The 106th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in Orlando, Florida discussed the fact that, although rare, public health officials should be aware that orange juice and other foods traditionally not associated with foodborne disease outbreaks could still be a source of disease.
"For many years individuals in the public health arena would not think of orange juice as a vehicle for Salmonella. When epidemiologists would collect information on Salmonella outbreaks, high acid beverages like orange juice were not considered to even possibly be involved as carriers," said Dr. Larry Beuchat of Center for Food Safety at the University of Georgia.
Since the mid-1990s a number outbreaks of salmonellosis have been associated with the consumption of unpasteurized orange juice.
“Is it new, or were we just not looking for it 20 years ago? I think it is a little bit of both," said Beuchat.
Beuchat noted that all outbreaks have been associated with unpasteurized orange juice.