Salsa (sauce) - Health Issues

Health Issues

The World Health Organization says care should be taken in the preparation and storage of salsa, since many raw-served varieties can act as growth media for potentially dangerous bacteria, especially when unrefrigerated.

In 2002, a study appearing in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, conducted by the University of Texas–Houston Medical School, found 66% of the sauces tested (71 samples tested, sauces being either: salsa, guacamole, or pico de gallo) from restaurants in Guadalajara, Jalisco and 40% of those from Houston, Texas, were contaminated with E. coli bacteria, although only the sauces from Guadalajara contained the types of E. coli that cause diarrhea. The researchers found the Mexican sauces from Guadalajara contained fecal contaminants and higher levels of the bacteria more frequently than those of the sauces from Houston, possibly as a result of more common improper refrigeration of the Mexican sauces.

In a July 12, 2010 press release, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported during the 1998 to 2008 period, one of 25 foodborne illnesses with identified food sources was traced back to restaurant salsa or guacamole. According to a July 13, 2010 news item by journalist Elizabeth Weise, a 2008 outbreak of Salmonella was traced back to the peppers used in salsa. Originally reported to the CDC by the New Mexico Department of Health, over the course of several months, the outbreak sickened a total of 1,442 people in 43 states and resulted in 286 hospitalizations.

A 2010 paper on salsa food hygiene described refrigeration as "the key to safe salsa". A study in the paper found that fresh lime juice and fresh garlic (but not powdered garlic) would prevent the growth of bacteria.