A new study from Thailand focuses on food safety regarding items purchased online. The study was published in Foodborne Pathogens and Disease this month and focused on sandwiches purchased via the internet in July 2010. A total of 886 people who bought the sandwiches completed a structured questionnaire. Specimens were collected for an epidemiological investigation. Of those 886 people, 36.6% became ill about 18 hours after eating the sandwiches, with diarrhea, abdominal pain, fever, headache, and vomiting. Salmonella Enteritidis, Salmonella Virchow, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, and entertotoxigenic E. coli were isolated from the contaminated sandwiches. Salmonella Enteritidis and Salmonella Virchow were found in patient samples, and Salmonella Enteritidis and … [Read more...]
Denver Jimmy Johns E. coli Outbreak Under FDA Microscope
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is at the center of a government investigation of an outbreak of E. coli infections in the Denver area associated with sandwich food from Jimmy John's restaurants. The FDA's involvement in tracing the origins of the outbreak has to do with the agency's food safety mandate over fresh produce. Alicia Cronquist, an epidemiologist for the Colorado Department of Health and Environment, has said the leading hypothesis over what made people sick revolves around a batch of contaminated fresh produce of some kind. Dave Steigman, an FDA spokesman, told The Packer, a respected industry trade publication, that field investigators hope to know more about the source by the end of this week. The probe has centered on three Jimmy John's sandwich locations in … [Read more...]
Reichel Foods Recalls Sandwich Wraps That May Be Tainted With Listeria
Reichel Foods of Rochester, Minn. is recalling 15,880 pounds of ready-to-eat sandwich wraps due to possible contamination with Listeria monocytogenes, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). There are to kinds of wraps included in the recall turkey and cheese; and ham and cheese. The wraps are sold in 5.6 oz packages labeled "Armour Active Packs Turkey & Cheese Wrap" with the Package Code 1026090112 or Case Code 27815-17994 and "Armour Active Packs Ham & Cheese Wrap" with the Package Code 1026090112 or Case Code 27815-17995. Each of the packages bears the establishment number "P-19941" or "Est. 19941" inside the USDA mark of inspection. They have a "sell by" date of Sept. 1, 2012. Reichel Foods became aware of the problem … [Read more...]
