Recorded outbreaks of gastrointestinal illnesses have been reported aboard 12 cruises so far in 2023, already surpassing the total number of outbreaks in 2019, the last year of full data available. Does this mean that cruises have become unhealthier or at higher risk for such outbreaks?
12 Outbreaks in Less Than 5 Months
Only five months into 2023, a dozen outbreaks of gastrointestinal illnesses aboard cruise ships have been reported to the Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Public health officials announced the investigation of an outbreak of gastrointestinal illness associated with vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, cramps, fevers, and chills at Tamarind Tree Restaurant in Seattle.
According to Public Health – Seattle & King County, 10 people from three separate meal parties have reported a gastrointestinal illness after eating food from the Tamarind Tree Restaurant.
Environmental Health investigators visited the restaurant on January 24, 2023. They observed improper food handling practices, including blocked access to handwashing facilities, improper storage of wiping cloths, risk of cross contamination, and lack of maintenance, cleaning, and sanitizing of food equipment and physical facilities.
Food & Beverages
Vegetable Protein Product
Foodborne Illness
Reason for Announcement:
Gastrointestinal illness and potential liver function issues
Company Name:
Daily Harvest
Brand Name:
Daily Harvest
Product Description:
French Lentil + Leek Crumbles
Company Announcement
June 23, 2022, Daily Harvest, Inc., New York, NY. Daily Harvest has voluntarily recalled all French Lentil + Leek Crumbles due to consumer reports of gastrointestinal illness and potential liver function issues.
From April 28 to June 17, 2022, approximately 28,000 units of the recalled product were distributed to consumers in the continental United States through online sales and direct delivery, as well as through retail sales at the Daily Harvest store in Chicago, IL and a “pop-up” store in Los Angeles, CA. Samples were also provided to a small number of consumers. Daily Harvest directly notified by email those consumers who were shipped the affected product, and other consumers for whom the company had contact information, and consumers were issued a credit for the recalled product.
Consumers who may still have the recalled product in their freezers should immediately dispose of it.
French Lentil + Leek Crumbles is a frozen product packaged in a 12oz white pouch with the words “Daily Harvest” at the top, a large “CRUMBLES” immediately below the top and the words “French Lentil + Leek” in bold, as shown below. All lot codes of the French Lentil + Leek Crumbles are affected. No other Daily Harvest products are affected or part of this recall.
To date, the company has received approximately 470 reports of illness or adverse reactions. Consumer safety is our highest priority, and we have taken immediate steps to stop production and distribution of the product and conduct a root cause investigation, which is ongoing.
This recall is being made in cooperation with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
During April 2022, there has been an increase in complaints of gastrointestinal illness (GI) attributed to eating Lucky Charms cereal reported primarily to a crowdsourcing website. Some complaints of illness have also been reported to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), state, and local health departments. There are very little data on the clinical presentation of these complaints, e.g., symptom profiles, incubation periods, and illness durations, as well as a lack of laboratory testing of clinical specimens. The scarcity of data and lack of a consistent clinical presentation are making it difficult to ascertain if any of these illnesses are linked to the suspected cereal.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is coordinating with state and federal partners to characterize the clinical presentations and epidemiology of recent illness reports. CDC is also collaborating with state and federal partners to evaluate data collected from ill people to determine if an outbreak of GI illnesses is occurring and its potential link to Lucky Charms cereal.
A simple stomach bug could do a lot of damage. There are 100 million neurons scattered along the gastrointestinal tract — directly in the line of fire — that can be stamped out by gut infections, potentially leading to long-term GI disease.
But there may be an upside to enteric infection. A new study finds that mice infected with bacteria or parasites develop a unique form of tolerance quite unlike the textbook immune response. The research, published in Cell, describes how gut macrophages respond to prior insult by shielding enteric neurons, preventing them from dying off when future pathogens strike. These findings may ultimately have clinical implications for conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome, which have been linked to the runaway death of intestinal neurons.
“We’re describing a sort of innate memory that persists after the primary infection is gone,” says Rockefeller’s Daniel Mucida. “This tolerance does not exist to kill future pathogens, but to deal with the damage that infection causes — preserving the number of neurons in the intestine.”
FoodWorld 