Category Archives: Food Poisoning

RASFF Alert – Foodborne Outbreak Suspected – STEC E.coli O26:H11 – Raw Milk Reblochon

Posted on May 18, 2018 by | Leave a comment

kswfoodworld food safety poisoning

RASFF-foodborne outbreak suspected (STEC O26H11 eae+ stx2+) to be caused by raw milk reblochon from France in France

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Posted in eae, food bourne outbreak, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Poisoning, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Food Toxin, Foodborne Illness, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, RASFF, STEC, STX 2, Uncategorized

USA – More Ill with Salmonella Linked to Rose Acre Farms’ Eggs

Posted on May 17, 2018 by | Leave a comment

Food Poison Journal

Consumers, restaurants, and retailers should not eat, serve, or sell recalled eggs produced by Rose Acre Farms’ Hyde County farm. Throw them away or return them to the place of purchase for a refund.

  • These eggs were sold under multiple brand names, including Coburn Farms, Country Daybreak, Food Lion, Glenview, Great Value, Nelms, Publix, Sunshine Farms, and Sunups.
  • Check egg cartons for the following numbers: P-1065 (the plant number) and another set of numbers between 011 and 102 (the Julian date), or, for Publix and Sunups egg cartons, plant number P-1359D and Julian date 048A or 049A with Best By dates of APR 02 and APR 03.
  • Visit the FDA website for a list of recalled products.

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Posted in Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Poisoning, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, foodborne disease, Salmonella, Uncategorized

South Africa – Listeriosis under control, says health minister

Posted on May 17, 2018 by | Leave a comment

Health 24 

 

The listeriosis epidemic is under control after product recalls, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said during his Budget Vote in Parliament.

Cape Town – The listeriosis epidemic is under control now that meat products from Enterprise and Rainbow Chicken have been recalled, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi told Parliament on Tuesday.

“Since the recall, we have had fewer than five cases a week in the past five weeks compared to 40 a week before the recall,” Motsoaledi said during his R205bn Budget Vote in Parliament

Health 24

Health24 spoke to Dr Juno Thomas, the Head of the Centre for Enteric Diseases at the NICD, about the severity of the situation. She asserted that while the death toll has risen, it is important to look at the cases as they continue to decline: from 90 cases to 40 cases a week.

She also explained that Listeria affects people with weaker immune systems, making babies and the elderly more vulnerable to the illness. According to Dr Thomas, pregnant women with Listeriosis pass the illness on to the baby through the placenta, “hence the severity in the baby”.

Regarding the second highest group, Dr Thomas attributes this to two factors. “Firstly, women in that group are of childbearing age, and secondly this age group has the highest statistics for HIV, making them a risk factor.”

NICD – Listeria Outbreak Statistics

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Posted in food bourne outbreak, food death, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Poisoning, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, outbreak, south africa, Uncategorized

USA – Salmonella-Contaminated Eggs Sicken 35 People Across Nine States

Posted on May 16, 2018 by | Leave a comment

Food Logistics 275px-Boiled_eggs_in_saucepan_by_Sarah_McCulloch

A salmonella outbreak attached to more than 200 million eggs has sickened 35 people, spreading across nine states.

NBC reports that 35 people across nine states have been sickened by a salmonella outbreak tied to a recall of more than 200 million eggs.

The eggs have been traced to egg-based producer Rose Acre Farms in Hyde County, North Carolina. Last month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that 23 people were sickened by the eggs, but since then the number has jumped to 35.

The 12 people that fell ill recently were in five different states along the East Coast.

According to NBC, the eggs were sold under different brands in a variety of retailers and restaurants. According to the CDC, 11 people have been hospitalized but no deaths have been reported.

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Posted in 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, Food Testing, Food Toxin, foodborne disease, Foodborne Illness, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Salmonella, Uncategorized

Canada – Norovirus likely from sewage discharge during herring run

Posted on May 16, 2018 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety News

Public health officials on Vancouver Island, off Canada’s Pacific Coast, suspect that the likely source of a norovirus outbreak associated with the March herring run was from untreated sewage associated with marine operations.

Untreated sewage also was blamed for shellfish farm closures in Baynes Sound this year.

But the Public Health Agency of Canada, working with provincial public health partners in investigating the Norovirus outbreak, noted that the precise cause of the contamination has not been identified.

“There are a number of potential risk factors, one of which is the herring fleet in Deep Bay,” said Greg Thomas, executive director of the Herring Conservation and Research Society.

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Posted in Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Poisoning, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Norovirus, Uncategorized

USA – Why Are There So Many HUS Complications in the E. coli O157:H7 Romaine Outbreak? An Attorney Answers

Posted on May 15, 2018 by | Leave a comment

Food Poisoning Bulletin 

The hospitalization rate and hemolytic uremic syndrome case count in the deadly E. coli O157:H7 HUS outbreak that is linked to romaine lettuce has been very high. Typically, in an E. coli outbreak, about 30% of patients are hospitalized, and about 5 to 10% develop hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS).

But in this outbreak, the hospitalization rate is almost 50%, and 13% of those patients have developed HUS. Why is the hospitalization rate and the HUS rate so high in this particular outbreak?

Typically, the group most susceptible to developing HUS is children under the age of 5. The patient age range in this outbreak is from 1 to 88. There could be quite a few children sick, which may explain the high HUS rate.

Another explanation for the high HUS rate and the high hospitalization rate is the type of toxins the E. coli bacteria are producing. Shiga toxin-producing E. coli bacteria make two types of those toxins: Stx1 and Stx2. Unfortunately, the bacteria in this outbreak are making Stx2, which causes more damage to the body.

Another factor could be that the lettuce was contaminated with an unusually high number of bacteria. It takes just 10 E. coli bacteria to make someone sick. More bacteria can release more toxins and cause more damage.”

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Posted in E.coli, E.coli O157, E.coli O157:H7, food bourne outbreak, food death, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Poisoning, food recall, Food Safety, Food Testing, Food Toxin, foodborne disease, Foodborne Illness, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Uncategorized

USA – 54 sick from Salmonella at Chicago’s Cook County Jail

Posted on May 14, 2018 by | Leave a comment

Barf Blog

At least five detainees have gotten sick in an apparent salmonella outbreak at a medium-security division of the Cook County Jail in Chicago.

Detainees at the jail’s Division 11, 3015 S. California Boulevard, “began experiencing symptoms of a gastrointestinal illness” last week, according to a statement from the Cook County Sheriff’s Office. Over the weekend, five cases of salmonella were confirmed among the 54 detainees reporting symptoms.

Two of the detainees were hospitalized for their symptoms, the sheriff’s office said. One has since been returned to the jail and the other was expected to be returned to the jail on Tuesday.

 

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Posted in Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Food Toxin, foodborne disease, Foodborne Illness, Salmonella, Uncategorized

Research – Canada – Veal Liver as Food Vehicle for Human Campylobacter Infections

Posted on May 13, 2018 by | Leave a comment

CDC  

 

A matched case–control study in Quebec, Canada, evaluated consumption of veal liver as a risk factor for campylobacteriosis. Campylobacter was identified in 28 of 97 veal livers collected concurrently from slaughterhouses and retailers. Veal liver was associated with human Campylobacter infection, particularly when consumed undercooked.

Recent investigations conducted in Quebec, Canada, after an increased number of sporadic campylobacteriosis illnesses suggested that consumption of veal liver may be a risk factor for campylobacteriosis. Many of the persons infected reported eating veal liver, and many of those had eaten it pink or undercooked. The association between campylobacteriosis and the consumption of meat products, including chicken liver and offal from different animal species, has been previously described (1–5). We designed an epidemiologic study to examine the relationship between veal liver consumption and campylobacteriosis.

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Posted in Campylobacter, Food Illness, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Research, Uncategorized

Switzerland – Switzerland: the cost of food poisoning

Posted on May 13, 2018 by | Leave a comment

Poultry Med 

Image CDC

More than 10,000 cases of food poisoning are reported each year in Switzerland. Most cases are caused by campylobacter or salmonella-type bacteria with the former costing CHF50 million ($49.9 million) in medical costs last year.
The Food Safety and Veterinary Office (FSVO) wants to see a durable decline in the number of food poisoning cases, especially campylobacter infections which cause diarrhoea, it said at a press conference. A study by Professor Michael Siegrist of the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETHZ) shows that this kind of infection affects mainly men aged 18 to 30.
A website external link is central to the “Savour in Safety” campaign that targets young men.  The campaign was first launched in 2016, and the number of campylobacter-type infections dropped slightly in 2017, according to the FSVO. However, there are still many cases especially during the barbecue season and during end of year celebrations.
Correct handling of poultry, which is the cause of many infections, is especially important, says the FSVO.

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Posted in Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Uncategorized

USA – More Ill with Salmonella Linked to Rose Acre Farms’ Eggs

Posted on May 11, 2018 by | Leave a comment

Food Poison Journal 

Consumers, restaurants, and retailers should not eat, serve, or sell recalled eggs produced by Rose Acre Farms’ Hyde County farm. Throw them away or return them to the place of purchase for a refund.

  • These eggs were sold under multiple brand names, including Coburn Farms, Country Daybreak, Food Lion, Glenview, Great Value, Nelms, Publix, Sunshine Farms, and Sunups.
  • Check egg cartons for the following numbers: P-1065 (the plant number) and another set of numbers between 011 and 102 (the Julian date), or, for Publix and Sunups egg cartons, plant number P-1359D and Julian date 048A or 049A with Best By dates of APR 02 and APR 03.
  • Visit the FDA website for a list of recalled products.
  • Wash and sanitize drawers or shelves in refrigerators where recalled eggs were stored. Follow these five steps to clean your refrigerator.

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Posted in Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Poisoning, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Food Toxin, Foodborne Illness, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Salmonella, Uncategorized