As a precautionary measure, Matthew Walker is recalling several date codes of Edna May Brand Christmas Puddings due to signs of mould growth.
Matthew Walker is recalling, as a precautionary measure, some of its Edna May brand Christmas puddings because of signs of mould growth. The FSA has issued a Product Recall Information Notice.
If you have bought one of the products listed in this link, do not eat it. Instead, return it to the store or supplier you bought it from for a full refund.
As of November 15, 2013, a total of 389 persons infected with seven outbreak strains of Salmonella Heidelberg have been reported from 23 states and Puerto Rico.
40% of ill persons have been hospitalized, and no deaths have been reported.
Most ill persons (74%) have been reported from California.
Epidemiologic, laboratory, and traceback investigations conducted by local, state, and federal officials indicate that consumption of Foster Farms brand chicken is the likely source of this outbreak of Salmonella Heidelberg infections.
Posted in Bacteria, CDC, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Hygiene, Illness, Laboratory, Microbiology, Pathogen, Recall, Salmonella
Tagged cdc, ill persons, Salmonella Heidelberg
The Salmonella outbreak we reported on last week has been confirmed as Salmonella enteritidis, according to MLive. Eighteen cases have been confirmed in Muskegon County. The Muskegon County web site was down at the time of this report.
Officials believe that a single source caused the outbreak, and that people were exposed to the bacteria from October 30 to November 2, 2013. Seventeen of the eighteen cases are related. There is no information about the source of the bacteria, where the patients ate, or what they ate. Officials are going to start studying epidemiological evidence and will conduct statistical analysis this week.
There is a regional outbreak of shigella related illnesses throughout Stanly, Cabarrus, Rowan, Union, and Mecklenburg counties. Cabarrus County has over 40 lab confirmed cases reported which is the highest number of reported cases in all these counties,” said Cindy Russell, Stanly County Health Department communicable disease nurse.
“We want to call your attention to this outbreak as many Stanly County residents participate in activities that cross county lines. As of this week, Stanly County has had two reported cases of shigella and one probable case.”
Shigella is a highly infectious disease. Most of those that are infected with shigella develop watery stools, fever and stomach cramps starting a day or two after they are exposed to the bacteria, according to the health department. The watery stools are often bloody. Shigellosis usually resolves in five to seven days.
Posted in Bacteria, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Laboratory, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen, Shigatoxin, Shigella
Tagged Cabarrus, Mecklenburg counties, Shigella, Stanly, Stanly County, Stanly County Health Department
Recent work from University Distinguished Professor of Biology Kim Lewis promises to overcome one of the leading public health threats of our time. In a groundbreaking study published Wednesday in the journal Nature, Lewis’ team presents a novel approach to treat and eliminate methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, a potent bacterium whose resistance to antibiotics has kept it one step ahead of researchers. That is, until now.
Bacteria such as MRSA have evolved to actively resist certain antibiotics, a fact that has generated significant interest among the scientific and medical communities. But Lewis, Director of Northeastern’s Antimicrobial Discovery Center, suspected that a different adaptive function of bacteria might be the true culprit in making these infections so devastating. –
The boss of the Ocean Grill in Alexandra Parade, Servet Cicek, UK, has been ordered to do 250 hours of unpaid work after he admitted 10 food safety offences at North Somerset Magistrates Court.
He was also given a 12 month community, six-month curfew and told to pay costs of £2,658.92.
Council food safety officers made an unannounced inspection of the takeaway last December, the court heard, finding a build-up of dirt, grease and food throughout the premises.
Raw meats were stored next to and on top of salads and cans of drinks, allowing bacteria and blood to contaminate the food.
A south Indian restaurant has been closed until further notice until tests confirm the source of an outbreak which has claimed 19 victims in total.
The restaurant, in Leicester, has received five-star ratings in its last three council inspections – the most recent of which was just last month. It has also won awards for its service and standards and has featured on Hairy Bikers’ Best Of British BBC2 show.
The UK Food Standards Agency says the undercooking of meat products, such as burgers and sausages, continues to be a significant concern, particularly for enforcement officers responsible for assessing the safety of practices used by food businesses. Meat products, such as burgers, have been associated with food poisoning and they can pose a risk of illness because of the way they are prepared if they are then undercooked. For example, with whole pieces of meat, bacterial contamination is usually present on the outer surfaces. Internal (deep muscle) contamination is unlikely unless the meat has been pierced. External contamination can become spread throughout the meat during mincing, such as in the preparation of burgers, kebabs, sausages and other products.
There are indications that consumers and caterers are showing a preference for serving burgers undercooked and in a variety of settings. Local authority enforcement officers are concerned about the risk posed by such practices. A number of bacterial hazards may be associated with meat of which verocytotoxin-producing E.coli and salmonella are considered to be the most important.
Posted in Bacteria, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Spoilage, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen, Research
Tagged Consumer Food Safety, Consumer Food Safety The UK Food Standards Agency, Food Safety, Meat products, Servet Cicek
The Food Code is a model for safeguarding public health and ensuring food is unadulterated and honestly presented when offered to the consumer. It represents FDA’s best advice for a uniform system of provisions that address the safety and protection of food offered at retail and in food service.
This model is offered for adoption by local, state, and federal governmental jurisdictions for administration by the various departments, agencies, bureaus, divisions, and other units within each jurisdiction that have been delegated compliance responsibilities for food service, retail food stores, or food vending operations. Alternatives that offer an equivalent level of public health protection to ensure that food at retail and foodservice is safe are recognized in this model.
The FDA Food Code marks it’s 20th anniversary with the release of the 2013 edition. The 2013 Food Code (8th edition) reflects the agency’s continued commitment to maintaining cooperative programs with state, local, tribal, and territorial governments. Enhancements in this edition reflect the input of regulatory officials, industry, academia, and consumers that participated in the 2012 biennial meeting of the Conference for Food Protection (CFP).
Salads and sandwich wraps linked to a multistate E. coli outbreak were sold at Walgreens stores in Northern California and Trader Joe’s stores in California, Washington, Oregon and Arizona, according to a retail distribution list compiled by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA FSIS). At least 26 people who ate the salads or sandwich wraps containing the salads, have become ill. Six of them have been hospitalized
More salads have been recalled in the wake of an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak in western states. The FDA and Whole Foods Market are recalling ready-to-eat Artichoke Wheatberry Salad and Southwest SooFoo Salads as a preventive measure after the large Glass Onion Catering recall because they may be contaminated with the pathogenic bacteria.
The salads have expiration dates between November 9 and November 13, 2013. They were sold in California Whole Foods Stores. The PLU numbers for the Artichoke Wheatberry Salad are 28563300000 and 28563400000. The PLU numbers for the Southwest SooFoo Salad are 28563700000 and 28563800000. The salads were sold during an unspecified time period.
Two strains of E. coli that have never been seen before are the source of two separate, ongoing food poisoning outbreaks in California, health officials told Food Poisoning Bulletin today. One of these new strains is the source of the multistate outbreak linked to ready-to-eat salads produced by Glass Onion Catering of Richmond, CA and sold at Trader Joe’s and other grocery stores in several states. The other new strain has sickened four people in Humboldt County, in Northern California
Posted in Bacteria, E.coli, E.coli O103, E.coli O157, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Laboratory, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen
Tagged Artichoke Wheatberry Salad, California, food poisoning, Northern California, U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service
EFSA is working closely with the European Commission’s Directorate General for Health and Consumers, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and Member States to help identify the origin of the recent outbreaks of Hepatitis A virus infection in humans. The outbreaks occurred in Italy, Ireland, and the Netherlands. In particular, EFSA will analyse information on the outbreaks provided by Member States. Hepatitis A is an infectious disease that can be transmitted through consumption of contaminated food or water or direct contact with an infectious person.
Posted in EFSA, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Hepatitis A, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen, Virus
Tagged efsa, Hepatitis A virus infection, Member States, outbreaks, the European Commission
CDC is collaborating with public health officials in California, Washington, and Arizona; the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS); and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to investigate a multistate outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O157:H7 (STEC O157:H7) infections. The STEC O157:H7 PFGE pattern in this outbreak is new to the PulseNet database. It has never been seen before.
Glass Onion Catering, a Richmond, Calif. establishment, is recalling approximately 181,620 pounds of ready-to-eat salads and sandwich wrap products with fully-cooked chicken and ham that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.
The company announced that the products are being recalled in conjunction with other foods regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). A full list of products being recalled will be available on FDA’s website
Posted in Bacteria, E.coli O157, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Testing, FSIS, Laboratory, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen, Recall
Tagged escherichia coli, fda, food and drug administration, fsis, U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, usda fsis
FoodWorld 