Category Archives: Illness

UK – Consumers warned about recalled smoked fish products linked to Listeria outbreak

FSA

Products produced by St James Smokehouse and sold under Lidl’s ‘Deluxe Oak Smoked Scottish Louch Trout’ and ‘Lighthouse Bay Smoked Trout Trimmings’ ranges are being recalled because they may contain Listeria monocytogenes.   

The products are:
 

Products  

Pack Size 

Use By Dates 

Lidl Deluxe Oak Smoked Scottish Louch Trout 

100g 

All use By Date between and including 20/12/2022 and 06/01/2023 

Lighthouse Bay Smoked Trout Trimmings 

120g 

All use By Date between and including 20/12/2022 and 06/01/2023 


Consumers should not eat the above products and return them to Lidl for a full refund.  

Junior Johnson, Director of Operations at the FSA, said: “Lidl has done the right thing in instigating this recall and their caution is to be commended. The ongoing investigation into a Listeria outbreak has identified the presence of a strain of Listeria monocytogenes which has caused serious illness. We are therefore warning consumers about these recalled products. 

“As we approach the peak of the festive season, we know consumers are more likely to eat smoked fish, such as smoked salmon and trout. While investigations into the outbreak continue, FSS and FSA are reminding vulnerable consumers of the advice more generally around consuming smoked fish – it must be heated until it is steaming hot, before they eat it. While the risk of listeria is low to the general consumer, all consumers should follow this advice if they are serving smoked fish to elderly and other vulnerable relatives and friends over the festive period.”  

To date, the investigation has identified 15 linked cases of listeriosis since 2020, with eight of these since January 2022. Cases have been identified in England, Scotland and Wales.  

Listeriosis is a form of food poisoning caused by the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes. Most people who are affected get mild gastroenteritis which subsides in a few days.  

However, certain individuals are particularly at risk of severe illness such as meningitis and life-threatening sepsis. These include those over the age of 65, those with certain underlying conditions such as cancer, liver and kidney failure or who are taking medications which can weaken the immune system. Listeriosis in pregnancy can cause miscarriages and severe sepsis or meningitis in new-born babies. 

You can find out more about the risks of listeria on the FSA website

Research – An outbreak of Cryptosporidium parvum linked to pasteurised milk from a vending machine in England: a descriptive study, March 2021

Cambridge Org

We describe the investigations and management of a Cryptosporidium parvum outbreak of linked to consumption of pasteurised milk from a vending machine. Multiple locus variable number of tandem repeats analysis was newly used, confirming that C. parvum detected in human cases was indistinguishable from that in a calf on the farm. This strengthened the evidence for milk from an on-farm vending machine as the source of the outbreak because of post-pasteurisation contamination. Bacteriological indicators of post-pasteurisation contamination persisted after the initial hygiene improvement notice. We propose that on-farm milk vending machines may represent an emerging public health risk.

RASFF Alerts – Foodborne Outbreak -Listeria monocytogenes – Chilled Smoked Mackerel

RASFF

Foodborne outbreak suspected to be caused by Listeria monocytogenes in chilled smoked mackerel from the Czech Republic in Austria

USA -39 California, Arizona, Texas and Illinois Salmonella illnesses linked to raw fish

Food Poison Journal

A total of 39 people infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Litchfield were reported from 4 states – California, Arizona, Texas and Illinois.

 

 

 

 

 

Illnesses started on dates ranging from June 14, 2022, to October 23, 2022 (see timeline). Sick people ranged in age from 1 to 80 years, with a median age of 33, and 66% were female. Of 32 people with information available, 15 were hospitalized. No deaths were reported.

Estonia improves fish controls after Listeria outbreak

Food Safety News

Measures taken by Estonian authorities following a Listeria outbreak have improved the fish control system, according to the European Commission.

A remote DG Sante audit, in October 2020, looked at checks to ensure smoked fish meets microbiological food safety criteria, as well as measures taken by authorities in non-compliances.

Eight Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) reports for Listeria monocytogenes in smoked fishery products from Estonia have been issued since 2015. All but one concerned the same establishment.

A multi-country outbreak of 22 listeriosis cases linked to cold-smoked salmon and trout pointed toward M.V Wool, an Estonian processing company as the manufacturer of these fish products. This was based on traceability information and a match between the outbreak strain and samples on the processing line and in four batches of the final product. Five countries were affected from 2014 to 2019 and five people died.

USA – FDA Core Investigation Table -Investigations of Foodborne Illness Outbreaks

fda

What’s New

  • While FDA’s overall response regarding powdered infant formula is continuing, this investigation of Cronobacter illnesses linked to powdered infant formula (reference #1056) has been marked as closed. Resources for Parents and Caregivers are available on the FDA website and additional updates will be provided as needed.
  • The outbreak of Salmonella Litchfield linked to seafood (reference #1105) is over and the FDA investigation has closed. 
  • The outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes linked to Brie and Camembert Cheese (reference #1106) is over and the FDA investigation has closed. 
  • The case count for the outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium has increased from 270 to 274 cases.

USA – Outbreak Investigation of Salmonella: Seafood (October 2022) – FDA’s investigation is complete. CDC declares outbreak over

FDA

The FDA, along with CDC and state and local partners, investigated a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Litchfield infections linked to fresh, raw salmon supplied to restaurants in California and Arizona by Mariscos Bahia, Inc. 

As of December 14, 2022, CDC announced that the outbreak is over. CDC reports a total of 39 illnesses in four states. The last illness onset was October 23, 2022.

As part of this investigation, FDA and the California Department of Public Health conducted a joint inspection at Mariscos Bahia, Inc., Pico Rivera, CA and collected environmental samples from the facility. Multiple samples collected from the firm came back positive for SalmonellaWhole Genome Sequencing (WGS) indicated the Salmonella detected in at least one of the swabs from the facility matched the strain causing illnesses in this outbreak. The epidemiological evidence indicated that ill people consumed fresh, raw salmon processed at this firm; however, the presence of Salmonella in the processing environment also indicated that additional types of fish processed in the same area of the facility could have been contaminated.

On October 20, 2022, Mariscos Bahia, Inc., Pico Rivera, CA initiated a voluntary recall. Recalled products included fresh, raw salmon along with all other types of fresh fish processed in the same area as the salmon which included fresh, raw halibut, Chilean seabass, tuna, and swordfish.

Recommendation

According to Mariscos Bahia, Inc., seafood was only sold directly to restaurants in California and Arizona and would not be available for purchase by consumers in retail stores. The firm contacted direct restaurant customers that received recalled product. Recalled seafood was sold fresh and is now past shelf-life unless it was frozen after purchase.

Restaurants who might have purchased or received recalled fresh, raw salmon, halibut, Chilean seabass, tuna, or swordfish from Mariscos Bahia, Inc. (Pico Rivera, CA, and Phoenix, AZ) between June 14 – October 17, 2022, should check their freezers and throw away recalled product. Restaurants should also be sure to wash and sanitize locations where recalled fish from Mariscos Bahia, Inc. were stored or prepared. 

 

North Korea – Pyongyang food poisoning outbreak likely caused by government distributed dairy products

Daily NK

A rash of food poisoning cases was recently reported in Pyongyang by families who had consumed the dairy products that the North Korean government distributes to children under the age of five years old, Daily NK has learned.

A source in Pyongyang told Daily NK on Tuesday that around a dozen parents and children under the age of five in the Taesong District of Pyongyang were taken to the hospital after reporting symptoms such as stomach pain, diarrhea and vomiting.

An investigation found that everyone in the group began to experience symptoms after consuming dairy products supplied by their neighborhood government office.

Children in North Korea are given dairy products, including powdered milk and fresh milk, as one of the North Korean government’s flagship childcare initiatives. North Korea is currently combating an extremely low birth rate.

India – Food poisoning: 40 girl students taken ill in Julurpad

Deccan Chronicle

Kothagudem: Nearly 40 students of the Government Residential Girls School at Padamata Narasapuram in Julurpad mandal fell ill after taking food that was not cooked properly.

About 29 girls complained of stomach ache, vomiting and motions on Monday night. The school staff took them to the PHC in Julurpad. Even as they were under treatment, another 11 were brought to the PHC with the same complaint.

P. Nandita, of Class VIII, said she consumed rice that was not boiled well. “We faced an unbearable stomach ache followed by vomiting,” she said, Madhu Sri, another student, said, “I had loose motion in the morning and we are fine after taking the medicines.”

USA – Dozens have gotten sick from oysters — including in Florida. Publix issues a warning

Miami Herald

Oysters harvested in Texas are making dozens of people sick to their stomach in Texas and as far as Florida and Louisiana. Health departments and Publix are warning the public. The Texas Department of State Health Services recalled oysters, both in shell and shucked, that were harvested in the southeastern Galveston Bay area from Nov. 17 through Dec. 7. It has caused a few dozen cases of gastrointestinal illness in Texas, Florida and Louisiana among those who’ve eaten them. Symptoms include fever, nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, chills and headache. There have been no reports of hospitalization.