In the past few weeks, Salmonella outbreak has been a significant concern for the government, but it has been of more significant concern to the Kratom lovers because this outbreak has been associated to the use of Kratom.
In a controversy like this, the government, as well as the papers, are bringing forward documents that have been upsetting the Kratom users, who are aware of the benefits of Kratom. The facts and fictions of the story need to be laid down before making a perspective.
This all began when several cases of Salmonella were reported in the hospitals. The first few cases appeared in the second week of January 2018 and continued to appear till late March 2018.
The affected group was as young as the 1-year infant and as old as 89 years. A total number of 265 people got infected with the strains of Salmonella Typhimurium from 8 states. Of these, around 67 percent were women.
This large number of a particular disease with such frequent case reports was worrisome for the CDC, so they collaborated with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, along with other public health and officials in different states to investigate the multi-state Salmonella outbreak.
The results of the investigation were shocking. It was reported that the Salmonella outbreak was linked to Kratom. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention prepared the report and the United States Food and Drug Administration immediately acted by mandatory recalling Kratom products from one distributor. At the same time rumors of banning Kratom came to surface again.
This was when the Kratom community was infuriated and reported that the misinformation about Kratom could destroy millions of lives of those who depend on Kratom for survival. At the same time American Kratom Association came into action.
The chairman of AKA, Dave Herman gave a press release about the Salmonella outbreak.
According to Dave Herman, that the linkage of this outbreak to Kratom was mainly done to strengthen the war on Kratom and he urged the FDA to end its campaign against Kratom.
He called the Kratom vendors to follow the protective measures, which includes processing all equipment with heat and chemical before placing Kratom in it.
He also emphasized the importance of sanitization to break the chain of Salmonella outbreak.
In his press release, he pointed towards the many substances that also cause Salmonella infection , but the FDA doesn’t take a strict action as it did for Kratom. These substances include chicken salad, dried coconut, frozen shredded coconut (Vietnamese) and raw sprouts.
FDA has been exploiting this outbreak that is linked to Kratom and sending out public messages to stop consuming Kratom and related products, but the call for action on other substances is not heard anywhere.
At the same time, many others who are seeking the benefits of Kratom spoke about this purported war on Kratom. They reported that Kratom in its raw form is entirely safe and it has a multitude of benefits. Is adequately utilized can save America from the Opioid crisis.
According to them Kratom, if mixed with other substances, can cause hazardous reactions but on its own, it is entirely safe. Thus, it is very wrong on the part of the FDA to extend its war on Kratom.
According to an article published in ‘The Conversation’ in 2017, the Head of Department of Pharmacy Practice, from the University of Connecticut, C. Michael White, Ph.D. states that Kratom is a promising substitute to those who are addicted to prescription opioids and this option needs to be explored further. If taken alone, it is a harmless substance, but if mixed with other drugs, it has high abuse potential.
Considering the safety of Kratom alone, one is bound to reject the report of FDA which says that 36 deaths in February are linked to Kratom. This number of persons compared to 40,000 deaths due to opioid overdose in the U.S in 216 alone is alarming.
Isn’t it shocking that the FDA is not investigating deeply as it should be doing, because in all these 36 alleged Kratom deaths, the users combined Kratom with other drugs like morphine or alcohol?
With so much going on in the background, this recent Salmonella outbreak has been a concern for the Kratom community. However, to our surprise, we found more than 3000 users on Reddit defending Kratom and explaining it numerous benefits, which apparently should be considered by the FDA before passing a definite legislature.
Also, this must be noted that each year over a million Salmonella cases arises in the U.S. which makes this outbreak a drop in the bucket, nevertheless it is crucial that Salmonella should be traced back properly. It is said that some of the grey markets do not have very hygienic measures for processing Kratom because they are underground.
The AKA urged such vendors to regulate Kratom processing to remove the taint from Kratom.
This is not the first time that Kratom has been attacked by the FDA and local media Journalists. The Journalists have been providing misinformation about Kratom to improve their business and thus creating a negative image of Kratom.
Kratom has been labeled an Opioid multiple time and even placed in the Schedule I drugs which contains illegal highs like heroine, fentanyl etc.
However, the current medical evidence suggests that Kratom is completely harmless if take in raw form and it has proven to be highly efficient for the management of chronic pain (even more than methadone). Considering this, there’s a call for increased research on Kratom.
It is essential that in such a scenario, all Kratom vendors become highly responsible for stopping this war on Kratom.
AKA chairman highlights the ways which can make a Kratom supplier a responsible one.
- All our products should be tested for safety using the guidelines laid down by FDA and CDC and the proof of safety should be made public. Ensure that multiple labs test your product.
- Be polite to investigators and government officials and document every communication with them. Ask for written copies of inquiries and actions.
- Respond quickly to all inquiries by involving your attorney. If you feel you have been treated unfairly you can meet with your congressional delegation or local legislators.
- Meet other Kratom vendors and form a local council.
- Share new information with legislators that you have met with regarding Kratom, bring handouts and explain it to them.
- Stay in touch with local media and provide them with information.
- You are supposed to consult an attorney to avoid any possible product liability issues. Ensure that you show willingness to do whatever that is mandatory to secure your supply and that can be done if you assure your attorney that your product is Salmonella free.
- Visit the AKA website to get information about Kratom. The section ‘Kratom A-Z’ contains all relevant information on Kratom.
- Join the local Chamber of Commerce and introduce your Kratom supply business to the local community, to improve the reputation of Kratom in the community and get their support.
- Do not stay underground. Voice your opinion about Kratom because it will help you in the long run.
In these ways you can be a responsible Kratom vendor. According to Dave Herman, if these steps are followed the fear about Kratom can be reduced considerably and the research on Kratom’s benefits will be initiated.
