Illinois Counts 1 Case of E. coli in Current Romaine Lettuce Outbreak
With 12 with E. coli, Pennsylvania warns Doctors of Risks
Alaska’s Eight Inmates Linked to Nation-Wide E. coli Outbreak
Idaho has 10 E. coli cases tied to nation-wide Romaine Lettuce Outbreak
New Jersey Reports 7 with E. coli Linked to Romaine
Connecticut Department of Health weighs in on E. coli Outbreak Linked to Yuma Romaine
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
As a precaution, the Ziegenfelder Company of Wheeling, WV is voluntarily recalling approximately 3,000 cases of Budget $aver Cherry Pineapple Monster Pops and Sugar Free Twin Pops because the products have the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.
The ice pops were distributed to retail grocers and distributors in the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Maine, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. Product was delivered during a 15-day period from April 5 through April 19, 2018.
No illnesses or incidents involving the product have been reported to date.
| Issue Date | 23.4.2018 |
|---|---|
| Source of Information | The Food and Drug Administration of the United States |
| Food Product | Romaine lettuce |
| Product Name and Description | Romaine lettuce produced in the State of Arizona, the United States (US) |
| Reason For Issuing Alert |
|
| Action Taken by the Centre for Food Safety |
|
| Advice to the Trade |
|
| Advice to Consumers |
|
| Further Information | The CFS press release |
Risk-based approaches are important for ensuring meat safety.
Advances in pathogen typing allows for determination of contamination pathways.
Omics tools have great potential to redefine microbial foodborne hazards in meat.
New tools will provide greater knowledge for more robust risk-based management.
Meat has featured prominently as a source of foodborne disease and a public health concern. For about the past 20 years the risk management paradigm has dominated international thinking about food safety. Control through the supply chain is supported by risk management concepts, as the public health risk at the point of consumption becomes the accepted outcome based measure. Foodborne pathogens can be detected at several points in the supply chain and determining the source of where these pathogens arise and how they behave throughout meat production and processing are important parts of risk based approaches. Recent improvements in molecular and genetic based technologies and data analysis for investigating source attribution and pathogen behaviour have enabled greater insights into how foodborne outbreaks occur and where controls can be implemented. These new approaches will improve our understanding of the role of meat in foodborne disease and are expected to have a significant impact on our understanding in the next few years.
An outbreak of unknown etiology has sickened dozens on the campus of Western Connecticut State University (WCSU) and to date the source of the outbreak has not been pinpointed.
This outbreak is not believed to be connected with the national E. coli outbreak. Only two incidents of E. coli illness have been reported in Connecticut, and not in the Danbury region.
Any students who visit a doctor because of symptoms is asked to request tests, including an enteric bacterial stool culture and Norovirus testing. The WCSU Health Services hopes to speak to any student who became ill in order to identify the type of illness and potentially its source.
Sanitation of common areas on both campuses was completed Sunday. The cafeteria on the Westside campus was closed and cleaned Saturday, with reopening set for Sunday. The Midtown cafeteria will be closed and cleaned Sunday. As an additional precaution the university threw out all the food in the Westside cafeteria on Friday.
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.
Health officials in Indiana are urging residents to get vaccinated and take other steps to protect themselves from hepatitis A if they plan to travel to states that are experiencing outbreaks of the disease.
The Toledo-Lucas County Health Department has confirmed a case of hepatitis A in a food handler at Dave & Buster’s restaurant on Monroe Street, the department said Thursday.
Kentucky officials say three deaths have now been reported in a hepatitis A outbreak in six counties.The number was released Friday, along with a total number of cases of 352, through last Saturday. The state Department of Public Health recommends hepatitis A vaccinations for children older than 1 year and adults living in Jefferson, Bullitt, Hardin, Greenup, Carter and Boyd counties.
Salt Lake County Health Department (SLCoHD) announced today that people who consumed any food item from the Edible Arrangements store at 5211 South State Street in Murray between March 21 and April 13 may have been exposed to hepatitis A. This possible exposure affects only this Edible Arrangements location; health officials estimate that this store sold about 600 arrangements during this time.
New measures will be introduced before summer to put an end to a scam that has swindled Spanish hotels out of millions
The British Ministry of Justice has announced new rules to stop British holidaymakers in Spain from scamming tour operators with fake food poisoning claims.
Under the crackdown, a limit will be set on the legal costs that can be claimed in overseas package travel claims. This will stop claims management companies from seeking legal costs that are out of proportion to the damages sought – a loophole that has often pushed tour operators to settle out of court.
Claiming compensation for being sick on holiday, when you haven’t been, is fraud
British Justice Minister Rory Stewart
In a press release, the Ministry of Justice said the change “would mean tour operators would pay prescribed costs depending on the value of the claim and length of proceedings, making defense costs predictable and assisting tour operators to challenge bogus claims.”
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.
