Pregnant women are at high risk for Listeria monocytogenes infections. Almost thirty percent of patients sickened in the current Listeria outbreak linked to caramel apples and plain apples packed by Bidart Brothers are pregnant women. One woman suffered a fetal loss. How are babies infected with this pathogenic bacteria when the mother eats contaminated food? There are two mechanisms for fetal infection, called early onset and late onset. Early onset occurs when a transplancental infection occurs: the bacteria has progressed to the placenta, where it is shielded from the mother's immune system and grows rapidly. A Listeria infection in pregnant women usually only produces mild symptoms including fever, headache, chills, back pain, and diarrhea. Those symptoms mimic the flu, which can … [Read more...]
California Warns Consumers Not to Eat Happy Apple Caramel Apples
The California Department of Public Health is warning consumers not to eat commercially prepared, prepackaged caramel apples because of a Listeria monocytogenes outbreak. One person in California has been sickened in this outbreak; overall, there are at least 29 people sick in 10 states. Happy Apple brand Caramel Apples have been recalled in connection with this outbreak. The company was informed by Bidart Brothers, who also supplied apples to California Snack Foods, which has recalled Karm'l Dapples caramel apples, that their apples may be contaminated with the pathogenic bacteria. Whole, intact apples, apple based beverages such as juice or cider (as long as they are pasteurized) and applesauce do not appear to be associated with this outbreak at this time. The caramel apple brands … [Read more...]
FDA’s Anti-Listeria Enforcement Lingers at Roos Foods Cheese Plant
The Maryland queso Listeria outbreak that also killed a person in California is over as stated by the CDC, but a related suspension order at the Roos Foods plant in Delaware will stay in effect until the U.S. Food and Drug Administration vacates the order, a public affairs official for the FDA's Investigations Branch in Philadelphia said. "Until the FDA vacates the suspension order, the facility may not introduce food into commerce,'' the FDA's JuliAnn Putnam told Food Poisoning Bulletin. For the FDA to vacate the suspension order, made on March 11, the agency would have to "make a determination that food manufactured, processed, packed, or held by the facility no longer has a reasonable probability of causing serious adverse health consequences,'' Putnam said. Such a determination … [Read more...]
Roos Listeria Outbreak in Maryland Only the Latest From Queso
Cheese Listeria outbreaks, including the FDA's ongoing legal case against Roos Foods for food poisoning in Maryland and California, have resulted in six U.S. deaths in the past 18 months and 35 hospitalizations, federal food safety reports indicate. The trend, in which three out of the past four national Listeria outbreaks have been linked to soft cheeses, provides public health agencies further confirmation that Mexican style cheese and other soft cheese products are foods to avoid if you are pregnant or in any other well-defined group at higher risk for contracting Listeriosis. The CDC said two mothers and three newborns are among those injured in the Listeria outbreak that the government has linked to Delaware-based Roos Foods, maker of brands like Mexicana and Santa Rosa de Lima. A … [Read more...]
Listeria in Roos Cheese An Outrage to Food Safety Advocates
Seven Hispanic families in Maryland and one in California have Listeria food poisoning lawsuits to consider in the wake of a fatal disease outbreak that was attributed by federal authorities to heavy bacterial contamination, deplorable manufacturing conditions and food safety violations at Delaware-based Roos Foods Inc. It's been one month since FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D., ordered the suspension of Roos Foods' Food Facility Registration as a result of clear findings by investigators laid out in the commissioner's written FDA order. Soft cheeses and other dairy products made by Roos Foods and distributed in Latin stores and supermarkets on the East Coast and California killed a consumer in California and infected seven other people in Maryland, including babies. The … [Read more...]
Update on Roos Foods Dairy Products Listeria Outbreak
The CDC has updated the Listeria monocytogenes outbreak linked to Roos Foods dairy products. A total of eight people have been sickened in two states. They are: California (1) and Maryland (7). Seven of the eight ill persons have been hospitalized because their illnesses are so severe. One death was reported in California. Five of the illnesses (2 mother-newborn pairs and a newborn) were related to pregnancy. All of the patients are of Hispanic origin. The outbreak strain of Listeria monocytogenes responsible for these illnesses was found in cheese products made by Roos Foods of Kenton, Delaware. In addition, whole-genome sequencing of the bacteria isolated from Roos Foods Cheese products found they were "highly related" to the Listeria isolated from patients in the outbreak. These … [Read more...]
FDA Closes Roos Foods Cheese Plant After Listeria Outbreak
The FDA has suspended the food facility registration of Roos Foods Inc. of Kenton, Delaware today after the FDA found there was a "reasonable probability of food manufactured, processed, packed, or held by Roos Foods causing serious adverse health consequences or death to humans." Cheese and other products made by Roos Foods are linked to a Listeria outbreak that has sickened at least seven people in Maryland and killed one person in California. The investigation by the FDA, CDC, and state and local authorities found that the cheese was contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. This is only the second time since 2011 that the FDA has used its power to close a facility for producing a contaminated product. Inspections by authorities found that the roof was leaking so badly that water … [Read more...]
