Consumer reviews of restaurants and other facilities on Yelp could help track and prevent food poisoning outbreaks, according to a new study published in Preventive Medicine. Researchers at Virginia Polytechnic Institute looked at reviews on Yelp of 5,824 food establishments from 2005 to 2012, screening customer reviews for relevant keywords, then analyzed every review. This information was compared to data from the CDC for the same time period. The scientists found that illnesses reported on Yelp matched the CDC stats. The Yelp reviews were of 13,262 businesses closest to 29 colleges in fifteen states. Those 5,824 businesses were categorized as Food or Restaurants. Researchers constructed a keyword list using common foodborne illness terms such as "diarrhea", "vomiting", and "puking". … [Read more...]
Two USDA Agencies Collaborate on Outbreak Cause Assessment
Two US. Department of Agriculture agencies are going to collaborate on an effort to assess the root cause in foodborne illness outbreaks in the U.S. Every year in this country, 48,000,000 people are sickened with a foodborne illness, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die. The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that details the responsibilities and roles of each agency. The assessments include observational study design, questionnaire development, collection of data and samples, and statistical analysis and reporting. Those facets are all included in the investigation of a foodborne illness outbreak. The assessment team will also provide "frequent, descriptive updates" … [Read more...]
Outbreak at Food Safety Summit in Baltimore, MD
An outbreak at the Food Safety Summit held in Baltimore Maryland at the Convention Center earlier in April has sickened an unknown number of people. At least four people told the Baltimore City Health Department that they were sickened after attending the event. Symptoms of upset stomach and diarrhea began about 12 hours after eating a meal on April 9, 2014. Attendees were sent a questionnaire if they were at the event April 8 to April 10, 2014. More than 1,500 food safety professionals were there. Officials have inspected the convention center, along with the food service provider, Centerplate. That facility had no violations during a recent inspection, although they were cited for condensation dripping from an ice machine. The Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene had … [Read more...]
CSPI Says Restaurants Pose Twice the Risk of Foodborne Outbreaks
Outbreak data analyzed by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) says that Americans are twice as likely to get food poisoning from restaurants than from food prepared at home. The review, which covers outbreaks from 2002 through 2011, is titled "Outbreak Alert! 2014". The worst outbreaks of that decade included a Campylobacter outbreak linked to pasteurized milk served to inmates at the California State Prisons. That sickened 1,644 people. In April 2008, Salmonella contaminated jalapeños and Serrano peppers and pepper products sickened 1,535 people in 42 states. And in 2011, Listeria-contamianted cantaloupe produced by Jensen Farms sickened 148 people in 28 states. Overall, 1,610 outbreaks linked to restaurants sickened more than 28,000 people. In that same tie frame, … [Read more...]
Salmonella Ground Beef Outbreak Highlighted Raw Meat Risks
A year ago this weekend, Michigan health officials announced a Salmonella outbreak that would eventually grow to include 22 cases in six states. Among those sickened were diners at at a restaurant in Macomb County, Mich. who ate a raw ground beef dish called kibbe. Kibbe is a Middle Eastern dish made from bulgar, minced onions and ground meat that is often stuffed into croquettes and fried, but is sometimes served raw, as it was at the restaurant that was never named by public health agencies. Raw kibbe seems to be popular in Maycomb County, which includes the cities of Troy and Sterling Heights, where at least 13 restaurants featured it on their menus at the time of the outbreak compared with one in the Twin Cities and 21 in New York City. The Centers for Disease Control and … [Read more...]
CDC Electronic Laboratory Reports Improve Outbreak Response
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been promoting its electronic laboratory reporting (ELR) by the 10,400 labs that send reportable data to health agencies. In the Cyclospora outbreak that is still ongoing, government health officials encouraged doctors and labs around the country to use telediagnosis to speed up diagnoses and reporting illnesses to government officials. CDC has funded 57 state, local and territorial health departments to increase the use of ELR. The number of health departments that are using the system has more than doubled since 2005. State and local departments estimate that almost two-thirds of lab reports were received electronically. When information about a potential foodborne illness outbreak is received and disseminated quickly, the … [Read more...]
FDA Releases Two Year Plan for Program Priorities
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released its two year Plan for Program Priorities. It is designed to meet the issues of the globalization of the food supply chain, changing industry processes, and consumer preferences for fresh and minimally processed foods. The Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) is implementing the plan. There are six program objectives detailed in the plan, taking into account new authorities established by the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). The first goal is to reduce foodborne illness rates every year by publishing guidance for egg safety, manufacturing process changes, and record keeping for high-risk foods to facilitate traceback. Rules on infant formulas, guidance on arsenic in apple juice and other foods, and rules for "gluten … [Read more...]
Suspect Food Poisoning? State Contact List is a Good Place to Start
If you or someone you know has been exhibiting the symptoms of food poisoning, you (or your doctor) should contact your state or city health department. FoodSafety.gov has a map with links to all of the state, commonwealth, and territory health departments to get you started. When two or more people have the same illness from the same contamianted food or drink, the illnesses are officially classified as an outbreak. Since most cases of foodborne illness are not reported, it's crucial that if you did get sick from food served at a restaurant or event, you tell public health officials about it. For instance, Salmonella outbreaks are usually underreported by a factor of 30. If an official Salmonella outbreak case count stands at 100, there are likely 3,000 people who are actually sick in … [Read more...]
Outbreaks Associated with Drinking Water in the U.S.
Those of us in the United States tend to think of illnesses caused by drinking water as a third world problem. But believe it or not, people in the United States are getting sick after consuming water from public treated systems. The MMWR news synopsis for September 5, 2013 reports that contamination of untreated ground water in public water systems and private wells, Legionella in building plumbing systems, and deficiencies in the public drinking water infrastructure are all causes of illness. The number of outbreaks in the federally regulated portions of public water systems has declined. But when these outbreaks occur, they sicken many people because so many use water from the tap. During 2009-2010, the latest year for which finalized numbers are available, there were 33 … [Read more...]
New Twitter App Tracks Foodborne Illness Outbreaks in Chicago
We've told you before about apps that can help keep you safe from food poisoning, and how Twitter may be playing a role in foodborne illess outbreak investigations. Now a company in Chicago has created a new Twitter app called Foodborne Chicago. The project is part of the Smart Chicago Collaborative, an organization "devoted to improving lives in Chicago through technology." The app asks people who think they contracted food poisoning at a restaurant to fill out a form, which is sent to the Chicago Department of Public Health. The app also uses computer codes to search Twitter for anything relating to food poisoning in the Chicago area. People review the tweets and reply back to people who posted about them, asking them to fill out the web form. The form asks which restaurant the person … [Read more...]
