The safety of raw manure under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) final rule on produce safety is being questioned by the FDA. Submissions on assessing the risk of raw manure as fertilizer are requested. Manure from cattle, chickens, horses, and other farm animals can be, and usually are, contaminated with E. coli and Salmonella bacteria. The FDA is going to conduct a risk assessment to find out how much consumer health is put at risk by the use of raw manure as fertilizer in growing crops covered FSMA's produce safety rule. The agency wants helps of stakeholders, the animal agriculture industry, academia, and members of the public. Produce is the most common food source linked with food poisoning outbreaks. Recent outbreaks just in the past few weeks linked to raw produce … [Read more...]
Possible Foodborne Illness Outbreak at Lucky’s Taproom in Dayton, OH
Dayton & Montgomery County public health officials are investigating an "outbreak of illness associated with eating" at Lucky's Taproom & Eatery, located at 520 East Fifth Street in Dayton, Ohio. At least 60 people have ben sickened as of 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 3, 2016. Of those sickened, four have been admitted to area hospitals. The first complaint of illness was received on February 29, 2016. The restaurant was inspected that day, but results of the inspection have not yet been released. Symptoms of those sickened include stomach cramps, diarrhea, headache, nausea, and vomiting, which is typical for most foodborne illnesses caused by pathogenic bacteria. Public Health officials obtained stool samples from ill persons and took food samples from the restaurant that … [Read more...]
Garden of Life Salmonella Ingredient Identified
Garden of Life has announced they have isolated the ingredient in their RAW Meal Organic Shake and Meal Replacement Products that was potentially contaminated with Salmonella. Those products are linked to a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Virchow that has sickened at least eleven people. One person has been hospitalized. The ingredient is Organic Moringa Leaf Powder from a third party supplier. This ingredient was only used in RAW Meal products. Other Garden of Life products use Moringa Leaf Powder obtained from other suppliers. You can see the long list of recalled products, along with lot numbers, UPC numbers, and expiration dates, at the FDA web site. These products have a long shelf life and they are most likely in consumer's homes. If you have any of these products, do not use … [Read more...]
Michigan Hit Hard in Dole Salad Listeriosis Outbreak
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, four people from Michigan have been sickened in the Listeria monocytogenes outbreak linked to Dole prepackaged salads. A Dole brand Field Greens packaged salad was collected in Ohio in mid-January 2016 and tested positive for a Listeria isolate that was "highly related genetically" to isolates taken from ill patients. The salad was produced at the Springfield, Ohio Dole processing facility. Epidemiologic and laboratory evidence indicates that packaged salads produced at the Dole facility are the likely source of this outbreak. Dole has stopped production at that facility and has withdrawn all salads produced at that facility from the market. Illnesses in this particular outbreak go back to July 5, 2015. All of the 12 people … [Read more...]
If You Bought Dole Salads Recalled For Listeria, Don’t Panic!
We received so many comments about the Dole salad recall for Listeria monocytogenes that I thought I would write more about the illness and your risk of contracting it. Any Dole prepackaged salad with a code starting with the letter "A" has been recalled. Listeria is a dangerous pathogen, but there's no need to panic. There have been thousands and thousands of those bags of salad sold, and, even using the multiplier for Listeria monocytogenes outbreak, only about 34 people have been sickened in the United States and Canada. Your odds of actually developing the illness are quite low. Second, if you did purchase a bag that was recalled or ate some of the recalled salads, be aware of the symptoms of listeriosis, the illness caused by this bacteria. Symptoms include flu-like fever and … [Read more...]
Preliminary Cause of Cass County ND Jail Outbreak: Clostridium Perfringens
Several news reports state that the North Dakota Department of health has made a preliminary diagnosis about what sickened 110 inmates in the Cass County Jail last month. Clostridium perfringens was most likely the culprit. Stool samples from several inmates revealed the pathogenic bacteria. This bacteria is found on raw meat and poultry. It grows when foods are prepared in large quantities, as in jails, nursing homes, and schools, and that food is kept warm, but not quite warm enough, for long periods of time, or is improperly cooled. This type of outbreak is quite common in large institutions. The outbreak in December 2015 was the second one at the Cass County Jail in the last four years. About 40% of the 282 inmates at the jail were sick with symptoms that included diarrhea … [Read more...]
Will 2nd Chipotle E. coli Outbreak Help Identify Tainted Ingredient?
Five people in Kansas, Oklahoma and North Dakota developed E. coli infections after eating at Chipotle restaurants in November. Their illnesses were caused by a different strain of E. coli than the one responsible for the ongoing nine-state outbreak that has sickened 53 people, so health officials are not sure if the cases are part of the same outbreak. Although the new illnesses are terrible news for those sickened and for the company, could they be the key to solving the outbreak? It's been two months since the first outbreak was announced but health investigators still have no idea what the contaminated food source might be. That's a bit of a head scratcher for armchair epidemiologists wondering how hard it can be to determine the commonly sourced ingredient in meals eaten by more … [Read more...]
CDC Investigating Another E. coli Outbreak at Chipotle in OK, KS
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported today that they are investigating another E. coli outbreak linked to Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurants. This new outbreak is a different strain of E. coli O26 bacteria from the older outbreak. That ongoing, older outbreak of E. coli O26 linked to those restaurants has sickened at least 53 people in 9 states. One more ill person who is part of the older outbreak has been reported from Pennsylvania since the last update. But that person did not eat at Chipotle the week before November 14, 2015, when the illness started. In the older outbreak, 20 ill persons (38%) have been hospitalized. The case count by state in that outbreak is: California (3), Illinois (1), Maryland (1), Minnesota (2), New York (1), Ohio (3), Oregon (13), … [Read more...]
Boston College Reports Food Poisoning Cases: Chipotle?
Boston College Health Services is confirming that at least 30 students, including 8 basketball players, have come to them complaining of gastrointestinal symptoms, including vomiting and diarrhea. The common factor among all of those sickened, according to BC officials, is that they ate at the Chipotle restaurant in Cleveland Circle. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health has been notified, and is working to determine if these illnesses are connected to the nationwide E. coli O26 outbreak linked to Chipotle restaurants or if these illnesses are caused by norovirus or another factor. There is no evidence at this time that the illnesses are caused by E. coli bacteria or that Chipotle restaurants are, in fact, involved. The Chipotle restaurant in question at Cleveland Circle has … [Read more...]
Advice for Those Who Bought JEM Nut Butters Linked to Salmonella Outbreak
JEM Raw Chocolate of Oregon is recalling its entire line of sprouted nut butter spreads because they may be contaminated with Salmonella bacteria, according to the CDC. There is an outbreak of Salmonella Paratyphi B variant L(+) tartrate (+) infections linked to these products. At least 11 people in 9 states have been sickened so far. There have been no hospitalizations, and no deaths have been reported. Those sickened live in California, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, North Carolina, New Jersey, and Oregon. All eight of the ill persons interviewed so far ate nut butter or a nut butter spread the week before they got sick. Six of those people specifically reported eating JEM Raw brand sprouted nut butter spread before their illness manifested. These spreads have a … [Read more...]
