The world is getting hotter, and the air is getting more humid. And that is a perfect recipe for more people to get sick from food tainted with salmonella and other bacteria.

Jeri Barak, PhD, a professor in the Department of Plant Pathology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said that as climate change continues to affect our planet, there will be “more periods of time with high humidity,” leading to more frequent and numerous cases of bacteria-infected plants.

This can include the regular produce that you buy at your local grocery store. Of course, if produce is infected, why would we eat it? According to Barak, it isn’t easy to evade infection, and seemingly healthy plants found in stores could be hiding salmonella. “Healthy plants can get water-congested” as intense rain events happen more often with climate change, she said. “Even though the plant’s healthy, salmonella can enter the plant’s apoplast – the interior of the leaf – where it’s protected from ultraviolet light.”

Barak led a study published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology that found the number of Americans who get sick from foodborne bacteria – already at 1.2 million a year – will increase due to climate change. The data reported in the study – along with the study authors’ previous research – examines how plant disease and host infection by a plant pathogen can influence survival and persistence of salmonella on or in plants. The study found that rising humidity levels – a result of a warmer atmosphere due to climate change – will increase the survivability of salmonella in raw produce. The study further found that high humidity could help other bacteria that live in the intestines of animals and humans – like E. coli and yersinia, along with salmonella – survive in crop fields and cause infection.

Salmonella Infection can cause diarrhea and stomach pains. The bacteria is in the intestinal tract of animals and is usually transmitted to humans through the consumption of food contaminated with animal feces. With sudden infection, enough of the bacteria is able to overcome the defensive effects of your stomach acid and immune system. The bacteria invade and destroy the cells that line the intestinal tract, meaning the body can’t absorb water as well, and this causes stomach cramps. The water then leaves your body in the form of diarrhea.

Although the thought of salmonella may conjure images of raw, infected meat or chicken, the most common way to get infected is by eating contaminated fresh produce. Salmonella can also survive on many different agricultural crops and persist in the soil for long periods of time.