October 15, 2024

After Deadly Listeria Outbreak, El Abuelito Stops Making Cheese

After a Listeria outbreak linked to El Abuelito queso fresco ended two pregnancies and left one person dead, the company is no longer making ready-to-eat cheese, a spokesperson from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) confirmed to Food Poisoning Bulletin today. El Abuelito first halted production and distribution of its cheese on February 19, 2021, after genetic tests showed the Listeria strain found in queso fresco made by El Abuelito and purchased by one of the people who became ill matched the strain cultured from outbreak patients. Before the outbreak, El Abuelito made queso fresco and other soft, fresh cheeses sold under the brand names El Abuelito, Rio Lindo, Rio Grande, Viejito, El Paisano, El Sabrosito, La Cima, Quesos Finos, San Carlos, and Ideal. These cheeses were … [Read more...]

What Scientists Say about Listeria and Pregnancy

Bidart Bros. Listeria caramel apple outbreak was a grim reminder about the special threat listeriosis poses to expecting mothers and their babies. As analyzed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),  eleven of the 35 illnesses attributed to the outbreak were pregnancy-related, with one case resulting in a fetal loss. One of the expecting mothers passed the Listeria bacteria to her fetus and the baby was born with an infection that required a month of  treatment in the neo-natal intensive care unit of Lovelace Hospital in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Dr. Vanitha Janakiraman, writing in Obstetrics and Gynecology, provided in-depth information about the relationship between Listeria food poisoning and pregnancy. Infection from the pathogen is rare, but 20 more times common in … [Read more...]

Arizona Confirms 5th Patient in Listeria Caramel Apple Outbreak

Arizona marked its fifth case of Listeria from contaminated caramel apples in January, making it a leading state in a deadly outbreak that also has harmed a number of babies and expecting mothers. Now with five case patients, the Grand Canyon State  has as many confirmed illnesses in the outbreak as Missouri and just one less than New Mexico, which leads all states with six listeriosis victims who fell sick after eating commercially produced, pre-packaged caramel apples. With two other new cases recorded in early January, the collective toll now stands at 35 Listeria infections in 12 states attributed to contaminated caramel apples. Minnesota, Wisconsin, Texas and California also have multiple residents who were infected. According to a revised outbreak summary published by the … [Read more...]

Arizona Shares Pain of Listeria Outbreak Linked to Caramel Apples

Arizona was on the receiving end of caramel apples that were contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, an unfortunate distribution that left four state residents hospitalized from the potentially deadly infections that followed. The four confirmed outbreak cases in Arizona stand as the third most for any state. One of the victims was a baby with Listeria and three of the four are females who range in age up to 76. At least in Arizona, no fatalities were reported. In New Mexico and California, food safety lawyers are suing the supplier of the apples, Bidart Brothers, on behalf of several case patients, one of whom died. More litigation is expected in other states as the investigation continues into a reported 32 illnesses and seven deaths across 11 states. Evidence of matching strains of … [Read more...]

Roos Foods Queso Listeria Threat Was Halted by Crucial Findings

Roos Foods of Kenton, Delaware, lost its FDA approval to sell soft cheese and other products after Queso Fresco was linked to a deadly Listeria outbreak in 2013 that harmed eight people, including three babies. The queso fresco Listeria death occurred in California while all other illnesses were among Hispanics in Maryland. After inspection in early 2014, federal officials cited gaping roof leaks, rusting surfaces and dirty equipment among the reasons for the action. They reported detecting "widespread and persistent" Listeria contamination in the processing facility. Health officials in Maryland and Virginia started seeing the connection to Roos months after people fell ill from August through November, 2013. On February 19, 2014, the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene … [Read more...]

Missouri Becomes a Noted Site of Caramel Apple Listeria Outbreak

Five Missourians have been confirmed as victims of a closely watched Listeria outbreak that state and national health officials have associated with pre-packaged, commercially produced caramel apples. As a leading site for the outbreak -- only one other state has had as many cases -- the Missouri Department of Health and Human Services is trying to trace where the tainted caramel apples were purchased. Ryan Hobart, a spokesman for the department, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that all of the Missouri Listeria cases were in the eastern or northeastern portion of the state. Hobart also said one of the state's case patients died, but that the cause of death was not Listeria poisoning. Among the 28 people in 10 states confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as … [Read more...]

Five Caramel Apple Listeria Case Patients Have Died

Of the five deaths so far associated with the U.S. caramel apple Listeria outbreak, two in Minnesota and one in California were unquestionably caused by listeriosis,  said officials in those states. In Texas, health authorities are unsure is listeriosis was the primary cause of death in one of that state's four case patients. And in Missouri, the death of a caramel apple Listeria patient was unrelated to listeriosis, the state has noted. With new developments unfolding quickly in this outbreak, the death toll could rise. The law firm of Pritzker Hageman is hearing from families affected by the outbreak and expect even more people to be confirmed as case patients. The initial caramel apple Listeria report from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is that 28 people from 10 … [Read more...]

New Mexico Caramel Apple Listeria Toll Could Climb

The number of people in New Mexico infected by Listeria from caramel apples could be more than five, a number that only one other state has matched in the ongoing state and federal investigation of a deadly listeriosis outbreak. The New Mexico Department of Health said work is ongoing to identify additional cases in the state. So far, more than one New Mexico baby has been diagnosed with Listeria while other case patients range in age up to 42. "These cases reside in Bernalillo, McKinley, and Lea counties and became ill in October and November,'' according to a caramel apple Listeria health alert from the department. "All were hospitalized and are recovering.'' Of 10 states confirmed by the CDC to be part of this outbreak, only Missouri was reported initially to have as many cases as … [Read more...]

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