CDC and FDA investigators are still investigating the Salmonella outbreak of this summer that caused illness in more than 1,200 people.  The lead investigators acknowledge they may never find the answer, even as they lift the nationwide warnings on tomatoes.

The officials are scratching their heads but are not giving up.   This is the largest foodborne illness outbreak in the last 10 years. The challenge is that fresh produce is not tracked as carefully or as easily as prepared food is.  There are no bar codes on a head of lettuce or a bushel of jalapenos, where the investigation is now focusing.

The trick, according to one researcher is finding a sick individual who is a good food historian.  Try to sit down and write down every food item you ate for the last several days and include all condiments, side dishes, garnishes, and provide stores of origin for all of them, too!  I couldn’t do it, or at least not do it with any level of reliability.

It does point out the need to get a complete history for any patient when they present with non-specific symptoms that might be related to an exposure to a pathogen or infectious disease. The patients may remember more the closer to the illnesses origin and a good history early on may help to jog memories later on if public health officials become involved days or even weeks down the road.