Salmonella infection rates are skyrocketing across the ACT where more than 200 cases were officially notified in each of the past two years.

The ACT is the Australian Capital Territory, which is sorta like Washington, D.C. in the U.S. Canberra is the federal seat where lots of the federal food safety folks are located.

Apparently they’re barfing with salmonella.

The Canberra Times reports that as the ACT Government considers ”naming and shaming” restaurants and other food businesses which breach food safety standards, it can be revealed there have already been 31 notified cases of salmonella in the ACT this year.

Infections usually linked to poor food hygiene were reported 217 times in the ACT last year and 221 times in 2009.

It is not known what proportion of infections were linked to restaurant food.

There were 131 cases in the ACT in 2008, up from 101 cases in 2000.

It is a staggering increase considering just 18 ACT cases were notified in 1991 and actual infection rates are believed to be much higher this year because many cases are never officially notified to authorities.

The Canberra Times revealed on Saturday that ACT public health officials had issued dozens of warnings to Canberra restaurants and food outlets over the past two years for breaching food safety laws. Unlike other Australian jurisdictions, which publish online registers of businesses which fail hygiene standards, the ACT does not name offending eateries.

Health Minister Katy Gallagher said this week the Government was considering the most effective method for publicly naming food businesses which failed to comply with food safety standards.