Category Archives: Uncategorized

Food Poisoning Bulletin

Carnivore Meat Company is recalling a single lot of Vital Essentials Frozen Chicken Patties Entree for Dogs because one of the samples collected and tested by the FDA was positive for Salmonella. No reports of illness of dogs or people have been received to date.

The recalled product is Vital Essentials Frozen Chicken Patties Entree for Dogs in 6 pound packages. The UPC number is 33211 00807, Lot number 11475, and best by date of 20161108 (11/08/16). The “Best By” date code and lot numbers are located on the back of the package. These product was distributed in California, Florida, Georgia, Rhode Island, Texas, and Washington state.

Global News

A growing number of Sunwing Vacations customers are stepping forward to say they got seriously ill on trips booked with the Toronto-based tour operator in recent months.

“I am still a week later struggling,” said Amanda Klein, 26, of Medicine Hat, Alta.

Klein and a group of friends spent a week at the Memories Paraiso Azul Beach Resort in Cayo Santa Maria, Cuba in early January. She says she became violently sick with diarrhea and vomiting soon after arriving

Echo Press

A new strain of norovirus, the most common cause of sudden intestinal illness, has shown up in Minnesota, and that could mean more norovirus illnesses this winter, state health officials warn.

The new strain, called GII.17 Kawasaki, caused many outbreaks in Asia last winter before coming to the U.S.

“Every few years, a new strain of norovirus emerges and causes many illnesses. We don’t know yet if this new strain will lead to an increase in the number of outbreaks reported, but it could,” said Amy Saupe, a food borne disease epidemiologist at the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH).

Herald Scotland

A woman who was stricken with food poisoning after a restaurant meal that led to life-changing consequences has been awarded more than £250,000 damage.

Tracey Rae told a court how her life was altered after she chose a warm chicken liver and beetroot salad during an evening out with her husband and friends.

Mrs Rae was hit by campylobacter and was later diagnosed with post infection irritable bowel syndrome after “a lovely meal”.

EFSA 

The session covered topics at the forefront of microbiological risk assessment, from ranking of microbiological risks to estimating the social and economic cost of diseases and uncertainty in risk assessment. Drawing on their experience, the six speakers shared lessons learnt and examined the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.

Food Safety News

The crowdsourcing site iwaspoisoned.com has collected thousands of reports of foodborne illnesses from individuals across the United States since 2009 and is expanding with a custom alert service for state health departments.

“There are now 26 states signed up, allowing government (health) officials and epidemiologists to receive real time, customized alerts for reported foodborne illness incidents,” said iwaspoisoned.com founder Patrick Quade.

iwaspoisoned.com

Use the GOT FOOD POISONING? form on this page to tell us when/where you think you got food poisoning. We will find any matches (same food/location/time period) and if you opt in (via email) we will let you know if others had the same experience. You can then report to the restaurant/vendor &/or your local health department with greater confidence. Also – many health departments actively monitor the site, so.. where your local health department has opted in – cases may be forwarded to them for follow up.

The goal of the site is to raise awareness, and help restaurants understand patterns, and potentially discover issues – in order to help reduce the incidence of food poisoning.

Listeria Blog 

The Public Health Agency of Canada is collaborating with federal and provincial public health partners to investigate an outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes infections in five provinces. To date, the source of this outbreak has not been confirmed. However prepackaged leafy greens, salad blends, and salad kits are food items being investigated.

E.coli Blog

Snapp’s Ferry Packing Company, an Afton, Tenn. establishment, is recalling approximately 410 pounds of beef product that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.

The ground beef item was produced on Nov. 20, 2015. The following product is subject to recall:

5-lb. packages of “Ground Beef,” with a packaging date of Nov. 20, 2015.

GOV.UK 

National report summarising laboratory surveillance of norovirus and rotavirus, including norovirus activity in prisons.

FDA

Mahina Mele Farms, LLC is recalling the following products after FDA testing found Salmonella in macadamia nuts.

The following products are involved in the recall. They were distributed to retail stores in Alaska, California, Hawaii, Maryland, and Virginia from Oct 21- Nov 25, 2015 and involve three lot numbers 026, 027, 029.

To date, no illnesses have been reported in connection with these products. In the interest of public health and safety, we are recalling all products processed from this batch of macadamia nuts.