Category Archives: Uncategorized

USA – Two Botulism Cases

Botulism Blog closta

Two people in Ohio have been hospitalized with botulism that public health officials suspect is connected to a nationwide recall of VR Green Farms’ jarred sauces.

The two Ohio patients, both Cincinnati residents in their 20′s, were each on ventilators at one point but are improving, according to the Cincinnati Health Department. One patient is still on a ventilator and was transferred last week to an acute long-term care facility, Dr. Steven Englender, director of the department’s Center for Public Health Preparedness said in an email. The other patient is breathing unassisted and “may have been discharged by now,” he said.

Preliminary testing by the Cincinnati Health Department found evidence of Clostridium botulinum type B in a meal of pasta that contained the recalled pesto sauce. The lab is still awaiting confirmation of those results.

Research – Prevalence, Antibiotic Resistance and Genetic Diversity of Listeria monocytogenes Isolated From Retail Ready-To-Eat Foods in China

Science Direct

Listeria monocytogenes is a major foodborne pathogen that is well known as high mortality rate upon infected. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of L. monocytogenes isolates from retail ready-to-eat (RTE) foods in China and characterize the isolates of L. monocytogenes by antibiotic resistance, serotyping, ERIC-PCR and REP-PCR subtyping analyses. From September 2012 to January 2014, a total of 364 retail RTE foods were obtained. Using the qualitative and quantitative methods, 25 samples (6.87%) were positive for L. monocytogenes. The identity of isolates of L. monocytogenes was confirmed by PCR. All 80 isolates in this survey were sensitive to penicillin and mezlocillin, the highest resistance is clindamycin (51.25%), followed by cephalothin (23.75%) and ampicillin (12.5%). Twenty-seven isolates were susceptible to all 14 tested antibiotics; seventeen isolates were resistant to more than two antibiotics, including six multiresistent strains resist to more than 10 antibiotics. L. monocytogenes isolates belonged to serovar types 1/2a (3a), 4b (4d, 4e), 1/2b (3b, 7) and 1/2c (3c). 29 L. monocytogenes isolates were selected by serotyping. At the relative similarity coefficient of 0.80, it grouped 29 isolates and 5 reference strains into 2 clusters and 3 singletons, 4 clusters and 1 singleton by ERIC-PCR and REP-PCR, respectively. Our study reflects the potential risk of L. monocytogenes infection in China. We also provide a comprehensive surveillance on its incidence on the RTE foods of L. monocytogenes and ensure more accurate treatment of human listeriosis with effective antibiotics.

Eygpt – UK Tourists – 100 Cases – Shigella

The Mirror shigella

Up to 100 British tourists have fallen ill after a sickness bug swept through an Egyptian holiday resort.

Several were still on intravenous drips in their hotel rooms last night at the four-star Coral Sea Waterworld complex.

Angry holidaymakers blamed the virulent bug on dirty buffet food containers, utensils and tables and poor hygiene.

It has spread so fast that resort bosses have had to draft in extra doctors to cope with the sickness outbreak.

Legal firm Simpson Millar, acting for holidaymakers staying at the hotel, say they have already had 50 cases of illness reported to them in the last 24 hours alone.

Lawyer Nick Harris said: “I have been inundated with people contacting me about ruined holidays. Some of the reports I have heard are horrific.

“Bedridden families with intravenous drips in their arms and taking it in turns to be sick and use the toilet. We strongly suspect it’s a bacterial poisoning. It looks like up to 100 Brits are affected.

“They have spent the majority of their stay confined to their bedrooms and many of them on IV drips”.

Victims have been diagnosed with Shigella – a bug commonly associated with food poisoning and poor hygiene.

It is closely related to salmonella, which doctors in the resort have also been testing for.

 

USA – FDA – Recall – Cheese – Listeria monocytogenes

FDA FDA

August 4, 2014 – Oasis Brands, Inc of Miami, FL is recalling Quesito Casero 12oz with expiration date 09/27/14, because it has 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.

Quesito Casero 12oz was distributed in North Carolina and Virginia through retail stores.

Product comes in plastic bags, name Quesito Casero 12oz, Brand Lacteos Sta. Martha, Fresh Curd, Exp. Date 09/27/14

“No illnesses have been reported to date.”

Research – Ireland – Listeria monocytogenes

Ingenta Connect Eurofins Food Testing UK

Building a comprehensive knowledge base of the association of Listeria monocytogenes isolates across national food chains, clinical cases, and environments can play a key role in helping control the incidence of listeriosis. Today, many food chains cross national borders and are often shared by neighboring countries. This study characterized L. monocytogenes isolated from food samples in Northern Ireland and investigated whether similarities in the population and associations of L. monocytogenes strains exist in the neighboring countries of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, which together constitute the island of Ireland. Listeria monocytogenes isolates were characterized using serotyping and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis subtyping. This data was then interrogated against existing data for the Republic of Ireland, to identify any shared trends in the ecology and contamination patterns of L. monocytogenes strains. The results of this study indicated that contaminated food products often shared L. monocytogenes strains with other products. A total of six different strain subtypes were identified among 18 contaminated products. Overall strain diversity in positive samples was low, with no sample yielding more than one L. monocytogenes strain, as determined by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis subtyping. When comparisons against an Irish strain database were performed, many related strain subtypes were also shared by a variety of sources in the Republic of Ireland. This study highlights the potential benefits that a whole-island surveillance approach may present to food safety and public health in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

USA – Soup Recall Possible – Clostridium botulinum

Food Poisoning Bulletin Clost

The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is warning consumers not to eat any soup products made by Souperb of Richmond. The products were improperly processed, making them susceptible to contamination with Clostridium botulinum toxin. A voluntary recall will be issued by the company later today.

No cases of illness have been reported to date. But botulinum toxin can causer serious illness and death, even in tiny quantities

Canada – CFIA Recall Update – Stone Fruist Recall – Listeria monocytogenes

CFIA

The food recall warning issued on July 21, 2014 has been updated to include additional product code information. This additional information was identified during the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s (CFIA) food safety investigation.

Industry is recalling Sweet 2 Eat brand fresh, whole peaches, plums, nectarines and pluots from the marketplace due to possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination. These products were recalled by Wawona Packing Company of California. Consumers should not consume the recalled products described in the link above

Note that retail cartons may show the following brand names: Wawona, Sweet 2 Eat or Harvest Sweet. Stickers on individual fruit have the Sweet 2 Eat brand name.

USA- FDA Recalls – Carob Powder -Salmonella – Peaches – Listeria monocytogenes – Tumeric – Salmonella – Pine Nut Basil – Clostridium botulinum

FDA

New England Greens of Canaan, Connecticut is recalling 10 lots of Green Vibrance and one lot of Rainbow Vibrance after a former raw material supplier, Raw Deal of Allamuchy, NJ, recalled the Organic Parsley Leaf Powder used to manufacture Green Vibrance and Rainbow Vibrance because of the potential for contamination with Salmonella. Although the possibility is slight that any amount of Salmonella is present in any of the recalled lots of the above-mentioned products, New England Greens is issuing the recall with an abundance of caution for the safety of its consumers. No illnesses have been reported to date in connection with this problem

FDA

Sunburst Superfoods of Tuckahoe, NY, is recalling Sunburst SUPERFOODS Organic Raw Carob Powder sold from March 12, 2014 through July 28th, 2014, because it has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis.

FDA

Out of an abundance of caution, Wawona Packing Company of Cutler, California is expanding its voluntary recall from July 19, 2014, of whole white and yellow peaches, white and yellow nectarines, plums and pluots due to the potential of the products being contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

Listeria monocytogenes is 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.

The July 19 recall covered specific lots of products packed from June 1 through July 12, 2014. Wawona Packing Company is expanding the recall, as a precautionary step, to cover all products packed in the Wawona Packing Co. facility from June 1, 2014 through July 17, 2014 because the company’s experts have yet to identify with scientific certainty the source of Listeria monocytogenes in the facility.

FDA

Lakewood, CO. Natural Grocers is issuing a voluntary recall of Chunks of Energy Carob Greens and Chunks of Energy Date / Flax/Tumeric because they contain organic carob powder from Ciranda, Inc., Hudson, WI 54016, which may be contaminated with Salmonella.

Salmonella is an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infection (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis

FDA

California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Director and State Health Officer Dr. Ron Chapman warned consumers today not to eat VR Green Farms jarred food products because they may have been improperly produced, making them susceptible to contamination with Clostridium botulinum.

Ingestion of botulism toxin from improperly processed jarred and canned foods may lead to serious illness and death. CDPH is coordinating with the US Food and Drug Administration and the Ohio Department of Health in the investigation of two cases of suspected food-borne botulism infections that may be associated with consumption of the firm’s Pine Nut Basil Pesto.

USA – Florida – Cryptosporidium Outbreak

10 News 763px-Cryptosporidium_parvum_01

Pinellas County, Florida — The Florida Health Department has issued a health alert for Pinellas County after 58 cases of a parasitic illness have been reported.

Cryptosporidium is a parasite found in contaminated water, and can make people very sick. Symptoms include severe cramps, diarrhea and vomiting.

Sweden – Hamburger and Salmonella

The Local

Swedish supermarket chain Coop has recalled its in-store brand of fresh hamburger meat after a routine check revealed traces of salmonella in the meat.

Supermarket chain Lidl has also stopped hamburger sales by the Svea Lantkött brand, after meat supplier Scan stated that the packages may contain salmonella