Your hand has oils on it, and viruses stick to that oil. They have an electrostatic charge to them. But when you’re washing with soap, soap has things that decrease surface tension in them so you are physically rubbing by friction and washing away that virus. It is the most effective thing we know to do. That’s why surgeons, for example, scrub their hands so very carefully before they go into an OR. It works, and it works really well.
Chicken with Salmonella can make you sick. So can romaine lettuce with E. coli and buffets with lurking Norovirus. So why aren’t health officials warning people about eating food contaminated with the new Coronavirus?
The answer has to do with the varying paths organisms take to make people sick.
Respiratory viruses like the new Coronavirus generally attach to cells in places like the lungs. Germs like Norovirus and Salmonella can survive the acid in stomachs, then multiply after attaching to cells inside people’s guts.
“Specializing in what tissues to attach to is typically part of the disease’s strategy to cause illness,” according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC and other experts note that the virus is new and still being studied. But they say there’s no evidence yet that COVID-19 sickens people through their digestive systems, though the virus has been detected in the faeces of infected people.
How these germs spread also differs.
Respiratory viruses like the flu and the new Coronavirus spread mainly through person-to-person contact and air droplets from coughing, sneezing or other flying saliva.
Ottawa, April 5, 2020 – The food recall warning issued on March 26, 2020 has been updated to include additional product information. This additional information was identified during the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s (CFIA) food safety investigation.
Fromagerie Blackburn is recalling Fromagerie Blackburn brand Le Mont-Jacob semi-soft cheese from the marketplace due to possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination. Consumers should not consume the recalled products described below.
Cheese wheels of Le Mont-Jacob semi-soft cheese have been sold cut up and re-packaged. Consumers who are unsure if they have purchased the affected product are advised to contact their retailer.
| Brand | Product | Size | UPC | Codes | Lot |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fromagerie Blackburn | Le Mont-Jacob semi-soft cheese | 130 g | 6 28504 56408 0 | Best Before 05JN20 16JN20 25JN20 |
20007 20020 20028 |
| Fromagerie Blackburn | Le Mont-Jacob semi-soft cheese | Variable weight – cheese wheels | 6 28504 56403 5 | All products with a BBD up to and including 15JN20 | 20007, 20008, 20014, 20015, 20016, 20020, 20021, 20022, 20028, 20036, 20042, 20043, 20044, 20050 |
| Fromagerie Blackburn | Le Mont-Jacob semi-soft cheese | Variable weight | Begins with 0 200007 | All units sold up to and including April 5, 2020 | None |
If you think you became sick from consuming a recalled product, call your doctor.
Check to see if you have the recalled products in your home. Recalled products should be thrown out or returned to the store where they were purchased.
Food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes may not look or smell spoiled but can still make you sick. Symptoms can include vomiting, nausea, persistent fever, muscle aches, severe headache and neck stiffness. Pregnant women, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems are particularly at risk. Although infected pregnant women may experience only mild, flu-like symptoms, the infection can lead to premature delivery, infection of the newborn or even stillbirth. In severe cases of illness, people may die.
This recall was triggered by the company. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is conducting a food safety investigation, which may lead to the recall of other products. If other high-risk products are recalled, the CFIA will notify the public through updated Food Recall Warnings.
The CFIA is verifying that industry is removing the recalled products from the marketplace.
There have been no reported illnesses associated with the consumption of these products.
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Following a notification via the RASFF system (European rapid alert system Food and Feed), the AFSCA is withdrawing from the sale the following products: roasted turkey fillet MAITRE COQ, minced FULL FLAVOR turkey, cutlets of turkey MAITRE COQ, CARREFOUR turkey legs and reminds them of consumers due to the possible presence of Salmonella.
The United States has limited controls to manage aflatoxin contamination in peanuts for export to Europe, according to findings from an audit carried out because of regular detection of non-compliances.
Officials from DG Sante, the European Commission’s unit for food safety and health, said there was scope to develop and improve good practices across the industry to help reduce levels of aflatoxin in peanuts.
The audit assessed if the systems to control aflatoxin contamination in peanuts sent to the European Union comply with, or are equivalent to, EU laws to ensure limits for contaminants are respected. It found the legal framework primarily addresses peanuts for the domestic market and imports. There are no specific standards for peanuts intended for the EU.
It is possible for processors to export a lot to Europe which has, in the analysis of another sample from the same lot, had a result exceeding EU limits, according to DG Sante.
“Everybody needs to test because there’s a broad variation in risk across the country,” he said in a webinar on mycotoxin management on March 31. “If we don’t test, we can’t understand what that risk is, and we have to understand the risk in order to formulate a program.”
Mountain Rose Herbs Recall on “Organic Kudzu Root Herbal Supplement” Due to Salmonella
Mountain Rose Herbs, located in Eugene, Oregon, is issuing a recall on all sizes of the companies “Organic Kudzu Root Herbal Supplement” due to the presence of Salmonella which was found through routine quality testing procedures. The recalled Organic Kudzu Root Herbal Supplement, which is used in traditional Chinese medicine because of its antioxidant properties, is packed in clear plastic or poly-woven bags, weighing in ranges of 4 ounces to 50 pounds. The two lots of Organic Kudzu Root Herbal Supplements that are affected in the recall are Lot #24247-X and Lot #24247.
To check and see if the product purchased in a part of the recall for Salmonella contamination, the lot number is located on the bottom corner of the label.
RASFF – shigatoxin-producing Escherichia coli (stx2+) in and absence of labelling (UBD missing) on frozen sausages from the United Kingdom in Germany
RASFF – foodborne outbreak suspected (norovirus) to be caused by live oysters from France, via the Netherlands in Sweden
Posted in food bourne outbreak, food contamination, Food Hygiene, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Pathogen, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Food Virus, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Norovirus, RASFF, Uncategorized, Virus
RASFF – Bacillus cereus diarrhoeal enterotoxin (3.8x10E3) in dark chocolate insect protein bar from France in Germany
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