Category Archives: Food Virus

Canada – Sélection du Pâtissier brand Framboisier Cake and WOW! Factor Desserts brand Berry Burst Slab Cake recalled due to norovirus contamination of raspberries used in these products

Posted on June 20, 2023 by | Leave a comment

CFIA

Summary

Product
Framboisier Cake, Berry Burst Slab Cake
Issue
Food – Microbial Contamination – Norovirus
What to do

Do not consume, use, sell, serve, or distribute recalled products

Sélection du Pâtissier - Framboisier Cake - 1.6 kg - Label
WOW! Factor Desserts - Berry Burst Slab Cake - 3.7 kg - Label

Affected products

Issue

The affected products are being recalled from the marketplace due to possible norovirus contamination of the raspberries used in these products.

The recalled products have been sold nationally.

What you should do

  • If you think you became sick from consuming a recalled product, contact your healthcare provider
  • Check to see if you have recalled products
  • Do not consume, serve, use, sell, or distribute recalled products
  • Recalled products should be thrown out or returned to the location where they were purchased

People with norovirus illness usually develop symptoms of gastroenteritis within 24 to 48 hours, but symptoms can start as early as 12 hours after exposure. The illness often begins suddenly. Even after having the illness, you can still become re-infected by norovirus. The main symptoms of norovirus illness are diarrhea, vomiting (children usually experience more vomiting than adults), nausea and stomach cramps. Other symptoms may include low-grade fever, headache, chills, muscle aches and fatigue (a general sense of tiredness). Most people feel better within one or two days, with symptoms resolving on their own, and experience no long-term health effects. As with any illness causing diarrhea or vomiting, people who are ill should drink plenty of liquids to replace lost body fluids and prevent dehydration. In severe cases, patients may need to be hospitalized and given fluids intravenously.

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Posted in CFIA, food contamination, food handler, Food Hazard, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Pathogen, Food Quality, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Safety Management, Food Safety Regulations, Food Testing, Food Virus, Norovirus

USA – FDA Alerts Public of Expanding Strawberry Recall Over Concerns of Hepatitis A Exposure

Posted on June 20, 2023 by | Leave a comment

Contagion Live

Last Tuesday, the FDA announced that additional suppliers who provide strawberries to consumer stores such as Walmart and Costco have strawberries that were part of a voluntary recall. This has been an ongoing FDA investigation of hepatitis A infections linked to frozen organic strawberries imported from Baja California, Mexico.

According to the FDA, on June 12, the Willamette Valley Fruit Co. of Salem, Oregon, initiated a voluntary recall of select packages of frozen fruit products containing strawberries. Recalled products include Great Value Mixed Fruit 4-lb, Great Value Sliced Strawberries 4-lb, Great Value Antioxidant Fruit Blend 2-lb, Rader Farms Organic Fresh Start Smoothie Blend 48-oz. bag (each bag consists of six 8-oz packages), and Rader Farms Organic Berry Trio 3-lb.

The strawberries were sold to consumer stores Costco, Walmart, and HEB.

On June 7, 2023, Wawona Frozen Foods said it voluntarily recalled year-old packages of its Organic DayBreak Blend distributed to Costco Wholesale stores in Arizona, California, Colorado, Utah and Washington from April 15, 2022 to June 26, 2022.

In addition, California Splendor, Inc. of San Diego, California, has voluntarily recalled certain lots of 4-lb. bags of Kirkland Signature Frozen Organic Whole Strawberries that were sold at Costco stores in Los Angeles and Hawaii, and at two San Diego business centers. And Scenic Fruit Company of Gresham, Oregon, has performed a voluntarily recalled frozen organic strawberries, sold to Costco, Aldi, KeHE, Vital Choice Seafood, and PCC Community Markets in certain states and to Trader Joe’s nationwide.

The FDA also reported the latest update on the food-borne outbreak. As of June 14, there has been 9 total cases with 6 in Washington state, 2 in California, and 1 in Oregon. There has been 3 hospitalizations and no deaths. The last reported illness was April 12.

To find more information on this recall and the specific products involved in it and the states where the products were distributed, interested parties can go to this FDA page.

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Posted in FDA, food contamination, food handler, Food Hazard, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Pathogen, Food Quality, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Safety Management, Food Safety Regulations, Food Testing, Food Virus, Hepatitis A

USA – Taco Bell employee infected with Hepatitis A; county in Washington issues health alert

Posted on May 26, 2023 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety News

Health officials in Snohomish County, WA, are warning people who ate at two Taco Bell locations to monitor themselves for signs of hepatitis A infections and get vaccinated if they are not already.

“People who ate food from the Taco Bell at 2727 Broadway on May 22-23 or the Taco Tell at 303 91st Avenue NE in Lake Stevens on May 23 should contact their healthcare provider or public health,” according to the warning from the Snohomish County Health Department.

An employee who worked at both locations has tested positive for hepatitis A. The confirmed case appears to have been infected during international travel. The Snohomish County Health Department is working with the business to identify other workers who were potentially exposed and connect them with prevention information as well as resources for vaccination and post-exposure prophylaxis, as needed.

For two weeks after exposure a vaccination is effective from keeping the liver virus from developing. Therefore it is crucial for anyone who ate at the restaurants on the exposure dates to check their vaccination records.

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Posted in food handler, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Virus, Hand Washing, Hepatitis A, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology Risk, Virus

USA – Norovirus outbreak linked to California restaurant sickens nearly 100

Posted on May 26, 2023 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety News

norovirus-2(1)

A norovirus outbreak originating from a California restaurant has sickened about 100 people, according to the San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department.

Jessie Burmester, an epidemiologist from the health department, told KSBY news that 97 cases have been confirmed in connection with the outbreak earlier this month. While Burmester did not disclose the name of the restaurant involved, she revealed that the investigations consistently pointed to the same establishment.

“Our primary objective during investigations is to identify a common source or exposure point,” Burmester said. “Thus far, all individuals reporting illness have consistently provided the name of the restaurant.”

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Posted in food bourne outbreak, food contamination, food handler, Food Hazard, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Pathogen, Food Quality, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Safety Management, Food Safety Regulations, Food Testing, Food Virus, Foodborne Illness, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Illness, Norovirus, outbreak

RASFF Alerts – Norovirus – Clams

Posted on May 26, 2023 by | Leave a comment

RASFF

Norovirus genogroup I and II in live clams (Chamelea gallina) from Italy in Spain

RASFF

Norovirus genogroup I and II in clams from Italy in Spain

RASFF

Norovirus genogroup I and II in japanese clam from Portugal in Spain

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Posted in food contamination, food handler, Food Hazard, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Pathogen, Food Quality, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Safety Management, Food Safety Regulations, Food Testing, Food Virus, Norovirus, Norovirus Clams, RASFF

RASFF Alert – Hepatitis A – Blueberries

Posted on May 19, 2023 by | Leave a comment

RASFF

Hepatitis A virus in frozen cultivated blueberries from Poland in Germany

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Posted in food contamination, food handler, Food Hazard, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Pathogen, Food Quality, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Safety Management, Food Safety Regulations, Food Testing, Food Virus, Hepatitis A, RASFF, Virus

Research – Multistate Outbreak of Hepatitis A Virus Infections Linked to Frozen Organic Strawberries

Posted on May 17, 2023 by | Leave a comment

CFI

Hepatitis A kswfoodworld

Hepatitis A is a very contagious liver infection caused by the hepatitis A virus (HAV), resulting in an inflammation of the liver.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), state public health and regulatory officials such as the Washington State Department of Health (DOH), and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are “investigating an outbreak of hepatitis A transmission linked to frozen organic strawberries imported from certain farms located in Baja California, Mexico, by a common supplier” (CDC, 2023).

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Posted in food bourne outbreak, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Virus, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Hepatitis A, microbial contamination, Microbial growth, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, outbreak, Virus

Australia – Hepatitis A cases linked to café in Australian state

Posted on May 9, 2023 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety News

Officials in Australia have issued a health alert after two hepatitis A cases were recently linked to a café.

The Department of Health in the state of Victoria said there was a risk of further locally acquired cases being reported in the coming weeks. No information was provided about the patients or if illness was caused by a contaminated food or food handler.

People who had food from Creatures of Habit café in the city of Springvale in Melbourne were advised to be aware of the symptoms of hepatitis A infection.

The café is located in the Springvale Homemaker Centre. A clean-up of the restaurant has been undertaken and there is no longer a risk to the public, according to officials. There are no other venues at the center implicated.

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Posted in food bourne outbreak, Food Illness, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Virus, Foodborne Illness, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Hepatitis A, Illness, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, outbreak, Virus

USA – Outbreak Investigation of Hepatitis A Virus Infections: Frozen Strawberries (February 2023)

Posted on May 9, 2023 by | Leave a comment

FDA

Product

California Splendor Recall: Kirkland Signature 4-lb. bag Frozen Organic Whole Strawberries in certain states with specific lot codes.

Scenic Fruit Recall: frozen organic strawberries with the following brand names and Best By Dates distributed to specific states:

  • Simply Nature, Organic Strawberries, Best By 06/14/2024
  • Vital Choice, Organic Strawberries, BEST BY 05/20/2024
  • Kirkland Signature, Organic Strawberries, Best If Used By 10/08/2024
  • Made With, Organic Strawberries, Best Before 11/20/2024
  • PCC Community Markets, Organic Strawberries, Best By 29/10/2024
  • Trader Joe’s, Organic Tropical Fruit Blend with the following Best By dates: 04/25/24; 05/12/24; 05/23/24; 05/30/24; 06/07/24

Stores Affected

California Splendor supplied recalled product to Costco stores in Los Angeles and Hawaii, and to two San Diego business centers. Scenic Fruit supplied recalled product to Costco, Aldi, KeHE, Vital Choice Seafood, and PCC Community Markets in specific states, and to Trader Joe’s nationwide.

On March 17, 2023, the retailer, Meijer, also issued press to voluntarily recall Made-WithExternal Link Disclaimer brand frozen organic strawberries from certain market store locations.

This is not an exhaustive list of products or stores. FDA is continuing to work with the firms to identify potential additional product information.

Symptoms of Hepatitis A

Illness usually occurs within 15 to 50 days after eating or drinking contaminated food or water. Symptoms of hepatitis A virus infection include fatigue, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, jaundice, dark urine, and pale stool. In some instances, particularly in children under the age of six, hepatitis A infection may be asymptomatic.

Status

Ongoing

Recommendation

  • Consumers, restaurants, and retailers should not sell, serve, or eat recalled frozen strawberries. These recalled products should be returned or thrown away.
  • If consumers purchased the recalled frozen organic strawberries and ate those berries in the last two weeks, and have not been vaccinated against hepatitis A, they should immediately consult with their healthcare professional to determine whether post exposure prophylaxis (PEP) is needed. PEP is recommended for unvaccinated people who have been exposed to hepatitis A virus in the last two weeks because vaccination can prevent a hepatitis A virus infection if given within 14 days of exposure. Those with evidence of previous hepatitis A vaccination or previous hepatitis A virus infection do not require PEP.
  • Contact your healthcare provider if you think you may have symptoms of a hepatitis A virus infection after eating these frozen organic strawberries, or if you believe that you have eaten these strawberries in the last two weeks.

Current Update

May 8, 2023

As of May 5, 2023, a total of 9 outbreak-associated cases of hepatitis A have been reported from 3 states. Based on epidemiological data collected by CDC, 9/9 (100%) people who provided information about what they ate before becoming ill reported eating frozen organic strawberries.

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Posted in food bourne outbreak, Food Illness, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Virus, Foodborne Illness, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Hepatitis A, Illness, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, outbreak, Virus

Research – A Review of Modern Methods for the Detection of Foodborne Pathogens

Posted on May 1, 2023 by | Leave a comment

MDPI

Abstract

Despite the recent advances in food preservation techniques and food safety, significant disease outbreaks linked to foodborne pathogens such as bacteria, fungi, and viruses still occur worldwide indicating that these pathogens still constitute significant risks to public health. Although extensive reviews of methods for foodborne pathogens detection exist, most are skewed towards bacteria despite the increasing relevance of other pathogens such as viruses. Therefore, this review of foodborne pathogen detection methods is holistic, focusing on pathogenic bacteria, fungi, and viruses. This review has shown that culture-based methods allied with new approaches are beneficial for the detection of foodborne pathogens. The current application of immunoassay methods, especially for bacterial and fungal toxins detection in foods, are reviewed. The use and benefits of nucleic acid-based PCR methods and next-generation sequencing-based methods for bacterial, fungal, and viral pathogens’ detection and their toxins in foods are also reviewed. This review has, therefore, shown that different modern methods exist for the detection of current and emerging foodborne bacterial, fungal, and viral pathogens. It provides further evidence that the full utilization of these tools can lead to early detection and control of foodborne diseases, enhancing public health and reducing the frequency of disease outbreaks.

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Posted in Bacterial Toxin, Decontamination Microbial, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Pathogen, Food Toxin, Food Virus, foodborne disease, Foodborne Illness, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, microbial contamination, Microbial growth, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, Mycotoxin, Pathogen, pathogenic