A nine-year-old British boy was hospitalised for six days with E.coli after returning home from a £5,400 family beach holiday in Bulgaria, his parents say.
Keegan-Rhys Vickers was allegedly struck down by symptoms including sickness and diarrhoea just days into the Swansea family’s two-week break in Sunny Beach.
His symptoms were so severe that they continued when the family returned home and his worried parents took him to a hospital in Swansea for treatment.
Recent recalls of flour are important to note, but a recall is not the only time to be concerned about the safety of uncooked flour.
In recent years, there have been numerous recalls and illnesses associated with uncooked flour and products containing uncooked flour, like boxed cake mix. While it is appropriate to be concerned about getting sick from those batches of recalled flour, that concern should apply to all brands and types of flour, regardless of a recall.
Flour is a raw agricultural product. Wheat is grown outside in a field where birds and other animals fly over and wander through the field, which can introduce contaminants. The wheat is harvested, taken to a mill and ground into powder. Flour is not treated in the factory to destroy potential pathogens such as E. coli. These bacteria will eventually be killed by cooking, baking or frying food. When you use flour at home as an ingredient in recipes, treat it with the same care as raw eggs and meat. Symptoms of E. coli infection can include stomach cramps, bloody diarrhea and vomiting. Severe infections lead to kidney damage.
The Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) is investigating a case of hepatitis A in a Warren County restaurant employee that may have led to exposure for customers. MSDH has set up free hepatitis A vaccinations today and tomorrow for those who might have been exposed to the virus
An employee of the Gumbo Pot, 3401 Halls Ferry Road #5 in Vicksburg, has been diagnosed with a hepatitis A infection. While infectious, the employee worked at the restaurant on Jan. 17, 18 and 22. Customers who ate at the restaurant on those days may have been exposed to hepatitis A.
Vaccination can prevent hepatitis A only if given within 14 days of exposure. Because those who ate at the restaurant on Jan. 17 and 18 would have been exposed more than 14 days ago, they should watch for any possible symptoms of hepatitis A and see their doctor if they become ill. Those who ate at the restaurant on January 22 should get the hepatitis A vaccination if they have not been previously vaccinated.
Sixteen guests were food poisoned and had “cramps and diarrhoea” after eating “runny” uncooked chicken liver pate at an Essex golf club.
The club’s then-operating company Crown Golf Operators Ltd, have now been fined £60,000, after the guests fell ill after eating at Stapleford Abbots Golf Club in Romford on June 17, 2017.
After playing golf that day around 24-25 guests sat down for a three-course meal, which included the pate as a starter and a carvery for mains from a set menu.
Within a day after this meal, 16 of the guests reported being ill. Some of them were ill for up to two weeks and some had to be hospitalised.
On January 29, Crown Golf Operators Ltd, were sentenced at Basildon Crown Court after pleading guilty to placing food on the market at the Romford club that was unsafe and unfit for human consumption.
The head chef at the club, Chris James, who was a co-defendent and had cooked the chicken liver pate, entered a not-guilty plea. At his trial last year, he was offered a formal caution, which he accepted.
Stapleford Abbots Golf Club is currently under new ownership after it was sold and taken over in February 2019.
What is already known about this topic?
Salmonella Reading is a serotype that is uncommonly associated with human illness. Salmonella outbreaks have previously been associated with ground turkey and turkey burgers.
What is added by this report?
During November 2017–March 2019, a multistate outbreak of S. Reading involving 356 cases in 42 states occurred. Patients reported exposure to various turkey products, suggesting industry-wide contamination, a novel type of outbreak in which contamination is not isolated to a single food or facility.
What are the implications for public health practice?
Interventions should target all parts of the supply chain, including slaughter and processing facilities and upstream farm sources. Public health agencies and industry can take steps to provide more consumer education about food safety.
Posted in food contamination, food death, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Pathogen, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Salmonella, Uncategorized
A system in Hungary to prevent a repeat of the deadly Listeria outbreak traced to a frozen vegetable factory in the country in 2018 is working well, according to those involved.
The Hungarian Deep Freezing and Canning Association (MHKSZ) revealed the first-year operational experience of the system was positive.
After the outbreak source was found nearly a year and a half ago, some members of MHKSZ and Campden BRI Hungary Nonprofit Ltd. developed a voluntary audited Listeria Prevention System. It includes Listeria troubleshooting, identifying potential contaminant sources and focal points as well as possible routes of contamination.
Salud Natural Entrepreneur, Inc. of Waukegan, IL is voluntarily recalling Nopalina Flax Seed Fiber (powder) and Nopalina Flax Seed Fiber (capsule) products due to possible Salmonella contamination in one of the ingredients used on the formula of Nopalina Flax Seed Fiber.
This recall is being made with the knowledge of the Food and Drug Administration.
The recall is the result of an FDA sampling of senna leaves powder, an ingredient used to manufacture the Nopalina Flax Seed Fiber (powder) and Nopalina Flax Seed Fiber (capsules), that tested positive for three types of Salmonella including Salmonella Gaminara, Salmonella Kentucky, and Salmonella Oranienburg. The company has ceased the use of the suspect ingredient.
Some people call it the ship cruise virus, but norovirus can be found in many other places. People can catch this very contagious virus from an infected person, contaminated food or water or by touching contaminated surfaces. The virus causes acute gastroenteritis – the stomach and/or the intestines get inflamed, and this leads to stomach pain, nausea, diarrhea and vomiting. Noroviruses are the leading cause of foodborne illness.
“In the Science paper, we showed that bile, a yellowish fluid produced by the liver that helps digest fats in the small intestine, was key to successfully culturing certain strains of norovirus in the lab,” said Victoria R. Tenge, graduate student of molecular virology and microbiology in the Estes’s lab. “The work discussed here (of which Tenge is co-first author) shows the results of our continuing investigations to identify the bile components that are involved in promoting norovirus infection.”
Image CDC
Salud Natural Entrepreneur, Inc. of Waukegan, IL is voluntarily recalling Nopalina Flax Seed Fiber (powder) and Nopalina Flax Seed Fiber (capsule) products due to possible Salmonella contamination in one of the ingredients used on the formula of Nopalina Flax Seed Fiber. Salmonella is an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis. Consumers of these products who are experiencing symptoms of Salmonella should contact their health care provider. To date, there are no reports of illnesses associated with the products.
Nopalina Flax Seed products are distributed throughout the United States and Puerto Rico via retail stores and the company’s web site https://www.nopalinaonline.com/External Link Disclaimer
The following lot numbers are affected by this recall (the lot numbers can be found on the bottom back of the product label):
Nopalina Flax Seed Fiber (powder, 1 lb. bags) UPC 890523000720
Nopalina Flax Seed Fiber (powder, 1 lb. bags) UPC 890523000720
Nopalina Flax Seed Fiber (powder, 1 lb. bags) UPC 890523000720
Nopalina Flax Seed Fiber (powder, 2 lb. bags) UPC:890523000843
Nopalina Flax Seed Fiber (capsules, 120 count) UPC 890523000867
This recall is being made with the knowledge of the Food and Drug Administration.
The recall is the result of an FDA sampling of senna leaves powder, an ingredient used to manufacture the Nopalina Flax Seed Fiber (powder) and Nopalina Flax Seed Fiber (capsules), that tested positive for three types of Salmonella including Salmonella Gaminara, Salmonella Kentucky, and Salmonella Oranienburg. The company has ceased the use of the suspect ingredient.
We care deeply about the health of all of our consumers and are committed to providing with safe and high quality products. Salud Natural Entrepreneur, Inc. has identified and isolated the ingredient to prevent this from happening again.
Consumers who have purchased Nopalina Flax Seed Powder and Nopalina Flax Seed Capsules having the lot numbers listed above should not consume them and are urged to return it to the place of purchase for a full refund.
Consumers with questions may contact the company at 877-296-6845 (Monday to Friday 9am-5pm) or can go to our site: https://www.nopalinaonline.com/certificate/External Link Disclaimer
Symptoms of salmonellosis
Salmonella are a group of bacteria that can cause gastrointestinal illness and fever called salmonellosis. Most people infected with Salmonella begin developing symptoms 12 to 72 hours after infection. The illness usually lasts four to seven days and most people recover without treatment.
Most people with salmonellosis develop diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps. More severe cases of salmonellosis may include a high fever, aches, headaches, lethargy, a rash, blood in the urine or stool, and in some cases may become fatal.
Children younger than five, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems are more likely to have severe salmonellosis infections.
RASFF – Salmonella enterica ser. Infantis (presence /25g) and Campylobacter jejuni (presence /25g) in frozen chicken meat from Poland in Finland
