Growing up in Canada, barbecue was an event, or an outside cooking appliance. In North Carolina barbecue is a food.

And for some, sort of a religion.

Barbecue is made by slow cooking pork (often a whole hog) in a smoker for hours until the meat is tender enough to be pulled off of the bones. The kind I like is tossed in a vinegar and pepper sauce (that’s Eastern North Carolina style) and served with a couple of vegetable sides.

There’s a bunch of whole hog barbecue in Washington State too.

And, according to JoNel Aleccia of the Seattle Times, over 130 cases of salmonellosis have now been linked to whole roasted hogs sold from a Pierce County (WA) slaughter house.

Samples collected from Kapowsin Meats in Graham last week tested positive for the rare outbreak strain of the bacteria, Salmonella I, 4, 5, 12:9:-, a germ that hasn’t been seen before in Washington state.

Officials cautioned there may be other sources. Exposure for many apparently came from whole roasted pigs served at private events and restaurants.