At least 386 children in a Chinese province were hospitalized last week with suspected Salmonella infections, health officials announced Sunday.
The students, who reside in the Meishan City area of Sichuan province, fell ill at the end of last week with symptoms of nausea, vomiting, fatigue and dizziness. Chinese health authorities eventually determined that their illnesses were caused by Salmonella.
Posted in Bacteria, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Illness, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen, Salmonella
Tagged fatigue and dizziness, food safety news, health authorities, salmonella infections, sichuan province, symptoms of nausea
Bacterial contamination was being blamed Monday for an outbreak of foodborne illness following the popular Burger & Beer Bash in Westchester County earlier this month.
The county Health Department said Monday that the campylobacter bacterium was to blame for the outbreak at the June 6 outdoor food festival at the Kenisco Dam in Valhalla.
The bacterium was identified through tests on samples from several people who got sick at the event. The department did not specify exactly how many people were sickened.
But health officials have not determined the source of the bacteria, since most attendees ate food from many of the 30 different vendors at the event, the department said. The department has launched an investigation and has been interviewing people in an effort to trace the source.
Posted in Bacteria, Campylobacter, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Hygiene, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen
Tagged bacterial contamination, county health department, environment, science
Most cases of food poisoning happen when cooking at home, according to Haringey Borough Council.
The authority’s food safety teams, part of the Food Standards Agency, investigated 210 complaints of food poisoning but found no evidence to link them to eating out.
This suggested that most incidents were a result of poor food hygiene while cooking at home.
According to council figures, 40 per cent of the cases were caused by Campylobacter – a bacterium commonly found in raw or undercooked meat, especially poultry, unpasteurised milk, untreated water and domestic pets with diarrhoea.
Substantiation of the standards for Campylobacter on chicken meat
Campylobacter bacteria are among the most important causes of foodborne disease in the Netherlands. Approximately 30 per cent of all cases of illness are attributed to the consumption and preparation of broiler chicken meat.
This mainly concerns cross-contamination in the kitchen from chicken meat to product that are consumed raw, like salads, and to a lesser extent under cooked meat. Research by RIVM has shown that a large point of these illnesses can be prevented if the number of bacteria on chicken meat after industrial production is reduced.
Recently there is increased attention for hygiene in the farm to fork production check including slaughterhouses. In this context, the Dutch government intends to limit the level of Campylobacter bacteria on chicken meat, a so-called process hygiene criterion. If higher levels are repeatedly found, the slaughterhouse needs to improved processing hygiene RIVM has evaluated the impact of different (more or less stringent) criteria, both on public health and on the costs for the poultry industry.
A critical limit of 1000 Campylobacter bacteria per gram would reduce the number of human disease cases by two-thirds. The costs to the poultry industry to meet this criterion (estimated at 2 million euro per year) are considerably lower than the averted costs of illness (approximately 9 million euro per year).
According to the Chicago Tribune, the DuPage County Health Department closed an unnamed Lombard restaurant in connection with the investigation into four confirmed cases of E. coli in people admitted to a county hospital this week, officials said today.
Jason Gerwig, a public information officer for the DuPage County Health Department, said his agency is looking at a Lombard restaurant as a possible source for the outbreak, and said the restaurant had been temporarily closed at 5 p.m. Friday as part of the investigation. Gerwig said the total number of cases confirmed or under investigation is about 10.
The four confirmed cases were all hospitalized at Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove, officials said Friday. Jim Silvestri, a spokesman for Good Samaritan, said Friday that eight people had come to the hospital feeling ill and that four had been admitted.
The public warning issued on June 12, 2013 has been updated to include additional distribution information.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Sunsprout Natural Foods are warning the public not to consume the Sunsprout and SproutsAlive brand alfalfa sprouts described below because they may be contaminated with Salmonella.
There have been no reported illnesses associated with the consumption of these products.
The manufacturer, Sunsprout Natural Foods, Brantford, Ontario, is voluntarily recalling the affected products from the marketplace. The CFIA is monitoring the effectiveness of the recall.
Broward County has issued a boil water notice for its water customers, since E. coli has been found in the municipal system. The cities affected by this notice include the City of Dania Beach, the City of Hallandale Beach, the City of Hollywood, and Broward County WWS customers in service area 3A and 3BC. That affects parts of Dania Beach, Hollywood, Miramar, West Park, Pembroke Park, and Pembroke Pines including the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
Do not drink the water without boiling it first. Bring all water, including the water you use to wash your hands and use in the kitchen, to a rolling boil. Let it boil for one minute, then let it cool before using it. Bottled water can be used instead of tap water if you prefer. Only use boiled or bottled water for drinking, making ice, preparing food, and washing dishes until further notice.
RASFF – Hepatitis A virus in salad iceberg from Hungary in Italy
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