smiling Hara also spoke at the press conference, confirming that that company’s tempeh was the source of the outbreak, although officials do not know which specific ingredients are to blame. There are “preliminary results on individual ingredients that are pointing in that direction,” according to Oliphant. Those ingredients are currently being tested and those results won’t be back for about a week.
Oliphant explained that the ingredients used to make tempeh are vinegar, beans, and a starter culture. Tempeh is made by growing a mycelium on the beans, similar to mushroom cultivation. So it’s made of beans and a fungal product.
It’s possible that the contaminated ingredient was given to other suppliers, according to Harris. The Department of Health is exploring that possibility, she said. “At this point, it’s person-to-person contact we’re worried about,” she said.
