I like that Liz Szabo of USA Today referred to me as a “food safety researcher who tracks outbreaks on barfblog.com” in her year-end roundup on infectious disease.

That independence will grow, in voice and spirit (as long as Amy keeps her professoring job).

“We never seem to have a shortage of foodborne outbreaks,” says Douglas Powell. “The Foster Farm salmonella outbreak was sort of unique because it shows the ‘Just cook it’ message doesn’t really work. People got sick from cooked Costco chickens” because of cross-contamination between raw meat and rotisserie chickens.

As of December 18, 2013, a total of 416 persons infected with seven outbreak strains of Salmonella Heidelberg have been reported from 23 states and Puerto Rico.

39% of ill persons have been hospitalized, and no deaths have been reported.

Most ill persons (74%) have been reported from California.

Epidemiologic, laboratory, and traceback investigations conducted by local, state, and federal officials indicate that consumption of Foster Farms brand chicken is the likely source of this outbreak of Salmonella Heidelberg infections.