Salmonella outbreak: Unless diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps are on your shopping list, clean all produce thoroughly.

UPDATE 1-15: Kellogg Company has announced that it is recalling four peanut butter-containing products: Austin and Keebler branded Toasted Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers, Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich Crackers, Cheese and Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers, and Peanut Butter-Chocolate Sandwich Crackers. According to the company's website, Kellogg has not received any complaints about illness relating to the crackers. But the move is a precautionary measure, since Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) is one of the suppliers of peanut paste for those products. PCA has recalled its peanut butter distributed under the Parnell's Pride and King Nut brand names (see below). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, common brands of peanut butter sold in grocery stores do not appear to be associated with the Salmonella outbreak.

UPDATE 1-12: The distributor of King Nut brand peanut butter has issued a recall of the product, after salmonella was detected in one of its packages, according to the company's website. The peanut butter, also distributed under the Parnell's Pride brand name, is not sold to consumers but is used by hospitals, restaurants, schools, and other food-service venues.

RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and public health officials are scrambling to find the source or sources of a multistate salmonella outbreak that has left more than 385 people infected in 42 states.

THE DETAILS: At least 18% of 388 people infected with the bacterium Salmonella, serotype typhimurium, between Sept. 3 and Dec. 29, 2008, wound up hospitalized, the CDC announced Thursday, although they did not disclose where the victims live. Those affected ranged in age from just a few months old to 103 years old. The agency says it is working with public health official in many states, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service, and the federal Food and Drug Administration to try figure out the source of the contaminated product, likely a widely distributed food item. Public health officials will likely interview people sickened by the bacteria and nonaffected people to compare recently eaten foods. At the same time, suspected foods will likely be tested.

Most people sickened by Salmonella develop diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps 12 to 72 hours after infection; the cause is usually diagnosed by culturing a stool sample. The sickness usually lasts four to seven days, and most people recover without treatment, although more severe infections can occur. The young, elderly, and those with suppressed immune systems are more likely to develop severe illness and may need to be treated promptly with antibiotics.

WHAT IT MEANS: Until the CDC reveals more information—what foods are suspect—it’s best for all of us to be extracautious about food safety. Interviewing and testing for the source of a salmonella outbreak can take weeks and isn’t always successful.

In the meantime, use these tips to keep your food as safe as possible: