Koin6 – A 4-year-old girl died after being diagnosed with E. coli and a 6-year-old family friend is also sick.
K5 – She was a fun-loving girl excited to start preschool. But instead, 3 1/2 year old Brooklyn Hoksbergen ended up in the hospital last week after contracting E. coli. Her family tells KING 5 she passed away Friday.
Daily News – Boy, 4, makes miraculous recovery at New York hospital after complications from E. Coli
NSW Health is urging members of the public to thoroughly cook pork products, particularly pork livers, after three recent notifications of Hepatitis E in NSW in people who have not travelled outside Australia.
NSW Health – in collaboration with the NSW Food Authority and the Department of Primary Industries – is investigating the cases which were recorded over the past few days.
Dr Jeremy McAnulty, the Director of Health Protection with NSW Health, said three individuals have likely contracted the illness after consuming either pork liver or pork liver sausages that may not have been properly cooked at home.
“Hepatitis E virus has previously been identified in Australian pig herds but until recently there has been no evidence that humans have acquired the virus from pork products in Australia,” Dr McAnulty said.
“Hepatitis E is common in developing countries where there is poor sanitation and little access to clean drinking water. Although infections have been linked to the consumption of pork products in other developed countries, this has not been seen in Australia before.
“In 2010 there were 14 notifications of Hepatitis E in NSW, in 2011 there were 21 notifications and in 2012 there were 10 notifications – all of which were thought to have been acquired overseas.
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Tagged Hepatitis E virus, NSW, nsw food authority, NSW Health, pork products
The food recall warning issued on September 5, 2014 has been updated to include additional distribution information and selling dates. This additional information was identified during the outbreak investigation led by Alberta Health Services (AHS) and supported by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).
Vinh Fat Food Products is recalling frozen pork spring rolls, pork buns and pork wontons from the marketplace due to possible E. coli O157:H7 contamination. Consumers should not consume the recalled products described below.
The following frozen pork products have been sold from Vinh Fat Food Products, 10630-97th Street, Edmonton, and may have also been sold by other retailers in Alberta.
Consumers who are unsure if they have the affected products are advised to check with their retailer.
Recalled products
| Brand Name | Common Name | Size | UPC | Additional Info |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | Pork Spring Rolls | Variable | None | Affected Selling Dates Between July 10, 2014 and September 8, 2014, inclusively |
| — | Pork Buns | Variable | None | Affected Selling Dates Between July 10, 2014 and September 8, 2014, inclusively |
| — | Pork Wontons | Variable | None | Affected Selling Dates Between July 10, 2014 and September 8, 2014, inclusively |
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) today advised consumers to continue to boil all imported frozen berries for at least one minute prior to consumption. The FSAI stated that it is re-enforcing this advice which was originally provided last year when a food poisoning outbreak of hepatitis A virus linked to imported frozen berries was first identified in Ireland and subsequently transpired to be a multi-state European outbreak. It is renewing its advice today following the publication of a report into the European-wide investigation into the outbreak which has concluded that contaminated frozen berries could still be circulating in the food chain. Also this month, a few Irish cases of hepatitis A have been reported to the FSAI which cannot be explained by travel abroad and investigations are underway to establish if there may be a link with contaminated imported frozen berries or other foods.
The European-wide trace-back investigation, which the FSAI was part of, was coordinated by the European Food Safety Authority. The outbreak was first identified in May 2013, when Germany reported cases with a travel history to Italy and Italy identified a national increase in the number of hepatitis A cases. To date 1,440 cases have been reported in twelve European countries, 331 of which have been confirmed by genotyping. The majority of cases were reported in Italy. Twenty five cases were reported in Ireland, 21 of which were confirmed.
Hepatitis A contamination of mixed berries and mixed berry containing products was identified in three countries, Italy, France and Norway. Following the European-wide trace-back investigation, Bulgarian blackberries and Polish redcurrants have been identified as the most common ingredient in the food consumed by affected people, however, Poland is the largest producer of redcurrants in Europe, and Bulgaria is a major exporter of frozen blackberries. No single point source of contamination has been identified; however, twelve food operators have been identified with links to cases and batches in five of the countries affected.
Prof. Alan Reilly, Chief Executive, FSAI states: “The first indications of the outbreak emerged last year when cases of hepatitis A were identified to have the same strain of the virus as that causing an outbreak in Italy. As contaminated imported frozen berries could still be circulating in the food chain, we continue to recommend the boiling of imported frozen berries for at least one minute before eating them. This is a precautionary measure and will destroy the virus if it is present. There is no evidence that fresh Irish berries were the cause of the outbreak. However, we suggest that – as with all other fruit and vegetables – fresh berries should be washed thoroughly if they are being eaten uncooked.”
Frozen imported berries are widely used in the food industry and distributed into the food service sector for use in cooked and ready-to-eat dishes. Therefore, food businesses using frozen imported berries need to ensure that the berries they use are sourced from reputable suppliers operating effective food safety management systems and comprehensive traceability systems.
Prof. Reilly states: “This outbreak highlights just how complex the food chain can be. No single point source of contamination has been identified, despite the trace-back investigations which looked at 6,227 transactions among 1,974 food businesses. We reiterate our recommendation that food businesses at each stage of the food chain seek assurances regarding the effectiveness of the food safety management systems in place from their suppliers. If such assurances are not available, the imported berries should be boiled for one minute before being used in foods to eliminate or reduce the risk from foodborne viruses and bacteria.”
RASFF -Salmonella spp. (in 1 out of 5 samples /25g) in paan leaves from India in the UK
RASFF-Salmonella (presence /10g) in chilled porc-beef balls from Belgium in Luxembourg
RASFF-Salmonella anatum in frozen boneless beef tenderloin from Uruguay in Norway
RASFF-Salmonella enteritidis (present /25g) in dried nettle from Spain in Finland
RASFF-Salmonella (in 1 out of 5 samples) and carbendazim (0.39 mg/kg – ppm) in paan leaves from India in the UK
RASFF-Salmonella (present /25g) in sweet peppers powder from Spain in the Netherlands
RASFF-Salmonella (presence /10g) in frozen pork shashlyk from Austria in the Netherlands
RASFF – Norovirus in frozen precooked mussels from Spain in Italy
RASFF -Listeria monocytogenes in frozen meat skewer from Austria in the Netherlands
RASFF -Listeria monocytogenes (presence /25g) in smoked salmon from Poland in Italy
RASFF -Listeria monocytogenes (1130 CFU/g) in salmon with herbs and lime from Poland in Germany
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Tagged frozen meat, Listeria monocytogenes, rasff, smoked salmon
RASFF-aflatoxins (B1 = 39.1; Tot. = 45.3 µg/kg – ppb) in shelled pistachios from Turkey in Italy
RASFF-aflatoxins (B1 = 0.5; Tot. = <0.8 / B1 = 8; Tot. = 9.1 µg/kg – ppb) in raw shelled groundnuts from Brazil in the UK
RASFF-aflatoxins (B1 = 21.9; Tot. = 29.8 µg/kg – ppb) in groundnuts from India, dispatched from Egypt in Belgium
RASFF-aflatoxins (B1 = 8.06; Tot. = 9.02 µg/kg – ppb) in roasted and salted peanuts from China in Poland
RASFF -Salmonella group E1 (present /25g) in rapeseed meal from Germany in Germany
RASFF-Salmonella spp. (presence /25g) in dog chews from Germany in Austria
RASFF-Salmonella in dog chews from Argentina in Belgium
RASFF-Aflatoxins (B1 = 0.032 mg/kg – ppm) in maize from Serbia, via the Netherlands in Germany
Shigella is the bacterium that causes the disease shigellosis, also known as bacillary dysentery. Shigella is one of the most easily transmitted bacterial diarrheas, since it can occur after fewer than 100 bacteria are ingested. While reported cases of Shigella range between 14,000 and 20,000 annually, with the majority of these cases occurring between July and October. Shigella Sonnei is the most common type of Shigella. It accounts for over two-thirds of cases of shigellosis in the United States.
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Tagged bacillary dysentery, Shigella, Shigella Sonnei, Shigellosis
