Category Archives: Food Poisoning

Canada – Recalls – Pizza and Macaroni Salad- Listeria monocytogenes

CFIAEurofins Food Testing UK

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Direct Plus Food Group, a division of Premium Brands Operating Limited Partnership, are warning the public not to consume the Grimm’s Fine Foods brand Pizza Pack described below because it may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

This product was sold at the following two stores:

  • Pemberton Valley Supermarket, Pemberton, British Columbia
  • Three Hills IGA, Three Hills, Alberta

There has been no reported illness associated with the consumption of this product.

The manufacturer, Freybe Gourmet Foods Ltd., Langley, BC, is voluntarily recalling the affected product from the marketplace. The CFIA is monitoring the effectiveness of the recall.

CFIA

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Reser’s Fine Foods Inc. are warning the public not to consume certain Reser’s Fine Foods brand Cheesy Macaroni Salad, described below, because it may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

These products have been distributed in Walmart stores located in Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia and nationally in Loblaw banner stores.

There have been no reported illnesses associated with the consumption of these products.

The manufacturer, Reser’s Fine Foods Inc., Beaverton, Oregon, USA, is voluntarily recalling the affected products from the marketplace.  The CFIA is monitoring the effectiveness of the recall.

Research -Mycotoxin Producing Moulds

NeoGen BlogAspergillus

With the harvest underway, it’s important to keep a watchful eye out for mycotoxin-producing molds. These species include Aspergillus flavus, which causes Aspergillus ear rot and produces the carcinogenic toxin aflatoxin, as well as species of Fusarium molds. These toxins can lead to production losses as grain may be rejected, as well as leading to illness in humans or animals that consume the toxin in significant quantities. Here’s a quick primer on some molds of concern and the toxins they produce. For more information and regulatory thresholds for toxins, please see Neogen’s Mycotoxin Handbook.

USA- Hepatitis A – Townsend Farms and Hawaii Restaurant NYC

Food Poisoinng Journal

As of September 20, 2013, 162 people have been confirmed to have become ill from hepatitis A after eating ‘Townsend Farms Organic Antioxidant Blend’ in 10 states: Arizona (23), California (79), Colorado (28), Hawaii (8), New Hampshire (1), New Jersey (1), New Mexico (11), Nevada (6), Utah (3), and Wisconsin (2). [Note: The cases reported from Wisconsin resulted from exposure to the product in California, the cases reported from New Hampshire reported fruit exposure during travel to Nevada, and the case reported in New Jersey was a household contact of a confirmed case from Colorado.] Currently, 6 of the confirmed cases are household contacts of confirmed cases (secondary cases).

Food Poisoning Journal

In response to cases of hepatitis A infections in an employee and four customers at New Hawaii Sea restaurant, located at 1475 Williamsbridge Road in the Bronx, the New York City Health Department is urging customers who ate at the restaurant, either in-store, through catering or delivery, between September 7th and September 19th to receive hepatitis A vaccine as soon as possible. Any leftover food from this restaurant should also be discarded. Any person who ate at New Hawaii Sea, either in-store, through catering or delivery, between September 7th and September 19th is considered at risk and is recommended to receive hepatitis A vaccine as soon as possible. Any person who ate food from this restaurant before September 7th should be evaluated if they have symptoms suggestive of infection. The Health Department is working with the restaurant to ensure that all the food handlers are vaccinated.

Canada – E.coli O157 in Cheese Update

Food Poisoning Bulletin

The Public Health Agency of Canada says that now fourteen cases of E. coli O157:H7 are associated with contaminated raw milk cheese products manufactured by Gort’s Gouda Cheese Farm in Salmon Arm, British Columbia. There are four people who are ill in British Columbia; eight in Alberta; one in Saskatchewan; and one in Quebec. One person in British Columbia has died as a result of this infection.

Ill persons started getting sick between mid-July and early September. Some of Gort’s raw milk cheeses have been recalled as a result of this outbreak. The statement said that “there is currently no indication of widespread risk to Canadians. However, E. coli O157:H7 can pose a serious public health risk. Additional cases of illness may be identified and linked to this outbreak in the future.”

USA – One Dead from Salmonella Outbreak in Kentucky

Food Safety NewsSalm

Salmonella outbreak in Hopkins County, Kentucky, has killed one person and caused another seven confirmed illnesses.

The cause of the outbreak is still unknown, according to county health officials. Investigators have begun interviewing victims to see where or what they might have eaten in the days leading up to their illnesses.

RASFF Alert – Histamine – Tuna

RASFF – Histamine (240 mg/kg – ppm) in chilled tuna loins from Spain

Canada – Gouda Cheese Updates – E.coli O157

CFIA

Ottawa, September 19, 2013 – The public warning issued on September 17, 2013 has been updated to include an additional product.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Gort’s Gouda Cheese Farm (EST 4478) are warning the public not to consume the Mild Gouda Cheese described below because it may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7.

This recall is the result of an ongoing food safety investigation initiated as a result of a recent outbreak investigation. There may be recalls of additional products as the investigation at this facility continues.

Lot codes 122 to 138 are affected by this recall.

Some product packages may not bear a lot code or indicate that the cheese was made with raw milk. This product may also have been sold clerk-served from deli counters with or without a label or coding. Consumers who are unsure if they have purchased the affected product are advised to contact their retailer.

There have been reported illnesses associated with the consumption of this product.

The manufacturer, Gort’s Gouda Cheese Farm, Salmon Arm, BC is voluntarily recalling the affected product from the marketplace. The CFIA is monitoring the effectiveness of the recall.

Food Safety News

The outbreak of E. coli linked to Gort’s Gouda Cheese Farm in Canada has resulted in one death, as well as 10 confirmed and six suspected illnesses, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada.

The victim who died was from British Columbia. Three more B.C. residents fell ill, while the other seven cases are in Alberta. The agency is investigating another six illnesses that appear to be connected.

Research – Cattle – Vacination and E.coli O157

Trading.comEcoli Istock

The bacteria, which cause severe gastrointestinal illness and even death in humans, are spread by consuming contaminated food and water, or by contact with livestock faeces in the environment. Cattle are the main reservoir for the bacterium. The vaccines that are available for cattle are rarely used, but the latest study suggests the public health benefits could be significant.

The research was lead by a team of researchers at the University of Glasgow in collaboration with the University of Edinburgh, the Royal Veterinary College, Scotland’s Rural College, Health Protection Scotland, and the Scottish E. coli O157/VTEC Reference Laboratory.

The study, published in the online journal PNAS, used veterinary, human and molecular data to examine the risks of E. coli O157 transmission from cattle to humans, and to estimate the impact of vaccinating cattle.

Chile – Norovirus Outbreak 3000 Sick

BarfBlogNorwalk_Caspid

The city of Ovalle in Chile’s Coquimbo region suffered a massive outbreak of norovirus in the first week of September, infecting 3,000-plus residents, due to insufficient chlorine levels in the potable water supplied by water utility Aguas del Valle, according to a release by the regional health authority Seremi.

UK – Hepatitis E can be Food Borne

Mail Online

One in ten sausages may carry the hepatitis virus: Cases of rare deadly  strain have rocketed 40% in a year.Once  considered very rare, cases have risen by nearly 40 per cent in a  year, 1 in 50 of  those infected will die, rising to one in five pregnant women.

Sausages  most dangerous pork product – they contain liver  meat