About Salmonella

From the nation’s leading law firm representing victims of salmonella and other foodborne illness outbreaks.

Chapter 12

Salmonella Outbreaks

One in ten thousand eggs produced in the northeastern United States is also said to be contaminated with Salmonella, and poultry is a known vector for Salmonella contamination. Beyond poultry and eggs, though, ground beef, fresh produce, water, and ready-to-eat foods such as peanut butter, almonds, and snack foods have all been associated with Salmonella outbreaks in recent years.

The deadliest Salmonellaoutbreak in history occurred in 1985. At least 6149 cases of Salmonella Typhimurium, of which 5770 were laboratory-confirmed, were reported among people who had consumed 2% pasteurized milk sold by Bluebrook and Hillfarm. The milk had been sold in supermarkets in several Midwestern states.

Located in a Chicago suburb, the Hillfarm dairy was the sole supplier of milk to 217 supermarkets operated by the Jewel Food Stores chain in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Michigan. The dairy was owned by the Jewel company and had been producing milk since 1968. The outbreak prompted the company to cease all dairy production on April 9, 1985. The presence of a cross-connection that could have exposed pasteurized milk to raw milk was suspected as the cause of the contamination in the dairy processing plant.

More Salmonella outbreak information is available in the Outbreak Database.