Hazelnut Grove Near Dump Contaminated

Schmidt Farm hazelnuts have been contaminated with Salmonella Typhimurium, according to Oregon Live and the Salem Statesman Journal.

This type of salmonella can make people who eat the nuts ill. According to the two news sources, "Most people who get salmonellosis become sick in one to five days after exposure. Salmonellosis can cause diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps that can last up to seven days. Most people recover without treatment, but in some cases the diarrhea is so severe hospital care is needed."  Death can also result but is rare.

People who bought nuts this fall at the farm stand on Highway 18 are advised to throw them away.  Schmidt Farm nuts processed and sold elsewhere appear not to be affected.

The Schmidt Farm's hazelnut and walnut groves lie directly across Highway 18 from the entrance to Riverbend Landfill.  The farm is widely believed to be the unnamed farm mentioned frequently in the dump's expansion application as experiencing no adverse affects from its proximity to the landfill.

While the source of the salmonella outbreak has not been determined, nuts and other crops can be contaminated by contact with birds, including seagulls, carrying salmonella.  The hundreds of seagulls and other birds that visited the landfill this fall could well carry salmonella from rotting food and animal corpses across the street to the Schmidt Farm orchards.

Alternatively, trucks dumping waste at the landfill could carry the organism away on their tires.  Neighbors and commuters have long complained about the dust that accumulates at the landfill entrance to be kicked up by passing vehicles.  The hazelnut and walnut trees along the highway are in the path of these dust clouds.

For more information about the health hazard posed by salmonellosis, check the Oregon Health Authority website.