Despite consumer education campaigns to reduce the food poisoning cases caused by salmonella, infections have steadily increased for the last few years according to federal FoodNet report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Approximately 3,000 Americans die, and one in six, or 50 million, Americans gets sick from food poisoning every year, according to CDC report. The report is based extrapolated date from food-borne infections in 10 states of the U.S. population.

Last year, more than 19,000 cases of food poisoning were reported in those states last year. That was up from 17,500 cases in 2009 and about 18,500 in 2008.

Also last year, there were 4,200 hospitalizations and 68 deaths in those states. Salmonella infection is the most common U.S. foodborne illness. There has been no improvement in United States to reduce the cases over the last 15 years.

The biggest U.S. outbreak took place last year involving salmonella-tainted eggs. It may have made as many as 56,000 people sick, according to the CDC.

Below are a few tips to prevent of getting salmonella and food poisoning:

* Shop safely. Bag raw meat, poultry, and fish separately from other food items.

* Prepare foods safely. Wash your hands before and after handling food.

* Store foods safely. Cook, refrigerate, or freeze meat, poultry, eggs, fish, and ready-to-eat foods within 2 hours. Make sure your refrigerator is set at 40 F (4 C) or colder.

* Cook foods safely. Use a clean meat thermometer to determine whether foods are cooked to a safe temperature. Reheat leftovers to at least 165 F (74 C).

* Serve foods safely. Keep cooked hot foods hot [140 F (60 C) or above] and cold foods cold [40 F (4 C) or below].

* Follow labels on food packaging. Food packaging labels provide information about when to use the food and how to store it.

* When in doubt, throw it out. If you are not sure whether a food is safe, don't eat it .

Infection Infection