Aptamil infant formula linked to a case of Campylobacter illness in a British infant was given the “all clear” before entering the market.
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USA – Hepatitis A – Pizza – Vaccines – Information – Food Poisoning Journal
WIVB Buffalo reports that the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center drew a crowd of hundreds of pizza lovers Monday, looking for protection against possible exposure to hepatitis A. Casa Di Pizza, a popular Elmwood Avenue restaurant in Buffalo, had a server diagnosed with the disease on Friday. The Erie County Health Department encouraged 1,500 patrons to receive vaccinations if they ate at the restaurant or banquet room between March 9th and March 19th — Monday they vaccinated 766 people. The bar and take-out service were not involved with the server in question.
Last Friday, the Erie County Department of Health announced two precautionary public health clinics in response to the recent identification of the hepatitis A virus in a local restaurant worker, a server at Casa di Pizza on Elmwood Avenue in Buffalo. The health department also warned the public that they should watch for symptoms of Hepatitis A for 50 days after their visit. If they start having Hepatitis A symptoms they should call their healthcare immediately and tell them they may have exposed to Hepatitis in Buffalo. Anyone experiencing Hepatitis A symptoms should contact their healthcare provider immediately.
Hepatitis A is one of five human hepatitis viruses (hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E) that primarily infect the liver and cause illness. An estimated 80,000 cases occur each year in the U.S., although much higher estimates have been proposed based on mathematical modeling of the past incidence of infection. Each year, an estimated 100 persons die as a result of acute liver failure in the U.S. due to hepatitis A, but the rate of infection has dramatically decreased since the hepatitis A vaccine was licensed and became available in the U.S. in 1995.
UK – Baby Food Makers Aptamil Investigate a Baby Food Poisoning Case
A complaint is being investigated by Aptamil after a mother makes a claim after her baby contracts Campylobacter. The companies quality checks are clear.
USA – FDA Recalls – Frozen Spinach – Ice Cream – Listeria monocytogenes –
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — March 23, 2015 — ROCHESTER, NY — Wegmans Food Markets, Inc. is recalling approximately 12,540 packages of Wegmans Organic Food You Feel Good About Just Picked Frozen Spinach, 12 oz. (UPC 77890-32932) due to possible contamination with Listeria monocytogenes. The product was sold in the frozen food department of the company’s 85 stores in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland, and Massachusetts between January 27 and March 21, 2015. Only packages with the following codes are affected:
BEST USED BY JAN 26 2017 50265
BEST USED BY FEB 02 2017 50335
This product is supplied to Wegmans by Twin City Foods, Inc. based in Stanwood, Washington.
No illnesses associated with this recall have been reported to date.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – March 22, 2015 – Petaluma, California – Amy’s Kitchen, Inc. is voluntarily recalling approximately 73,897 cases of select code dates and manufacturing codes of the products identified on Attachment A. This recall is based on a recall notice from one of Amy’s organic spinach suppliers that Amy’s may have received organic spinach with the possible presence of Listeria monocytogenes, an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Although healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, Listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.
Amy’s Kitchen is not aware of any illness complaints to date related to the recalled products identified in Attachment A. Out of an abundance of caution, however, Amy’s Kitchen is recalling these products based on the recall notice we received from our supplier.
The recalled products were distributed to stores nationwide in the United States and in Canada.
The recalled products are identified in Attachment A, and no other products or varieties are included in this recall.
Amy’s Kitchen has notified its distributors and retailers and is taking this voluntary action as a precautionary measure. This recall is being conducted with the knowledge of the Food and Drug Administration.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — March 23, 2015 —Blue Bell Ice Cream of Brenham, Texas, is recalling three 3 oz. institutional/food service ice cream cups- chocolate, strawberry and vanilla with tab lids because they have the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Although healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, Listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.
On March 22, the Kansas Department of Health & Environment reported one positive test for Listeria monocytogenes on a chocolate institutional/food service cup recovered from a hospital in Wichita, Kan. This cup was produced in the Broken Arrow, Okla., plant on April 15, 2014. These cups are not sold thru retail outlets such as convenience stores and supermarkets.
The ice cream cups listed below were distributed in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Wyoming via food service accounts.
Ice Cream Cup Chocolate (3 FL OZ) No UPC – SKU #453
Ice Cream Cup Strawberry (3 FL OZ) No UPC – SKU #452
Ice Cream Cup Vanilla (3 FL OZ) No UPC – SKU #451
There have been no reported illnesses to date.
This recall in no way includes Blue Bell Ice Cream half gallons, pints, quarts, 3 gallons or other 3 oz. cups.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Amy’s Kitchen, fda, Inc., listeria infection, Listeria monocytogenes, Wegmans Food Markets
Canada – CFIA Recalls – Updated Garlic Powder – Salmonella – Entrée Products – Listeria monocytogenes
The food recall warning issued on March 19, 2015 has been updated to include additional product information. This additional information was identified during the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s (CFIA) food safety investigation.
Industry is recalling various products containing garlic powder from the marketplace due to possible Salmonella contamination. Consumers should not consume the recalled products described below.
Recalled products
| Brand Name | Common Name | Size | Code(s) on Product | UPC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frontier | Fiesta Black Bean Mix | 453 g | 4160, 4226, 4307, 4364, 5005 | 0 89836 02761 0 |
| Simply Organic | Vegetarian chili seasoning | 28 g | 4208, 4259, 4282, 4311, 5015, 5047 | 0 89836 18536 5 |
| Simply Organic | Creamy dill dip mix | 20 g | 4156, 4197, 4237, 4279, 4324, 5009, 5035 | 0 89836 18843 4 |
Industry is recalling Amy’s brand frozen entrée products from the marketplace due to possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination. Consumers should not consume the recalled products described below.
Recalled products
| Brand Name | Common Name | Size | Code(s) on Product | UPC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amy’s | Vegetable Lasagna | 269 g | Jan-21-2015 30-A215 |
0 42272 90032 9 |
| Amy’s | Gluten Free Tofu Scramble Breakfast Wrap | 156 g | Feb-02-2015 30-B025 |
0 42272 90807 3 |
| Amy’s | Gluten Free Dairy Free Vegetable Lasagna | 255 g | Feb-04-2015 30-B045 |
0 42272 90814 1 |
USA Recall – Meat Possible Bacterial Contamination
A Chicago wholesale meat company is recalling nearly 170,000 pounds of meat products that may be contaminated with bacteria that can cause illness.
The Illinois Department of Agriculture announced the recall Thursday of meat that may be tainted with a dangerous type of E. coli bacteria. The recall affects beef cheek products distributed to stores and restaurants in Chicago by El Cubano Wholesale Meats.
The products are labeled “For Cooking Only” and bear the establishment number “EST. 4653a” inside an inspection mark. They also are labeled “Iowa Best Beef.”
The problem was discovered by Department of Agriculture inspectors. The agency believes some product may be in freezers in restaurants and retail stores.
China – Chinese High School Students Riot Over Mass Food Poisoning
Thousands of disgruntled students smashed up their high school campus in the southwestern Chinese province of Guizhou in the early hours of Friday morning after an outbreak of food poisoning made hundreds of them sick.
Students at Guizhou’s Puding County No. 1 High School ran riot through their dormitories, smashing windows and prompting China’s ruling Communist Party county leaders to rush to the school to deal with the incident, the county government said in a statement on its website.
It said no one was hurt, but made no mention of the mass food poisoning incident, prompting a slew of critical comments on social media sites.
Social media posts said 3,000 students at the high school’s Hengshui campus near Guizhou’s Anshun city had also staged large-scale protests after more than 400 students became ill.
USA – Organic Foods Recall – Salmonella
Nutiva, an organic foods company based in Richmond, CA, has initiated a voluntary product recall of the following O’Coconut™ products after being notified by supplier that samples of a raw material in this product have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella:
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Food Safety News Nutiva, organic foods company, product
Research – Chlorine Use in Sewage Treatment Could Promote Antibiotic Resistance
Chlorine, a disinfectant used in most wastewater treatment plants, may be failing to eliminate pharmaceuticals from wastes. As a result, trace levels get discharged from the treatment plants into waterways. Now, scientists are reporting that chlorine treatment may encourage the formation of new, unknown antibiotics that could enter the environment, potentially contributing to the problem of antibiotic resistance.
Research – Norovirus – Norovirus Genotype Profiles Associated with Foodborne Transmission, 1999–2012
Worldwide, noroviruses are a leading cause of gastroenteritis. They can be transmitted from person to person directly or indirectly through contaminated food, water, or environments. To estimate the proportion of foodborne infections caused by noroviruses on a global scale, we used norovirus transmission and genotyping information from multiple international outbreak surveillance systems (Noronet, CaliciNet, EpiSurv) and from a systematic review of peer-reviewed literature. The proportion of outbreaks caused by food was determined by genotype and/or genogroup. Analysis resulted in the following final global profiles: foodborne transmission is attributed to 10% (range 9%%–11%) of all genotype GII.4 outbreaks, 27% (25%–30%) of outbreaks caused by all other single genotypes, and 37% (24%%–52%) of outbreaks caused by mixtures of GII.4 and other noroviruses. When these profiles are applied to global outbreak surveillance data, results indicate that ≈14% of all norovirus outbreaks are attributed to food.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged contaminated food, foodborne infections, foodborne transmission, Noroviruses
