Last month, Kroger, one of the nation's largest grocery store chains announced it would no longer carry sprouts because they pose too large a food safety risk. One week later, a handful of sprout growers announced the formation of a new group: Sprout Safety Alliance. “I am very happy to see this new organization taking a leadership role in addressing sprout safety. Sprouts are a challenging product and it is time for members of the industry to get ahead of the safety issues related to sprouts,” former FDA Commissioner Dr. Les Crawford, said in a statement. Whether it’s time or about time growers got ahead of food safety issues is for consumers to decide. Sprouts have so long and consistently been linked to foodborne illnesses outbreaks, they have their own moniker: sproutbreaks. … [Read more...]
Kroger Stops Selling Sprouts
In the past 10 months, there have been many recalls of raw sprouts for bacterial contamination and one large outbreak linked to sprouts in Jimmy John's sandwiches. The CDC advises many consumers to avoid raw sprouts altogether or to cook them thoroughly before consuming. Now a national grocery chain, Kroger, has decided to stop selling sprouts. Payton Pruett, Kroger's vice president of food safety, said in a statement, "after a thorough, science-based review, we have decided to voluntarily discontinue selling fresh sprouts. Testing and sanitizing by the growers and safe food handling by the consumer are the critical steps to protect against foodborne illness. Sprouts represent a unique challenge because pathogens may reside inside of seeds where they cannot be reached by the currently … [Read more...]
Study Finds Third Party Food Safety Auditors Follow Orders From Food Industry, Not FDA
A study conducted by Bloomberg Markets has found that third party auditors hired by the food industry are not required by follow any federal standards and have no government supervision. Drew Kerr of Bloomberg Markets Magazine sent us the story and a statement about the study. He said, "it turns out some of the biggest food poisonings of the last few years were given sterling marks from the industry-paid auditors." The study, published in the November issue, details the illness of Nellie Napier, an 80-year-old grandmother of 13 who died in the 2009 King Nut Peanut Corporation Salmonella outbreak whose family is a client of Pritzker Olsen. She is one of nine people killed by the bacteria that also sickened 714 people in 46 states. AIB, the third party auditor that checked on Peanut … [Read more...]
Food Workers to Blame for Most Norovirus Outbreaks, Study Shows
A study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and published in Emerging Infectious Diseases has found that most norovirus outbreaks are caused by food workers handling food. Norovirus is the leading cause of foodborne illness outbreaks in the United States, responsible for 58% of all outbreaks from known agents. The virus is spread through several methods: person-to-person transmission, ingestion of aerosolized vomitus, and indirect transmission through contaminated surfaces, food, or water. The virus can stay alive on surfaces for two weeks and in water for more than two months. It is also quite resistant to many disinfectants. The most frequent pathways to contamination are through infected food workers or exposure to water contaminated with fecal … [Read more...]
CDC Releases Cryptosporidiosis Surveillance Report
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released its 2009 - 2010 surveillance summary for Cryptosporidium in the United States. The Cryptosporidium protozoa causes the gastrointestinal illness cryptosporidiosis. During the reporting period, fifty state and two metropolitan public health agencies (District of Columbia and New York City) reported cases of the disease through the CDC's National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System. In 2009, 7,656 confirmed and probable cases were reported. That increased to 8,951 confirmed and probable cases in 2010. The cases were most frequently reported in children aged 1 to 9 years, followed by adults aged 25 to 29 years. The cryptosporidiosis rate in the Midwest was 1.3 to 2.9 times greater than other regions in 2009 and 1.8 to 4.6 … [Read more...]
Spokane Produce Recalls Pineapple Mango Pico De Gallo
Spokane Produce, Inc., is voluntarily recalling Pineapple/Mango Pico de Gallo for potential contamination with Salmonella Braenderup. The product was made with Daniella mangoes from Mexico which have been associated with a Salmonella outbreak that has sickened 103 people in 16 states. The recalled product was sold refrigerated under the brand labels Garden Patch or Yoke's. It was distributed to supermarkets in Washington, Idaho and Montana 16 oz. plastic containers with the UPC code "8869483987." Salmonella can cause serious, sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.Symptoms of a Salmonella include fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. Infections that escape GI tract and enter … [Read more...]
FDA Needs Better Way To Tell Consumers About Food Recalls, Says GAO
When a food safety issue requires a recall, delivering fast, accurate information to consumers can limit the spread of illness and in some cases, save lives. But quickly disseminating recall information to consumers is not a strong suit of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), one of the federal agencies charged with protecting our nation's food supply, according to Government Accountability Office (GAO). "FDA faces a number of communication challenges when advising the public about food recalls or outbreaks of foodborne illness, ranging from balancing technical accuracy with timeliness of communications to coordinating messages with other agencies to meeting the needs of diverse public audiences. The agency has taken steps to begin meeting these challenges but has yet to fully … [Read more...]
FDA Warns Consumers Against Eating Shellfish from Oyster Bay Harbor
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning consumers to not eat raw or partially cooked oysters and clams with tags listing Oyster Bay Harbor in Nassau County, New York as the harvest area. Eight people in several states have been sickened with Vibrio parahaemolyticus food poisoning after consuming those foods. The New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) closed Oyster Bay Harbor to shellfish harvesting on July 13, 2012. The FDA told shellfish harvesters, shippers, re-shippers, processors, restaurants, and retail food establishments to dispose of any shellfish that have identity tags showing Oyster Bay Harbor was the harvest area and harvest date on or after June 1, 2012. The area will remain closed until samples taken by the DEC indicate that shellfish are no … [Read more...]
Some Duluth Beaches Still Contaminated with Fecal Bacteria
As we told you on July 3, 2012, some Lake Superior beaches in the Duluth area were closed because of high levels of E. coli bacteria. A few of those beaches are now safe to use, but some remain closed. Flooding in the Duluth area in late June most likely washed bacteria from sewage systems into water around the area. According to the Lake Superior Beach Monitoring Program, the Minnesota Point 15th Street Harbor Side Beach has high bacteria levels, along with Hearding Island Canal Beach/Park Point 20th Street, and the Park Point Sky Harbor Parking Lot Beach. The 42nd Avenue East Beach, and Brighton Beach in East Duluth now have acceptable water. You can check on the water safety at a beach near you by visiting the Environmental Protection Agency's Beach Advisory and Closing On-line … [Read more...]
Wyoming Clarifies Proposed Raw Milk Rules
The Wyoming legislature is clarifying rules about raw milk sales. That state bans commercial sale of raw milk; in fact, the law bans farm families from drinking the raw milk produced by their own cows, although that is not enforced. The clarification reads: "producers who are the 'sole' owners of animals can serve raw milk in their home to family members, non-paying guests and employees of the farm or ranch." Animal shares are considered selling raw milk and are not legal. And rules about the sales of raw milk in the state were not changed, so selling raw milk is not legal. The proposed bill would have allowed sales of raw milk through herd sharing, as long as a prominent warning statement, information about the standards of the farm, herd health, and results of tests performed on … [Read more...]
