The FDA has identified one farm that grew some of the romaine lettuce linked to an E. coli O157:H7 HUS outbreak that has sickened almost 100 people in 22 states. That facility is Harrison Farms of Yuma, Arizona. Lettuce grown there sickened inmates at the Anvil Mountain Correctional Center in Nome, Alaska
Ottawa, April 27, 2018 – The food recall warning issued on April 26, 2018 has been updated to include additional product information. This additional information was identified during the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s (CFIA) food safety investigation.
Industry is recalling certain pork products from the marketplace due to possible E. coli O157:H7 contamination. Consumers should not consume and distributors, retailers and food service establishments, such as hotels, restaurants and cafeterias, should not sell or use the recalled products described below.
| Brand Name | Common Name | Size | Code(s) on Product | UPC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rimbey Foods Ltd. | Sliced Pork Belly | Variable | Sold from February 19 up to and including April 27, 2018 | Starts with 0 200118 |
| Fuge Fine Meat | Salchicha de Huacho Sausage | 630 g | All Best Before dates from May 3, 2018 up to and including May 26, 2018 | None |
| Fuge Fine Meat | Maple Sage Bratwurst Sausage | 630 g | All Best Before dates from May 3, 2018 up to and including May 26, 2018 | None |
| Fuge Fine Meat | DD Bratwurst Sausage | 630 g | All Best Before dates from May 3, 2018 up to and including May 26, 2018 | None |
Posted in CFIA, E.coli O157, E.coli O157:H7, food bourne outbreak, food death, Food Illness, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Poisoning, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Food Toxin, foodborne disease, Foodborne Illness, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Uncategorized
Since 2006, the number of reported US listeriosis outbreaks associated with cheese made under unsanitary conditions has increased. Two-thirds were linked to Latin-style soft cheese, often affecting pregnant Hispanic women and their newborns. Adherence to pasteurization protocols and sanitation measures to avoid contamination after pasteurization can reduce future outbreaks.
Listeria monocytogenes is a widely distributed environmental bacterium that can grow at refrigeration temperatures. Infection can cause severe illness and death. Persons at higher risk for infection include older adults, persons with weakened immune systems, and pregnant women and their newborns.
Listeriosis outbreaks have been associated with refrigerated ready-to-eat foods, including hot dogs, delicatessen meats, soft cheeses, milk, and other dairy products. For soft-ripened cheeses, the risk for listeriosis per serving is estimated to be 50- to 160-fold greater for cheese made from unpasteurized milk than pasteurized milk (1). Pasteurization kills L. monocytogenes; however, milk labeled as pasteurized and dairy products made from pasteurized milk can become contaminated due to inadequate hygiene practices after pasteurization. The earliest reported listeriosis outbreak in the United States in 1985, associated with Latin-style cheese (in particular, queso fresco and cotija), resulted in 142 illnesses, 28 deaths, and 20 fetal losses (2). Although the cheese was labeled as made from pasteurized milk, raw milk was inadvertently introduced into the pasteurized milk.
A US retail survey of several soft cheeses (Latin-style, blue-veined, mold-ripened) from 2000–2001 detected L. monocytogenes in 1.3% of cheeses made from unlabeled or unpasteurized milk and 0.5% of cheeses from pasteurized milk (3). However, pasteurized-milk cheese is much more commonly consumed than cheese made from unpasteurized milk. In a survey of food exposures conducted in 10 US states during 2006–2007, respondents reported eating types of soft cheeses (15.3% for blue-veined cheese, 6%–11% for other soft cheeses; pasteurization status unknown) more frequently than they reported eating cheeses made from unpasteurized milk in the previous 7 days (1.6%) (4). We describe outbreaks linked to soft cheese (both soft-ripened and acid-coagulated–ripened cheeses), demographic characteristics of the persons affected, and possible contributing factors to help inform prevention messaging for persons at higher risk.
Posted in CDC, E.coli O157, E.coli O157:H7, food bourne outbreak, food death, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Poisoning, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Uncategorized
Fifty new cases of listeriosis have been reported since affected food products were recalled on March 4, according to the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD).
Eight additional cases were reported last week while one case, that occurred in October 2017, was retrospectively reported, stated the NICD’s latest report.
Marler Blog – Full Report Link
A multisectorial incident management team (IMT) has been formed by the National Department of Health (NDoH) to strengthen co-ordination of outbreak response and strengthen health systems to prevent future outbreaks. Funding is being sourced.
The number of cases of laboratory-confirmed listeriosis reported per week has decreased since the implicated products were recalled on 04 March 2018, with eight additional cases reported this week. Of the eight cases reported this week, one case occurred in October 2017 and was retrospectively reported.
Since the recall, a total of 50 cases have been reported
a. Twenty-four (48%) were among neonates ≤28 days old
b. Three (6%) were among children age 1 month to 14 years old
As of 17 April 2018, a total of 1 019 laboratory-confirmed listeriosis cases have been reported to NICD since 01 January 2017.
Posted in food death, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Poisoning, food recall, Food Safety, Food Testing, foodborne disease, Foodborne Illness, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, listeriosis, south africa, Uncategorized
Consumers should now avoid all types of romaine lettuce, the CDC informed us, based on “new information” in the E. coli O157:H7 HUS outbreak that has sickened dozens in 16 states. That information came from Alaska, where an E. coli O157:H7 Outbreak at the Anvil Mountain Correctional Center, which sickened 8 people, was linked to whole romaine lettuce heads.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 3,000 people die in the United States each year from foodborne illness, and Listeria monocytogenes causes the third highest number of deaths. Risk assessment data indicate that L. monocytogenes contamination of particularly delicatessen meats sliced at retail is a significant contributor to human listeriosis. Mechanical deli slicers are a major source of L. monocytogenes cross-contamination and growth. In an attempt to prevent pathogen cross-contamination and growth, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) created guidance to promote good slicer cleaning and inspection practices. The CDC’s Environmental Health Specialists Network conducted a study to learn more about retail deli practices concerning these prevention strategies. The present article includes data from this study on the frequency with which retail delis met the FDA recommendation that slicers should be inspected each time they are properly cleaned (defined as disassembling, cleaning, and sanitizing the slicer every 4 h). Data from food worker interviews in 197 randomly selected delis indicate that only 26.9% of workers (n = 53) cleaned and inspected their slicers at this frequency. Chain delis and delis that serve more than 300 customers on their busiest day were more likely to have properly cleaned and inspected slicers. Data also were collected on the frequency with which delis met the FDA Food Code provision that slicers should be undamaged. Data from observations of 685 slicers in 298 delis indicate that only 37.9% of delis (n = 113) had slicers that were undamaged. Chain delis and delis that provide worker training were more likely to have slicers with no damage. To improve slicer practices, food safety programs and the retail food industry may wish to focus on worker training and to focus interventions on independent and smaller delis, given that these delis were less likely to properly inspect their slicers and to have undamaged slicers.
More than 16 months after this listeriosis outbreak began, the disease is still claiming lives across South Africa.
Although the amount of deaths per week is on the decline, listeriosis remains a highly dangerous threat. On 4 March, the source of the outbreak was traced back to Enterprise Foods’ Polokwane facility.
Full product recalls were issued for all ready-to-eat foods produced by both Enterprise Foods and Rainbow Chicken.
The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) released a report over the weekend which now places the death toll at 193 – that’s four more fatalities in the last week.
The disease particularly affects elderly citizens and neo-natal infants – babies aged 28 days or less. A staggering 81 deaths attributed to this outbreak have been of newborns.
Posted in Death, food bourne outbreak, food death, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Poisoning, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, outbreak, south africa, Uncategorized
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