What Are the Symptoms of Salmonella?
The CDC says Salmonella symptoms usually include diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps, and that the infection can rarely lead to other health problems. Symptoms usually start 6 hours to 6 days after infection and usually last 4 to 7 days.
It is one of the most serious foodborne germs. The CDC estimates Salmonella cause about 1.35 million infections in the United States every year, with contaminated food the source of most, and calls Salmonella the leading cause of hospitalizations and deaths linked to foodborne illness.
The CDC says most infections are linked to chicken, fruits, pork, seeded vegetables such as tomatoes, other produce such as nuts, beef and turkey, and that any food can become contaminated, even processed foods such as flour. It calls chicken a major source, saying more than 1 in every 25 packages of chicken at the grocery store is contaminated with Salmonella.
Sources checked September 15, 2026. Every point below links the page it came from.
The sources behind this answer
- Government sourceThe CDC says Salmonella symptoms usually include diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps, and that the infection can rarely lead to other health problems. CDC ↗
- Government sourceThe CDC says Salmonella symptoms usually start 6 hours to 6 days after infection and usually last 4 to 7 days. CDC ↗
- Government sourceThe CDC estimates Salmonella cause about 1.35 million infections in the United States every year, with contaminated food the source of most of them. CDC ↗
- Government sourceThe CDC says Salmonella are one of the leading causes of foodborne illness and the leading cause of hospitalizations and deaths linked to foodborne illness. CDC ↗
- Government sourceThe CDC estimates most Salmonella infections are linked to chicken, fruits, pork, seeded vegetables, other produce such as nuts, beef and turkey, and says even processed foods such as flour can be contaminated. CDC ↗
- Government sourceThe CDC says chicken is a major source of Salmonella infection, and that more than 1 in every 25 packages of chicken at the grocery store is contaminated with Salmonella. CDC ↗
Sources checked September 15, 2026. A brand statement is the company’s own claim, which we report but have not verified. Our grades are model-based estimates, not lab tests.