For Big Olaf, the break-ups came quickly but not all at once. And not all of them quietly.
In the two and half weeks since Big Olaf ice cream was linked to a deadly Listeria outbreak, licensed shops throughout Florida started switching to new suppliers. One owner has permanently changed the names of the two stores she operates.
Although Listeria isn’t as common as other foodborne pathogens. It is the most deadly. And it targets pregnant women, who can suffer a miscarriage or stillbirth if they develop an infection.
“Five of the patients in this outbreak are women who contracted listeriosis while they were pregnant,” said Eric Hageman, a Listeria lawyer, and Food Poisoning Bulletin Publisher. Hageman has extensive experience with Listeria lawsuits including one filed on behalf of a 31-year-old man who suffered permanent brain damage after eating ice cream contaminated with Listeria in 2013.
Daily Harvest has identified tara flour as the apparent culprit in the illnesses that may be linked to that company’s French Lentil + Leeks Crumbles. The FDA reports that there have been 277 adverse event complaints received so far, and that 96 people have been hospitalized because they are so ill; some have had their gall bladders removed. There have been almost 500 anecdotal reports of illness. The FDA has not commented on this new information as of July 19, 2022.
But there is no indication of just what it is about the tara flour that has made people sick. The product is not inherently toxic. And considering that the crumbles have been tested for everything from E. coli bacteria to Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella, gluten, pesticides, heavy metals, and other chemicals, it’s surprising that no specific compound has been identified.
Sausage Roll has been the cause of a disease outbreak with listeria. This shows a large-scale investigation work, which has been carried out in close collaboration between the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration, the Statens Serum Institut and the DTU Food Institute, assisted by Danish Crown. The sausage has been recalled and is no longer in stores.
Since the New Year, we in Denmark have registered significantly more patients infected with listeria than usual.
Laboratory analyzes have shown that it is due to two simultaneous disease outbreaks, where patients have become ill from two different types of listeria. The source of infection for one outbreak has now been identified.
A total of eight people had been infected in the outbreak, of which one has died as a result of the infection.
“We have just found a match between eight cases of disease and listeria from a Danish Crown company in Oldenburg, Germany, which produces rolled sausage. Seven of the eight patients were interviewed and they had all eaten sausage rolls. When we have subsequently been in contact with the supermarkets in which the patients had shopped, we have found that rolled sausage from Danish Crown in Oldenburg went again in several places, ”says Annette Perge, section manager at the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration.
All sausages rolled back
A little over a week ago, Danish Crown recalled all sausage products produced after 1 June from the market. It happened because the company had found listeria in the production at the company in Oldenburg. The company has assisted with the clarification work with samples from the company.
”DTU Fødevareinstituttet, SSI and Fødevarestyrelsen have analyzed and compared the listeria bacteria found in the patients and in sausage rolls from the company in Oldenburg, using DNA typing. The bacteria turned out to be exactly the same, and compared with the patients having stated that they have eaten sausage, you can be sure that the infection has come from the sausage, ”says Steen Ethelberg, senior researcher at the Statens Serum Institut.
The detective work continues
Although no new cases of the disease have been recorded in the two outbreaks in the past month, work continues to find the source of the infection for the second outbreak.
“We test to locate the source of the second outbreak and work continuously to guide companies on preventive measures in food production to avoid getting listeria in cold cuts,” says senior researcher and research group leader Marianne Sandberg, DTU Food Institute.
A Salmonela Enteritidis outbreak at a Nebraska correctional facility this year sickened at least 15 people, according to the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) for the week of July 15, 2022. The Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department (LLCDH) notified the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services of two cases of laboratory-confirmed Salmonella in inmates on January 14, 2022.
The investigation linked consumption of mechanically separated chicken to the illnesses. Mechanically separated chicken is produced by separating edible meat from bone and cartilage under pressure. It is often used for use in institutions like prisons, jails, and correctional facilities because it’s cheap. A Salmonella Heidelberg outbreak linked to that product sickened at least nine inmates in Tennessee in 2015.
According to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS):
“The results from product sampling taken from the Big Olaf production facility last week by FDACS found that 16 of the 17 flavors tested were positive for Listeria monocytogenes (L. mono). This includes Blueberry Cheesecake, Butter Pecan, Cherry Cordial, Chocolate, Chocolate Chip, Coconut, Coconut Almond Joy, Cookie Dough, Cookies & Cream, Kahlua Krunch, Mint Chip, Pistachio, Plantation Praline, Superman, Vanilla, and White Chocolate Raspberry. With these results, FDACS is currently issuing formal stop sales on the 16 products where L. mono was found, which were previously part of a voluntary recall. Our department continues to work closely with our state and federal partners on this investigation and enforcement of the stop sale.”
The number of foodborne outbreaks almost tripled in Switzerland in 2021 compared to the year before.
This past year, 37 outbreaks were reported with 540 people sick and 40 hospitalized versus 13 outbreaks in 2020.
Officials at the Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office said the increase could be random, it could be due to better reporting and data collection or it could show the food safety situation has gotten worse, possibly because of the COVID-19 pandemic and other challenges facing businesses.
The agent was unknown in 17 outbreaks but Salmonella caused seven, norovirus four, Campylobacter three, two were due to Bacillus cereus and one each because of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, Clostridium perfringens and hepatitis E.
State officials have ordered Big Olaf Creamery to stop use of processing equipment in a plant associated with a deadly outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes infections.
The Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services (FDACS) is still waiting for results of product sampling, but the evidence of Listeria in the production plant is enough for the state to take action.
Twenty-three people have been infected with Listeria and one has died. One pregnant women suffered a miscarriage.
A spokesman with the Florida Department of Health told Food Safety News today that the agency has been investigating the outbreak for a year.
The agriculture and consumers services department took more than 100 samples at the manufacturing plant of Big Olaf Creamery and nine came back positive, including one from a transfer pipe from pre mix to an ice cream machine.
“FDACS has issued a stop use order of the processing equipment where the Listeria monocytogenes was found. This will effectively shut down all operations at this processing facility, which had already been done voluntarily by the company,” according to a statement today from the department.
Big Olaf Creamery of Sarasota, Florida is recalling all flavors and all lots of Big Olaf brand ice cream products because it has the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Although healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, Listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.
The product was sold at Big Olaf retailers in Florida as well as to consumers in restaurants and senior homes, and one location in Fredericksburg, Ohio.
The Big Olaf brand ice cream was sold to consumers in plastic pint size containers, plastic ½ gallon containers, and plastic 2.5-gallon tubs, scoopable are sold to the independent retail stores. All flavors, lots, codes, and all expiration dates through 6/30/2022 are included in this recall.
Based on epidemiological information shared by the CDC and State Officials, Big Olaf may be a potential source of illness in an ongoing Listeria monocytogenes outbreak.
On Friday July 1, 2022, Big Olaf Creamery was informed of an outbreak investigation by the Florida Department of Health and Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services and immediately ceased production and distribution of the ice cream product.
As of Friday, July 8th, 2022, the CDC reported that a total of 23 people were infected with the outbreak strain of Listeria monocytogenes from 10 states. Eighteen people interviewed reported eating ice cream, 10 reported eating Big Olaf Creamery brand ice cream or eating at locations that might have been supplied by Big Olaf Creamery. This is an ongoing investigation and other ice cream brands not related to Big Olaf were mentioned as a possible source as well.
Big Olaf Creamery and all retailers supplied did not receive any complaints regarding product defect or sickness. No formal complaints were filed with the Florida Department of Health as of July 1st, 2022.
Based on the information provided and upon the ongoing investigation, the company has ceased production and distribution of the ice cream product and is currently working with FDA by voluntarily recalling the product.
Big Olaf is cooperating fully with regulatory authorities to successfully return all suspected products and has requested retailers to stop sales and dispose of product. Consumers who have purchased Big Olaf Ice Cream Products should not consume these products and dispose of them immediately. Any areas, containers, and serving utensils that may have touched the ice cream should be cleaned.
Consumers that may have any questions about the recall may call 941-365-7483, Monday – Saturday from 8:00am – 5:00 pm EST.
The FDA Core Outbreak Investigation Table was updated, with ten active investigations. The FDA states that the Listeria monocytogenes outbreak that has sickened at least 23 people is linked to big Olaf ice cream. The quote is, “For the Listeria monocytogenes outbreak, a product linked to illnesses is ice cream from Big Olaf Creamery, located in Florida.”
FoodWorld 