North Carolina has been the site of several Salmonella outbreaks in recent months.  In an outbreak that originally flew under the radar, leaving a lot of people wondering what had made them so ill, the Toast of Dilworth (likely the eggs benedict specifically) sickened dozens in late March with Salmonella enteritidis.  Two lawsuits have been filed in the Toast salmonella outbreak.  Marler Clark filed the most recent lawsuit today on behalf of a gentleman who dined at the restaurant on March 25 with his family.  Multiple members of the family were sickened after ordering, or sharing some of, the eggs benedict. 

The Toast salmonella outbreak is not the only major Salmonella outbreak to hit North Carolina in recent months.  At least 90 people from 4 states, including 88 in North Carolina, have become ill with with Salmonella Paratyphi B infections—most of them in the Ashville, North Carolina-area—since February 28, 2012. At least 8 people have been hospitalized with Salmonella Paratyphi B infections since the outbreak began.

On May 9, 2012, public health officials announced that starter culture used in Smiling Hara tempeh products was the source of the Salmonella Paratyphi B contamination within the Smiling Hara facility. The starter culture was distributed by Tempeh Online (also known as Indonesianfoodmart.com), a Rockville, Maryland, company.

And then, of course, there’s the biggest current outbreak of them all, which has sickened 10 North Carolina residents, and several hundred other people from around the country.  The outbreak has been linked to Yellowfin Tuna.  When the Salmonella outbreak was first announced, the CDC and FDA suspected sushi to be the source of the Salmonella outbreak. On April 13, 2012, the CDC announced that a frozen raw yellowfin tuna product, known as Nakaochi Scrape, from Moon Marine USA Corporation, is the source of the Salmonella outbreak. According to the CDC, information indicates that the Salmonella-contaminated yellowfin tuna product came from a single tuna processing facility in India.  Spicy tuna rolls were a common food eaten by Salmonella outbreak victims, as was yellowfin sushi or ceviche.