From looking this up for someone before i recall that salmonella is NOT
readily destroyed by freezing.
 
I will see if I can find the source.
 
Remember, too, with food poisonings that there are two things to
consider: the first is the bacterium, fungus, or other contaminating
organism itself.  The second is toxins which that organism may have
produced as a waste product and which may remain.
 
Salmonella is usually pretty hard for ferrets to catch but according
to multiple vets on the FML, the FHL, and in their texts, when it does
take off in ferrets it is incredibly hard to treat and too often fatal.
 
http://www.food-info.net/uk/qa/qa-saf21.htm
 
>Salmonella and other bacteria are not killed by freezing.  Some of
>the cells present will indeed die, but quantities sufficient to cause
>infection will remain.  This implies that after defrosting bacteria can
>continue growing.  The growth of bacteria, however, will stop in the
>freezer; a possible risk will therefore not increase during freezing.
 
http://www.salmonella.org/faq.html#q26
 
>A: Salmonella is not completely killed by freezing, especially when
>present in food.  Freezing is NOT an effective way of decontamination.
>The Salmonella that survive freezing can grow during defrosting at
>elevated temperatures (above refrigerator temperature).
 
and
 
>A: Freezing is NOT an effective way of killing Salmonella.  Although
>Salmonella is sensitive to freezing in water, the protein in the ice
>cream protects the Salmonella.  There have been documented cases of
>Salmonella infections from raw eggs in frozen ice cream.  If you are
>dealing with the public, particularly sensitive populations like
>children, you should avoid uncooked eggs unless they are irradiated
>or "Pasteurized".
 
According to the NIH, BTW, about 5,000 people die each year in the U.S.
of food poisoning.
 
http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/bacteria/
is also recommended and includes a number of truly fine links.
 
-- Sukie (not a vet)
Ferret Health List co-moderator
http://www.smartgroups.com/groups/ferrethealth
FHL Archives fan
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
replacing
http://fhl.sonic-weasel.org
International Ferret Congress advisor
http://www.ferretcongress.org
[Posted in FML issue 5102]