It's that time of the year again. People bake a lot during the holiday season, so it's time for another reminder: Just say no to raw dough. It's important that consumers not eat raw dough or batter of any kind unless the dough is made with pasteurized eggs and heat treated flour. Don't even taste a tiny amount. Those two ingredients can be contaminated with potentially deadly pathogens and in fact have caused many illnesses. Raw cookie dough and raw cake batter are the biggest culprits, but homemade play dough and play clay made with flour has also made children sick. Eggs are often contaminated with Salmonella bacteria; in fact, hens can carry the pathogen inside their ovaries. That means the eggs are contaminated on the inside so washing them won't help. And uncooked flour is a … [Read more...]
Wisconsin Warns Consumers To Not Make Cannibal Sandwiches
Every year during the holidays food safety experts warn consumers to avoid one type of traditional treat or another. Today, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services told consumers not to make or eat cannibal sandwiches. Cannibal sandwiches, also known as tiger meat or steak tartare, are made of raw ground beef, which is a food safety hazard. The Department also warned consumers about this item on its Facebook page. Eating raw ground beef may expose you to pathogenic E. coli O157:H7, a dangerous pathogen that can cause serious illness, kidney failure, and even death. Raw ground beef can also be contaminated with Salmonella, Campylobacter, and Listeria monocytogenes bacteria. It doesn't matter where you buy the ground beef, or how fresh it is; it can still be contaminated with … [Read more...]
Cozy Vale Raw Milk Recalled For Possible E. coli Contamination
Cozy Vale raw milk is being recalled for possible E. coli contamination, according to a piece in The Olympian. That same dairy also recalled raw milk for possible E. coli contamination in 2017. The Cozy Vale Creamery is located in Tenino, Washington. The company is not aware of any illnesses associated with these recalled products. The voluntary recall is for gallon, half-gallon, quart, and pint containers of raw, or unpasteurized, milk that were sold in retail stores in Western Washington state. The recalled products have best by dates of December 12 to December 23, 2020. The pathogen was found in routine sampling of retail raw cream conducted by the Washington State Department of Agriculture. Tests did not find the bacteria in skim and whole raw milk products, but all of these … [Read more...]
FSIS Foodborne Illness Outbreaks For Fiscal Year 2019
The USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has released its summary of FSIS foodborne illness outbreaks for fiscal year 2019 that involved FSIS-regulated products. The four pathogens that most often affect those products are Salmonella, Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), Listeria monocytogenes, and Campylobacter. During fiscal year 2019, FSIS investigated 16 outbreaks that sickened about 1000 people and hospitalized more than 175 patients. 94% of these outbreaks involved illnesses in more than one state. Salmonella was the most common pathogen in these outbreaks, followed by STEC, and Listeria monocytogenes. Beef and chicken were the most common food products of interest. Salmonella serotypes in these outbreaks included Blockley, Enteritidis, Newport, Rissen, and … [Read more...]
Chipotle E. coli Lawsuit Filed by Pritzker Hageman in Ohio
A Chipotle E. coli lawsuit has been filed by the Pritzker Hageman law firm in Ohio, alleging that their client, a teenage girl, was sickened with an E. coli O157:H7 infection after eating food at that establishment. Their client got sick after eating a salad bowl, which was made with romaine lettuce, tomato, salsa, and guacamole, on September 24, 2020 at the Chipotle restaurant on 1140 Polaris Parkway in Columbus, Ohio. As a result of this infection, the girl was hospitalized for a debilitating and painful gastrointestinal illness. As a result of the Chipotle E. coli lawsuit, the law firm's attorneys are investigating whether this illness is associated with either of the two recently announced multistate E. coli O157:H7 outbreaks that have sickened 44 people and hospitalized 18. … [Read more...]
Dungeness Valley Raw Milk and Cream Recalled For E. coli
According to the Washington State Department of Health, Dungeness Valley raw milk and cream is being recalled because it may be contaminated with toxin-producing E. coli bacteria. The dairy, which is located in Sequim, Washington, is telling consumers to discontinue consumption of the retail Dungeness Valley raw milk and cream products with best by dates of 9/29/20 and 9/30/20 and dispose of them, or return them to the place of purchase for a refund. No other best by dates are affected at this time. The products were sold in gallon, half-gallon, quart, and pint containers and were available in retail stores in western Washington state. This advisory was initiated after routine sampling by the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) found the pathogen in a sample of … [Read more...]
What You Need to Know About Raw Sprouts and Food Poisoning
Raw sprouts have been considered a health food for decades. They are crunchy and delicious and full of nutrients. The sprouting process increases the availability of protein, folate, magnesium, phosphorus, manganese and vitamins C and K than unsprouted seeds. Unfortunately, the sprouting process also links raw sprouts and food poisoning. There have been many Salmonella and E. coli outbreaks linked to raw sprouts in the past few years. These outbreaks have been so numerous that a term was coined about them: sproutbreaks. The problem is that the seeds are inherently risky. The bacteria can be encapsulated in the seed itself, so cleaning the seeds before sprouting is completely ineffective. Then, when the seeds are sprouted in warm, moist conditions, those bacteria can grow and … [Read more...]
Are Aquaponic Hydroponic Greens Safer? Study Finds There Are Risks
Are After the deadly E. coli O157:H7 outbreaks linked to romaine lettuce in the past few years, many people have turned to hydroponic greens and aquaponic greens. Those plants are grown in water or recycled fish waste water instead of soil, indoors in greenhouses so they are not exposed to animal and bird waste, ground water, and irrigation water. But are aquaponic hydroponic greens safer? A new study finds there are risks. The study was conducted by scientists at Purdue University and published in MDPI, a publisher of peer-reviewed, open access journals. It is The Occurrence of Shiga Toxin-Producing E. coli. in Aquaponic and Hydroponic Systems. Hydroponic systems use water as the medium for growing the plants. Aquaponic systems use fish wastewater as both the water and nutrient … [Read more...]
Common Symptoms of All of the Food Poisoning Pathogens
Food poisoning outbreaks occur every year in the United States. These outbreaks can be caused by bacteria such as E. coli, Salmonella, Listeria Monocytogenes, Clostridium botulinum, Campylobacter, Shigella, Staphylococcus aureus, Brucella, Vibrio, and Bacillus cereus; and viruses such as norovirus and hepatitis A. At least 48,000,000 Americans are sickened with food poisoning every year. Do you know the common symptoms of all of the food poisoning pathogens? We've collected articles about all of these symptoms, which includes the foods most likely to be contaminated, in one place for easy reference. If someone in your family is sick with these symptoms, you'll be able to get help more quickly if you understand the pathogens. It's worth noting that it's wise for all consumers to … [Read more...]
Some E. coli Strains May Be Linked to Development of Bowel Cancer
According to a new study in the journal Nature, E. coli infections may be linked to bowel cancer. Some species of the intestinal microbiota, which is the collection of bacteria and viruses that live in the human gut, have been associated with colorectal cancer, but a direct role hasn't been proven. As it turns out, E. coli bacteria carry what is called a pathogenicity island pks, that creates enzymes that synthesize a compound called colibactin. Colibactin causes double-strand breaks in cultured cells. This damage can lead to cancer over time. Colibactin is found more often in fecal samples of people who do have bowel cancer than healthy people. Scientists don't know how many cases of bowel cancer may be linked to the E. coli bacteria, but estimate that as many as 5% of these … [Read more...]
