The FDA is warning restaurants and retailers about possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination in Sun Hong enoki mushrooms that were sourced from China. Sun Hong Foods is located in Montebello, California. Consumers should not eat these mushrooms, and restaurants and retailers should not sell them. On November 28, 2022, Missouri state partners, as part of the FDAs Laboratory Flexible Funding Model Cooperative Agreement Program, collected enoki mushrooms from retail markets in that state. One sample labeled as Sun Hong Foods tested positive for the pathogen. The FDA is waiting for more information on any other distribution of these mushrooms. This particular strain does not appear to match any clinical isolates from active outbreaks. In other words, no illnesses have been linked … [Read more...]
Jif Peanut Butter Salmonella Senftenberg Outbreak Ends
The Jif peanut butter Salmonella Senftenberg outbreak has ended, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) with 21 people sick in 17 states. Four people were hospitalized. Jif issued a recall of several types of its peanut butter when the outbreak was announced on May 21, 2022, and there have been about a dozen secondary recalls issued. The five new states added to the outbreak total are Arizona, Florida, Indiana, Michigan, and West Virginia. The case count by state is: Arizona (1), Arkansas (1), Florida (1), Georgia (2), Illinois (1), Indiana (1), Massachusetts (1), Michigan (1), Missouri (2), New York (1), North Carolina (2), Ohio (1), South Carolina (1), Texas (2), Virginia (1), Washington (1), and West Virginia (1). The patient age range is from less than … [Read more...]
How Does Peanut Butter Get Contaminated With Bacteria?
How does peanut butter get contaminated with bacteria? A Salmonella Senftenberg outbreak linked to recalled Jif peanut butter has sickened at least 16 people in 12 states; two patients have been hospitalized. The case count by state is: Arkansas (1), Georgia (2), Illinois (1), Massachusetts (1), Missouri (2), Ohio (1), South Carolina (1), New York (1), South Carolina (1), North Carolina (2), Texas (2), Virginia (1), and Washington (1). Many recalls have been launched, including some types of the Jif product itself and more than a dozen secondary recalls. While any product can be contaminated with pathogenic bacteria at any time during the supply chain, this outbreak is unusual because the outbreak strain of Salmonella Senftenberg was found in an environmental sample taken from the … [Read more...]
Jif Salmonella Outbreak Case Count Rises to 16 Sick, 2 Hospitalized
The Jif Salmonella outbreak case count has risen to 16 sick with two hospitalized according to the CDC. Those patients live in 12 states. Many types of Jif peanut butter have been recalled, along with more than a dozen secondary recalls. There is one more patient each in the states of Missouri and North Carolina since the last CDC update. The case count by state is: Arkansas (1), Georgia (2), Illinois (1), Massachusetts (1), Missouri (2), Ohio (1), New York (1), South Carolina (1), North Carolina (2), Texas (2), Virginia (1), and Washington (1). The patient age range is from less than one year to 85 years. Of nine people who gave information to investigators, two have been hospitalized. Illness onset dates range from February 19, 2022 through May 2, 2022. This Jif Salmonella … [Read more...]
Swan Bros. Raw Milk Listeria Outbreak Allegedly Sickens 10
A possible Swan Bros. raw milk Listeria outbreak has allegedly sickened 10 people in Missouri and Oklahoma, according to a wrongful death lawsuit filed in the District Court of Rogers County in the state of Oklahoma on January 21, 2022. Swan Bros. recalled their raw milk products in July 2021 for possible Listeria monocytogenes after testing by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services revealed the presence of that pathogen in the milk on July 6, 2021. The dairy posted a notice on its Facebook page on July 6, 2021 about that recall. The plaintiff, Roy Reese, bought two gallons of raw milk from the dairy in Oklahoma in June 2021 and brought them back to his home in Missouri. The plaintiff's wife Waunita drank the raw milk and got sick later that month. She was taken to … [Read more...]
Possible Poisoning Outbreak at Jimmy John’s on Laclede in St. Louis
A possible food poisoning outbreak at a Jimmy John's restaurant at 3822 Laclede Avenue in St. Louis, Missouri may have sickened "multiple" students who attend St. Louis University. The University News, the newspaper for that campus, published this information on February 20, 2020. The article states that multiple students got sick "shortly after eating at the sandwich shop, some even being hospitalized." It seems that these illnesses happened in mid to late January 2020. The students attended a campus retreat for an SLU organization and that retreat was catered by Jimmy John's. More than a dozen students were sickened after attending that retreat and eating the food provided by Jimmy John's. They suffered from weakness and vomiting. The paper claims that the restaurant was shut … [Read more...]
Mystery Deadly Listeria Monocytogenes Outbreak Ends With 24 Sick
The mystery deadly Listeria monocytogenes outbreak that sickened 24 people in 13 states and caused two deaths has been declared over by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with no resolution. The outbreak notice states, "A specific food item, grocery store, food processor, or restaurant chain was not identified as the source of infections in the United States." People who were sickened in this outbreak were sickened by a strain of Listeria bacteria that was closely related genetically to Listeria that made people sick in a Canadian outbreak. That Canadian outbreak was linked to recalled Rosemount frozen cooked chicken. The Listeria outbreak in Canada was deemed over on November 6, 2019. The case count by state is: California (4), Florida (1), Iowa (1), Illinois (4), … [Read more...]
Worker at Roadhouse 100 in Gray Summit, Missouri Diagnosed with Hepatitis A
A food worker at Roadhouse 100 in Gray Summit, Missouri has been diagnosed with hepatitis A, according to news reports. Anyone who ate at that restaurant between June 23 and July 5, 2019 should contact their doctor and inquire about a possible vaccination against the virus, or visit the local health department for a free vaccine. The Franklin County Health Department is conducting an investigation. Today is the last day that patrons who visited that venue can receive either an immune globulin or hepatitis A vaccination, since the vaccines are only effective if given within two weeks of exposure. People who were at that facility but didn't eat food or drink beverages are asked not to come to the vaccination clinics that the county has scheduled. The Franklin County Health … [Read more...]
E. coli Illnesses Associated with Grant’s Farm in St. Louis, Missouri
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services is investigating five E. coli cases in people who have visited Grant's Farm, located in St. Louis, since May 2019. This investigation is ongoing and is focused on determining what may have led to the illnesses. Those five people are sick with Shiga toxin-producing E. coli infections (STEC). There is no word on whether any of the patients have been hospitalized, or if any have developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), which is a compilation of a STEC infection that can cause kidney failure. This complication is more common in children under the age of five. The press release also did not state the ages of the patients. Preliminary recommendations to Grant's Farm include reminders of the importance of handwashing after direct … [Read more...]
McDonald’s Cyclospora Outbreak Was Number One in 2018
The McDonald's cyclospora outbreak was the number one outbreak of 2018, with 511 people in 16 states sickened. Twenty four people were hospitalized because they were so sick. Epidemiologic and traceback evidence found that salads purchased from McDonald's were "one likely source of this outbreak." The FDA did not name other sources. On July 26, 2018, the FDA completed analysis of an unused package of romaine lettuce and carrot mix that was distributed to McDonald's by the Fresh Express processor in Streamwood, Illinois. They confirmed the presence of the cyclospora parasite in the sample. However, the FDA did not identify a single source of point of contamination for this outbreak. The patient case count by state was: Connecticut (1), Florida (1), Iowa (99), Illinois (274), … [Read more...]
