Salmonella bacteria cause diarrhoea and systemic infections, which can be fatal particularly in susceptible persons, such as the immunocompromised, the very young and the elderly. Animals used for food production are common carriers of Salmonella, which can subsequently contaminate foods such as meat, dairy products and eggs. Foods often implicated in outbreaks include poultry and poultry products, meat and meat products, dairy products, egg products, seafood and fresh produce. An estimated 800,000 to four million infections occur every year in the U.S.
Between 128,000 and 640,000 of those infections are associated with Salmonella enteritidis in eggs. Over the past decade, more than 500 outbreaks have been attributed to Salmonella enteritidis, resulting in more than 70 deaths. In 1994 an estimated 224,000 people became ill from consuming ice cream in one outbreak alone.