The hardest hit states in the Hannaford ground beef Salmonella outbreak have been New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. The outbreak is noteworthy for a number of reasons, including the facts that Hannaford did not keep detailed records in grinding the hamburger and because the type of Salmonella traced to the meat is resistant to multiple antibiotics.
Food poisoning experts who have studied the timeline in the Hannaford ground beef outbreak say it is also similar to past outbreaks where up to three new cases per month are detected through molecular review by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. By that analysis, the number of people sickened by now could be close to two dozen. The last official update provided by the CDC was January 15, 2012, when there were 19 confirmed case patients.
The timeline for the Hannaford outbreak started October 12, the day the first confirmed case-patient tested positive for the outbreak strain of Salmonella typhimurium. People continued to get sick beyond December 15, the day Hannaford recalled all ground beef packages with sell-by dates of December 17, 2011, or earlier.
Because the meat in question was sold over a long time period, officials continue to urge consumers to check their home freezers for recalled Hannaford ground beef products and not eat them. Restaurant and food service operators should not serve it.
