A butcher’s in Billingham has agreed to close voluntarily after an E.coli outbreak left six people including children in hospital.
Public Health England confirmed today that the owners of Robinsons butcher’s on Neasham Avenue have agreed to a voluntary closure.
It comes amid reports of a new case of the E.coli 0157 infection in a person who may have eaten ready-to-eat products from the shop is investigated.
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Corleggy Cheeses is recalling all batches of its raw milk cheeses due to the detection of verocytotoxigenic Escherichia coli (VTEC) in two batches of its cow’s milk cheese. The cheeses are supplied to some restaurants and retail shops. They are also sold directly at food markets. Consumers are advised not to eat the affected cheeses.
VTEC may cause severe bloody diarrhoea and abdominal cramps, although sometimes the infection causes non-bloody diarrhoea or no symptoms. In some groups, particularly children under 5 years of age and the elderly, the infection can also cause a complication called haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS) in which the kidneys fail.
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As of July 8, 2015, the Salmonella outbreak connected with the Tarheel Q restaurant in Lexington, NC, has been designated as over with at least 280 people sickened, according to a July 28 case count. One person died.
The designation was announced after two incubation periods (six days for most Salmonella cases) had passed without new illnesses since the restaurant reopened. Local health departments will no longer accept additional reports of illness.
The 280 cases were distributed across 21 North Carolina counties and 6 states. Of the North Carolina cases, 77 percent were residents of Davidson County and Davie County.
The final case count for the Salmonella outbreak in Kenosha County, WI, in May was 70 people.
The illnesses, first reported to the Kenosha County Division of Health (KCDOH) on May 14, were eventually linked to pork carnitas sold at Supermercado Los Corrales during Mother’s Day weekend (May 8-10, 2015).
A public health nurse conducted case investigations on the reports and detected that at least 10 people were ill with similar complaints after eating food purchased from one food establishment. The chief complaints reported included diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, headache, abdominal cramping and fever.
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CDC, several states, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS) are investigating an outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis infections linked to raw, frozen, stuffed chicken entrees produced by Barber Foods.
Nine people infected with a strain of Salmonella Enteritidis have been reported from four states: Illinois (1), Minnesota (6), Oklahoma (1), and Wisconsin (1). Three of these ill people have been hospitalized. No deaths have been reported.
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The California Department of Public Health is reporting that cold smoked salmon is being recalled for possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination. There is no word on whether or not any illnesses have been reported. Illnesses caused by this bacteria can take up to 70 days to appear.
The recalled products are Cold Smoked Salmon Deli Trays and Cold Smoked Salmon Trim produced by Certified Smoked Fish of Gardena, California. The lot number is #188 and other codes are CS300 on the trays, and CST50 on the trim. The product was produced on 7/7/2015.
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Numerous cases and outbreaks of Salmonella infection are attributable to shell eggs each year in the United States. Safe handling and consumption of shell eggs at home can help reduce foodborne illness attributable to shell eggs. A nationally representative Web survey of 1,504 U.S. adult grocery shoppers was conducted to describe consumer handling practices and consumption of shell eggs at home. Based on self-reported survey data, most respondents purchase shell eggs from a grocery store (89.5%), and these eggs were kept refrigerated (not at room temperature; 98.5%). As recommended, most consumers stored shell eggs in the refrigerator (99%) for no more than 3 to 5 weeks (97.6%). After cracking eggs, 48.1% of respondents washed their hands with soap and water. More than half of respondents who fry and/or poach eggs cooked them so that the whites and/or the yolks were still soft or runny, a potentially unsafe practice. Among respondents who owned a food thermometer (62.0%), only 5.2% used it to check the doneness of baked egg dishes the they prepared such a dish. Consumers generally followed two of the four core “Safe Food Families” food safety messages (“separate” and “chill”) when handling shell eggs at home. To prevent Salmonella infection associated with shell eggs, consumers should improve their practices related to the messages “clean” (i.e., wash hands after cracking eggs) and “cook” (i.e., cook until yolks and whites are firm and use a food thermometer to check doneness of baked egg dishes) when preparing shell eggs at home. These findings will be used to inform the development of science-based consumer education materials that can help reduce foodborne illness from Salmonella infection.
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In November 2014, health officials began investigating two concerning clusters of Listeria infections that seemed to be related. The two strains of bacteria had already killed at least five people and hospitalized a few dozen others by the time they got on the case, and they wanted to find the source and stop it as quickly as possible.
Her hypothesis: When the sticks (used for holding the caramel apple) punctured the contaminated apples, they spread small amounts of apple juice over surface of the otherwise dry outer skin. Then, once the caramel coating was applied, it locked in the juice and created a micro-environment in which the Listeria on the surface of the apple could grow undisturbed.
Within days, the amount of Listeria present on the caramel-coated room-temperature apples more than doubled, while the caramel-free room-temperature apples saw mild, steady growth of the bacteria over a much longer period of time. The caramel-coated apple in the fridge still grew a significant amount of bacteria, while the growth of bacteria on the caramel-free refrigerated apple was relatively minimal.
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Eurosurveillance – Event-based surveillance of food- and waterborne diseases in Europe: ‘urgent inquiries’ (outbreak alerts) during 2008 to 2013
CDC – Escherichia coli O157 Outbreaks in the United States, 2003–2012
Eurosurveillance – Detection of livestock-associated meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus CC398 in retail pork, United Kingdom, February 2015
Science Direct – Ultraviolet-C light inactivation of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Listeria monocytogenes on organic fruit surfaces
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NOTE: Revision to this Import Alert dated July 28, 2015 updates the guidance section to provide clarification to SENASICA and COFEPRIS� processes. Changes are noted and bracketed by three asterisks (***).
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and state public health officials have identified annually recurring outbreaks (in 2012, 2013, and 2014) of cyclosporiasis in the United States which have been associated with fresh cilantro from the state of Puebla, Mexico. There is currently (in July 2015) another ongoing outbreak of cyclosporiasis in the United States in which both the Texas Department of State Health Services and the Wisconsin Department of Health Services and the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection have identified cilantro from the Mexican state of Puebla as a suspect vehicle with respect to separate illness clusters.
Cyclospora cayetanensis is a human-specific protozoan parasite that causes a prolonged and severe diarrheal illness known as cyclosporiasis. In order to become infectious, the organism requires a period outside of its host. Illnesses are known to be seasonal and the parasite is not known to be endemic to the United States. Cyclosporiasis occurs in many countries, but it seems to be most common in tropical and subtropical regions. People become infected with C. cayetanensis by ingesting sporulated oocysts, which are the infective form of the parasite. This most commonly occurs when food or water contaminated with feces is consumed. An infected person sheds unsporulated (immature, non-infective) C. cayetanenis oocysts in the feces.
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Cyclospora – July 27, 2015
A recent surge in reports of illnesses due to the parasite Cyclospora has prompted DSHS to investigate the infections in hopes of determining a common source. DSHS has received reports of 205 Cyclosporiasis cases from around Texas this year. Past outbreaks have been associated with cilantro from the Puebla area of Mexico. While the investigation into the current outbreak is ongoing, DSHS has identified imported cilantro as a possible source of some infections.
Cyclosporiasis is an intestinal illness caused by consuming food or water contaminated with the Cyclospora parasite. The major symptom is watery diarrhea lasting a few days to a few months. Additional symptoms may include loss of appetite, fatigue, weight loss, abdominal cramps, bloating, increased gas, nausea, vomiting and a low fever. People who think they may have a Cyclospora infection should contact their health care provider.
DSHS recommends thoroughly washing fresh produce, but that may not entirely eliminate the risk because Cyclospora can be difficult to wash off. Cooking will kill the parasite.
Last year, Texas had 200 cases, some of which were associated with cilantro from the Puebla region in Mexico.
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