A specific food item has not yet been identified as the source of this fast-growing outbreak. If you have symptoms of a Salmonella infection, talk to your healthcare provider and report your illness to your health department to help investigators solve this outbreak.
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 outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, outbreak, Salmonella
Cilantro may be the source in the mystery multistate Salmonella Oranienburg outbreak, according to a dendrogram on the National Center for Biotechnology Information site, part of the National Institutes of Health. According to that information, cilantro has tested positive for Salmonella Oranienburg, the bacteria that has caused this outbreak.
Posted in food bourne outbreak, food contamination, 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 Temperature Abuse, Food Testing, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, outbreak, Salmonella
At least a dozen students at Georgetown University have reported being sick with symptoms that resemble foodborne illness and an official says they may be part of a nationwide outbreak of Salmonella infections.
Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Ranit Mishori says the school is working to determine the cause of the illnesses.
“At this time we do not know the cause of the symptoms, but it is prudent to assume they are related to an infectious process. Please be aware that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported a national outbreak of Salmonella from an unknown source,” according to a letter Mishori sent to students and staff.
Students have reported symptoms including severe stomach pains, vomiting and diarrhea, which are consistent with foodborne illness.
Posted in Food Illness, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Safety, foodborne disease, Foodborne Illness, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, gastroenteritis, Illness, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations
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:
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:
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:
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.
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
Posted in FDA, 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 outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, outbreak, Salmonella
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 (3–7). 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).
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.
A 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.
Posted in food bourne outbreak, food contamination, 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 Testing, Food Toxin, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, outbreak, Salmonella
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.
Posted in food bourne outbreak, food contamination, 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 Testing, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, outbreak, Salmonella
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
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.
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.
Posted in E.coli O26, food bourne outbreak, food contamination, 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 Poisoning, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Food Toxin, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, outbreak, STEC, STEC E.coli, STX 1, STX 2
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