Category Archives: Food Poisoning

Research – MRSA Treatment

News NortheasternStaphylococcus

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. –

UK News Items – Unpaid Work – Hairy Bikers – Undercooking Meat

Consumer Food Safety

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.

Consumer Food Safety

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.

Consumer Food Safety

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.

 

USA – FDA Food Code 2013

FDAFDA

Food Code 2013

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).

 

Australia Petting Zoo – More E.coli Cases

Brisbane Times

Nearly 50 Queenslanders have contracted E. coli in an outbreak linked to the  Ekka’s petting zoo.

Queensland Health said 49 people, including 31 children aged between one and  15, had contracted the Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC).

A 33-year-old Brisbane woman and three children, aged six, 11 and 12 – all  from different families living in different suburbs – were the first to test  positive to the potentially deadly bacteria on August 23.

Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/more-ekka-e-coli-cases-50-now-infected-20130909-2tfcd.html#ixzz2kdteTrHH

USA – E.coli Outbreaks Updates

Food Poisoning BulletinEcoli Istock

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

Food Poisoning Bulletin

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.

Food Poisoning Bulletin

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

EFSA – Helps to Investigate Hepatitis A Outbreaks

EFSAefsa

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.

USA – E.coli O157 Outbreak Ready to Eat Salads and Sandwich Wrap Products

E.coli Blog

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.

FSIS

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

USA Updates – Shigella in Texas – E.coli O157 Raw Milk and Restuarant

Shigella Blog

A health warning was issued for Grayson county residents Friday after health officials and Sherman schools report an outbreak of a highly contagious disease.

Friday, Sherman ISD sent letters out to parents notifying them of a Shigella outbreak in three of their schools.

E.coli Blog

Tennessee health officials have given a raw-milk cow-share operation that has been linked to an E. coli O157:H7outbreak that has sickened 9 children — all of them under 7 years old — the green light to start offering its milk to its cow-share members again.

According to a Nov. 8 press release from the Knox County Health Department and the state’s eastern regional Health Department office, three of the infected children developed Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS), a complication of a potentially fatal strain of E. coli that can lead to kidney failure and other serious health problems. However, due to patient-confidentiality laws, no information about the condition of the children can be made available.

E.coli Blog

The Allegheny County Health Department today reported the results of its investigation of E. coli O157:H7 cases involving employees and customers of The Porch restaurant in Oakland.

“There were 12 confirmed cases of E. coli O157:H7 and nine others with suggestive symptoms who could not be confirmed.  We have been unable to pinpoint the source of the E. coli – whether it came from a particular food product, food handling or a combination of both,” said Health Director Dr. Karen Hacker.

USA – E.coli O157:H7 Outbreak 3 with HUS

Food Poisoning Bulletin

At least 4 people have been sickened in an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak in Humboldt County, California, according to the Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). Of those, 3 developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a severe complication of E. coli poisoning that causes kidney failure.

The first E. coli case was reported in July of this year, the second in the middle of August and the other two in October.

USA Updated Food Poisoning – Listeria monocytogenes

Food Poisoning Bulletin

Winn-Dixie is recalling Taylor Farms Spinach Antipasta Salad from all of its stores for potential contamination with Listeria monocytogenes.This recall is an expansion of a recall announced earlier by Reser’s Fine Foods, Inc. The recalled item was sold in the full-service case in the deli department.

Food Poisoning Bulletin

Giant Eagle stores are recalling Reser’s Fine Foods products for possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination. The recall affects product sold in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland, and West Virginia.