A rapid alert system to warn authorities about foodborne outbreaks, contamination and recalls related to food is being developed to provide regional communication for the Gulf States.
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Category Archives: outbreak
Gulf Region Rapid Food Safety Alert System
Posted in Food Inspections, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen, Recall
Tagged foodborne outbreaks
Updated Numbers US/Canadian Sprout and Pita – E.coli O026/Salmonella
A total of 14 individuals infected with the outbreak strain of E. coli O26 have been reported from 6 states. The two new cases have been reported from Michigan. Both new cases reported eating at Jimmy John’s restaurants and consuming sprouts in the 7 days preceding illness.
Hamilton Public Health officials have discovered another 12 cases of salmonella illnesses after asking anyone who has eaten at Eat a Pita on Main Street East since Feb. 1 to call them.
Officials declared a salmonella outbreak connected to Eat a Pita after investigating four salmonella cases linked to the restaurant. Eat a Pita has been closed as a result of improper food handling. During a previously scheduled health inspection on Feb. 1, it was found that cooked chicken wasn’t being kept at a high enough temperature.
Norovirus Four Major US Outbreaks this Winter
The leading cause of foodborne disease is making its mark this winter. Just this February, Norovirus caused more than 200 attendees at a cheerleader camp in Washington State to become ill. In St. Maarten, a cruise ship returned to port as 31 became ill. In Virginia, an elementary school was closed because so many students were ill. And in New Jersey, more than 400 college students become ill at three universities located in the same county.
Canadian Food Recalls – Listeria monocytogenes/E.coli
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is warning the public not to consume the refrigerated cold smoked sockeye salmon trim products described in the link above because the products may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. There have been no reported illnesses associated with the consumption of these products.
The public warning issued on February 24, 2012has been expanded to include an additional product and distribution information.
The affected product, Country Morning brand Beef Burgers, is sold frozen, in a 2.27 kg package bearing the UPC 057316 086624 and one of the following codes: 12861 EST 761, 22861 EST 761, 32861 EST 761 or 42861 EST 761.
The Country Morning Beef Burgers product has been distributed to Co-op and TGP grocery stores in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut.
There has been one reported illness associated with the consumption of this product.
Clostridium perfringens Toxin US Ham Product
21 attendees of a catered lunch from an unliecensed cater in Las Vegas reported diarrhea and vomiting
– Toxin associated with Clostridium perfringens was isolated from some of the attendees
– The pathogen was found in ham and a plate of mixed food that was served at the luncheon
– Microwaves often heat foods unevenly making take the temperature with a tip-sensitive thermometer in multiple spots.
US Raw Milk – Campylobacter
Your Family Cow Campylobacter Outbreak the number ill in the campylobacter outbreak has now reportedly risen to 77.
The state of California is investigating Claravale Farm for the possibility that its raw milk was contaminated with Campylobacter. Last week, the dairy stopped distributing its products to the stores that sell it. Raw milk and raw milk products are legally available in California
More E. coli Research
In the wake of the devastating European E. coli outbreak linked to sprouts that killed at least 50 people and sickened more than 4,000, experts from the European Union and the United States are calling for new research on how to combat toxic strains of E. coli.
In November of 2011, 4 months after the outbreak ended, an international group of public health officials, medical professionals, epidemiologists, microbiologists and environmental scientists met to determine what lessons can be drawn from this epidemic. The results of this summit were released Thursday in Eurosurveillance.
The group determined that more needs to be learned about shiga toxin-producing E. colis (STECs) such as E. coli O104:H4, the strain responsible for the European outbreak.
US – Norovirus Outbreak – 85 Cases
George Washington University officials alerted the campus Wednesday that about 85 students were infected by norovirus this week.
After testing by the university’s Student Health Service and D.C. Department of Health, officials confirmed that norovirus was the cause of dozens of cases of gastrointestinal illness since Monday, university officials said in a prepared release. They said they could find no common link for the infections, as students were affected who live at the Foggy Bottom campus, the Mount Vernon campus and off campus.
US – Raw Milk Debate – Campylobacter
An additional five confirmed infections have brought the total number of Campylobacter illnesses to 76 in an outbreak linked to raw milk from Your Family Cow dairy in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Department of Health said Wednesday. At least 9 people have been hospitalized.
The order of a federal judge has finally shut down Rainbow Acres Farm, the raw milk dairy located near Washington D.C. in Pennsylvania’s Amish County.
It ends a nasty confrontation between Dan and Rachel Allgyer, Amish dairy farmers with operations based in Pennsylvania where commercial sales of raw milk are legal, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which caught Rainbow making deliveries inside Maryland and the District of Columbia.
The heartland states of Iowa and Indiana are entertaining changes to their raw milk laws, but with far differing approaches.
In Iowa, which is bordered by Minnesota, Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska and South Dakota, lawmakers are considering allowing on-farm sales to make the state’s approach more consistent with its neighbors.
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