Category Archives: foodborne outbreak

USA – Outbreak Investigation of Salmonella Weltevreden: Frozen Pre-cooked Shrimp (April 2021)

FDA

The FDA, along with CDC and state and local partners, investigated a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Weltevreden infections linked to the consumption of frozen cooked shrimp manufactured by Avanti Frozen Foods of India.

As of September 21, 2021, CDC announced that the outbreak is over. There are a total of nine illnesses in four states. The last illness onset date was July 17, 2021.

Based on FDA’s completed traceback investigation and sample results, the frozen cooked shrimp manufactured by Avanti Frozen Foods of India were linked to this outbreak. The FDA worked with Avanti Frozen Foods of India to ensure that potentially contaminated frozen cooked shrimp were removed from the market.

On August 13, 2021, Avanti Frozen Foods of India expanded its recall of frozen cooked shrimp to include frozen cooked shrimp products imported into the U.S. from November 2020 to May 2021. Since Avanti Frozen Foods expanded its recall, downstream recalls have been initiated for sushi products containing recalled shrimp, sold in the state of California:

Recommendation

Recalled frozen shrimp should no longer be available for sale; however, these products have a long shelf life, and consumers, restaurants, and retailers should check their freezers and should throw away recalled shrimp. The expanded recall from August 17, 2021 includes the following brands:

  • BIG RIVER
  • 365
  • AHOLD
  • CENSEA
  • COS
  • CWNO BRAND
  • FIRST STREET
  • NATURE’S PROMISE
  • HARBOR BANKS
  • HOS
  • MEIJER
  • SANDBAR
  • SEA COVE
  • WATERFRONT BISTRO
  • WELLSLEYFARMS
  • WFNOBRANDS
  • FOODLION
  • HANNAFORD

Please check the expanded recall announcement for full product descriptions.

Previously recalled shrimp should no longer be available for sale; however, these products have a long shelf life, and consumers, restaurants, and retailers should check their freezers and should throw away any previously recalled shrimp. The initial recall includes the following brands:

  • CENSEA
  • CHICKEN OF THE SEA
  • HONEST CATCH
  • CWNO
  • HANNAFORD
  • WATERFRONT BISTRO
  • OPEN ACRES
  • 365
  • MEIJER

Please check the initial recall announcement for full product descriptions.

Anyone who received recalled shrimp should use extra vigilance in cleaning and sanitizing any surfaces that may have come in contact with the recalled product, to reduce the risk of cross contamination.


Case Count Map Provided by CDC

Outbreak Investigation of Salmonella Weltevreden in Shrimp - CDC Case Count Map - August 11, 2021

Case Counts

Total Illnesses: 9
Hospitalizations: 3
Deaths: 0
Last Illness Onset: 7/17/2021
States with Cases: AZ (2), MI (2), NV (4), RI (1)
Product Distribution: Nationwide

Research – Novel Outbreak-Associated Food Vehicles, United States

CDC

Novel outbreak-associated food vehicles (i.e., foods not implicated in past outbreaks) can emerge as a result of evolving pathogens and changing consumption trends. To identify these foods, we examined data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Foodborne Disease Outbreak Surveillance System and found 14,216 reported outbreaks with information on implicated foods. We compared foods implicated in outbreaks during 2007–2016 with those implicated in outbreaks during 1973–2006. We identified 28 novel food vehicles, of which the most common types were fish, nuts, fruits, and vegetables; one third were imported. Compared with other outbreaks, those associated with novel food vehicles were more likely to involve illnesses in multiple states and food recalls and were larger in terms of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths. Two thirds of novel foods did not require cooking after purchase. Prevention efforts targeting novel foods cannot rely solely on consumer education but require industry preventive measures.

Foodborne illness is a major public health issue in the United States; millions of persons become ill from contaminated food every year (1). Most cases are sporadic (i.e., not associated with a disease outbreak) (2), and the responsible food(s) is often undetermined. Outbreaks provide an opportunity for public health agencies to determine shared exposures and the source of infection. Many food safety laws and regulations, industry practices, and consumer education efforts have been implemented to make foods safer. Nevertheless, evolving foodborne pathogens and changing consumption trends provide continued opportunities for contamination and illness (37). Within these changing conditions, novel outbreak-associated food vehicles (i.e., foods not implicated in prior outbreaks) can emerge. Identifying these novel food vehicles provides an opportunity to determine emerging sources of illness and to inform prevention policies. To identify novel food vehicles reported during 2007–2016, we examined data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Foodborne Disease Outbreak Surveillance System (FDOSS).

USA – Restaurants Are Included in a Salmonella Outbreak That Has Sickened 127

Food Poisoning Bulletin

Restaurants are included in a Salmonella outbreak that has sickened at least 127 people in 25 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The government does not yet know which food item caused this outbreak, or if there is another cause.

Eighteen people, out of 49 that gave information to health officials, have been hospitalized, which is a rate of 37%, almost double the typical Salmonella outbreak rate. This could mean that more vulnerable people were sickened, or that the pathogen is quite virulent, or that the pathogen load in the food was quite high.

The CDC has stated that several subclusters at restaurants in multiple states have been identified. These subclusters can help officials solve outbreaks, since they can use traceback from restaurant supplier purchases to try to identify a common food.

Salmonella outbreak at La Mex restaurant in Morris, Illinois may be part of a multistate outbreak, according to the Grundy County Health Department. But there is no official word on whether that outbreak is part of this larger one.

Canada – Outbreak connected to shredded pork rinds leads to CFIA warning – Salmonella

Food Safety News

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the Ontario Ministry of Health are warning restaurants in the Greater Toronto Area not to purchase, use, or serve certain brand less Shredded pork rinds because of possible Salmonella contamination.

This warning was triggered by an investigation into a foodborne illness outbreak of salmonellosis. The outbreak is associated with consumption of food dishes containing shredded pork rind and/or shredded pork skin from certain restaurants serving Vietnamese NS other Asian cuisine in the GTA.

These products were sold frozen to restaurants in clear plastic bags with no labels, no lot codes, no identifiers, and no cooking instructions.

Recalled products:

The following products are known to have been sold to certain restaurants in the GTA which serve Vietnamese/Asian meals

Brand Product Size UPC Codes Additional Information
None Shredded pork rind various none none Products are sold frozen in clear plastic bags, with no labels, no lot codes, no identifiers, and no cooking instructions.
None Shredded pork skin various none none

Restaurants should check to see if you have the affected products. If the products are in their facility, they should not be used.

As of the posting of this warning, there have been reported illnesses associated with the consumption of these products. The Ontario Ministry of Health, in collaboration with Public Health Ontario, local public health units and food safety partners are investigating an outbreak of human illness.

India – 100 People Suffer Food Poisoning After Attending Wedding Feast in Rajasthan’s Churu

India.com

Jaipur: Over 100 people, including 45 children, fell ill on Wednesday after having food at a wedding ceremony in Rajasthan’s Churu. People who fell in after having contaminated food had to be rushed to a hospital for treatment. “Some people came to hospital last night with complaint of vomiting after attending a wedding in Shobhasar village. Around 90 people were discharged after treatment,” an official told news agency

Korea – Food Poisoning Victims Sue ‘Gimbap’ Franchise – Salmonella

Korea BizWire

Over 130 people have lodged a damages suit against a restaurant franchise that sells “gimbap,” or seaweed rice rolls with vegetables, over food poisoning.

Park Young-saeng, an attorney at Jungjin law firm, said Tuesday that he filed a damages suit the previous day with the Suwon District Court in Seongnam, a Gyeonggi Province city just south of Seoul, on behalf of 135 victims of food poisoning incidents at two stores of a gimbap chain in the city.

The victims have requested a total of about 400 million won (US$342,960) in compensation, or 3 million won per person, from the franchise and the two restaurants.

A total of 276 people who ate gimbap at the two branches of a gimbap chain in Seongnam between July 29 and Aug. 2 showed food poisoning symptoms. Forty of them were hospitalized for treatment.

According to health authorities, salmonella bacteria were found in clinical specimens from the patients and cooking tools used at the restaurants.

Research – Epidemiological investigations identified an outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli serotype O26:H11 associated with pre-packed sandwiches

Cambridge Org

In October 2019, public health surveillance systems in Scotland identified an increase in the number of reported infections of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O26:H11 involving bloody diarrhoea. Ultimately, across the United Kingdom (UK) 32 cases of STEC O26:H11 stx1a were identified, with the median age of 27 years and 64% were male; six cases were hospitalised. Among food exposures there was an association with consuming pre-packed sandwiches purchased at outlets belonging to a national food chain franchise (food outlet A) [odds ratio (OR) = 183.89, P < 0.001]. The common ingredient identified as a component of the majority of the sandwiches sold at food outlet A was a mixed salad of Apollo and Iceberg lettuce and spinach leaves. Microbiological testing of food and environmental samples were negative for STEC O26:H11, although STEC O36:H19 was isolated from a mixed salad sample taken from premises owned by food outlet A. Contamination of fresh produce is often due to a transient event and detection of the aetiological agent in food that has a short-shelf life is challenging. Robust, statistically significant epidemiological analysis should be sufficient evidence to direct timely and targeted on-farm investigations. A shift in focus from testing the microbiological quality of the produce to investigating the processes and practices through the supply chain and sampling the farm environment is recommended.

USA – Active Food Poisoning Outbreak Investigations From FDA and USDA

Food Poisoning Bulletin

What are the current active food poisoning outbreak investigations that the FDA and USDA are investigating? While there have been several outbreak investigations that have closed, there are still six open investigations on the FDA Outbreak Table, and one, possibly two, investigations on the USDA Table.

USA – Jackson County Public Health Investigating Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) cases

Jackson County

Jackson County Public Health is investigating an unusually high number of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) cases. Since August 8, 2021, 16 cases have been reported to Jackson County, and 12 (75%) of these cases have been hospitalized. Age range for cases is from 11 months to 65 years of age, with the median age being 23.5. Majority of the cases are in the teens and twenties. Of the total cases 62.5% are males.

Jackson County Public Health is working with the Oregon Health Authority on this outbreak investigation.  “Right now, we do not have a definitive hypothesis on what the source of infection may be. The genome sequencing, performed at the state public health lab, has not matched any other cases in the state or nationally,” states Dr. Jim Shames, Health Officer for Jackson County Public Health. “Therefore, we continue to do in-depth interviews with those that have tested positive to help us identify a possible source of exposure.”

Jackson County Public Health is asking medical providers to be aware of the increases in STEC cases in Jackson County and collect and test stool specimens on patients suspected to have bacterial gastroenteritis. Shiga-toxigenic Escherichia coli (including 0157, HUS, and other serogroups) are reportable infections to local and state public health.

Finland- Two dead in Finnish E. coli outbreak – E.coli O103

Food Safety News

Two people have died in Finland as investigations into a Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) outbreak continue.

The National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) has received nine reports of suspected E. coli outbreaks from across Finland from June to August. Seven E. coli O103 outbreaks reported to the agency from municipalities in different parts of the country belong to the same incident.

Updating a previous report, the agency said the start date of the epidemic has been set as the end of July. This is defined based on typing of patient isolates. In THL’s laboratory from July 27 to Aug. 24, there were 57 E. coli O103 cases with the Shiga toxin 1 (stx1) gene recorded. Of these, 40 clustered based on whole genome sequencing (WGS) indicating they could be from the same source.

Women are slightly more affected than men. The median age is 37 years old and the range is 2 to 97 years of age.