The FDA has launched new food safety strategies to help protect the public, starting with onions and enoki mushrooms and wood ear mushrooms. Those products have been linked to several food poisoning outbreaks in the last few years, including the deadly Listeria monocytogenes outbreak linked to enoki mushrooms in 2020. There was also a Salmonella Stanley outbreak in 2020 linked to wood ear mushrooms that sickened at least 55 people. Before these enoki and wood ear mushroom outbreaks, the FDA was not aware of outbreaks liked to those products in the last 20 years. The 2021 Salmonella Oranienburg outbreak linked to onions sickened more than 1,000 people. And the 2020 outbreak of Salmonella Newport linked to red onions sickened 1127 people. The enactment of the FDA's Food Safety … [Read more...]
Little Bear Vidalia Onions Recalled For Possible Listeria Contamination
Little Bear Vidalia onions are being recalled for possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination. No illnesses have been reported to date in connection with the consumption of these onions. The recalling firm is A&M Farms of Lyons, Georgia. The onions were packed on one pack line between June 20 and June 23, 2022. Consumers can identify the recalled Little Bear Vidalia onions by the purchase locations, PLU number 4159, and the Little Bear brand on the PLU sticker. The onions were sold in bulk in the produce section of certain retail stores. The onions were available for sale June 23 and 24, 2022 at Wegmans stores in the Rochester New York area, in Massachusetts, and at the Erie West and Erie Peach Street Wegmans stores in Pennsylvania. The onions were also available for sale … [Read more...]
Wegmans Vidalia Onions Recalled For Possible Listeria Contamination
Wegmans Vidalia Onions are being recalled for possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination. The onions were sold in three states: Pennsylvania, New York, and Massachusetts. The Wegmans Vidalia onions were sold by the pound. The product may have a 4-digit PLU sticker with the numbers 4159 or 4166. They were sold from June 23, 2022 through June 24, 2022 at these Wegmans stores: In Massachusetts, in Burlington, Chestnut Hill, Medford, Natick, Northborough, and Westwood. In New York, in Alberta Drive, Amherst Street, Auburn, Brockport, Calkins Road, Canandaigua, Chili-Paul, Cicero, Corning, Dewitt, Dick Road, East Avenue, Eastway, Elmira, Fairmount, Fairport, Geneseo, Geneva, Great Northern, Holt Road, Hornell, Irondequoit, Ithaca, James Street, Jamestown, John Glenn, Johnson City, … [Read more...]
Most Onion Salmonella Patients In TX, OK, MO, IL, VA, MD, FL, WI, MN
The fresh onion Salmonella Oranienburg outbreak has ended, but the investigation continues. Most onion Salmonella patients live in nine states: Texas (248), Oklahoma (129), Florida (75), Virginia (71), Maryland (66), Missouri (59), Illinois (54), Wisconsin (31), and Minnesota (27). Those patients make up 73% of the total cases. At least 1,040 Americans in 39 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington D.C. were included in the official case count, which, according to epidemiologists and the outbreak multiplier, means that there could be more than 30,000 Americans sickened. At least 260 of 778 people interviewed were hospitalized, for a hospitalization rate of 33%, more than 50% higher than the typical rate for a Salmonella outbreak. The patient age range was from less than one year to … [Read more...]
Fresh Onions Salmonella Oranienburg Outbreak Over With 1040 Sickened
The fresh onions Salmonella Oranienburg outbreak is over with at least 1040 sickened in 39 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia, with 260 hospitalized, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That'a an increase of 148 more cases since the last update that was issued on November 16, 2021. The patient case count by state is: Alabama (7), Arkansas (19), California (15), Colorado (3), Connecticut (5), Florida (75), Georgia (5), Hawaii (1), Illinois (54), Indiana (2), Iowa (4), Kansas (17), Kentucky (10), Louisiana (10), Maryland (66), Massachusetts (15), Michigan (12), Minnesota (27), Mississippi (3), Missouri (59), Nebraska (10), New Jersey (5), New Mexico (16), New York (23), North Carolina (26), North Dakota (4), Ohio (8), Oklahoma (129), … [Read more...]
Nine Multistate Salmonella Outbreaks in 2021 Sickened More Than 1,200
Nine multistate Salmonella outbreaks in 2021 sickened more than 1,200 Americans and hospitalized 250, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The only Salmonella outbreak that has continued into 2022 is the Salmonella Oranienburg outbreak linked to fresh onions imported from Mexico. All of these outbreaks were linked to a specific product, and all were associated with at least one recall or public health alert. The outbreaks include: Plainville Farms ground turkey Salmonella Hadar outbreak In this outbreak, 33 people in 14 states were sickened and four were hospitalized. The patient case count by state was: Arizona (1), Connecticut (2), Indiana (1), Maine (1), Maryland (1), Massachusetts (7), Missouri (2), New Hampshire (1), New Jersey (3), New York (4), … [Read more...]
New Romaine E. coli Outbreak Over As It’s Announced
A new romaine E. coli outbreak is over as soon as it's announced on the FDA's CORE Investigation Outbreak Table. Four people are sickened. The investigation into the outbreak, however, is still considered active. We do not know where the ill persons live, the patient age range, or if anyone has been hospitalized or has developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a type of kidney failure. The FDA's statement reads, "The outbreak of four illnesses of E. coli O121:H19 (reference# 1050) has been linked to romaine lettuce. The information collected over the course of this investigation indicated that romaine lettuce was the likely source of this outbreak; however, it appears that this outbreak is over, and there is no actionable advice for consumers. FDA has been conducting a traceback … [Read more...]
FDA CORE Outbreak Table Has Six Active Investigations
The FDA CORE Outbreak Table has six active food poisoning investigations currently; all but one has been identified or solved. The Salmonella Javiana outbreak, which was announced on November 24, 2021, is still not identified, and the number of people sickened in that outbreak has increased to 64. No recall has been initiated, although traceback has begun, on-site inspection has been started, and sample collection and analysis has been initiated. When there is some concrete action that consumers can take, the FDA should update the investigation. The other five active outbreaks include: The E. coli O157:H7 9outbreak linked to Simple Truth and Nature's Basket Organic Power Greens, which has sickened at least 13 people in six states. Four people have been hospitalized, and one … [Read more...]
ProSource and Keeler Onions Salmonella Outbreak is Number One for 2021
The ProSource and Keeler onions Salmonella Oranienburg outbreak is the number one food poisoning outbreak of 2021, with at least 892 people sick in 38 states and Puerto Rico. This outbreak is ongoing and has not been updated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention since November 16, 2021. The outbreak was first disclosed in mid September 2021, but whole red, yellow, and white onions were not named as the source until October 20, 2021. The patient case count by state is: Alabama (5), Arkansas (17), California (14), Colorado (3), Connecticut (5), Florida (43), Georgia (2), Hawaii (1), Illinois (48), Indiana (1), Iowa (4), Kansas (17), Kentucky (9), Louisiana (8), Maryland (63), Massachusetts (13), Michigan (10), Minnesota (25), Mississippi (3), Missouri (51), Nebraska (9), … [Read more...]
New Salmonella Javiana Outbreak on FDA Core Investigation Table
A new Salmonella Javiana outbreak has been listed on the FDA's Core Outbreak Investigation Table. At least 19 people are sick in this outbreak, which was posted on November 24, 2021. The product linked to the illnesses has not been identified. According to the information that the FDA has released at this time, no recall has been initiated, no traceback has started, there have been no on-site investigations, and no sample collection or analysis has begun. This is typical for the first outbreak notice on this table, which only provides information to the public if there is some type of action that consumers can take.. Another change on the table is that the non-viral hepatitis outbreak linked to recalled Real Water alkaline bottled water has been closed. There are still three … [Read more...]
