Paramount & Raw Almonds | The International Outbreak Museum

Outbreak: Paramount & Raw Almonds
Product: Paramount & Raw Almonds	Investigation Start Date: 02/23/2004
Location: Multi-state outbreak	Etiology: Salmonella Enteritidis
Earliest known case onset date: 02/01/2004	Latest case onset date: 04/17/04
Confirmed / Presumptive Case Counts: 7 / 0	Positive Samples (Food / Environmental / Water): 1 / Lots / 0
Hospitalizations: 7	Deaths: 0

"Kirkland Signature” almonds from Paramount nuts, as exhibited in the museum.
An almond’s journey from branch to palm: Step one, growing free on a tree.
An almond’s journey from branch to palm: Step two, shakedown.
An almond’s journey from branch to palm: Moving around the plant.
An almond’s journey from branch to palm: Moving around the production line.
An almond’s journey from branch to palm: Moving around the production line.
A palette of finished almonds, ready to make their trip to Costco.
Samples from almond production lines.
Almonds, anyone?
Epi curve for this outbreak.

OUTBREAK SUMMARY:

This investigation was rapidly solved by the use of Oregon's "Shotgun" hypothesis-generating questionnaire, a detailed food history interview tool that asks about over 400 different foods and places to eat. A single interviewer at the Oregon state health department used this standardized questionnaire to interview all 5 … Continue Reading ››