Boiled peanuts culprit of salmonella outbreak
The Associated Press has reported that the salmonella outbreak in mid-October at the Pumkin Festival in Pumpkintown was caused by boiled peanuts. Two dozen people have been sickened by the outbreak.
"We never heard of salmonella in boiled peanuts before. It appears to be an isolated, very unusual event," Department of Health and Environmental Control spokesman Adam Myrick said.
While the boiling would have killed any of the bacteria on the peanuts, salmonella could have ended up back on the nuts during refrigeration, packaging or shipping, Myrick said.
Scientists were able to match the type of salmonella in the affected people to a bag of boiled peanuts in a patient's refrigerator, Myrick said.
