A raw milk E. coli outbreak has sickened at least two people in Washington state, according to the Washington State Department of Health. The patients got sick in mid-January and early February 2024. The patients were sickened with the same, highly related strain of Shiga toxin-producing E coli (STEC) bacteria. Both patients drank raw, or unpasteurized, milk, produced by Cozy Vale Creamery in Tenino, Washington, shortly before getting sick. The patients live in two counties: Grays Harbor and Pierce. On February 16, 2024, Cozy Vale Creamery recalled their raw milk and cream because of STEC contamination. The STEC bacteria in the milk was a different strain than the one that caused the two recent illnesses. At this time, there are no known illnesses associated with the strain found in … [Read more...]
Mussels From Allen’s Fisheries Associated With Outbreak in NJ
FDA has issued a warning about certain mussels from Allen's Fisheries in Benoit's Cove, Newfoundland, Canada, that are associated with an outbreak in New Jersey. The pathogen or biotoxin that allegedly caused this outbreak has not been named, and the number of patients, their ages, illness onset dates, and whether or not anyone has been hospitalized was not mentioned in the alert. The product tag above is representative of the labeling that would accompany the mussels. The mussels are from Allen's Fisheries (NL0047SP) in Newfoundland, Canada, harvested on 2/07/2024 (Julian date 24038), from harvest area AQ # 15 Newfoundland, with final harvest date of 2/18/2024 (Julian date 24049). The mussels were shipped to distributors in the states of Connecticut, Florida, Maryland, … [Read more...]
Vulto Creamery Pleads Guilty In Connection With Listeria Outbreak
Vulto Creamery has pled guilty to one misdemeanor count of introducing adulterated food into interstate commerce in connection to a deadly Listeria monocytogenes outbreak linked to that dairy's cheese in 2016 and 2017, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. In that outbreak, the soft raw milk cheese sickened at least eight people in four states, and two people died. Johannes Vulto oversaw operations at the Vulto Creamery manufacturing facility in Walton, New York, including sanitation and environmental monitoring. By entering the guilty plea, Vulto admits that between December 2014 and March 2017, they shipped adulterated cheese. Environmental swabs that were taken at the facility between July 2014 and February 2017 repeatedly tested positive for various Listeria species; … [Read more...]
Raw Farm Raw Cheddar E. coli O157:H7 Outbreak Sickens 11
The Raw Farm raw Cheddar E. coli O157:H7 outbreak has now sickened at least 11 people in five states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Raw Farm voluntarily recalled their cheese on February 19, 2024 but has since withdrawn that recall. The FDA and CDC continue to recommend that people not eat the cheese because epidemiological evidence indicates that, "Raw Farm brand raw cheddar cheese is making people in this outbreak sick." In interviews with public health officials, 7 of 9 people interviewed, or 75%, said they ate Raw Farm raw Cheddar cheese before they got sick. This percentage is significantly higher than the 4.9% of respondents who reported eating any raw milk cheese in the FoodNet Population Survey. In addition, whole genome sequencing … [Read more...]
Cozy Vale Creamery Recalls Raw Milk For E. coli Contamination
Cozy Vale Creamery, located in Tenino, Washington, is recalling raw milk and raw cream products for possible E. coli contamination. This recall was triggered when routine sampling that was conducted by the Washington State Department of Agriculture revealed the presence of toxin-producing E. coli in retail raw whole milk that was dated 02-18-24. No illnesses have been reported to date in connection with the consumption of these products as of February 16, 2024. This information was provided in an email alert. There is no mention of this recall on the Washington State Department of Agriculture or the Washington State Department of Health web sites yet. The recall notice did not mention the specific serotype of E. coli that was found in the raw milk, but they did add this paragraph, … [Read more...]
FDA Weighs in on Raw Farms Raw Cheddar E. coli O157:H7 Outbreak
FDA weighs in on the Raw Farms raw Cheddar E. coli O157:H7 outbreak that has sickened at least 10 people in four states. Four people have been hospitalized in this outbreak, and one person has developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a type of kidney failure. The cheese has been voluntarily recalled by Raw Farm. The recalled products include original flavor, all sizes of blocks and shredded packages, and Cheddar with added Jalapeño Flavor, all sizes of blocks and shredded packages. The cheese was sold at retailers nationwide. Ill patients have reported buying the cheese at Sprouts Farmers Market and Bristol Farms. The FDA will update the advisory if they discover other retailers who have sold this cheese. The patient case count by state is: California (4), Colorado (3), Texas … [Read more...]
Raw Farm Raw Cheddar Cheese E. coli Outbreak Sickens 10
A Raw Farm raw Cheddar cheese E. coli outbreak has sickened at least 10 people in four states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Four people have been hospitalized because they are so sick. Raw Farm LLC has agreed to recall products and is working with the FDA. One pound and half pound blocks of the cheese, and half pound shredded cheese was recalled on February 17, 2024. The case count by state is: California (4), Colorado (3), Texas (1), and Utah (2). The patient age range is from two to 58 years. And illness onset dates range from October 18, 2023 to January 29, 2024. One person has developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a form of kidney failure. The number of patients in this outbreak is likely much higher than reported, and there may be more … [Read more...]
Fratelli Beretta Charcuterie Salmonella Outbreak Sickens 87
The Fratelli Beretta charcuterie Salmonella outbreak has now sickened at least 87 people in 30 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Eighteen people have been hospitalized. That's an increase of 40 new patients, eight new states, and eight new hospitalizations since the last update on January 18, 2024. The new states are: California, Florida, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and Tennessee,. The case count by state is: Arizona (2), California (1), Colorado (1), Connecticut (1), Florida (2), Idaho (2), Illinois (1), Iowa (2), Kentucky (1), Louisiana (1), Maryland (4), Massachusetts (1), Michigan (1), Minnesota (2), Missouri (2), Nebraska (3), New Jersey (5), New York (9), North Dakota (1), Ohio (13), Oklahoma (1), Oregon (1), … [Read more...]
Carlos Aguilera Supplied Cinnamon For Wanabana Purees
Carlos Aguilera supplied the cinnamon that were used to make WanaBana fruit purees that caused many lead poisoning illnesses, according to the FDA. Ecuadorian officials in Agencia Nacional de Regulación, Control y Vigilancia Sanitaria (ARCSA) are reporting this discovery. Carlos Aguilera, located in Ecuador, is the processor of the ground cinnamon supplied by Negasmart to Austrofoods and was later used in the recalled WanaBana apple cinnamon products. The unprocessed cinnamon sticks used in the recalled products were sourced from Sri Lanka and were sampled by ARCSA and found to have no lead contamination. The investigation is ongoing. The FDA has limited authority over foreign ingredient suppliers who do not ship directly to the United States, so they cannot take direct … [Read more...]
FDA: Deadly Rizo Lopez Cheese Listeria Monocytogenes Outbreak
The FDA weighs in on the deadly Rizo Lopez cheese Listeria monocytogenes outbreak. There are at least 26 patients in 11 states. Twenty-three of those patients have been hospitalized, and two people, one who lived in California and one who lived in Texas, have sadly died. The patient case count by state is: Arizona (4), California (8), Colorado (4), Florida (1), Georgia (1), Nevada (1), North Carolina (1), Oregon (1), Tennessee (2), Texas (2), and Washington (1). The patient age range is from less than one to 88 years. Illness onset dates range from June 15, 2014 to December 10, 2023. That is an extraordinary long illness onset date range, but this is often the case with listeriosis outbreaks. Many secondary recalls have been issued, for products made with recalled Rizo-Lopez … [Read more...]
