Category Archives: Uncategorized

FSA

Tesco has taken the precautionary step of recalling some flavoured butter products due to the possible presence of Listeria monocytogenes. Listeria monocytogenes is a bacterium that can cause foodborne illness. –

Action taken by the company

Tesco has taken the precautionary measure of recalling all products that may be affected. Tesco has published a point-of-sale notice which is attached to this notice.

Customer notice: Tesco flavoured butters(53.35 KB)

– See more at: http://www.food.gov.uk/news-updates/news/2016/14938/tesco-recalls-flavoured-butters-due-to-the-possible-presence-of-listeria-monocytogenes#sthash.SNHdZ9Zi.dpuf

Barf Blog

Five children have been developed hemolytic uremic syndrome amongst a total of 51 sick children — 43 younger than two-years-old — at Marie Curie Hospital in Bucharest due to E. coli O26.

Romanian minister of agriculture Achim Irimescu said Monday E. coli O26 was discovered in dairy products in Arges County especially in cottage cheese produced by ‘Lactate Bradet.’

FDA

What is the Problem and What is Being Done About It?

The FDA, CDC, state and local officials are investigating a multi-state outbreak of Salmonella Muenchen illnesses linked to alfalfa sprouts produced by Sweetwater Farms LLC, Inman, Kansas.

The CDC reports that 13 people were infected with the outbreak strains of Salmonella Muenchen in four states: Kansas (5), Missouri (3), Oklahoma (3), and Pennsylvania (2). Five people have been hospitalized. Reported illness onset dates range from December 1, 2015 through January 21, 2016.

Collaborative investigation efforts of the FDA, CDC, Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Kansas Department of Agriculture, and Oklahoma Department of Health indicate that sprouts produced by Sweetwater Farms LLC are the likely source of this outbreak. Irrigation water and alfalfa sprout samples collected by the FDA from Sweetwater Farms LLC tested positive for Salmonella.  Testing to identify the specific strain of Salmonella is ongoing.

On February 19, 2016, after discussions with the FDA and other federal, state, and local agencies, Sweetwater Farms LLC voluntarily recalled alfalfa sprouts from lot 042016. On February 26, 2016, Sweetwater Farms informed the FDA that it would recall all of its sprout products from the market. The FDA is working with the company and Kansas officials to facilitate this action.  This investigation is ongoing. The FDA will continue to provide updates on the investigation as they become available.

FDA

AUSTIN, Texas – Whole Foods Market in Austin, Texas is voluntarily recalling Maytag Raw Milk Blue Cheese nationally due to possible contamination 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 monocytogenes infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.

No illnesses have been reported in connection with this recall to date.

Food Poisoning Bulletin

The Smithsonian’s National Zoo has temporarily closed the Kids’ Farm exhibit because E. coli stx 1 gene bacteria was discovered in a few of the animals. The animals are now being managed under quarantine protocols. At this time, no staff have been affected and no animals are showing any signs of disease. While E. coli exists all around us, and even in us, some types of E. coli are “pathogenic,” meaning they can cause illness.

Inquirer.net

ILOILO CITY — Health authorities are looking into a case of suspected food poisoning that affected 101 pupils of an elementary school in Carles town, Iloilo.

Dr. Ma. Soccoro Quiñon, assistant Provincial Health Officer (PHO), said she received a report on Monday afternoon about the case of 101 pupils of Abong Elementary School who fell ill after eating lunch given by a nongovernment organization (NGO) on Sunday.

Quiñon said 28 patients were brought for consultation at the Carles rural health unit while 69 others were sent to the Jesus Colmenares Memorial Hospital in Malbog, Balasan town. Of the number, only four were confined due to dehydration.

Based on the report of Dr. Roland Betita, the municipal health officer of Carles, at least 160 Grades 5 and 6 pupils were served hamonado, a dish made of pork, pineapple and sugar,  during a free lunch given by an NGO.

Food Poisoning Journal

As of January 21, 2016, 888 people infected with the outbreak strains of Salmonella Poona have been reported from 39 states. The number of ill people reported from each state is as follows: Alabama (1), Alaska (19), Arizona (134), Arkansas (13), California (241), Colorado (21), Connecticut (1), Florida (1), Hawaii (1), Idaho (26), Illinois (11), Indiana (5), Iowa (7), Kansas (2), Kentucky (1), Louisiana (5), Maryland (1), Minnesota (43), Missouri (15), Montana (16), Nebraska (8), Nevada (17), New Hampshire (1), New Mexico (35), New York (6), North Dakota (8), Ohio (3), Oklahoma (13), Oregon (23), Pennsylvania (2), South Carolina (10), South Dakota (3), Tennessee (1), Texas (52), Utah (62), Virginia (1), Washington (26), Wisconsin (46), and Wyoming (7).

Among people for whom information is available, illnesses started on dates ranging from July 3, 2015 to January 6, 2016. Ill people range in age from less than 1 year to 99, with a median age of 18. Forty-nine percent of ill people are children younger than 18 years. Fifty-six percent of ill people are female. Among 686 people with available information, 191 (28%) report being hospitalized. Six deaths have been reported from Arizona (1), California (3), Oklahoma (1), and Texas (1). According to the California Department of Public Health, Salmonella infection was not considered to be a contributing factor in two of the three deaths in California.

Food Poisoning Bulletin

Jarred pesto isn’t a common source of botulism but in 2014 it was the source of a botulism outbreak that sickened two people. The outbreak marked the only time pesto was documented as a source of a botulism outbreak in the U.S. and the first time in 15 years that it was the source of a botulism outbreak in other countries.

HPS

On 25 February, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has today published the latest results from its survey of Campylobacter on fresh shop-bought chickens.

The results for the second quarter of testing, from October to December 2015, continue to show a decrease in the number of birds with the highest level of contamination from the same months last year. These most heavily contaminated birds, carrying more than 1,000 colony forming units per gram (cfu/g), are the focus of the current target agreed by industry, which is equivalent to no more than 7% of chickens at retail having the highest levels of contamination. Research has shown that reducing the proportion of birds in this category will have the biggest positive impact on public health.

The latest data show 11% of chickens tested positive for the highest level of contamination, down from 19% in October to December 2014. Campylobacter was present on 59% of chicken samples, down from 74% in the same months of the previous year.

In this second quarter of the FSA’s second survey, 966 samples of fresh whole chilled UK-produced chickens and packaging have been tested. The chickens were bought from large UK retail outlets and smaller independent stores and butchers. The survey commenced sampling in July 2015.

The data continue to show an improvement from the previous year. Interventions, including improved biosecurity, SonoSteam, and the trimming of neck skins, introduced by some retailers to reduce levels of Campylobacter, may be helping to deliver the improved results. The trimming of the neck skin, the most highly contaminated skin area, means chickens are carrying less Campylobacter. The results of this intervention, while making chickens safer, mean comparisons to the first year’s survey may potentially be more difficult in future quarters as most samples from the previous year will have analysed more neck skin. The FSA will review the impact of this successful intervention to ensure the survey results remain robust.

The FSA has been testing chickens for Campylobacter since February 2014 and publishing the results as part of its campaign to bring together the whole chicken supply chain to tackle the problem. Campylobacter is the most common cause of food poisoning in the UK, making an estimated 280,000 people ill every year. [Source: FSA News Release, 25 February 2016. http://www.food.gov.uk/news-updates/news/2016/14910/signs-of-further-progre…]

Botulism Blog The Washington State Public Health Laboratory confirmed botulism was the cause of two deaths in Grant County earlier in February. The deaths were announced on Feb. 19th by the Grant County Health District (GCHD) and said they were likely caused by botulism but awaited further testing. GCHD officials said both of the cases were from the same household and had “classic” botulism symptoms.