Category Archives: foodborne outbreak

USA – Outbreak Investigation of Listeria monocytogenes: Ice Cream (July 2022)

Posted on July 13, 2022 by KSW | Leave a comment

Outbreak Investigation of Listeria Monocytogenes in Florida-Based Big Olaf Ice Cream (July 2022) - CDC Case Count Map as of July 11, 2022

FDA

The FDA, along with CDC, is assisting the Florida Department of Health (FL DOH) and Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services (FDACS) in investigating an outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes infections linked to ice cream supplied by Big Olaf Creamery of Sarasota, Florida.

Based on epidemiological information collected by CDC and the FL DOH, Big Olaf ice cream products are a likely source of illness in this outbreak. A total of 23 people infected with the outbreak strain of Listeria monocytogenes have been reported from 10 states. Of the 18 people interviewed, all (100%) reported eating ice cream. Among 18 people who remembered details about the type of ice cream they ate, 10 reported eating Big Olaf Creamery brand ice cream or eating ice cream at locations that might have been supplied by Big Olaf Creamery. Twelve sick people are residents of Florida and nine reported traveling to Florida before getting sick.

FDA is concerned that retailers may still be selling Big Olaf ice cream products. Retailers should not sell or serve Big Olaf ice cream products and should throw them away. Consumers who may still have these products in their freezers should not eat or serve any Big Olaf ice cream products and should also throw the product away.

This is an ongoing investigation, and the firm has initiated a voluntary recall of its ice cream products. The FDA is continuing to work with the FL DOH and FDACS to investigate and will update this advisory should additional consumer safety information become available.

Recommendation

Consumers, restaurants, and retailers should not eat, sell, or serve any Big Olaf ice cream products and should throw the product away, regardless of the “Best By” or expiration date.

Call your healthcare provider right away if you have these symptoms after eating Big Olaf ice cream products:

Pregnant people typically experience only fever, fatigue, and muscle aches. However, Listeria infection during pregnancy can lead to miscarriage, stillbirth, premature delivery, or life-threatening infection of the newborn.
People who are not pregnant may experience headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, and convulsions, in addition to fever and muscle aches.

Consumers, restaurants, and retailers who purchased or received any Big Olaf ice cream products should throw the products away, follow FDA’s safe handling and cleaning advice and use extra vigilance in cleaning and sanitizing any surfaces and containers that may have come in contact with these products to reduce the risk of cross-contamination. Listeria can survive in refrigerated temperatures and can easily spread to other foods and surfaces.

Case Counts

Total Illnesses: 23
Hospitalizations: 22
Deaths: 1
Fetal Loss: 1
Last illness onset: 6/12/2022
States with Cases: CO (1), FL (12), GA (1), IL (1), KS (1), MA (2), MN (1), NJ (1), NY (2), PA (1)
Product Distribution*: FL
*Distribution has been confirmed for states listed, but product could have been distributed further, reaching additional states

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

USA – Listeria Outbreak Connected to Big Olaf Creamery Allegedly Causes Death of One Woman

Posted on July 13, 2022 by KSW | Leave a comment

Food Poisoning News

A recent outbreak of Listeria infections is believed to be linked to an ice cream producer in Sarasota, Florida, called Big Olaf Creamery. The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that there have been 23 people affected by the outbreak with 22 of these people seeking hospitalization due to the severity of their symptoms. One woman, Mary Billman, has passed away, allegedly due to the consumption of Big Olaf ice cream. Ms. Billman’s estate is pursuing legal action in response to her death.

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Posted in CDC, Death, food bourne outbreak, food contamination, food handler, Food Hazard, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Pathogen, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Safety Management, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness Death, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, outbreak

Research – Collective food poisoning (TIAC) with E. coli O157 producing Shiga toxins, associated with the consumption of raw cucumbers

Posted on July 13, 2022 by KSW | Leave a comment

Sante Publique

On September 9, 2021, the Regional Health Agency (ARS) of Hauts-de-France was informed of a suspicion of collective food poisoning (TIAC) affecting half-board students, educated in several schools in a municipality. of the Lille metropolis.

On September 13, 2021, two cases of haemolytic and uremic syndrome (HUS) were diagnosed in two hospitalized children attending school in this town. Public Health France Hauts-de-France was asked by the Hauts-de-France ARS to provide support for the investigations and management of this TIAC. A total of 35 cases of gastroenteritis, with bloody diarrhea and fever (>38°C) in half of the cases, were identified. Ten cases were hospitalized and two children developed HUS.

The cases identified were half-board students in four school groups (29 cases), a parent of a student and elderly people benefiting from the municipality’s home meal delivery service (5 cases). The case canteens were all supplied by the central municipal kitchen.

The shape of the epidemic curve was in favour of a common and point source of contamination during meals on September 2 or 3, 2021. The case-control survey, carried out in schools, concluded that only the consumption of cucumbers in salad, served with the meal on September 2, was statistically and significantly associated with the occurrence of the disease.

A strain of E. highly pathogenic Shiga toxin-producing (STEC) O157 coli was isolated from the stool cultures of eight cases, including the two children who developed HUS and in the offending cucumber salad. Genomic analysis of the strains confirmed the genetic clustering of clinical and food strains that belonged to the same genomic cluster. The veterinary investigation revealed that a failure in the decontamination process, associated with incomplete peeling of the contaminated cucumbers, contributed to the occurrence of this TIAC.

The cucumbers in question came from Belgium and the Belgian health authorities were informed via the dedicated European alert circuits. No other episodes of clusters of STEC infection related to this TIAC have been reported to the ARS over the period while cucumbers from the same batch had been widely distributed in communities and commercial catering services in the Hauts-de-France region. The food vehicle, incriminated in this TIAC, is part of the plants at risk because of its raw mode of consumption. It is important to remind vulnerable populations and collective catering services that preventing the risk of STEC infection, linked to the consumption of raw vegetables, requires washing, disinfection and peeling.

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Posted in Bacterial Toxin, E.coli O157, E.coli O157:H7, food bourne outbreak, Food Illness, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Toxin, Foodborne Illness, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, HUS, Illness, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, outbreak, Research, STEC, STEC E.coli, Toxin

Canada – Mystery Cyclospora Outbreak spreads to Canada

Posted on July 11, 2022 by KSW | Leave a comment

Food Poison Journal

Public Heath Canada is working with its public health and food safety partners to identify possible ways non-travel related Cyclospora infections are occurring in Canada.

As of June 30, a total of 84 cases of Cyclospora infections were reported in the following provinces: British Columbia (1), Ontario (75), and Quebec (8). 4 individuals have been hospitalized and no deaths have been reported. To date, there is no recall or Public Health Notice, the investigation is ongoing.

In case you are experiencing Cyclosporiasis symptoms such as watery diarrhea (most common), cramping, bloating, increased gas, nausea, fatigue, and possibly vomiting and low-grade fever, it is important to report it. It can help to detect & resolve outbreaks early and prevent others from being harmed, and it enables better surveillance. If symptoms persist, seek medical care.

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Posted in Cyclospora, Cyclosporiasis, 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 recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Illness, outbreak, Protozoan

USA – Listeria Outbreak Linked to Ice Cream

Posted on July 11, 2022 by KSW | Leave a comment

CDC

Listeria Outbreak Linked to Ice Cream

Illustration with a triangle and exclamation mark and text reading Food Safety Alert

Posted July 8, 2022

CDC is concerned that Big Olaf Creamery ice cream could still be in people’s homes or available for sale in stores. Big Olaf Creamery ice cream is sold in Florida in Big Olaf Creamery stores and stores with different company names.

Fast Facts

Illnesses: 23
Hospitalizations: 22
Deaths: 1
States: 10
Recall: No
Investigation status: Active

What Everyone Should Do

Do not eat Big Olaf Creamery ice cream.

If you have any Big Olaf Creamery ice cream at home, throw it away.
If you are in Florida and don’t know if the ice cream being sold is Big Olaf Creamery brand, ask the store before you buy or eat it.

Clean any areas, containers, and serving utensils that may have touched the ice cream.

What Businesses Should Do

Do not serve or sell any Big Olaf Creamery ice cream products.

Clean and disinfect any areas and equipment that may have touched Big Olaf Creamery ice cream products, including ice cream scoops and other serving utensils.

What People at Higher Risk Should Do

Listeria is most likely to sicken pregnant people and their newborns, adults aged 65 or older, and people with weakened immune systems. Other people can be infected with Listeria, but they rarely become seriously ill.

Call your healthcare provider right away if you have any of these Listeria symptoms:

Pregnant people typically experience only fever, fatigue, and muscle aches. However, Listeria infections during pregnancy can lead to miscarriage, stillbirth, premature delivery, or life-threatening infection of the newborn.
People who are not pregnant may experience headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, and convulsions, in addition to fever and muscle aches.

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Posted in CDC, 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 recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Safety Management, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Illness, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, outbreak

Research – Simulation and identification of foodborne outbreaks in a large supermarket consumer purchase dataset

Posted on July 8, 2022 by KSW | Leave a comment

Nature.com

Foodborne outbreaks represent a significant public health burden. Outbreak investigations are often challenging and time-consuming, and most outbreak vehicles remain unidentified. The development of alternative investigative strategies is therefore needed. Automated analysis of Consumer Purchase Data (CPD) gathered by retailers represents one such alternative strategy. CPD-aided investigations do not require trawling questionnaires to create a hypothesis and can provide analytical measures of association by direct data analysis. Here, we used anonymized CPD from 920,384 customers enrolled in Norway’s largest supermarket loyalty program to simulate foodborne outbreaks across a range of different parameters and scenarios. We then applied a logistic regression model to calculate an odds ratio for each of the different possible food vehicles. By this method, we were able to identify outbreak vehicles with a 90% accuracy within a median of 6 recorded case-patients. The outbreak vehicle identification rate declined significantly when using data from only one of two retailers involved in a simulated outbreak. Performance was also reduced in simulations that restricted analysis from product ID to the product group levels accessible by trawling questionnaires. Our results show that—assuming agreements are in place with major retailers—CPD collection and analysis can solve foodborne outbreaks originating from supermarkets both more rapidly and accurately than than questionnaire-based methods and might provide a significant enhancement to current outbreak investigation methods.

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Posted in food bourne outbreak, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Pathogen, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, outbreak, Pathogen, pathogenic, Research

USA – FDA Core Investigation Table

Posted on July 7, 2022 by KSW | Leave a comment

FDA

What’s New

For the Salmonella Braenderup outbreak in a not yet identified food (ref# 1075), the case count has increased from 42 to 59 cases.
For the Listeria monocytogenes outbreak (ref# 1057), a product linked to illnesses is ice cream from Big Olaf Creamery, located in Florida.

Date Posted	Ref #	Pathogen or Cause of Illness	Product(s) Linked to Illnesses (if any)	Total Case Count	Status
6/29/ 2022	1076	Not Yet Identified	Frozen Food	See Outbreak Advisory	Active
6/22/ 2022	1075	Salmonella Braenderup	Not Yet Identified	59	Active
6/22/ 2022	1072	Salmonella Paratyphi B var. L(+) tartrate+	Not Yet Identified	14	Active
6/15/ 2022	1070	Listeria monocytogenes	Not Yet Identified	12	Active
6/8/ 2022	1068	E. coli O157:H7	Not Yet Identified	10	Active
6/1/ 2022	1066	Hepatitis A Virus	Strawberries	See Outbreak Advisory	Active
5/25/ 2022	1067	Salmonella Senftenberg	Peanut Butter	See Outbreak Advisory	Active
4/20/ 2022	1064	Not Yet Identified	Dry Cereal	558 adverse event reports	Active
4/13/ 2022	1057	Listeria monocytogenes	Ice Cream	See CDC’s Investigation Notice	Active
3/30/ 2022	1060	None Identified	Meal Replacement Drink	6 adverse event reports	Closed
3/16/ 2022	1055	Salmonella Saintpaul	Not Identified	60	Closed
2/17/ 2022	1056	Cronobacter sakazakii	Powdered Infant Formula	See Advisory	Active (IMG)
2/9/ 2022	1040	Listeria monocytogenes	Not Identified	20	Closed
2/2/ 2022	1054	Enteroinvasive E. coli O143:H26	Not Identified	16	Closed
1/10/ 2022	1050	E. coli O121:H19	Romaine	4	Closed

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Posted in Cronobacter sakazakii, E.coli O121, E.coli O157, E.coli O157:H7, food bourne outbreak, Food Illness, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Foodborne Illness, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Illness, Listeria monocytogenes, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, O143:H26, outbreak, Salmonella

CDC – Listeria Outbreak Linked to Ice Cream

Posted on July 7, 2022 by KSW | Leave a comment

CDC

A bit late but it only came through to my inbox today!!

Fast Facts

Illnesses: 23Hospitalizations: 22
Deaths: 1
States: 10
Recall: No
Investigation status: Active

What Everyone Should Do

Consumers who have Big Olaf Creamery brand ice cream at home should throw away any remaining product. Big Olaf Creamery brand ice cream is only sold in Florida.

Clean any areas, containers, and serving utensils that may have touched Big Olaf ice cream products.

What Businesses Should Do

Do not serve or sell any Big Olaf ice cream products.

Big Olaf Creamery in Sarasota, FL, is voluntarily contacting retail locations to recommend against selling their ice cream products until further notice.
Clean and disinfect any areas and equipment that may have touched Big Olaf ice cream products, including ice cream scoops and other serving utensils.

What People at Higher Risk Should Do

Call your healthcare provider right away if you have any of these Listeria symptoms:

Pregnant people typically experience only fever, fatigue, and muscle aches. However, Listeria infections during pregnancy can lead to miscarriage, stillbirth, premature delivery, or life-threatening infection of the newborn.
People who are not pregnant may experience headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, and convulsions, in addition to fever and muscle aches.

Leave a comment

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 recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Safety Management, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Illness, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, outbreak

Research – Source of 7-year Listeria outbreak found in Germany

Posted on July 6, 2022 by KSW | Leave a comment

Food Safety News

German officials believe they have solved a seven-year Listeria outbreak that included the death of one man.

Using next generation sequencing (NGS) methods, the Bavarian State Office for Health and Food Safety (LGL) helped identify a likely connection between Listeria infections in Lower Bavaria and in the district of Altötting since 2015 and a food company.

The company was not named by authorities but they described it as a small businesses in the district of Passau that had various customers in the region. Local media reported it was a produce company that supplied canteens and care homes but not retailers.

Alongside the results from the NGS analysis, there are indications of an epidemiological connection to those sick based on the sales area.

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Posted in Decontamination Microbial, food bourne outbreak, Food Illness, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Technology, Foodborne Illness, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Illness, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, NGS, outbreak, Research, Technology

USA – Big Olaf Ice Cream Listeria Outbreak Joins List of Other Brands

Posted on July 5, 2022 by KSW | Leave a comment

Food Poisoning Bulletin

The Big Olaf Ice Cream Listeria monocytogenes outbreak joins a list of other brands that have caused illnesses over the past decade. The CDC has named Big Olaf ice cream in the new outbreak centered in Florida that has sickened at least 23 people. A recall has not been issued, but the company is contacting their customers to “recommend” against selling their products.

Big Olaf ice cream is only sold in Florida, where most of the ill persons live. And among the 82% of patients who ate ice cream before they got sick and were interviewed by government officials, six said they ate Big Olaf Creamery brand ice cream or ate at restaurants where that ice cream was served.

Over the years there have been dozens of recalls of ice cream for possible Listeria contamination. In fact, in 2019 the FDA improved ice cream production safety after a string of recalls for Listeria monocytogenes contamination. During an investigation that year, the FDA found Listeria monocytogenes in 19 of the 89 ice cream establishments, and in 65 of the 5,295 subsamples.

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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 recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Illness, outbreak

Category Archives: foodborne outbreak