Monthly Archives: August 2019

RASFF Alert -STEC E.coli – Chilled Beef

RASFF-Logo

RASFF – shigatoxin-producing Escherichia coli (stx1+, stx2+,) in chilled beef from Argentina in Italy

RASFF Alert – Listeria monocytogenes – King Crab

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RASFF – Listeria monocytogenes (present /25g) in king crab from Chile in Belgium

India – Pune: 23 students in Katraj fall ill due to food poisoning.

Pune Mirror

Pune: At least 23 students from a city-based school fell ill after consuming the mid-day meal on Wednesday noon.
They were served rice as a part of their mid-day meal, but after some time students started vomiting, while some complained of nausea.

 

 

Kenya – Kieni food poisoning victims fell sick after three days – Four Dead – Vibrio cholerae

The Star

People who died from food poisoning at Rodama in Kieni West, Nyeri County, started experiencing pains diarrhea and abdominal pains three days after eating the food.

• Nderitu said he did not suspect foul play. He said there might have been poor handling of the food which led to contamination.

Four people who died of food poisoning in Rodama, Kieni West, started feeling abdominal pains and had diarrhoea three days after eating food at dowry ceremony.

Mugunda MCA Joseph Nderitu, who was part of the guests, said the event was held on Thursday but people started feeling the symptoms on Saturday.

“Many of the people started complaining of diarrhoea, vomiting and abdominal pains on Saturday,” he said on Monday.

Daily Nation

The Nyeri County health department has increased its surveillance after four people died after eating at a dowry ceremony at Ruirii village in Kieni constituency last Thursday.

Director of Medical Services Nelson Muriu said residents who attended the ceremony trooped to hospitals exhibiting cholera-like symptoms.

The food was outsourced from Kitengela in Kajiado County for the event attended by more than 250 guests from Nyeri and Nairobi counties.

CHOLERA

The groom’s mother who had accompanied her son from Nairobi, died in the city. The bridegroom is receiving treatment at Kenyatta National Hospital.

“The patient at KNH has tested negative for cholera and is being treated for food poisoning,”

 

 

UK -British family-of-four fell seriously ill with food poisoning on Thomas Cook holiday at same Egypt hotel where couple died

The Sun

A FAMILY-OF-FOUR say they fell seriously ill with food poisoning at the same Egyptian hotel where a British couple died under mysterious circumstances.

Sarah and Thomas McCormick paid £5,000 to take their children Paige, 15, and Lexi, nine, to the Steigenberger Aqua Magic Hotel in Hurghada, Egypt in August last year.

USA – Tip Top Poultry Recalled For Possible Listeria Monocytogenes

Food Poisoning Bulletin Listeria cdc

Tip Top Poultry of Rockmart, Georgia, is recalling about 135,810 pounds of fully cooked chicken products because they may be adulterated with Listeria monocytogenes bacteria. There is zero tolerance for this pathogen in ready-to-eat foods.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency notified FSIS on August 17, 2019, that a sample of this company’s product was confirmed positive for the presence of Listeria monocytogenes bacteria. No illnesses have been reported to date in connection with this issue in the United States.

The recalled product is frozen, diced, and mechanically separated ready-to-eat chicken that was produced on January 21, 2019. The label has “PACK DATE 01/21/19” The products that are recalled are on a spreadsheet provided by the USDA.

UK – Norovirus bug the cause of Telford hotel illness outbreak

Shropshire Star Eurofins

Provisional tests carried out by Public Health England have confirmed that the group who attended the Buckatree Hall Hotel near Wellington on August 7 were struck down by the sickness bug norovirus, which was unlikely to have been spread by hotel staff.

This means that the illness that causes sickness had been spread by someone carrying the viral infection.

PHE said it was “unlikely that this is a member of staff at the hotel” due to no other reports among other guests who ate the same food falling ill.

Ann Fleming, Public Health England regional spokesperson, said: “We have just received confirmation that the samples from our laboratories have tested positive for norovirus.

“No other organisms has been detected so far.

“All the food samples have tested negative.

“There are no reports of illness in guests outside of the wedding party.”

Norovirus, often associated with hospitals, is one of the most contagious causes of gastrointestinal illness.

PHE said further tests were due to be completed and that the hotel was due to be contacted with the provisional results.

There were no reports of sickness from any other party eating at the venue on the same day and it has had no further reports on subsequent days.

USA – Food Worker at Ashiya Teriyaki in Lynwood, WA Diagnosed With Hepatitis A

Food Poisoning Bulletin

Another Hepatitis A Case in a restaurant in the USA!

A food worker at Ashiya Teriyaki, located at 1233 164th Street Southwest in Lynnwood, Washington, has been diagnosed with hepatitis A. The Snohomish Health District closed the restaurant on August 15, 2019. Anyone who ate at that venue between August 2 and August 15, 2019 may have been exposed to the virus. Officials say that this case doesn’t seem to be linked to the hepatitis A outbreak in Washington state.

Canada – Updated Food Recall Warning – Grained Salmon Caviar recalled due to potential presence of dangerous bacteria

CFIA

Recall details

Ottawa, August 20, 2019 – The food recall warning issued on August 14, 2019 has been updated to include additional product information. This additional information was identified during the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s (CFIA) food safety investigation.

Kananaskistrade is recalling Grained Salmon Caviar from the marketplace because it may permit the growth of Clostridium botulinum. Consumers should not consume the recalled product described below.

Recalled products

Brand Name Common Name Size UPC Code(s) on Product
N/A (Cyrillic characters only) Grained Salmon Caviar 95 g 8 85202 00044 3 All units sold up to and including August 20, 2019

Tanzania – Suspected aflatoxin outbreak reported in Tanzania

Outbreak News Today

A suspected aflatoxicosis outbreak is being reported in Tanzania. The World Health Organization (WHO) was informed of the situation by the Ministry of Health in late June.

Since June 1, sporadic cases, presenting with symptoms and signs on abdominal distention, jaundice, vomiting, swelling of lower limbs, with a few cases of fever and headache, from Dodoma and Manyara Regions in Tanzania.

As of Aug. 11, a total of 53 cases and 8 deaths have been reported as from Chemba, Kondoa and Kiteto Districts. The situation is under investigation.

Aflatoxin is a potent toxin and a very serious health issue in many parts of the developing world. Major outbreaks have been seen in Africa, India, Malaysia and Taiwan over the years.

This mycotoxin is a natural toxin produced as a secondary metabolite to certain strains of the fungus Aspergillus, in particular Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus.

The toxin is then excreted onto plants or pre-processed foods, some intended for human consumption.