Maybe it’s the raw egg concoctions?

Incidences of Salmonella rose by 13 per cent compared with the five-year average, according to NSW OzFoodNet figures obtained exclusively by The Daily Telegraph.

“There has been an Australia-wide trend of an increase in salmonellosis, which has persisted into 2014,” NSW Ministry of Health director of communicable diseases Dr Vicky Sheppeard said. “It is not clear why this has occurred.”

Raw egg smoothies, chocolate eclairs or profiteroles, beef tacos and fried ice-cream have emerged as the foods responsible for most reported admissions to NSW hospitals for cases of enteric disease.

Chicken burgers, Vietnamese rolls and beef and Guinness pies are other foods sending people to hospital.

The NSW OzFoodNet annual report blamed “a very hot and dry period in late September (2013)  which may have contributed to the highest ever number of salmonellosis notifications for the month of October.” Last year was the warmest on record for NSW maximum temperatures, according to the Bureau of Meteorology, and it has predicted a warmer than average winter this year.

With warmer temperatures predicted, Dr Sheppeard conceded they were “a potential risk for increased cases of salmonellosis.”

A table of raw egg related outbreaks in Australia is available at https://barfblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/raw-egg-related-outbreaks-australia-3-3-14.xlsx.

I wrote the Queensland Minister of Health to express my concerns a couple of  months ago, after 220 people were sickened and one died from Salmonella in raw egg dishes served at catered functions for the Melbourne Cup on Nov. 5, 2013.

No response.