Food Poisoning Lawyer & Attorney : Marler Clark : Food Poison Journal

Inspectors with the Missouri Department of Agriculture have halted production and distribution from Morningland Dairy located in Mountain View, after raw cheese from the dairy tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus.

The cheese samples were seized June 30 in California; Missouri officials were made aware of the California department's test results today.

Inspectors from the Missouri Department of Agriculture are coordinating with officials from the state Department of Health and Senior Services and the Food and Drug Administration to gather information concerning the distribution of the cheese from the dairy.

The dairy sells several types of raw cows' milk and raw goats' milk cheeses across the United States.  Click here more information on the potential risks associated with consumption of raw milk products.

Listeriosis is a serious infection caused by eating food contaminated with the bacterium called Listeria monocytogenes.

The incubation period (time between ingestion and the onset of symptoms) for Listeria ranges from three to 70 days and averages 21 days (Bryan, 1999).

A person with listeriosis may develop fever, muscle aches, and sometimes gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea or diarrhea (CDC website, 2009). If infection spreads to the nervous system, symptoms such as headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, or convulsions can occur. In immune-deficient individuals, Listeria can invade the central nervous system, causing meningitis and/or encephalitis (brain infection). Infected pregnant women ordinarily experience only a mild, flu-like illness; however, infection during pregnancy can lead to miscarriage, infection of the newborn or even stillbirth.

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Health officials in Westchester County, New York, have issued public warnings about possible Hepatitis A exposures at the J and D Deli in Ossining, New York.   The potential exposures reportedly occurred between  July 26 and August 9.  A store representative stated that the employee was no longer working there and that the deli has been cleaned.  Last week, health officials in Salt Lake City, Utah reported the possibility of Hepatitis A exposure at a Quizno's restaurant.

Hepatitis-A (HAV) is one of five human hepatitis viruses that primarily infect the liver and cause illness. Symptoms generally begin approximately 28 days after contracting HAV, but can begin as early as 15 days or as late as 50 days after exposure.  The symptoms include headache, muscle aches, loss of appetite, abdominal discomfort, fever, and malaise. After a few days, jaundice sets in. Jaundice is a yellowing of the skin, eyes and mucous membranes that occurs because bile flows poorly through the liver and backs up into the blood. The urine may also turn dark with bile and the stool light or clay-colored from lack of bile.

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An outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) at a restaurant in Kenosha, Wisconsin has been linked to the recall of 280,000,000 eggs and nearly 300 illnesses in the rapidly widening nationwide outbreak tied to Wright County Egg company. A lawsuit originally filed against the restaurant was filed in amended form to include Wright County Egg in the Kenosha County Branch of the Wisconsin District Court by Seattle-based food safety law firm Marler Clark.

The plaintiff ate a cobb salad containing eggs at the Baker Street Restaurant and Pub in July. Her ensuing illness required her to go to the hospital, where it was determined that she was infected with Salmonella Enteritidis (SE). At the time, the outbreak seemed to be confined to the restaurant, but now that the strain of SE associated with the contaminated eggs has been genetically “fingerprinted”, the Wisconsin outbreak is part of a much larger nationwide outbreak.

Wright County Egg issued a voluntary recall of shell eggs distributed nationwide when the product was linked to SE illnesses. Minnesota has reported 7 ill, and California announced 266 illnesses associated with the outbreak. This confirms CDC revelations that they have seen four times as many SE illnesses than usual reported each week for several months.

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As a ravenous consumer of fresh guacamole and chips, I found today's article from CNN.com regarding the connection between restaurant-sourced foodborne illness due to salsa and guacamole consumption particularly interesting, and a bit disquieting.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 136 outbreaks from 1998 to 2008 in restaurants were confirmed or suspected to be from salsa, guacamole or pico de gallo, and included 12 pathogens such as salmonella, E. coli O157:H7, shigella, hepatitis A and norovirus. Three deaths were associated with the outbreaks.  The article continues:

The analysis did not explore specific reasons how salsa and guacamole became contaminated, but Dr. Rajal Mody, a medical epidemiologist with the CDC in the division that researches foodborne and environmental diseases, said the existing scientific literature provides some clues.

“Salsa and guacamole are made in large batches,” he said. “Small amounts of contamination can affect lots of servings. There is the potential that salsa and guacamole are not properly refrigerated. And we know salsa and guacamole are often made from diced fresh produce items- tomatoes, cilantro, peppers, which we know have been implicated as sources in past outbreaks.”

Improper storage times and temperatures were reported in about 30 percent of these restaurants, according to the research. In 20 percent of these salsa-and-guacamole-related incidents, the food workers were reported as the source of contamination.

Consumers who want to minimize risks should see whether the restaurant posts their environmental inspection score, Mody suggested.

“Ideally, our work here generates some interest in safe handling of salsa and guacamole,” he said. “Just like in a restaurant kitchen, people making salsa at home should follow good safety practices. It’s pretty basic. Clean your food, separate it as you prepare it, cook it and chill.”

The CDC presented these findings Monday at the International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases.

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The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture today advised consumers who purchased aged hard cheddar cheese made with raw milk from Milky Way Farm in Troy, Bradford County, to discard the product immediately because of potential bacterial contamination. The Bureau of Food Safety has identified 20 pounds of raw milk cheddar cheese that entered the consumer market.

Aged hard cheese may be legally manufactured in Pennsylvania from milk that has not been pasteurized, if it has been aged more than 60 days in temperatures exceeding 35 degrees Fahrenheit.

A Department of Agriculture lab found Staphylococcus aureus and enterotoxin in an aged hard cheese sample made from raw milk that was taken from the Milky Way Farm on June 21. The presence of enterotoxin violates the Milk Sanitation Law and the Food Act. The toxin can cause serious illness.

Cheese producers at Milky Way Farm agreed to stop selling their aged hard cheddar cheese made with raw milk. Additional testing has determined that pasteurized cheeses that are produced and sold on the farm are suitable for human consumption.

Symptoms of staphylococcal food poisoning include nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramping and extreme exhaustion. In more severe cases, headache, muscle cramping and changes in blood pressure and pulse may occur. The symptoms usually appear rapidly and are often serious.

The department is moving to suspend Milky Way Farm’s raw milk cheese manufacturing permit until additional aged hard cheddar cheese made from raw milk samples are tested and found to be free of Staphylococcus aureus and other pathogens.

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The student newspaper at Penn State is reporting that an attendee to a tennis camp at PSU left early last week, and has been told that he had contracted E. coli.   There is no confirmation that the illness was contracted at the camp.   The report did not indicate the strain of E. coli to be E. coli O157:H7.  It is fairly likely that this is the strain involved however, as it is one of very few, and in some cases the only strain, that is tested for and reported.   According to the report:

Penn State spokeswoman Lisa Powers said Penn State officials couldn't confirm that the camper contracted the illness while at Penn State. University officials will meet this afternoon to discuss the situation, she said.

A natural question is whether any other attendees of the camp were ill.  It does appear that other campers reported digestive problems, but there is not yet any indication of other reports of E. coli.  A single commons provides food for all attendees at the university's sports camps.  

In 2002,  a number of attendees at a dance camp at Eastern Washington University developed E. coli O157:H7 infections eventually traced to lettuce served in the university kitchens. 

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Tri-Union Seafoods LLC of San Diego is recalling select 12-ounce cans of Chicken of the Sea brand solid white tuna in water, because their seals do not meet standards, allowing the cans to be contaminated.

No illnesses have been reported.  The recalled cans were available in Wisconsin, Nebraska, Utah, Pennsylvania, New York, Maine, Colorado, Indiana, California and Oregon.

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On Friday, Kellogg's recalled 28 million boxes of cereal.  The Kellogg's website currently includes an FAQ section regarding the outbreak, although there are still questions left unanswered.  Kellogg's does provide information on which products were included, and states that they were shipped nationwide. 

According to the site, the recall was issued because:

We have identified a substance in the package liners that can produce an uncharacteristic waxy-like off taste and smell. In addition, we completed a thorough health-risk assessment with external experts in medicine, toxicology, public health, chemistry and food safety. The results show that this is a reaction to the odor and flavor in the food; it was not caused by any harmful material in the food.

Seems to me the natural question is, what is this substance?  Apparently the folks who put the website together thought that was a natural question too, because they included it as a "frequently asked question."  What they don't provide is an answer.  Instead we get this:

The off-taste and smell is caused by a slightly elevated level of substance commonly present at very low levels in the waxy resins used to make the packaging materials that are approved by the FDA.  These substances are commonly used to coat foods such as cheese, raw fruits and vegetables, such as cucumbers.  They are also used in packaging materials.  During our thorough testing, we did not identify any substances that are not commonly used in packaging materials.

So, if it is a very common substance, and there is allegedly no significant risk involved, why aren't we being told the name?  My point is not to be alarmist.   It very well may be that this substance does NOT, in fact, pose a serious risk.  But once you have exposed millions of consumers to it, aren't you obligated to tell them what it is?

Shouldn't the FDA be requiring disclosure? 

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Kellogg announced today the recall of approximately 28 million boxes of cereal.  According to a Wall Street Journal report, "some consumers could experience such temporary symptoms as nausea and diarrhea because of the liner in the packaging."

The cereal maker, working with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, said the voluntary recall covers certain boxes of its Apple Jacks, Corn Pops, Froot Loops and Honey Smacks cereals distributed nationwide. The products' better-if-used-before dates range from March 26, 2011, to June 22, 2011.

Kellogg is indicating that  some consumers may be sensitive to the "uncharacteristic off-flavor and smell" coming from the linings.   There does not appear to be information on the source or the nature of the defect.

It is unusual for a food recall to be associated with a problem that can be detected by taste or smell by the consumer.  Most of the recalls and outbreaks we deal with here- Salmonella, E. coli O157:H7, Campylobacter- involve pathogens that are not detectable by sight, smell, or taste in the amounts necessary to cause illness. 

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For the past week and a half, the Madison County Health Department has been monitoring an increase in positive tests for Salmonella, according to department spokesperson Christie Green. Six cases have and are all of the same strain, she said. "Epidemiologists believe the cases may be a cluster with a common source of infection," Green said. "However, the source remains unidentified," and health officials continue to investigate. On Thursday, the department instructed local health care providers to be on alert for Salmonella symptoms among their patients and to test those who have symptoms.

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FSIS has just announced that Campbell Soup Supply Company, LLC, a Paris, Texas, establishment is recalling approximately 15,000,000 pounds of "SpaghettiOs with Meatballs" canned products due to possible under-processing.

The following products are subject to recall:

14.75-ounce cans of "SpaghettiOs" with Meatballs, bearing the identifying product code "U5" on the bottom of the can.

14.75-ounce cans of "SpaghettiOs" A to Z with Meatballs, bearing the identifying product code "4N" on the bottom of the can.

14.75-ounce cans of "SpaghettiOs" Fun Shapes with Meatballs (Cars), bearing the identifying product code "KS" on the bottom of the can.

The products subject to recall bear the establishment number "EST 4K," as well as a "Use By" date between June 2010 and December 2011 ink-jetted on the bottom of each can. These products were manufactured between December 2008 and June 2010 and distributed to retail establishments nationwide. When available, the retail distribution list(s) will be posted on FSIS' website at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/FSIS_Recalls/Open_Federal_Cases/index.asp.

The problem was discovered through a routine warehouse inspection by the company and its subsequent investigation. FSIS has received no reports of illnesses from consumption of these products.

FSIS routinely conducts recall effectiveness checks to verify recalling firms notify their customers of the recall and that steps are taken to make certain that the product is no longer available to consumers.

Consumer questions regarding the recall should be directed to Campbell's Hotline at (866) 495-3774; media inquiries should be directed to the company's Director of Corporate Communications, Anthony Sanzio at (856) 968-4390.

Consumers with food safety questions can "Ask Karen," the FSIS virtual representative available 24 hours a day at AskKaren.gov. The toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854) is available in English and Spanish and can be reached from l0 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Eastern Time) Monday through Friday. Recorded food safety messages are available 24 hours a day.

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There has been a renewed push by Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich) to move the Food Safety Modernization Act through the Senate, reports Caroline Scott-Thomas.  Using the recent recalls of Salmonella-contaminated alfalfa sprouts and romaine lettuce linked to human illnesses, Rep. Dingell said in a statement: 

It is unfortunate that we find ourselves reading of more foodborne illness outbreaks that have touched the lives of American consumers. This double whammy should open our eyes to the dangers that exist when it comes to our food supply.

It is true that we have one of the safest food supplies in the world. Unfortunately, this title does not suffice. The continuing stream of recalls and illness demonstrate that more can and must be done.

We could not agree more.  The time to move this important piece of legislation forward is long overdue.

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Organicgirl Produce announced a recall today of its 10 oz organicgirl Baby Spinach with an expiration Date of May 22 and Product Code 11A061167 because it has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella. The product was distributed in sold in 6 states, including: Alabama, North Carolina, Oregon, Wisconsin, Arizona and California.

This recall is the second leafy green recall due to potential pathogenic contamination in less than a week.  On Monday, Fresh Express announced a recall of romaine-based salads with use-by dates of May 13-16th, also due to potential Salmonella contamination.

Organicgirl's recall notification is being issued out of an abundance of caution due to an isolated instance in which a single package of organicgirl Baby Spinach was confirmed positive for Salmonella in a random sample test collected and conducted by a third-party laboratory for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. No illnesses have been reported in association with the recall.

Salmonella is an organism that may cause fever, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and possibly bloody diarrhea in healthy individuals and serious and sometimes fatal infections in individuals with weakened or compromised immune systems, such as young children and the elderly.

Consumers who may experience these symptoms should consult a doctor. The precautionary recall action is being conducted to reach retailers as well as consumers although it is unlikely that any of the expired baby spinach products remain in commerce or on grocery store shelves. The recall notification alerts consumers who may still have a potentially affected package of the product at home to immediately discard it.

organicgirl Produce is coordinating closely with state and federal regulators and is also conducting a thorough internal investigation. organicgirl Produce immediately conducted a traceability analysis and an appraisal of its food safety documentation, which were all in compliance. Additionally, organicgirl raw product testing records for the relevant time period did not show the presence of any pathogens.

Consumers

Consumers in the six states are being asked to check their refrigerators for the 10 oz. package size of organicgirl Baby Spinach with a Use-by Date of May 22 and Product Code of 11A061167. Consumers should not consume the potentially affected product, but rather should discard it. Consumers with questions may call the organicgirl Produce consumer hotline at 831-758-7810, Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Pacific Standard Time.

Retailers

Retailers are asked to check their inventories and store shelves to confirm that none of the potentially affected product is present or available for purchase by consumers. organicgirl Produce customer service representatives have already contacted retailers in the six states affected.

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A cook at a popular Bayside, Florida Chili's Grill and Bar apparently worked for a period of time while ill and contagious with Salmonella typhi, the strain that causes typhoid fever, reported NBC Miami today.

While no patron illnesses have been reported thus far, hundreds of people may have consumed food prepared by the cook while ill.

The symptoms of typhoid fever may include constipation, cough, sore throat, headache, and a rash on the infected individual’s chest, as well as the slowing of the heartbeat and enlargement of the liver and spleen (Mayo Clinic, 2007, April 12).  The onset of symptoms usually occurs between 5 and 21 days after ingestion of Salmonella typhi bacteria.

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Public health violations were reported in more than 10% of public pool inspections in the United States in 2008, as reported by Pediatric Supersite today.  Taken from published findings in the , data from 1997 to 2006 indicated that gastroenteritis was the most frequently reported type of recreational water illness.

Chlorine- and bromine-susceptible pathogens such as Shigella and norovirus caused 23% of 104 infections reported during that period. As a result, health officials instituted measures to increase pool inspection procedures.

The current study involved data from 121,020 routine pool inspections conducted in 13 states. Reported denominators varied because pool codes and inspection items differed across jurisdictions.

Among 111,487 pool inspections, 13,532 (12.1%) resulted in immediate closure due to serious public health violations, including a lack of disinfectant in the water. Disinfectant level violations were reported in 12,917 of 120,975 (10.7%) inspections.

The number of code violations among the 121,020 inspections reporting specific code data ranged from 0 to 28. At least one code violation was reported in 61.1% of inspections, according to the researchers.

Violations of pH levels were reported in 8.9% of 113,597 inspections. Improper disinfectant and pH levels can result in the transmission of gastroenteritis-associated pathogens, according to CDC officials.

Other violations included circulation and filtration violations and use of unapproved water test kits.

Childcare facility pools had the highest rates of immediate closures, followed by hotel/motel pools and apartment/condominium pools. The most frequent disinfectant violations were observed in kiddie/wading pools and interactive fountains.

Health officials encouraged swimmers to be aware of pool regulations, to practice good hygiene and to ensure that children are properly cleaned before swimming.

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A child became seriously ill after eating homemade cheese that was illegally sold door-to-door, the Washoe County Health District announced today. Officials at the health district confirmed that the unidentified child tested positive for a case of the food-borne illness Campylobacter, which causes diarrhea, abdominal pain, weakness, fever, nausea and vomiting. The homemade cheese, also known as “Mexican Bathtub Cheese,” is usually made in homes without following required local and federal food safety standards, health officials said. They warned residents not to buy any foodstuff from unlicensed food vendors.

Unpasteurized dairy products may be contaminated with Campylobacter, according to the health district. Because queso fresco is made with unpasteurized milk in unsanitary and unlicensed facilities, it poses a serious health threat to consumers, particularly the elderly, young, pregnant women, and people who have weakened immune systems. Although it has not been determined if the cheese that made the child sick was made locally, it is being sold door-to-door in the Truckee Meadows throughout Hispanic communities, health officials said.

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As I was looking over the many recent E. coli-related news bites today, one in particular caught my attention.  Titled, "How E.coli made me appreciate my iPad," the article recounts the recent foodborne illness experience of ZDNet writer, Jason Perlow, on a business trip in Chicago.  While he decided against detailing the more unpleasant aspects of his illness, he does hint at his misery:

Over the next 12 to 24 hours, my body began to ache along with flu-like symptoms and a fever, and I developed a case of extreme gastrointestinal distress and abdominal cramps. While I was able to work (barely) on Tuesday, it quickly turned into a never-ending battle between the Conference room and the Men’s room.

I evacuated liters of water as fast as I was able to consume it, and the thought of putting any food into my body was nauseating. For two days I literally had to force feed myself basic starchy foods and protein.

The suspected culprit?  E. coli O145 contaminated romaine lettuce from a salad.  Mr. Perlow discovered with hotel management that the salad he consumed was made using romaine lettuce from a brand implicated in the recent Freshway Foods E. coli O145 outbreak.  I will note that his 12 hour incubation period makes it is very unlikely that he actually had an E. coli infection from the suspected salad.  The typical illness onset is 2 to 5 days after ingestion of E. coli bacteria, although it has been found to be as broad as 1 to 10 days.

Nonetheless, I tip my hat to Mr. Perlow for highlighting the truth behind many severe foodborne illness outbreaks: it is much more than a mere stomach ache.  Thankfully he suffered through his illness without experiencing any of the significant complications that can occur from an E. coli infection, like Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS).

Oh, and what does E. coli have to do with an iPad? Through his horrible ordeal, the iPad was Mr. Perlow's bedside/toilet-side companion and otherwise general connection to the outside world.  Isn't technology grand?

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It was announced today that Ohio company, Amish Wedding Foods, Inc., is recalling all lots of 9, 16, and 18-ounce pumpkin butter, and 16 and 18-ounce sweet potato butter due to possible botulism contamination.  Thus far no illness have been reported.

The pumpkin and sweet potato butters were sold around the US under a variety of brand names.  Consumers who suspect they may be in possession of the recalled products are encouraged to call (330) 674-9199 for additional information.

Botulism is a form of food poisoning caused by eating contaminated food containing a toxin that severely affects the nervous system. It can be very serious, although not contagious. There are two other types, wound botulism and infant botulism. These affect the central nervous system and the muscular system.

Causes of Botulism

Clostridium botulinum, a bacteria found in contaminated or incompletely cooked,canned foods, is the cause of Botulism. This bacteria produces a powerful poison (toxin) that is absorbed from the digestive tract and spreads throughout the central nervous system. Likely foods to cause botulism include: home-canned vegetables and fruits, fish, meat, undercooked sausage, smoked meats and milk products. With infants under 1 year, raw honey or other uncooked foods may be the cause. The bacteria also may infect a wound and produce the toxin.

Signs and Symptoms of Botulism

Symptoms of Botulism usually appear suddenly 18 to 36 hours after eating contaminated food. They include blurred or double vision, drooping eyelids, dry mouth, slurred speech, swallowing difficulty, vomiting, diarrhea, weakness of the arms and legs. As the condition progresses, paralysis may develop. There is not direct effect on mental abilities and there is no fever associated with Botulism. Symptoms appearing in infants include severe constipation, feeble cry, and the inability to suck.

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According to the FDA and CDC, to date, there have been 19 confirmed and additional unconfirmed cases of E. coli O145 infections in Michigan, Ohio, and New York. These illnesses include 12 individuals who have been hospitalized, and three with a potentially life threatening complication called hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). HUS is a serious condition in which the body’s blood-clotting mechanisms are altered, causing blocked circulation or bleeding in the brain or kidneys.  Last week, Freshway Foods of Sidney, Ohio, voluntarily recalled certain romaine lettuce products because of the possible connection to the E.coli O145 foodborne illness outbreak. The recalled shredded romaine lettuce had “best if used by” dates of May 12 or earlier. The first lawsuit was filed today in Columbus Ohio.

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Ongoing outbreak and recall of Romaine Lettuce tainted with E. coli O145

Freshway Foods and the Food and Drug Administration announced yesterday. An a press release, Freshway Foods said the E. coli O145 - tainted Romaine Lettuce was sold to wholesalers, food service outlets, in-store salad bars and delis in Alabama, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin. The affected lettuce has a "best if used by" date of May 12 or earlier. The recall also affects "grab and go" salads sold at Kroger, Giant Eagle, Ingles Markets and Marsh grocery stores.  The recall of Romaine Lettuce was prompted after illnesses were reported in Michigan, Ohio and New York - primarily impacting students at University of Michigan, The Ohio State university and Daemen University. The Food and Drug Administration reported the E. coli O145 illnesses included 12 people who have been hospitalized and with Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS).

What is Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome?  See, www.about-hus.com.

Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome is a severe, life-threatening complication that occurs in about 10 percent of those infected with E. coli O157:H7 or other Shiga toxin-producing E. coli.  HUS was first described in 1955, but was not known to be secondary to E. coli infections until 1982. It is now recognized as the most common cause of acute kidney failure in infants and young children. Adolescents and adults are also susceptible, as are the elderly, who often succumb to the disease.

Ongoing Outbreak Investigation

Given the time of the year, the most likely area for growing Romaine Lettuce is Arizona – likely Yuma. The investigation is likely hampered by the failure of health departments throughout the United States from actually testing ill persons stools for E. coli O145.  For a bit(e) of history on lettuce and E. coli, visit www.outbreakdatabase.com.

More Information on E. coli O145

In 2009, Marler Clark Petitioned the USDA to define E. coli O145 and other Shiga toxin-producing E. coli as adulterants.  The Petition has a very complete explanation of the dangers of E. coli O145.

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Circumstances have long been ripe for calling all shiga-toxin producing strains of Escherichia coli (E. coli) “adulterants” in our food supply. The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, which is the entity that has the regulatory capacity to do just this, currently has in its possession two citizen petitions to take this action.  In our petition, we state:

Despite strong scientific evidence that many strains of non-O157 STEC are as pathogenic as E. coli O157:H7, FSIS has thus far failed to include all STEC as adulterants under the FMIA.  Recent studies have repeatedly shown that non-O157 STEC is a serious food safety hazard. According to one study, non-O157 STEC are prevalent in beef production systems at rates as high as 70.1%.5 A United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) study states that non-O157 STEC have been found in ground beef and on cattle hides and feces at levels comparable to E.coli O157:H7.6 Furthermore, European studies indicate that non-O157 STEC infections occur more frequently than E. coli O157:H7 infections.7 With such a ubiquitous presence, the potential risk for harm caused by non-O157 STEC may be on par with, or even greater than, the risk created by E. coli O157:H7. Indeed, another study concluded that “non-O157 STEC can cause severe illness that is comparable to the illness caused by STEC O157.”

Our petition has recently received the support of Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY). FSIS’s response, to date, is that they are considering the petition. Also currently on the federal government's to-do list is a Senate vote on S 510 "The Food Safety Modernization Act."  The Food Safety Modernization Act would amend the Food Drug and Cosmetic Act by giving the Food and Drug Administration better authority and ability to monitor the safety of our food supply, and take quicker and more effective action for food companies that don't adequately protect against foodpoisoning risks.

Readers may ask why these regulatory and legislative measures are ripe for action.

1.  Stephanie Smith

2.  Linda Rivera

3.  252 illnesses nationally linked to salami, black pepper, and red pepper

4.  Millions and millions of pounds of meat products recalled.

5.  HVP recall, which, although it caused no known illnesses, resulted in one of the largest food product recals in history.

6.  About 76,000,000 other reasons every year.

As for the regulatory action that has really got our eye, particularly in the wake of multiple outbreaks linked to non-O157 strains of E. coli. Currently, at least 60 people recently fell ill in Michigan, Ohio, and New York due to infection by E. coli O145. Also last month, at least11 inmates at a correctional institution in Colorado fell ill due to infection by E. coli O111. Word of exactly what food products were contaminated in the Michigan, Ohio, and New York E. coli O145 outbreak has not yet come.

To understand the significance of regulating non-O157 strains of E. coli, a little background information is useful. FSIS’s stated mission renders it “responsible for ensuring that the nation's commercial supply of meat, poultry, and egg products is safe, wholesome, and correctly labeled and packaged.” To promote its mission, FSIS has the power—under the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA)—to, among other things, seek the recall of products that have been deemed “adulterated.” FSIS drastically shifted how it interpreted and enforced the FMIA in 1994 when, following the Jack in the Box outbreak, the agency declared E. coli O157:H7 to be an adulterant.

The petition details the scientific and legal bases for the requested action, but perhaps more importantly it details the suffering that food contaminated with non-O157:H7 enterohemorrhagic E. coli inflicted upon three individuals: June Dunning, Megan Richards, and Shiloh Johnson. Ms. Dunning, whose infection was caused by E. coli O146:H21, unfortunately succumbed to her illness, passing in 2006. Ms. Richards and Ms. Johnson endured lengthy hospitalizations, kidney failure, and will both endure a lifetime of medical complications as a result of their E. coli O121:H19 and E. coli O111 infections (respectively).
 

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Good timing on the release today of the Marler Clark food safety guide for parents on listeria monocytogenes.  Today, Orlando Greco and Son Imports, an Illinois company, recalled 822 pounds of prosciutto products due to potential contamination by listeria monocytogenes.  From the FDA's notice on the prosciutto recall: 

Orlando Greco & Son Imports, a Carol Stream, Ill., establishment, is recalling approximately 822 pounds of prosciutto products that may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.

The problem was discovered by FSIS microbiological testing of imported product resulting in a positive sample for Listeria monocytogenes. FSIS was notified by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency that the implicated product was also distributed to an Importer of Record and further distributed, thus resulting in this recall. FSIS has received no reports of illness as a result of consuming this product.

The following products are subject to recall: 

               *  Various pound cases of "Prosciutto Boneless Casa Italia"

The products were distributed to restaurants and retailers in Illinois and Indiana.

Listeriosis is a serious infection caused by eating food contaminated with the bacterium called Listeria monocytogenes. Although there are other types of Listeria, most cases of listeriosis are caused by Listeria monocytogenes. Listeria is found in soil and water. Vegetables can become contaminated from the soil or from manure used as fertilizer. Animals can carry the bacterium without appearing ill and can contaminate foods of animal origin, such as meats and dairy products. Listeria has been found in a variety of raw foods, such as uncooked meats and unpasteurized (raw) milk or foods made from unpasteurized milk. Listeria is killed by pasteurization and cooking; however, in certain ready-to-eat foods, like hot dogs and cold cuts from the deli counter, contamination may occur after cooking but before packaging.

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Today, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture suspended permits that allow the Elmer Z. and Martha B. King farm in Aaronsburg, Centre County, and Cedar Hollow Farm in Mill Hall, Clinton County, to sell raw milk for human consumption after test samples revealed potentially harmful pathogen levels.

Although no illnesses have been reported, the department is urging consumers who recently purchased raw milk from those farms to discard it immediately as a precaution due to health risks. Samples taken from the King farm on April 12 contained Listeria monocytogenes, while samples taken the same day from Cedar Hollow Farm tested positive for Campylobacter.

With positive tests from the milk itself, how will Sally Fallon and the Weston A Price Foundation explain this one away?

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Seattle Times staff reporter, Maureen O' Hagen,  writes in today's paper about the role our firm, Marler Clark, played in the recent WinCo Foods meat recall related to potential E. coli O157:H7 contamination. Positive E. coli O157:H7 test results revealed in a study that Marler Clark has commissioned revealed the contamination:

The E. coli came to light not because of testing by the government or by WinCo or its suppliers. Instead, it was because a Seattle lawyer is conducting a private study, testing ground beef from retailers all over the country.

"I've spent about a half-million dollars on this project," attorney Bill Marler said. Clients represented by Marler's firm have won more than $500 million in settlements from companies whose food sickened them.

Marler set out, in 2008, to prove a point: that certain pathogens could be in your burgers because of a loophole in government regulations.

Most of the time, when you hear about E. coli, it's a strain known as O157:H7. Under government regulations, O157 is an "adulterant" in ground beef, which means processors have to test for it. If the meat tests positive, it can't be sold.

But there are other potentially harmful strains of E. coli, too — O26, O111, O103 — and they can cause illness just as serious as O157, including diarrhea, kidney failure, and even death. (Cooking meat well-done should kill the pathogens.)

For a number of reasons, however, these bugs aren't labeled as "adulterants" under government regulations so processors don't have to test for them. The bottom line is, since processors aren't testing for them, you could be eating them.

Last October, Marler petitioned the government to include these bugs in its list of "adulterants." If he succeeds, beef processors will have to conduct additional testing. But if pathogens do slip through and people get sick, it also could make it easier for Marler to sue.

Waiting for a decision, he took an unprecedented step: private testing.

"This is clearly something the government should be doing," he said. "This is stuff, frankly, I think retail stores should be doing. They're the ones that could put the pressure on the manufacturers."

He hired a well-regarded local scientist to test grocery-store ground beef around the country. So far, they've tested 4,700 samples and found about 1.9 percent contain the non-O157 E. coli strains they were looking for, Marler said.

To him, that argues for regulation.

Periodically, he'd also been testing for the more well-known E. coli O157. That's when Marler said they found two contaminated packages at a WinCo store in Modesto, Calif. Because O157 is regulated, they felt they should report it to WinCo.

"It was a call out of the blue from a lab that we hadn't hired and wasn't connected with a government study," said Michael Read of WinCo. The company voluntarily recalled all ground beef sold over a 13-day period, ending April 9.

WinCo has stores in six Western states, including Washington. No human illness has been linked to the recalled ground beef.

Meanwhile, Marler has been hammering government regulators, and is impatient for a decision.

J. Glenn Morris, director of the Emerging Pathogens Institute at the University of Florida, says that while Marler has a valid point — government should address this issue — it's not quite so simple. Not all of these non-0157 E. coli bacteria carry the genes that make them harmful to humans, he said.

"This is, in part, why the regulatory process has been going somewhat slowly," he said. "Because there are uncertainties."

 

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It seems the incredible rise of hand sanitizers over the last decade have turned the now-ubiquitous goo into the equivalent of a portable sink for millions of Americans.  "Don't have access to running hot water and soap?  Just use a squirt of easy-to-carry hand sanitizer".

While hand sanitizer can certainly be useful in a pinch, how does it handle the eradication of potentially deadly bacteria like E. coli?  According to an experiment conducted by local 4th grader, Celia Vernon, not very well.  As reported by King5 news reporter, Gary Chittim:

Nine-year-old Celia Vernon won her class science fair at Roosevelt Elementary with an experiment involving a live sample of E.coli. Under the guidance of her father, a biologist with a background in microbiology, Vernon tested several solutions on E.coli, including Purell brand hand sanitizer.

In a side-by-side comparison with common bleach, the E.coli on the Purell side survived. On the bleach side, it died.

The Vernons say they have no bone to pick with Purell, but were surprised to learn it doesn't kill one of the main dangers associated with exposures from using bathrooms.

A spokesperson for the makers of Purell told KING 5 News that it stands by its claims to kill 99 percent of germs and suggested we contact the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A CDC spokesperson says they have not studied hand sanitizers specifically on E.coli and recommend hand sanitizers only when soap and water are not available.

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The Associated Press and New York Times just reported on the impetus behind the testing that caused WinCo to issue its large-scale meat recall:  us.  The positive tests were generated during a study that Marler Clark had comissioned on the presence of E. coli in retail beef samples.  The Times reports:

A ground beef recall that has expanded to WinCo Foods stores in six Western states was prompted by a law firm's investigation of contaminated beef products.

Saying the meat could be contaminated with E. coli, California officials issued the recall Sunday for WinCo Foods fresh ground beef that was packaged in Styrofoam trays at the stores and marked with sale dates from March 28 to April 9. The warning covers about 70 stores in California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington.

The announcement expanded a voluntary recall last week at one store in Modesto, Calif. California officials say an additional sample from that store tested positive for E. coli Friday, prompting the expanded recall. No illnesses have been reported.

The supermarket chain learned about the bacterial contamination from an independent lab that was conducting a nationwide survey of ground beef for Marler Clark, a Seattle law firm specializing in food-borne illness cases.

The ground beef likely came from one of two national beef companies that supply many grocery stores, said Michael Read, WinCo Foods vice president of public and legal affairs.

WinCo has no reason to believe any ground beef that was sold was contaminated, he said. Read had no estimate of how many pounds of ground beef could be affected, but he noted that much of the meat has probably already been consumed and no illnesses have been reported.

''That's the truly nice thing,'' he said. ''We've recalled all ground beef from all stores, even though there's only a suggestion that there's a problem with one store, but we want to do everything possible to protect the public.''

Read said WinCo is cooperating with the investigation by California and federal officials. 

Bill Marler represented more than 100 victims in the 1993 Jack in the Box E. coli outbreak that killed four children. He commended WinCo Foods for issuing the recall, given that the information came from a private study.

''They certainly could have pushed back and said, 'What is this, it's a lawyer doing testing in a lab in Seattle,'' he said. ''They could have taken the much less pro-consumer point of view, because obviously this is not something a company wants to do. Under the circumstances, I certainly appreciate what they did.''

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Yesterday, WinCo Foods expanded its April 10 ground beef recall to include all ground beef sold at all WinCo stores between March 26, 2010 and April 9, 2010.  The original recall included only ground beef sold at the Modesto, California store.  The recall was announced after testing at a private laboratory of retail samples of ground beef showed contamination by E. coli O157:H7.

The expanded recall occurs due to information suggesting that the original source of contamination was one of WinCo's beef suppliers. 

As WinCo has cooperated with public health authorities, new information has come to light that potentially implicates WinCo's ground beef suppliers. Acting on the advice of the California Department of Public Health and consistent with the ongoing investigation by USDA, WinCo is expanding its voluntary recall to include all fresh ground beef sold at any WinCo Foods store. A list of all WinCo Foods store locations follows in this announcement.

The product under recall is all fresh ground beef packed in styrofoam trays with a sale date of March 28, 2010 through April 9, 2010. Product should either be returned to the store for refund or be destroyed. No illnesses have been confirmed to date in connection with this recall.

This is not surprising information, and as usual, it prompts more questions than answers, including where the USDA is in all this (no announcement or comment on the expanded recall), and why WinCo did not take a more expansive approach to recall in the first place.  I cannot recall the last time an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak/recall associated with ground beef occurred because of contamination at retail.  They almost always happen because a retail seller, like WinCo, receives contaminated beef from a supplier.  If true, why did WinCo not originally recall all ground beef from that supplier during the relevant time frame? 

Again, more transparency is needed in foodpoisoning outbreaks and recalls, and the government needs to do a far better job of passing important information along to consumers. 

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WinCo Foods announced today that it is issuing an expansion of the Class 1 recall on all fresh ground beef products sold at all WinCo Foods stores: The original recall issued on April 10, 2010 was for ground beef sold from it's Modesto store only.

Originally an independent lab had tested two samples of ground beef purchased at the Modesto, California store to be positive for E. coli O157:H7 and out of concern for the health of our customers and our ongoing commitment to provide only safe, quality products, WinCo Foods decided it was appropriate to issue a recall for the Modesto store.

As WinCo has cooperated with public health authorities, new information has come to light that potentially implicates WinCo's ground beef suppliers. Acting on the advice of the California Department of Public Health and consistent with the ongoing investigation by USDA, WinCo is expanding its voluntary recall to include all fresh ground beef sold at any WinCo Foods store. WinCo Foods store locations.

The product under recall is all fresh ground beef packed in styrofoam trays with a sale date of March 28, 2010 through April 9, 2010. Product should either be returned to the store for refund or be destroyed. No illnesses have been confirmed to date in connection with this recall.

Individuals who have eaten fresh ground beef purchased from any WinCo Foods store between March 28, 2010 and April 9, 2010 and who have experienced any of these symptoms should contact their doctor or health care provider immediately. Any such illness should be reported to the state or local health authorities. WinCo recommends checking the FDA website for further information and answers concerning food borne illness and food safety.

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All milk sold or distributed in British Columbia must be pasteurized.  No less an authority that the Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Perry Kendall, recently discussed why, "in response to a number of letters published in the Times Colonist extolling the alleged benefits and alleged safety of "raw" (unpasteurized) milk."

With respect to the alleged antimicrobial properties of unpasteurized milk, raw milk is not a significant source of lactoferrin. In fact, human milk contains 10 times the amount found in cow milk. Further, cow milk contains citrate, which competes with lactoferrin to bind iron, and therefore limits its ability to act as an antimicrobial agent.

The antimicrobial properties of milk can be marginally affected by pasteurization; however, 70 per cent of the activity is retained in pasteurized milk and assists in keeping the quality of the milk. Milk proteins, such as caseins and whey, are also largely unaffected by pasteurization.

As well, vitamins B2 (riboflavin), B3 (niacin), B5 (pantothenic acid), B7 (biotin), B12, A and D are not affected by pasteurization. In short, there is no research to substantiate the claims that raw milk has better nutritional and medicinal qualities than pasteurized milk.

Part of Dr. Kendall's concern relates to the susceptible population to whom raw milk is frequently given.  Children.

While adults can assess benefits and risks and make decisions for themselves that I might consider ill-advised, children should not be subjected to these choices. Even the most well-intentioned parents should be aware of the greater susceptibility of children to the pathogens that are found in raw milk, and of the fact that the majority of serious illnesses reported from raw milk are reported in children. E. coli is far more likely to shut down a child's kidneys than it is an adult's -- as we saw on the Island in 2001 and as has been regularly reported in the U.S.

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For many that seem perplexed by my passionate fight for food safety, perhaps this video will put it in context:

,

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This morning, Phyllis Entis of eFoodAlert.com posted an interesting article on the Montefiore Cheese Salmonella recall that has occurred in Austrialia, Tazmania, and New Zealand.  Ms. Entis's issue with the conduct of the recall seems to be delays in product testing that revealed the contamination, and dissemination of that critical information to the food-consuming public.  The article, titled Montefiore Cheese Plays Recall Hopscotch With Salmonella, asks:

It took more than three weeks for Montefiore to complete its Salmonella tests, in an era when Salmonella tests can be completed easily within 48 hours.  What took so long?  And why, with rapid testing so readily available, would Montefiore not follow a test-and-hold policy - an approach that would have vastly reduced the risk of contaminated products entering the food supply.

Another example, according to the article, of slow and inefficient action that lead to an outbreak occurred in Canada in 2008.  Ms. Entis states:

I would refer Montefiore's management to the 2008 experience of Canada's Maple Leaf Foods. That company initially recalled just two batches – produced two weeks apart – of ready-to-eat deli meat, after those batches were found to contain Listeria monocytogenes. The recall quickly expanded to include additional production dates and deli meat varieties. Ultimately, the entire production facility was shut down for extensive cleaning and sanitation, and several months worth of ready-to-eat meats were recalled. Fifty-seven illnesses were linked to the contaminated deli meats. Twenty-two people died.

Though insightful and always worth emphasizing, this is not new stuff.  Timely testing and reporting are critical to ensuring the safety of our food supply, and when contamination does occur, ensuring that people don't get sick.  As I have reported before,  

 whether it appears in a statute or not, recalling companies have an obligation not only to announce the recall but also to act aggressively in (a) identifying what retailers or other companies may have received the contaminated product (b) identifying what consumers may have purchased the contaminated product and (c) using all means necessary to make the important details of the recall (e.g. what products are included) known to retailers and consumers alike.

See Transparency in food recalls:  important on both sides of the Atlantic.

Ms. Entis ultimately concludes, as we both have before, "A bit more transparency would be helpful here."  I still agree wholeheartedly.  Consumer health and safety demands it.

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Not exactly fresh out of committee, but out of committee nonetheless, senate bill 510 (a/k/a the Food Safety Modernization Act) makes its way to the senate floor soon, possibly this week.  The full senate debate and subsequent vote is certainly timely, as just today Michael Moss was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his story on Stephanie Smiths E. coli O157:H7 illness and Linda Rivera's long-awaited emergence from a Nevada hospital where she has spent almost a year after also being infected by E. coli O157:H7.  Stephanie was sickened by a hamburger made by Cargill, and Linda by contaminated cookie dough made by Nestle. 

The Food Safety Modernization Act is truly an important piece of legislation, in that it affects every citizen of this country, and even some abroad, on a daily basis.  The bill substantially modifies the Federal Food Drug and Cosmetics Act, and generally gives the Food and Drug Administration better authority and ability to monitor the safety of our food supply, and take quicker and more effective action for food companies that don't adequately protect against foodpoisoning risks. 

Among other, more specific, things, the Food Safety Modernization Act:

 

Continue Reading...

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 Yes, this journal typically addresses current issues related to food safety for human beings, but occasionally we stretch our purpose a bit to address a health issue more related to the human experience.  For most people, this includes dogs (mine are pictured to the left; Scout and Ryder in Eastern Montana).  Response Products, of Broken Bow, Neb., is voluntarily recalling Cetyl M for Dogs, because the product could be contaminated with salmonella. Contaminated pet food can infect animals as well as people who have not handled the products properly. No illnesses have been reported, according to the company. The dietary supplement for dogs was distributed nationwide through direct sales, stores, veterinarians and online retailers. The recall involves lot numbers 1210903 and 0128010.

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Senate hearing on food safety legislation (SB 510) (Food Safety Modernization Act) will occur soon, maybe even next week.  Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and a group of colleagues have proposed the legislation in response to a number of recent outbreaks of food poisoning linked to Salmonella, E. coli O157:H7, Campylobacter, and other pathogens.  Among other things, the legislation would give the FDA broader authority to inspect food processing establishments. 

From Senator Durbin's website:

The recent recalls of tainted peanut butter, spinach, seafood, and pet food are only the latest examples of today's broken food safety system. Authority for regulating our nation's food supply is split among more than ten federal agencies. Most of these agencies lack the resources necessary to ensure the integrity of the food we consume.

I am working to secure increased resources for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) food safety program, and I am the lead sponsor of several pieces of legislation designed to improve our food safety system. Among these bills is the Safe Food Act, which would streamline our food safety structure, improving coordination by combining the disparate food safety functions spread across the federal government into a single agency based on scientific principles. We also need to establish a robust system for overseeing the safety of imported food. I introduced legislation to strengthen the FDA's ability to monitor and inspect goods that enter the U.S. from abroad by imposing a fee on companies and countries exporting food products to the U.S. Consumers often take for granted that the food they purchase will be safe whether it originated in the U.S. or was imported, but the standards of other countries and the lack of U.S. food inspectors monitoring imported food too often proves them wrong.

Time for everybody to call your Senators, no matter which party you, he, or she belongs to.  The safety of the food supply is way too important an issue, and the regulatory problems way too complex, to sideline this important legislation.  S 510 is not the entire solution to many of the food poisoning problems that we currently face, but its a good first step.  

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WinCo Foods announced a few moments ago that it is issuing a voluntary Class I recall on all ground beef products sold at its Modesto, California store between the dates of Saturday, April 3, 2010 and Friday, April 9, 2010. The store is located at 2200 Plaza Parkway in Modesto. At this point the recall pertains only to the Modesto, California store.

Late yesterday, WinCo Foods was advised by a principal of a reputable food testing laboratory that, as a part of an independently funded survey of ground beef sold in supermarkets, it had found two samples of ground beef purchased at the Modesto store to be positive for E. coli O157:H7. Out of our great concern for the health of our customers and our ongoing commitment to provide only safe, quality products, WinCo Foods decided it would be appropriate to issue this recall.

As soon as the company was notified, it pulled all ground beef products at the store, broke down and sanitized all processing equipment and contracted with Analytical Laboratories, Inc. (an independent ISO certified and accredited lab) to conduct follow up sanitation verification testing. WinCo Foods has also notified its ground beef suppliers and will continue to work with them to try to pinpoint and to eliminate any source of contamination. The Stanislaus County Health Department, CDPH and CDC have also been notified and WinCo Foods is committed to fully cooperating in any further steps that may be necessary to assure the public that the matter has been properly handled and resolved.

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More companies added products to the growing list of recalled food products containing Salmonella contaminated hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP).  HVP is a flavor enhancer used in a wide variety of processed food products, such as soups, sauces, chilis, stews, hot dogs, gravies, seasoned snack foods, dips, and dressings.  The manufacturer of the contaminated HVP is Basic Food Flavors Inc in Las Vegas, Nevada. 

The FDA announced yesterday that, during its investigation at the Las Vegas facilities of Basic Food Flavors, it found Salmonella Tenessee (the serotype involved in the recall) in the companies production equipment.  “This situation clearly underscores the need for new food safety legislation to equip FDA with the tools we need to prevent contamination," said Dr. Jeff Farrar, associate commissioner for food protection, FDA’s Office of Foods.

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HVP RECALL UDATE:

Several days ago, Basic Food Flavors, Inc., a Nevada company, recalled hydrolyzed vegetable protein ("HVP"--a protein breakdown product of vegetable amino acids), due to potential salmonella contamination.  The recalled products were widely distributed and included in many further processed foods.  Ever since, many companies that used Basic Food's HVP as an ingredient in their own products, have announced recalls of a variety of food products.

The recalls include, to date:

1.  Johnny's Fine Foods, a Tacoma, Washington food company, who is recalling powdered au jus. 

2.  Kroger, Inc., the Cincinnati-based grocery giant, has recalled two onion dip and soup mixes

3.  T Marzetti Company, a dip-maker, has recalled a variety of dips.

4.  Tim's Cascade Snacks of Algona, Washington recalled its 'HAWAIIAN® Kettle Style Potato Chips - SWEET MAUI ONION’ AND 'HAWAIIAN - SWEET MAUI ONION RINGS'

5.  Homemade Gourmet of Canton, Texas is voluntarily recalling approximately 320 packages of 1.96 oz Tortilla Soup Mix; 

6.  Earth Island , a Chatsworth, CA company, is conducting a voluntary recall on its distribution of the following Follow Your Heart brand products

7. Castella Imports of Hauppauge, NY, is voluntarily recalling Castella Chicken Soup Base

No illnesses have been reported due to consumption of the potentially contaminated products, though we have heard from quite a few people that have consumed recalled products and later fell ill.

Hopefully the recalls work and nobody else gets sick. 

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The American Pecan Co., a Texas-based pecan company, announced a recall today of its small, medium, and large sized plastic bags of pecans.  The company is recalling the product due to potential contamination by Salmonella bacteria.  

American Pecan Co. said today that its one-pound bags of shelled pecans were sold to walk-up customers at their Yancey location in south-central Texas, as well as to mail-order customers in Texas, New York and Massachusetts.  The Salmonella contamination was discovered by the Food and Drug Administration during routine sampling and testing.

The company says no illnesses have been reported, but it has stopped producing and distributing the product.

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Marler Clark developed E. coli, Salmonella and Hepatitis A litigation sites to keep clients up-to-date on current litigation being prosecuted by Marler Clark throughout the United States. The site is also a resource for Marler Clark co-counsel, print and broadcast media who are working on stories about outbreaks and outbreak-related litigation, and potential clients who are researching Marler Clark in anticipation of filing a claim.

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We want to thank the NMA for the opportunity to speak with its membership again this year. We also want to thank those of you who have shown their continued support of BPI over the last several months and let you know what we plan to do to keep earning that support going forward. From BPI, we’ve told you to expect a higher standard. We require it of ourselves and will reinforce that here today.

There have been some questions regarding BPI, our products, and processes that have resulted from inaccuracies in recent media coverage. While it is tempting to take issue with each misstatement or any information not provided in proper context, we need to avoid that temptation and instead be focused on continuing to achieve and exceed the standards we have set for ourselves.

BPI’s lean beef remains a high quality and lower fat component for ground beef or any other product where lean beef is an ingredient. We remain very confident in our food safety systems and in particular the pH enhancement process. But, regardless of how many validation studies we conduct on the process, we know that the proof is in the finished products that we produce. That’s why we have always been strong advocates of a rigorous, finished product sampling and test and hold system. No matter how sure we are of the technology, we will remain committed to supporting the technology with the testing data provided by the test and hold system.

We recognize that we have not been perfect. No one is or will be. Again, that is why we remain committed to a rigorous finished product sampling, test and hold program. Depending upon serving size, BPI products have been a part of up to 20 Billion meals per year. We have not been the source of any illness outbreak or death because of our food safety systems, including our test and hold program.

We have committed ourselves to be the best and will work to continue earning everyone’s confidence and trust in BPI. One way we intend to do that is by being completely open to everyone in terms of BPI’s finished product test results. To borrow a popular term these days - we will be transparent with the results from our operations.

We intend to put in place a system that will allow everyone to have access to BPI test data for E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella at virtually the same time that data comes to BPI from the third party, fully accredited laboratories that conduct testing of BPI’s products. We envision a reporting system that will allow the data to come directly from the labs and be viewable on BPI’s web site. Not only do we intend for the data to be viewable, but we also intend for the data to be independently verified and audited.

To have the credibility that such a reporting system will require, we know that we will have to be open to third party review, verification, and audit of BPI’s sample collection processes, third party lab analytical processes, and the data reporting process itself. We encourage anyone interested in providing input into the design of that audit process to engage with us and help us put in place a system that is above reproach. In particular, that includes anyone that has been critical of BPI in the past. Give us your ideas so that we can provide you the data you can rely upon in evaluating BPI.

What will BPI data reporting do for NMA’s members, BPI, and the public generally? First, it will justify the trust and confidence you have placed in BPI or allow skeptics to gain that same level of trust and confidence in what we do. Second, it will reinforce to those that rely upon you to make good food safety decisions that use of BPI’s products is the right decision. Third, such information may allow for a broader public review and dialogue on attainable food safety results and standards. And, finally, it will help us to keep the pressure on ourselves to set and achieve the highest standards possible.

Improved food safety and nutrition are the pillars upon which BPI has been built. We pledge to continue our efforts going forward to support and enhance these goals for the benefit of the consumer, our customers, and the industry.

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Consumers Union Urges FDA to Set Performance Standards for Greens

YONKERS, N.Y., Feb. 2 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Consumer Reports' latest tests of packaged leafy greens found bacteria that are common indicators of poor sanitation and fecal contamination, in some cases, at rather high levels. The story appears in the March 2010 issue of Consumer Reports and is also available free online at www.ConsumerReports.org. Consumers Union today also issued a report urging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to set safety standards for greens, available online at www.ConsumersUnion.org. FDA food safety legislation pending in the Senate, and passed last summer by the House of Representatives, would require the FDA to create just such safety standards.

The tests, which were conducted with financial support from the Pew Health Group, assessed for several types of bacteria, including total coliforms and Enterocccous -- "indicator organisms" found in the human digestive tract and in the ambient environment that can signal inadequate sanitation and the potential for the presence of disease-causing organisms. While there are no existing federal standards for indicator bacteria in salad greens, there are standards for these bacteria in milk, beef, and drinking water. Several industry consultants suggest that an unacceptable level in leafy greens would be 10,000 or more colony forming units per gram (CFU/g).

Consumer Reports found that 39 percent of samples exceeded this level for total coliform, and 23 percent for Enterococcus. The tests did not find E. coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes or Salmonella -- sometimes deadly pathogens which can be found in greens, although it was not expected given the small sample size. The goal was to investigate other markers of poor sanitation that should be used in the food safety management of produce.

"Although these 'indicator' bacteria generally do not make healthy people sick, the tests show not enough is being done to assure the safety or cleanliness of leafy greens," said Dr. Michael Hansen, senior scientist at Consumers Unions, nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports. "Levels of bacteria varied widely, even among different samples of the same brand. More research and effort is needed within the industry to better protect the public. In the meantime, consumers should buy packages of greens that are as far from the use-by date as possible."

For its latest analysis, Consumer Reports had an outside lab test 208 containers of 16 brands of salad greens, sold in plastic clamshells or bags, bought last summer from stores in Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York. Among the findings:

• 39 percent of samples exceeded 10,000 CFUs (or another similar measure) per gram for total coliforms and 23 percent for Enteroccocus, the levels industry consultants deemed unacceptable.
• 2 percent of samples exceeded French and 5 percent Brazilian standards for fecal coliform bacteria.
• Many packages containing spinach, and packages which were one to five days from their use-by date, had higher bacterial levels. Packages six to eight days from their use-by date generally fared better.
• Whether the greens came in a clamshell or bag, included "baby" greens, or were organic made no difference in bacteria levels.
• Brands for which there were more than four samples, including national brands Dole, Earthbound Farm Organic, and Fresh Express, plus regional and store brands, had at least one package with relatively high levels of total coliforms or Enteroccocus.

"The Senate should act immediately to pass pending FDA food safety reform legislation that requires the agency to set performance standards as well as develop safety standards for the growing or processing of fresh produce," said Hansen. "FDA should also formally declare that certain pathogenic bacteria -- such as E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella, and Listeria -- be considered adulterants when found in salad greens." The Senate bill, S. 510, the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, was voted unanimously out of committee in November. The House passed similar legislation last July.

Until packaged salad becomes cleaner, consumers' best line of defense involves following these procedures in stores and kitchens:

• Buy packages far from their use-by date.
• Wash the greens even if the packages say "prewashed" or "triplewashed." Rinsing won't remove all bacteria but may remove residual soil.
• Prevent cross contamination of greens by keeping them away from raw meat and poultry.

For more information, go to www.ConsumersUnion.org or www.ConsumerReports.org. The March issue of Consumer Reports goes on sale February 2, 2010 wherever magazines are sold.

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Here are portions of the FDA “WARNING LETTER AND NOTICE OF PROVISIONAL STATUS”

Ms. Sondra Lehman
, Chief Operating Officer

North American Region

LSG SkyChefs

6191 N. State Highway 161
Irving, Texas 75038

Dear Ms. Lehman:

This letter serves as your formal notification that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has changed the classification of your airline catering facility from "Approved" to "Provisional." …  As documented on this form, the following are the significant violations at your airline catering facility on which we base the "Provisional" classification:

• To comply with 21 CFR 1250.30(a), all places where food is prepared, served, or stored must be constructed and maintained as to be clean and free from flies and other vermin. However, our investigators observed numerous live roaches, dead roaches, and other insects, as well as food, and other debris, in various locations, including the following:
• Cart wash area - Live and dead roach-like insects too numerous to count (TNTC);
• Silverware station - At least 40 live roaches as well as other insects;
• The hot kitchen - At least eight dead and one live roach insects were observed in and around the walls of the hot kitchen;

• Repack area - Live roaches (TNTC), as well as ants;

• Pots and pans warewashing room - At least four live and dead roaches, flies;

• Dish machine wash area - At least 13 dead roaches inside the machine loading area and 31 or more dead nearby the machine
• Wash area - At least four live roaches on walls and floors. …

In addition, during the inspection, our investigators collected environmental swab sub samples from various locations within your firm's processing facility to be analyzed for the pathogen Listeria monocylogenes. Our FDA laboratory analyses of these environmental samples (FDA Sample #531908) revealed that three swab sub samples collected from floor locations in the hot kitchen area. were found positive for Listeria monocytogenes. …

You should take prompt action to correct the deficiencies. It is your responsibility to ensure that all requirements of the PHS Act, the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, and their implementing regulations, are being met. You should notify this office in writing, within 15 working days of receipt of this letter, of any additional specific steps you have taken to correct each of the violations. Your response should include a discussion of any delays you foresee in achieving correction, and a deadline by which correction can be expected. …

Please send your reply to the food and Drug Administration, Attention: Nancy G. Schmidt, Compliance Officer, P.O. Box 25087, Denver, CO 80225. If you have any questions regarding this letter, please contact Ms. Schmidt at (303) 236-3046.

Sincerely,


H. Thomas Warwick, Jr.


Director, Denver District

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Over at the New York Times, writer Michael Moss has published yet another excellent piece, titled Company’s Record on Beef Treatment Questioned, regarding a meat industry practice that many folks likely have never heard of--ammonia-treated meat trimmings used in many pre-fabricated beef patties.

And while most of the public may not be familiar with this particular addition to their meat, most fast-food companies, and the federal school lunch program, certainly are.  "With the U.S.D.A.’s stamp of approval, the company’s processed beef has become a mainstay in America’s hamburgers. McDonald’s, Burger King and other fast-food giants use it as a component in ground beef, as do grocery chains. The federal school lunch program used an estimated 5.5 million pounds of the processed beef last year alone."

Not only has the practice by Beef Products Inc., been endorsed by the USDA, but they believe it is so effective at killing deadly pathogens like E. coli and Salmonella, that starting in 2007--when USDA began routine testing of hamburger meat sold to the public--the ammonia-treated meat was deemed exempt from testing.

As Mr. Moss's article reveals, the pathogen-free safety of this stomach-churning meat additive is not so iron-clad after all.  Read on by clicking HERE.

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WASHINGTON—In a troubling trend, state health departments completed fewer foodborne illness investigations in 2007 than in the previous decade, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

“The decline in fully-investigated outbreaks could reflect a serious gap in state public health spending,” said CSPI food safety director Caroline Smith DeWaal. “Fewer outbreaks were fully investigated by state public health departments in 2007 than in any of the previous 10 years—and a smaller percentage of outbreaks were fully characterized than in any of the previous 7 years.”

The trend showed up in the latest Outbreak Alert! report by CSPI. It found that states reported 33 percent fewer fully investigated outbreaks to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2007 than in 2002. This doesn’t mean that outbreaks aren’t occurring, DeWaal stressed. Nearly 1,100 outbreaks were reported in 2007 to CDC, but in only 378 cases did states identify both a food and the pathogen (the mark of a complete investigation).

Outbreaks are first investigated at the local and state level. To provide the most useful data for controlling food safety problems, those investigators need to identify both the pathogen and the specific food responsible for the outbreak, and then state departments of health need to report the outbreaks to CDC. Fewer completed investigations mean that less information is available to the CDC and other federal health agencies—affecting their ability to identify problems in the food safety system or issue recalls to protect the public.

CSPI has been tracking foodborne outbreak reports for over 10 years and publishing the data in its Outbreak Alert! report and on its website. CSPI analyzes state reports compiled by CDC, sorts them by food category, and makes the aggregated data available to federal policymakers to guide priority setting, to the industry to address production problems, and to the public.

CSPI says that a food safety bill passed several months ago by the U.S. House of Representatives and another bill that is pending in the Senate would greatly enhance the government’s surveillance systems and ensure better coordination between state officials and the CDC. Most important, the legislation would create a food-safety system focused on preventing contamination in the first place, by requiring food processors to prepare food safety plans and requiring the FDA to inspect food processing facilities more frequently.

“Congress should pass legislation to dramatically reduce the numbers of needless deaths and expensive hospitalizations caused by contaminated food,” said CSPI senior staff attorney David Plunkett. “Americans deserve food safety legislation early in the new year.”

CSPI analyzed a total of 4,638 outbreaks of illness linked to specific foods, involving 117,136 individual illnesses that occurred between 1998 and 2007. An “outbreak” involves two or more people sickened by the same food. The food categories (other than “multi-ingredient”) most commonly linked to outbreaks during this ten-year period were:

Seafood: 838 outbreaks involving 7,298 cases of illness
Produce: 684 outbreaks involving 26,735 cases of illness
Poultry: 538 outbreaks involving 13,498 cases of illness
Beef: 428 outbreaks involving 9,824 cases of illness
Pork: 200 outbreaks involving 4,934 cases of illness

Foods regulated by the FDA, such as seafood, produce, eggs, and dairy products, were associated with more than twice as many outbreaks as foods regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees meats and poultry. The data also show several changes in food trends. For instance, in this 10-year analysis of the data, eggs dropped out of the top five causes of outbreaks, probably due to the implementation of safety programs by egg producers, programs recently made mandatory by FDA. Also, dairy outbreaks increased dramatically after 2004 due to the increased availability of unpasteurized dairy products.

The outbreaks in CSPI’s database represent just the tip of a much larger problem. The CDC estimates that contaminated foods kill thousands and sicken up to 76 million Americans each year. The vast majority of foodborne illnesses are undiagnosed and most are never reported to state officials. For those that come to their attention, state officials may lack the resources to track down the cause of most illnesses and outbreaks, and are not required to report foodborne illness outbreaks to CDC.

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Food Safety News is reporting tomorrow....

The LSG SkyChefs catering facility at Denver International Airport has lost its “approved status” after U.S. Food and Drug Administration inspections found food safety problems that include positive test results for the deadly Listeria pathogen.

LSG continues to serve its customers at DIA, which will be used by one million travelers during the current holiday season, under the “provisional status” it was assigned by in an FDA “Warning Letter” issued Dec. 10th and made public yesterday.

FDA inspectors in September and October visited the airline kitchen, taking samples from various locations inside the processing facility.

“Our FDA laboratory analyses of these environmental samples (FDA Sample #531908) revealed that three swab sub samples collected from floor locations in the hot kitchen area were found positive for Listeria monocytogenes,” wrote H. Thomas Warwick, Jr., FDA’s Denver District Director.

LSG’s Beth Van Dyne told Food Safety News those positive samples essentially came from drains, and that no positive results were returned from any food or food preparation surface. She says the company began deep cleaning with bleaches as soon as it got the inspection report.

As the worlds dominate airline-catering business, Van Dyne says LSG is taking the FDA action very seriously and is looking forward to a re-inspection in early January. It has a lot riding on the re-inspection. It must either win back “approved” status or it will fall to “Use Prohibited” or “Not Approved.”

Airlines may not obtain their food from a “Use Prohibited” or “Not Approved” source, according to Director Warwick.

LSG’s problems at DIA extend beyond swab samples testing positive for Listeria. The flight kitchen facility is located in an LSG building that is one of DIA’s original ground lease tenants, according to an airport spokesman.

The LSG on East 75th Avenue is believed to be about as old as DIA, which recently celebrated its first decade of service. Yet FDA investigators “observed numerous live roaches, dead roaches, and other insects, as well as food, and other debris, in various locations…”

Roaches were found in places like the cart wash area, and the silverware area as well as in the hot kitchen and dish washing machine area. There were gaps under the garbage room, receiving dock and outbound dock doors, which are openings for pests.

FDA also did not like the way LSG was stacking wet containers as it promotes bacteria growth.

None of DIA’s top three carriers are LSG customers. United Airlines, the biggest airline in the Mile High City, uses a competitor, and Southwest Airlines supplies its own scanty food items to its customers. And carry-on items are about all there is on Denver-based Frontier Airlines.

As the fourth largest U.S. airport, many other carriers use DIA.

Van Dyne says as far as she can tell, this is the first time LSG has ever lost its “approved status” at any of the airports it serves in the U.S. She says the company is making it a top priority to get back to that status.

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According to an FSIS release, Harrington and Sons, a Williston, Vt., establishment, is recalling approximately 68 pounds of fresh ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.

The products subject to recall include: [View Label]

* 10-pound cryovaced packages of "LaPLATTE RIVER ANGUS FARM, LLC NATURALGROUND BEEF."

* 1.5-pound cryovaced packages of "LaPLATTE RIVER ANGUS FARM, LLC NATURALGROUND BEEF."

Each package label bears the establishment number "EST. 8751" inside the USDA mark of inspection as well as the identifying case code "093491."

The products were produced on December 15, 2009, and were distributed to restaurants and a retail establishment in Chittenden County, Vt. This recall is a consequence of the establishment not properly defining the production lot. FSIS routinely conducts recall effectiveness checks to verify recalling firms notify their customers (including restaurants) of the recall and that steps are taken to make certain that the product is no longer available to consumers. The problem was discovered through FSIS microbiological sampling. FSIS has received no reports of illnesses associated with consumption of these products. Individuals concerned about an illness should contact a physician.

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MediaNews Editorial

A consumer group made a disturbing discovery recently when it made random purchases of Foster Farms chickens in supermarkets. An outside laboratory conducted tests for salmonella and campylobacter and found fewer than 20 percent of the chickens purchased were free from contamination from one or the other. Talk about an abysmal number.

What's even more disheartening is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's inspection procedures and standards for chickens are so inadequate that it's no wonder companies like Foster Farms have such a poor record.

Consumers must demand a complete overhaul of USDA procedures.

Consumers Union, which publishes the magazine Consumer Reports, purchased 382 chickens last spring from more than 100 supermarkets, gourmet and natural food stores in 22 states and tests were conducted. Foster Farms, based in Livingston, and Tyson chickens were the most contaminated.

According to the consumer group, the USDA, as it turns out, does not even have a standard test for campylobacter bacteria, which is generally transmitted in food or water. The bacteria can be as deadly as salmonella, where infection can spread to the gastrointestinal tract and cause diarrhea, fever and cramps. It boggles the mind that the USDA doesn't have a test for this.

It makes us wonder why Consumers Union found so many dirty birds and the USDA didn't?

Jean Halloran, director of food policy initiatives for Consumers Union, said the USDA makes no secret when and where it will conduct its tests. The chicken plant knows where the USDA will take its 50 samples of chickens in 50 days. Unless someone is really fumbling the ball, that plant will be sure it passes inspection.

Ira Brill, a representative for Foster Farms, says his company tests 6,000 birds a year and claims those results are different from Consumers Union.

That hardly makes us feel any safer.

We shouldn't have to rely on a consumer group to protect the public from food contamination, that is the USDA's job and it's not doing it very well. The agency must broaden its range of testing to include campylobacter bacteria, and it should conduct all tests randomly and without prior notification so as to obtain a more accurate number of how many contaminated chickens are hitting our store shelves. In fact, it would be a good idea for the USDA to regularly use the methods employed by Consumers Union and randomly inspect chickens purchased in stores.

And, yes, all of this testing must be transparent and information made available to the public.

The USDA must change its ways of inspection, and companies such as Foster Farms and Tyson need to prove they can do much better with producing cleaner chickens.

Until then, it's buyer beware. Handle chickens properly, which means washing hands and preparation surfaces with soap and hot water. And, of course, making certain to cook the chicken thoroughly. We must take these steps because it is clear that we can't count on our government to protect us.

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Parties, family dinners, and other gatherings where food is served are all part of the holiday cheer. But the merriment can change to misery if food makes you or others ill.

Typical symptoms of foodborne illness are vomiting, diarrhea, and flu-like symptoms, which can start anywhere from hours to days after contaminated food or drinks are consumed.

The symptoms usually are not long-lasting in healthy people—a few hours or a few days—and usually go away without medical treatment. But foodborne illness can be severe and even life-threatening to anyone, especially those most at risk:

* older adults
* infants and young children
* pregnant women
* people with HIV/AIDS, cancer, or any condition that weakens their immune systems
* people who take medicines that suppress the immune system; for example, some medicines for rheumatoid arthritis

Combating bacteria, viruses, parasites, and other contaminants in our food supply is a high priority for the Food and Drug Administration. But consumers have a role to play, too, especially when it comes to safe food handling practices in the home.

"The good news is that practicing four basic food safety measures can help prevent foodborne illness," says Marjorie Davidson, a consumer educator at FDA.

1. Clean:

The first rule of safe food preparation in the home is to keep everything clean.

* Wash hands with warm water and soap for 20 seconds before and after handling any food. "For children, this means the time it takes to sing 'Happy Birthday' twice," says Davidson.
* Wash food-contact surfaces (cutting boards, dishes, utensils, countertops) with hot, soapy water after preparing each food item and before going on to the next item.
* Rinse fruits and vegetables thoroughly under cool running water and use a produce brush to remove surface dirt.
* Do not rinse raw meat and poultry before cooking. "Washing these foods makes it more likely for bacteria to spread to areas around the sink and countertops," says Davidson.

2. Separate:

Don't give bacteria the opportunity to spread from one food to another (cross-contamination).

* Keep egg products, raw meat, poultry, seafood, and their juices away from foods that won't be cooked. Take this precaution while shopping in the store, when storing in the refrigerator at home, and while preparing meals.
* Consider using one cutting board only for foods that will be cooked (such as raw meat, poultry, and seafood) and another one for those that will not (such as raw fruits and vegetables).
* Keep fruits and vegetables that will be eaten raw separate from other foods such as raw meat, poultry or seafood—and from kitchen utensils used for those products.
* Do not put cooked meat or other food that is ready to eat on an unwashed plate that has held any egg products, or any raw meat, poultry, seafood, or their juices.

3. Cook:

Food is safely cooked when it reaches a high enough internal temperature to kill harmful bacteria.

* "Color is not a reliable indicator of doneness," says Davidson. Use a food thermometer to make sure meat, poultry, and fish are cooked to a safe internal temperature. To check a turkey for safety, insert a food thermometer into the innermost part of the thigh and wing and the thickest part of the breast. The turkey is safe when the temperature reaches 165ºF. If the turkey is stuffed, the temperature of the stuffing should be 165ºF. (Please read on for more pointers on stuffing.
* Bring sauces, soups, and gravies to a rolling boil when reheating.
* Cook eggs until the yolk and white are firm. When making your own eggnog or other recipe calling for raw eggs, use pasteurized shell eggs, liquid or frozen pasteurized egg products, or powdered egg whites.
* Don't eat uncooked cookie dough, which may contain raw eggs.

4. Chill:

Refrigerate foods quickly because harmful bacteria grow rapidly at room temperature.

* Refrigerate leftovers and takeout foods—and any type of food that should be refrigerated—within two hours. That includes pumpkin pie!
* Set your refrigerator at or below 40ºF and the freezer at 0ºF. Check both periodically with an appliance thermometer.
* Never defrost food at room temperature. Food can be defrosted safely in the refrigerator, under cold running water, or in the microwave. Food thawed in cold water or in the microwave should be cooked immediately.
* Allow the correct amount of time to properly thaw food. For example, a 20-pound turkey needs four to five days to thaw completely when thawed in the refrigerator.
* Don't taste food that looks or smells questionable. Davidson says, "A good rule to follow is, when in doubt, throw it out."
* Leftovers should be used within three to four days.

Also, use care with stuffing.

In its Holiday Food Safety Success Kit, the Partnership for Food Safety Education recommends:

* Whether it is cooked inside or outside the bird, all stuffing and dressing recipes must be cooked to a minimum temperature of 165ºF. For optimum safety, cooking your stuffing in a casserole dish is recommended.
* Stuffing should be prepared and stuffed into the turkey immediately before it's placed in the oven.
* Mix wet and dry ingredients for the stuffing separately and combine just before using.
* The turkey should be stuffed loosely, about 3/4 cup stuffing per pound of turkey.
* Any extra stuffing should be baked in a greased casserole dish.

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Fairbury Steaks, Inc. a Fairbury, Neb., establishment, is recalling approximately 90 pounds of fresh ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.

The products subject to recall include:

* 10-pound packages of "BULK FRESH GROUND BEEF."

The packages were placed in boxes and bear the establishment number "EST. 5726" inside the USDA mark of inspection on a label. The products were produced on November 16, 2009, and were distributed to a restaurant in Ruskin, Neb.

FSIS routinely conducts recall effectiveness checks to verify recalling firms notify their customers (including restaurants) of the recall and that steps are taken to make certain that the product is no longer available to consumers.

The problem was discovered through FSIS microbiological sampling. FSIS has received no reports of illnesses associated with consumption of these products. Individuals concerned about an illness should contact a physician.

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Over the next several weeks, the U. S. Senate has an historic opportunity to take a major step toward improving food safety for all Americans. That is why a coalition of public health professionals, consumer organizations and groups representing victims of foodborne illness is sending the message that it is time to "Make Our Food Safe for the Holidays!"

Every year, millions of Americans are sickened from consuming contaminated food, hundreds of thousands are hospitalized and thousands die. Multiple outbreaks of foodborne illness over the last several years - from spinach to peppers to peanut butter products - have demonstrated that these outbreaks are not random, unpreventable occurrences, but are due to widespread problems with food safety oversight in the United States.

This summer the U.S. House of Representatives passed its version of a sweeping food safety bill, which includes increased inspections of domestic food facilities and greater oversight of imports. The Make Our Food Safe coalition believes the Senate can take a major step forward in protecting public health by passing legislation that gives the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) enhanced authority to oversee the safety of the nation's food supply by the end of this year.

New polls of voters in selected states - Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina and Ohio - show overwhelming support for measures that would give the FDA these new powers. The polls, which were conducted in October by a respected bipartisan team of pollsters at Hart Research (Democratic) and Public Opinion Strategies (Republican), were commissioned by coalition member the Pew Health Group. Poll results are available at www.MakeOurFoodSafe.org.

"Families across America want the government to do more to ensure their loved ones do not get sick from the food they serve over the holidays," says Sandra Eskin, director of the food safety project for the Pew Health Group. "Congress should enact stronger food safety laws before the end of the year."

Foodborne illness can significantly impact the health of children. According to a new fact sheet released today by the Make Our Food Safe coalition, approximately half of the reported foodborne illnesses occur in children, with the majority of these cases occurring in those under 15 years of age. Data from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) for five major foodborne pathogens -- Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes, Campylobacter, Shigella, E. coli 0157:H7 -- clearly show the burden that children are carrying with regard to foodborne disease. The fact sheet also details the health risks associated with Toxoplasma gondii, a common parasite. To obtain a copy of the fact sheet, visit www.MakeOurFoodSafe.org.

In addition, coalition member Center for Foodborne Illness Research & Prevention (CFI) is releasing a report that looks in detail at the long-term impacts of foodborne pathogens. CFI's report, The Long-Term Health Outcomes of Selected Foodborne Pathogens, provides expert descriptions about some of the serious long-term health outcomes ranging from hypertension and diabetes to kidney failure and mental retardation. The report also calls for a new approach to foodborne illness research and surveillance.

"Systematic follow-up of foodborne illness cases will greatly enhance our ability to attribute long-term health problems to acute foodborne illnesses," says Tanya Roberts, Ph.D., an author of the report. "Population-based studies, improved public health surveillance and increased data sharing will improve our knowledge about the sources, trends and health outcomes associated with foodborne disease. Taking this approach will require dedicated funding, but such an investment is necessary to prevent costly economic, health and personal losses."

To obtain a copy of the CFI report, visit www.foodborneillness.org.

"The polling and reports released today should show our lawmakers that they need to send food safety legislation to the president's desk as soon as possible," says Elizabeth Armstrong of Fishers, IN, whose young daughter Ashley became seriously ill in 2006 after eating contaminated spinach. "The new legislation may not help my family, but it could save lives and spare others from suffering what we have endured. I want the senators to think about that and heed the coalition's message: Make Our Food Safe for the Holidays!"

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The percentage of Salmonella isolates found in ground turkey that displayed resistance to nalidixic acid dropped from 8.1 percent in 2002 to 2.6 percent in 2007.

Similarly, the percentage of isolates resistant to ceftiofur dropped from 8.1 percent to 5.3 percent in that period.

In contrast, the percentage of Salmonella isolates in ground turkey with resistance to ampicillin increased from 16.2 percent to 42.6 percent in that time.

Continue Reading...

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Psychosomatics. 2009 May-Jun;50(3):263-9.

Pollock KG, Duncan E, Cowden JM.  Health Protection Scotland, Clifton House, Clifton Place, Glasgow G37LN, Scotland. Kevin.Pollock@hps.scot.nhs.uk

BACKGROUND: The long-term clinical outcome for children affected by hemolytic uremic syndrome associated with verocytotoxin-producing Escherichia coli (VTEC-HUS) is well documented, but the parental experience is not.

OBJECTIVE: The authors investigated the effects of the critical-care hospitalization for this condition on well-being of patients' families.

METHOD: A group of 30 parents completed a free-response format survey when their child presented to the hospital; 19 of this cohort completed a 1-year follow-up.

RESULTS: Content analysis demonstrated that this cohort of parents experienced long-term emotional distress and substantive disruption to family and daily life.

DISCUSSION: These results corroborate anecdotal clinical observations. The authors suggest future research initiatives and best practices to reduce parental distress.

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Polly and Ken Costello of Bellevue Nebraska, daughter and son-in-law of, Ruby Trautz, who died after eating tainted Dole Spinach will travel to Washington on Tuesday to raise awareness of foodborne illness.

Polly and Ken will help deliver a Center for the Science in the Public Interest report on the top ten "riskiest" foods to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Copies will also be delivered to the Nebraska delegation.

Polly Costello's mother, Ruby Trautz, passed away in 2006. Lab test determined the 81-year-old Bellevue woman died off acute kidney failure caused by the tainted spinach.

See video - On A Day That Others Are Walking the Halls of Congress for Food Safety, Ruby is There in Spirit.

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For those who spend any time at all thinking about botulism, it's probably with respect to foods, particularly canned and low-acid foods.  But being, all at once, an avid bird hunter with two pointing dogs who also thinks about botulism a good bit of the time, I thought i'd simply issue this warning to any expensive hunting-dog-owning, bird-hunting folks out there about avoiding any of the many areas that have recently seen significant waterfowel die-off due to botulism poisoning. 

One such area is the American Falls Reservoir in Idaho.  Rich Simpson of Times News, an Idaho paper, states as follows:  

Despite the setback to local hunters by the recent die-off of thousands of ducks at the upper end of American Falls Reservoir, the 2009-10 waterfowl seasons are officially under way.

Biologists believe that record early summer rains - which caused extensive shallow flooding of mudflat and wetland areas - set the stage for the outbreak. These warm, low-oxygenated waters provided the perfect environment for the proliferation of the toxin-producing botulinum bacterium, Clostridium botulinum.

Waterfowl and shore birds that feed upon vegetation and small invertebrates contaminated with the bacteria soon fell victim to the paralyzing effects of the powerful nerve toxin. Infected birds can be easily identified. Prior to their death, they have great difficulty flying, paddling, and holding their heads up. Avoid harvesting or handling any waterfowl demonstrating these behaviors.

Should you unknowingly harvest and consume an infected bird, fear not: proper cooking destroys the bacteria. In all cases, avoid eating raw meat.

Dog owners would be well advised to stay clear of this outbreak zone until the emergency has passed to avoid unnecessarily exposing themselves and their trusty (and expensive) hunting companions to infected birds.

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You may be wondering what in the world cats and coffee have in common, and until this morning my answer would probably have been some witty quip (or a lame one, depending on your sense of humor).

But it turns out that some cats, the Asian Palm Civet to be precise, can actually enhance the flavor of your morning cup o' joe.  And how do they do that?  I'm glad you asked (but you might not be when I finish explaining it).

As featured in a recent News Press article, a special type of coffee bean called Kopi Luwak is produced by first feeding the bean to civets, which then pass the bean through its digestive tract before being collected and processed for brewing.  To articulate your thoughts, yes, the beans are essentially roasted civet poo.

One US coffee roaster, Bennett's Fresh Roast in Fort Myers, Florida, will begin brewing this expensive, rare and bizarrely harvested coffee this week.

And because readers of Food Poison Journal know to be rightfully weary of any food that comes in contact with feces given the high potential for dangerous pathogens like E. coli, Bennett's owner Bob Grissinger roasts the beans at 600 degrees and then brews coffee to about 200 degrees, temperatures sufficient to kill the pathogen.

So drink up this delicacy is you dare, but just make sure you've got plenty of cash on you.  The cost for 12 ounces of this kitty dung drink runs $20.  As for me, I plan to stick with my plain ol' delicious poo-free Starbucks.

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Q & A with Bill Marler, managing partner of Marler Clark LLP:

Q: What is Food Safety News?

A: Food Safety News (FSN) is a daily online newspaper dedicated to covering food safety news--all the news that's fit to eat! FSN writers will be reporting on everything from foodborne illness outbreaks to food politics to international food safety policy. We have bureaus in Seattle, Denver, and Washington, DC and have invited contributors from government, industry, academia, and consumer groups to share their viewpoints on food safety-related issues. It's a one-stop shop for all things food safety.

Q: Why are you creating an online newspaper dedicated to food safety?

A: Though the top food safety agencies disseminate food recall and outbreak information, and state, local, and regional health departments make an effort to inform their constituents, there is no up-to-date one-stop place for food safety information. I've also been disappointed to see reporters on the food, health, and product safety beats lose their jobs to the fall of print journalism and the rise of consolidated media. I think food safety is an important beat to cover, especially as food policy issues begin to take center stage in our national discourse. FSN can offer a forum for discussion on these issues for consumers, industry leaders, and public health officials alike.

Q: Will Food Safety News be balanced in its coverage of food safety issues?

A: Yes, our FSN team is dedicated to ensuring we have balanced reporting. Our reporters will be reaching out to a variety of stakeholders and experts as they report the daily food safety news. We have also invited a wide variety of experts and food safety leaders to contribute to the site.

Q: What do you hope readers will take away from Food Safety News?

A: Whether you're a parent or a public health official, food safety is a pertinent issue. We hope readers will get their fill of food safety-related news from FSN on a daily basis. We aim to be the go-to place for anyone looking for information on the issues of the day, whether they pertain to foodborne illness outbreaks, recalled products, or food politics. FSN will have something for everyone. When there is something going on in the food supply, FSN will be serving up the top news.

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So far, 12 children have been hospitalised in England after an outbreak of  at the farm. The children, aged between 18 months and 10 years, E. coli O157:H7 contracted E. coli after visiting Godstone Farm near Redhill, Surrey, in southern England. Health officials believe 36 cases of the illness, which can lead to kidney failure and be fatal, are linked to the farm since the outbreak was traced in August.

Guess what? This has happened again and again. See link to prior outbreaks and to our prevention website – www.fair-safety.com.

A single cow produces about 30 kilograms (66 pounds) of manure per day. Each gram of manure can contain ten million (10,000,000) fecal coliform organisms. This means that a cow can produce about three hundred billion (300,000,000,000) fecal coliforms per day, which may include E. coli O157:H7 and other pathogens.

Prudent public health measures that a public or private entity needs to take in order to ensure the safety of fair or petting zoo visitors and prevent outbreaks include the following:

• Source control: Animals that are actively shedding human pathogens should not be exhibited in fairs and petting zoos. Effective screening tests are available, and can be used to identify infected animals and to prevent their entry into the fair environment. Eliminating infected animals from the fair environment would reduce the level of exposure, and would reduce the potential human health hazard.

• Effective manure management: Sanitary removal of animal manure, followed by sanitation of bins and traffic areas, is an essential part of an environmental control program.

• Dust control: If manure is not removed on a timely basis, it will be dried and subsequent air movement can result in airborne spread of dust, which could spread infectious agents onto surfaces. Contaminated surfaces can result in human illness, through hand to mouth transfer of pathogens.

• Clean up and sanitation: Sanitize all contact surfaces.

• Environmental sanitation: Prevent cross contamination of areas adjacent to animal holding areas, particularly food courts and drinking fountains. Venues should be designed to minimize the risk of cross-contamination. Farm animal contact areas should be separated from the food service area. Animal petting should be allowed only in the interaction area, under close supervision and coaching of visitors. Double barriers should be provided to prevent contact between animals and their environment, other than in the interaction area (MMWR Weekly, October, 2001).

• Hand washing and sanitation facilities: At each entrance and exit to animal holding areas and petting zoos, warn visitors of the potential risks and require visitors to wash and sanitize upon entry and exit to the areas. Hand washing facilities should be adequate: hand washing stations should be available in both the animal free area and the interaction area. An adequate number of hand washing facilities complete with soaps and disposable towels should be provided. The facilities should be accessible, sufficient for the maximum anticipated attendance, and designed for use by both children and adults. Communal basins should not be considered as adequate hand washing facilities (MMWR Weekly, October, 2001). “It’s In Your Hands: Animal Exhibits and Public Health”, a video about the importance of proper hand washing after attending animal exhibits, was produced by the Washington State University Extension Service in 2006. In conjunction with the video, the WSU Extension office and 4-H produced hand washing “tool kits”, which include materials for petting zoo operators (Washington State University Extension, 2006).

• Protocol for petting zoo and animal contact areas: Prevent the spread of germs to humans. The protocols could include elements such as allowing only gloved-hand contact with animals, frequent surface sanitation, and monitored hand washing and sanitation stations. Hand-to-mouth activities should be prohibited: eating, drinking, smoking, carrying toys and pacifiers, or any hand-to-mouth activities should be strictly prohibited in the interaction area (MMWR Weekly, October, 2001).

• Information should be provided: Wherever situations arise where there is public access to farm animals, information about the risk associated with the transmission of pathogens should be provided to visitors. An effort should be made to ensure that the visitors are completely aware of the fact that animals such as calves, young ruminant animals, young poultry, and all ill animals can pose a threat to human health (MMWR Weekly, October, 2001).

• Heightened precautions should be applied to high-risk groups: Children under age 5, people with weakened immune systems, and pregnant women fall in the category of high-risk for serious infection, and hence should strictly follow all the precautions enforced in the animal contact area (MMWR Weekly, October, 2001).

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has a new way to head off potential cases of foodborne illness – the Reportable Food Registry (RFR), where food industry officials must use to alert the FDA quickly, through an electronic portal when they find their products might sicken or kill people or animals. The requirement, a result of legislation, took effect with the launch of the portal.

Facilities that manufacture, process or hold food for consumption in the United States now must tell the FDA within 24 hours if they find a reasonable probability that an article of food will cause severe health problems or death to a person or an animal.

The reporting requirement applies to all foods and animal feed regulated by the FDA, except infant formula and dietary supplements, which are covered by other regulatory requirements. Some examples of reasons a food may be reportable include bacterial contamination, allergen mislabeling or elevated levels of certain chemical components.

The opening of the RFR electronic portal reflects a fundamental principle of the President’s Food Safety Working Group that “preventing harm to consumers is our first priority.”

"President Obama has pledged to strengthen food safety,” said Commissioner of Food and Drugs Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D. “The opening of the Reportable Food Registry electronic portal represents a significant step toward that pledge.”

"By fostering real-time submission to the FDA of information on food safety hazards, the registry enhances FDA's ability to act quickly to prevent foodborne illness," said Michael R. Taylor, senior advisor to the commissioner. "Working with the food industry, we can swiftly remove contaminated products from commerce and keep them out of consumers' hands."

The requirements apply to any person who has to submit registration information to the FDA for a food facility that manufactures, processes, packs, or holds food for human or animal consumption in the United States. These people are termed responsible parties.

A responsible party:

1. Must investigate the cause of the adulteration if the adulteration of food may have originated with the responsible party
2. Must submit initial information; followed by supplemental reports
3. Must work with the FDA authorities to follow up as needed

A responsible party is not required to report if it found the problem before the food was shipped, and corrected the problem or destroyed the food.

The agency issued draft guidance on the RFR in June and sought comment. The FDA also held three public workshops across the country in which FDA representatives explained the RFR requirements and how the portal will work. A Federal Register notice was issued today announcing the opening of the RFR electronic portal and the availability of final guidance to assist the food industry in complying with the requirements of the RFR.

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In its recent publication, “Data on Mercury in Water, Bed Sediment, and Fish from Streams Across the United States, 1998–2005,” (pdf) the United States Geological Survey (USGS), a division of the Department of the Interior (DOI), released information related to mercury contamination in 291 streams and rivers across the country. 

The USGS study’s findings are alarming: every fish sampled in 291 streams across the country were found to be contaminated with mercury, a contaminant that can react with certain bacteria in water and form methylmercury, a dangerous poison. According to the National Institutes of Health:

Unborn babies and young infants are very sensitive to methylmercury's effects. Methylmercury causes central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) damage. How bad the damage is depends on how much poison gets into the body. Many of the symptoms of mercury poisoning are similar to those seen in cerebral palsy. In fact, methylmercury is thought to cause a form of cerebral palsy.

Populations that regularly consume a large amount of fish are more at risk for developing methylmercury poisoning because their potential exposure to the poison is much greater than populations with lower fish consumption rates. According to a press release issued by the DOI in conjunction with the release of the USGS report:

About a quarter of these fish were found to contain mercury at levels exceeding the criterion for the protection of people who consume average amounts of fish, established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. More than two-thirds of the fish exceeded the U.S. EPA level of concern for fish-eating mammals.

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar commented, “This study shows just how widespread mercury pollution has become in our air, watersheds, and many of our fish in freshwater streams. This science sends a clear message that our country must continue to confront pollution, restore our nation’s waterways, and protect the public from potential health dangers.”  

The report revealed that tea-colored or “blackwater” streams in “relatively undeveloped forested watersheds containing abundant wetlands” in the Carolinas, Georgia, Florida, and Louisiana yielded fish with some of the highest levels of mercury. Coincidentally, similar relatively undeveloped watersheds in the Upper Midwest and Northeast also contained fish with high levels of mercury.  

According to USGS, atmospheric mercury is the main source of mercury in most of the streams studied, while coal-fired power plants are the largest source of mercury emissions in the United States. Gold and mercury mining also contribute to the level of mercury in some streams, particularly on the West Coast. 

USGS scientist Barbara Scudder stated, “This study improves our understanding of where mercury ends up in fish in freshwater streams. The findings are critical for decision-makers to effectively manage mercury sources and to better anticipate concentrations of mercury and methylmercury in unstudied streams in comparable environmental settings.”

Additional studies by USGS will continue to shed light on mercury contamination in our streams, and will hopefully shed more light on how much and which kinds of fish are safest for the general population, but most importantly for at-risk populations like pregnant women, children, and populations who depend on fishing for a large portion of their diet, such as Native American tribes.

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We have completed a portion of the first year’s tests and are in the process of compiling the data. We hope to publish the results in the next month. (See Abstract)

Non-O157 STEC are capable of causing the same debilitating triad of diseases as E. coli O157:H7, including hemorrhagic colitis, hemolytic uremic syndrome, and thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura. Infection with the non-O157 STEC can result in death in children, the elderly and the immunocompromised. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of reported cases of illnesses caused by this group of pathogenic E. coli has been steadily increasing over the past several years. Despite this, Non-O157:H7 STEC is not considered an adulterant under current law in the U.S. That needs to change.

Non-O157:H7 STEC are also known to occur in imported beef from several trading partners, yet the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has not required that imported beef be free of these pathogens. The Agency has also failed to devise steps to measure and control the presence of these pathogens in domestic beef production and the ground beef supply, at the slaughterhouse or the grocery store.

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Pasha Halal Poultry, doing business as Marcacci Meats, a Vineland, N.J., establishment, is recalling approximately 128 pounds of ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.

The products subject to recall include:

* Various sizes of plastic-wrapped packages of "MARCACCI MEATS, GROUND BEEF."
* 10-pound boxes of "MARCACCI MEATS, GROUND BEEF."

The ground beef products were packed in foam containers and bear a package code of "8.12.09" as well as the establishment number "EST. 5913" inside the USDA mark of inspection.

These ground beef products were produced on Aug. 12, 2009, and were distributed to a consumer at the wholesale level in the Atlantic City, N.J., area, and packaged for sale to consumers at the retail level in Vineland, N.J.

FSIS routinely conducts recall effectiveness checks to verify recalling firms notify their customers (including restaurants) of the recall and that steps are taken to make certain that the product is no longer available to consumers.

The problem was discovered by FSIS during microbiological sampling. FSIS has received no reports of illnesses associated with consumption of these products.

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According to a CDC update on the multistate outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 linked to Nestle cookie dough, the agency is working with public health officials in several states and collaborating with the FDA and FSIS to investigate the outbreak.

Preliminary results of the investigation “indicate a strong association with eating raw prepackaged cookie dough,” though the agency is still trying to figure out the exact cause of the contamination. In late June, the FDA announced that it found a strain of E. coli O157:H7 in a sample of the recalled cookie dough, but the culture did not match the outbreak strain.

At last count, 80 persons from 31 states have been sickened. Of those cases, 70 have been confirmed by advanced DNA testing as having the outbreak strain, 35 have been hospitalized, and 10 developed hemolytic uremic syndrome. In response to the outbreak, Nestle recalled 3.6 million packages of cookie dough.

The Danville Nestle cookie dough plant linked to the outbreak received clearance to restart manufacturing cookie dough July 9 and shipped out its first shipment of cookie dough since the outbreak last week.

The agency continues to recommend that consumers not eat any variety of the recalled dough. Of Nestle cookie dough packages have a “new batch” label then they were not a part of the outbreak. The agency also reminds consumers that they should not eat raw products that are meant to be cooked or baked before consumption.

Here is the CDC’s updated map:

The number of ill persons identified in each state is as follows: Arizona (2), California (5), Colorado (6), Connecticut (1), Delaware (1), Georgia (2), Iowa (2), Idaho (1), Illinois (7), Kentucky (2), Massachusetts (4), Maryland (2), Maine (3), Minnesota (8), Missouri (1), Montana (1), North Carolina (2), New Hampshire (2), New Jersey (1), Nevada (2), New York (1), Ohio (3), Oklahoma (1), Oregon (1), Pennsylvania (2), South Carolina (1), Texas (3), Utah (4), Virginia (2), Washington (6), and Wisconsin (1).

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Today the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced a recall of ground beef products due to possible Salmonella contamination. According to the press release, “Beef Packers, Inc. [BPI]…is recalling approximately 825,769 pounds of ground beef products that may be linked to an outbreak of salmonellosis.” The link between confirmed Salmonella infections and consumption of BPI ground beef products was first discovered by the Colorado Department of Public Health, and a subsequent traceback investigation conducted by FSIS.

This recall was, for me, surprising news—and also inexplicable given the USDA’s long-held position that Salmonella is not an adulterant per se in raw meat, and the meat industry’s prior success in getting a court to invalidate Salmonella performance standards that the USDA had tried to implement as part of its Pathogen Reduction, HACCP regulations adopted in 1996. So when I read about this recall, my first thought was to wonder why BPI agreed to the recall. (Remember: FSIS lacks the statutory authority to compel a recall.) And my second thought was: I wonder if the meat industry is going to sue the USDA to try and prevent the Agency from seeking a second recall in the future based on possible Salmonella contamination.

I obviously cannot answer either of these questions. But I can provide some useful background information about why this particular recall is so surprising, and so inexplicable. (And, by the way, by inexplicable I mean that it is nearly impossible to explain how FSIS could take this action in light of 25 years worth of policy and court decisions that would appear to suggest that the Agency has no authority to do what it did. The recall is certainly NOT inexplicable from a public health and safety perspective, which is certainly ironic given the fact that the FSIS has the term “safety” in its name, and doing something in favor of safety should not be inexplicable.)

And so now onto some history:

Continue Reading...

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Today's Boston Globe features a recipe for grilled chicken salad with pecans and cranberries.  I make variations of this recipe frequently, and was excited to see whether the Boston Globe recipe included any new ingredients that I could add to my mix.  I read through the ingredient list and didn't find anything particularly inspiring that I haven't already used before, but when I got to the instructions I was shocked to read the first one, which included the sentence, "When the grill is hot, cook the chicken breasts for 25 minutes, turning once, or until the juices run clear."

Cook until juices run clear used to be a standard instruction for poultry recipes before we learned that Salmonella is not just an egg problem, and that Salmonella can grow inside chickens.  When the juices from the piece of chicken you are cooking run clear, this is not an assurance that the chicken has reached a USDA-recommended 165 degrees Fahrenheit for poultry.

USDA's press release on the minimum internal temperature to ensure the safety of cooked poultry includes the following information:

The single minimum internal temperature requirement of 165°F was recommended by the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF).

"The Committee was asked to determine a single minimum temperature for poultry at which consumers can be confident that pathogens and viruses will be destroyed," said Under Secretary for Food Safety Dr. Richard Raymond. "The recommendation is based on the best scientific data available and will serve as a foundation for our programs designed to reduce foodborne illness and protect public health."

Scientific research indicates that foodborne pathogens and viruses, such as Salmonella, Campylobacter and the avian influenza virus, are destroyed when poultry is cooked to an internal temperature of 165°F. FSIS recommends the use of a food thermometer to monitor internal temperature. In addition, consumers should follow important tips for handling raw poultry. These tips can be summarized in three words–clean, separate and chill. Clean means to wash hands and surfaces often; separate means to keep raw meat and poultry apart from cooked foods; chill means to refrigerate or freeze foods promptly.

The only way to know whether your chicken is cooked to a hot enough temperature to ensure food safety is to use a thermometer to ensure that the internal temperature reaches 165.  Don't rely on visual clues such as the juices running clear. 

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In a July 23, 2009 editorial titled, “The potential end of Beervana as we know it,” The Oregonian’s editorial board discusses the Portland City Council’s impending decision on whether to approve a $385 million proposal to begin filtering water from the Bull Run watershed, the source of Portland’s municipal water. The proposed filtration system would ensure the Portland municipal water supply stayed Cryptosporidium-free, and is EPA-mandated. The editorial focuses on Portland’s craft brewers and the impact the water treatment system could have on the taste of beer brewed using the city’s municipal water. The editorial board, with the help of the Widmer brothers, argues:

Portland has been fighting this inflexible, one-size-fits-all EPA rule for years. City commissioners should keep fighting it, but they appear lamentably ready to bow to federal pressure and move ahead with a hugely expensive plan to build a treatment plant to filter out the nonexistent parasite.

Widmer and his brother Rob, pioneers in the phenomenon that made Portland the North American capital of craft brewing, aren't taking this lightly. In a letter urging city Commissioner Dan Saltzman to vote against the filtration plant, they warned that the proposed system would "completely unnecessarily ... change the beer that has made Portland famous" -- not just theirs, but that of all of the city's craft brewers.

If Portland can't get a waiver from the EPA rule, the city should opt for a treatment system using ultraviolet light. It would cost hundreds of millions of dollars less than filtration, and the Widmers say it would be less likely to have a negative effect on the taste of Bull Run water.

Although I don’t know all the facts surrounding this issue and how different treatment options would impact the Portland beer industry, the editorial reminded me of another famous beer town’s experience with Cryptosporidium:

In 1993, an estimated 403,000 residents of the greater Milwaukee, Wisconsin, area became ill with cryptosporidiosis after consuming water supplied through the city’s municipal water system. The outbreak investigation led to the conclusion that the City of Milwaukee’s water filtration process was ineffective in removing Cryptosporidium oocysts, which can be shed in human and animal feces, from one of two municipal water treatment plants. In fact, the Milwaukee outbreak is the reason behind the EPA rule requiring the filtration of municipal water sources.

Subsequent to the outbreak, a team of researchers assessed the monetary costs associated with the Milwaukee cryptosporidium outbreak, in medical costs and lost productivity (in 1993 dollars). 

To assess the total medical costs and productivity losses associated with the 1993 waterborne outbreak of cryptosporidiosis in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, including the average cost per person with mild, moderate, and severe illness, we conducted a retrospective cost-of-illness analysis using data from 11 hospitals in the greater Milwaukee area and epidemiologic data collected during the outbreak. The total cost of outbreak-associated illness was $96.2 million: $31.7 million in medical costs and $64.6 million in productivity losses. The average total costs for persons with mild, moderate, and severe illness were $116, $475, and $7,808, respectively. The potentially high cost of waterborne disease outbreaks should be considered in economic decisions regarding the safety of public drinking water supplies.

Although the Oregonian refers to Cryptosporidium as a “nonexistent parasite” because Portland has never experienced an outbreak associated with the municipal water system, it does not mean that cryptosporidium could not contaminate the water supply. The City Council is smart to review all options for protecting public health while keeping Portland brewers’ concerns in mind. A water filtration system that would not alter the taste of beer would be a win-win for Portland residents and those of us who like to enjoy a cold pint of Oregon craft beer on a hot day. 

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WQAD reported today on a Rock Island County Sheriffs Department investigation into the hepatitis A outbreak in the Quad-Cities area. The outbreak has thus far resulted in at least 25 confirmed hepatitis A cases since June, most allegedly linked to the consumption of food and beverages served at the Milan McDonald’s restaurant, where “patient zero” worked while infectious. 

By law, all hepatitis A cases diagnosed in Illinois are to be reported to proper health authoritieswithin 24 hours of diagnosis. "Patient zero's" case, which was diagnosed on June 16th, should have been reported to the Rock Island County Health Department (RICHD) by June 17th, and would likely have resulted in the RICHD working with McDonald’s to prevent the spread of hepatitis A among McDonald’s customers and the exclusion of “patient zero” – Cheryl Scram -- from the McDonald’s workforce until she was no longer infectious. 

That did not happen, however, due to a breakdown in Trinity Medical Center’s reporting process that prevented a timely response by RICHD. According to a WQAD story:

Trinity Medical Center blames an internal oversight on their part when it comes to not reporting a June Hepatitis A case. This outbreak had caused the Milan McDonalds to close it's doors for a few days last week. Vice President of Hospital Operations Kathy Cunningham said the Rock Island County Health Department called them on Monday, [July] 13th, about a June case. Trinity wasn't' aware of any cases and did their own investigation. That's when the hospital realized this case, and three other July cases, fell through the cracks.

Although the hepatitis A case was not reported to RICHD until nearly a month after Cheryl Scram’s case was diagnosed, she reportedly told her manager that she had been treated for hepatitis A

when she returned to work on June 25^th, yet she was not excluded from the McDonald’s workforce and continued to handle food items while infectious. 

Lt. Bill Kauzlarich with the Rock Island

 County Sheriffs Department is looking into several aspects of the outbreak. He wants to know, “If the ball was dropped, who dropped it, if things weren’t reported we want to know why they weren’t reported in a timely manner.” 

More answers regarding the outbreak are sure to come, and if by no other means then through litigation. The Marler Clark law firm has already filed a class action lawsuit and an individual lawsuit against the Milan McDonald’s and McDonald’s Corporation.

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The United States Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced that King Soopers, Inc. of Denver, Colorado, was recalling 466,236 pounds of ground beef products due to potential Salmonella Typhimurim DT104 contamination yesterday.  The recall was initiated after public health officials from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention traced a Salmonella Typhimurim DT104 outbreak among Colorado residents to the ground beef products.

Salmonella Typhimurium DT104 is an antibiotic-resistant strain of Salmonella, which can prove to be problematic for physicians treating patients who have eaten the contaminated ground beef and have become ill with Salmonella infections. 

In her 1997 paper, "Emergence of a Highly Virulent Strain of Salmonella typhimurium," M. Ellin Doyle, Ph.D. at the Food Research Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison wrote:

Some evidence indicts the increased use of veterinary drugs as a factor in the dramatic increase in drug resistance. Resistance to ciprofloxacin in DT104 isolates has increased from 1% in 1994 to 6% in 1995, coincident with the licensing of this drug for veterinary use in the UK in 1994 (2). Resistance to trimethoprim (present in 27% of DT104 isolates) may have been acquired in response to the use of this drug to combat bovine infections with DT104 resistant to other drugs. Surveys of S. typhimurium isolates from cattle and humans in Australia (16), France (17), Hong Kong (18), and Spain (19) all reveal an increased incidence of resistance to multiple antibiotics in this organism.

As yet, there have been no reports of S. typhimurium DT104 in the USA, but the rapid rise of this organism in the UK warns us in the USA to be vigilant. Increasing resistance to so many different antibiotics makes it very difficult to treat severe cases of human salmonellosis.

By 2000, if not before, Salmonella Typhimurium DT104 had spread to the United States.  Researchers from the Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, Washington State University-Pullman published an article titled, "Multiresistant Salmonella Typhimurium DT104 infections of humans and domestic animals in the Pacific Northwest of the United States" after investigating a Salmonella Typhimurium DT104 outbreak among residents of the Pacific Northwest. 

In his testimony on food safety before the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce last March, William K. Hubbard stated:

Those peanut butter, pepper and spinach examples are just a few of the breakdowns that have caused our citizens to question their leaders’ ability to carry out this most quintessential governmental function – the safety of commodities that are so necessary for a healthy society. Indeed, some argue that our food supply is becoming less safe despite the progress that has been made in science and medicine in recent decades. It is certainly clear that there are trends that cry out for intervention by the Congress, namely:

• New pathogens have emerged in foodstuffs, some unknown to science in years past, that are especially lethal when they contaminate our food. They have exotic names, such as Enterobacter sakazakii, E Coli 0157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, Vibrio cholerae 0139, and Salmonella Typhimurium DT104, (emphasis added) but they all pose a significant threat of severe illness and death when our citizens contract them. And there is an expectation among scientists that yet more of these threats will be discovered in the future.

That Salmonella Typhimurium DT104 had not been identified as the source of an outbreak in the United States prior to 1997, and this "especially lethal" pathogen has been identified as the source of several outbreaks, including the current outbreak among Colorado residents, is alarming. 

The Colorado Salmonella Typhimurium DT104 outbreak should spark more conversation about HR 1549 - Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act of 2009, which aims to preserve the use of antibiotics in food animals strictly for therapeutic use.

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Tanimura & Antle, Inc. recalled one lot of romaine lettuce for Salmonella contamination yesterday after a Wisconsin Department of Agriculture test came back positive for the bacterium. According to a press release on the Tanimura & Antle website:

Within hours of being notified yesterday, Tanimura & Antle, Inc. traced back the entire lot of romaine and advised all customers who received the recalled product of the test result. Tanimura & Antle, Inc. has instructed these customers to destroy the product. Although the recalled product is past its shelf life, the company is issuing this voluntary recall out of an abundance of caution to ensure that any product purchased by consumers will also be destroyed. Consumers who have purchased the recalled romaine as described above should not consume it, and should destroy the product.

The cartons of bulk or wrapped romaine being recalled are marked with the lot code 531380 and were harvested June 25 - July 2. This recall includes only this single lot of romaine; no other products are involved.

The recalled romaine was sold to retail, wholesale and food service outlets in Canada, Puerto Rico and the following 29 states: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Texas, Massachusetts, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, North Carolina,

 Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming.

Produce can become contaminated with Salmonella in a number of ways. Contaminated farm equipment can contaminate produce if it comes into direct contact with raw untreated manure, untreated compost, contaminated water, animals that shed Salmonella in their feces, or with people who somehow become contaminated. Fresh produce exposed to flood waters that carry Salmonella can become contaminated pre-harvest. Runoff water that could potentially carry Salmonella should be diverted from fields growing fresh produce and should not be used for irrigation. 

Fresh produce fields in rural areas next to wetlands or wildlands are particularly susceptible to exposure by wild animals such as deer and wild boars that harbor Salmonella and other pathogenic bacteria. Domestic animals and livestock that make their way into fields can also contaminate fresh produce, as can field workers who are shedding Salmonella in their stool if they do not use proper hand-washing techniques, or if proper toilet facilities are not available to them in the fields where they work.  

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Roy E Costa, R.S., M.S./M.B.A.

In yet another blatant case of disregard for public health and safety by the food industry we have a report that the McDonald's in Rock Island, Illinois at the center of a hepatitis outbreak lied about their knowledge of an infected employee. Even more disturbing the local health department did not inform the public for 6 weeks after learning of the first case in an employee. Even as cases of hepatitis were being reported in the community the health department kept that knowledge to themselves.

It appears that it was not until a second case in a McDonald's employee arose that they informed the public of the threat. New information has surfaced in the media that the Rock Island County Health Department was aware of the ill employee as early as June 9th, yet took no action to inform the public.

Health departments always tell the operator when they find a HEP A case at a restaurant. Since they knew, the operator must have known. Why did the operator lie? Why did the health department lie?

The facts about the situation are still materializing. Today the local media reported that the first employee diagnosed with hepatitis informed management of her condition in the last week of June.

But the media reported that the health department was also aware of the case as early as June 9th.

If the health department already knew, this might explain why management did nothing as the result of the employee informing management on June 25th or 26th.

The health department was finding serious sanitation conditions for several months before the outbreak and it appears the intensity of inspection and violation findings grew over time. The media reports repeated findings of excessive bare hand contact of foods. Yet there appears to be no action on the part of the authorities to take action against the operator or to stop the obvious exposures.

It appears this outbreak has many of the same attributes as PCA; lying by top management, failure of the health authorities to do their jobs, and perhaps, a cover up. Also note that just a day or two ago the health department said it was unaware of the first case of hepatitis in an employee, even remarking that the clinician who diagnosed the case failed to report the case to them. Now the media reports they knew about it, this came about as a result of a review of inspection records. Of course all we have at this point is the media reports, but they are definitely at odds with the statements and scenarios painted so far by both the McDonald's and the agency. Barring any mistake on the part of the media as to who knew what and when, this whole affair appears to incriminate the operator and the agency.

I particularly took notice of the statement by the owner of the McDonald's that he has a great track record with the health department, and that the health department had not confirmed that the McDonald's was the source of the virus. This is ironic because it may be just this type of "great relationship" that led to the dozens now infected.

This story has all the hallmarks of a cover up but the charade seems to be coming apart. Health departments should remember they are there to protect the public, not the industry, and sovereign immunity does not protect agents individually in cases of malfeasance or dereliction of duty.

Undoubtedly we will hear the management at this franchise (this can't be a corporate store!) try to discredit the employee who blew the whistle on this ugly looking affair, or the manager who allegedly received the report. Just how much backpedaling and smokescreens the public will accept remains to be seen, but with the number of ill and near hysteria, a song and dance will not cut it. As Bill Marler said in this situation, thank God for a free press.

Roy E Costa, R.S., M.S./M.B.A.
Public Health Sanitarian Consultant
Environ Health Associates, Inc
1.386.734.5187
www.haccptraining.org
www.safefoods.tv
rcosta1@cfl.rr.com

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In early May of 2007, the Center for Acute Disease Epidemiology (CADE) of the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) was notified that a two-week-old premature infant had been diagnosed with Enterobacter sakazakii (E. sakazakii) infection. The child, a twin, was born at a low birth weight, and was fed a mixture of powdered infant formula and breast milk while in the NICU. Records indicated that the baby was fed the powdered infant formula and breast milk mixture three times the day he became ill with symptoms of E. sakazakii infection. By that evening, he had developed a faster than normal heart rate. Lab tests confirmed E. sakazakii infection within 48 hours.

The infant remained hospitalized for nearly five months, suffering multiple complications of E. sakazakii infection – seizures, respiratory distress, diabetes insipidus, and others. He underwent multiple surgeries for digestive and respiratory management, but remains on a ventilator today. The E. sakazakii infection resulted in significant brain damage, and an early assessment of the child’s brain function revealed that it was doubtful he would ever be able to understand, talk, think, or gain motor function. In mid-2008, an MRI of the child’s brain revealed that he is in a permanent vegetative state, and he remains in a care facility, as his parents are unable to care for him at their home. 

In 2002, the FDA issued a letter to healthcare providers regarding E. sakazakii infection associated with powdered infant formula in neonatal intensive care units. In it, FDA wrote:

As background information for health professionals, FDA wants to point out that powdered infant formulas are not commercially sterile products. Powdered milk-based infant formulas are heat-treated during processing, but unlike liquid formula products they are not subjected to high temperatures for sufficient time to make the final packaged product commercially sterile. FDA has noted that infant formulas nutritionally designed for consumption by premature or low birth weight infants are available only in commercially sterile liquid form. However, so-called "transition" infant formulas that are generally used for premature or low birth weight infants after hospital discharge are available in both non-commercially sterile powder form and commercially sterile liquid form. Some other specialty infant formulas are only available in powder form.

The FDA has become increasingly aware that a substantial percentage of premature neonates in neonatal intensive care units are being fed non-commercially sterile dry infant formula. In light of the epidemiological findings and the fact that powdered infant formulas are not commercially sterile products, FDA recommends that powdered infant formulas not be used in neonatal intensive care settings unless there is no alternative available.

Although healthcare providers should be aware of the risks of serving powdered infant formula to newborns – especially those hospitalized in NICU – this family’s story is only one of many. The National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition website and others that help parents prepare for the birth of their child should include information about this virulent pathogen that can be present in powdered infant formula. In 2004, the World Health Organization published information regarding E. sakazakii contamination of powdered infant formula. That information, along with any information from the FDA and CDC, should be disseminated to expecting parents. 

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In an interesting article published online today, the author discusses the growing threat to the public health posed by the presence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in our food supply. See Stephanie Woodard, Concerns Over Superbugs in our Food Supply, available at www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31766160/ns/health-food_safety/ Although this threat is not new, nor are the warnings be raised about it, I thought it was worth raising the issue here in light of the article posted yesterday about Legislative efforts to restrict the widespread use of antibiotics in food animals. (To read that article, see here: www.foodpoisonjournal.com/2009/07/articles/food-poisoning-watch/antibiotic-use-in-food-animals-addressed-by-house-committee/#comments ) I think that one passage in particular is worth paying attention to, because it shows just how far we need to go to both understand this growing risk, but to stop it.

   Until recently, the CDC has acknowledged the presence of MRSA in meat but downplayed the danger. In 2008, then CDC director Julie Louise Gerberding, MD, MPH, wrote that foodborne transmission of MRSA is "possible" but, if it happens, "likely accounts for a very small proportion of human infections in the US." Liz Wagstrom, DVM, assistant vice president of science and technology for the National Pork Board, agrees, saying that this kind of transmission would be extremely rare. Neither group could provide an estimate when queried by Prevention, but considering the high numbers of MRSA infections, even a tiny percentage could be a lot of people.

One reason the CDC and the National Pork Board must guess about transmission rates — and why we don't know exactly how many MRSA-related infections occur — is that the federal government doesn't collect data on MRSA outbreaks, says Karen Steuer, director of government operations for the Pew Environment Group. According to the US Government Accountability Office, there's no testing for MRSA on farms. And the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System tests just 400 retail cuts of meat each month for four drug-resistant bacteria — which don't include MRSA.

To read more, please click on the Continue Reading link.

Continue Reading...

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The New York Times reports on yesterday’s House Committee on Rules hearing on "H.R. 1549 - Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act of 2009." In today’s article, titled, “Administration Seeks to Restrict Antibiotics in Livestock,” the Times refers to testimony by FDA Deputy Commissioner, Joshua M. Sharfstein, M.D. 

In his testimony, (pdf) Dr. Sharfstein explained that antimicrobial resistance has emerged as a threat to public health for multiple reasons, including:

• Physicians prescribing antimicrobials too frequently or inappropriately
• Patients failing to complete a prescribed course of antimicrobial, making it more likely that surviving microbes will develop resistance
• Antimicrobial use in animals
• Nontherapeutic use of antimicrobial drugs of human importance in food-producing animals

In his written testimony, Dr. Sharfstein stated:

To avoid unnecessary development of resistance under conditions of constant exposure (growth promotion/feed efficiency) to antibiotics, the use of antimicrobials should be limited to those situations where human and animal health are protected. Purposes other than for the advances of animal or human health should not be considered judicious use. Eliminating these uses will not compromise the safety of food.

In short, Dr. Sharfstein advocated for the discontinuation of the use of administering antibiotics to otherwise healthy food animals for the sole purpose of generating growth or promoting feed efficiency. 

To further Dr. Sharfstein’s point, in his testimony (pdf) before the House Committee, Robert P. Martin, Senior Officer of The Pew Environment Group, presented the findings of The Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production, an independent commission funded by a grant from The Pew Charitable Trusts Health to investigate the problems associated with industrial farm animal production. Mr. Martin stated:

The Commission released its full report on April 29, 2008, that included 24 primary recommendations. The Commission was so concerned about the indiscriminate use of antibiotics in food animal production, and the potential threat to public health, that five of those recommendations deal with antibiotic use. The top two public health recommendations call for the end on the non-therapeutic use of antibiotics in food animal production and set strict definitions for their use.

The top recommendation, submitted in Mr. Martin’s written testimony, is to testrict the use of antimicrobials in food animal production to reduce the risk of antimicrobial resistance to medically important antibiotics. According to the Commission, this can be achieved by:

1. Phasing out and banning the use of antimicrobials for non-therapeutic (i.e. growth promoting) use in food animals
2. Immediately banning any new approvals of antimicrobials for non-therapeutic uses in food animals and retroactively investigating antimicrobials previously approved.
3. Strengthening recommendations in FDA Guidance #152 which requires the FDA determine that the drug is safe and effective for its intended use in the animal prior to approving an antimicrobial for a new animal drug application.
4. Facilitating the reduction in industrial farm animal production use of antibiotics and educating producers on how to raise food animals without using non-therapeutic antibiotics, the USDA’s extension service should be tasked to create and expand programs that teach producers the husbandry methods and best practices necessary to maintain the high level of efficiency and productivity they enjoy today.

H.R. 1549, which is supported by the American Medical Association and other public health-related organizations, is opposed by the National Pork Producers Council and other farm organizations. 

According to the Times article, the Union of Concerned Scientists estimates that up to 70 percent of antibiotics used in the United States is given to healthy animals used in food production (chickens, pigs, cattle) to promote growth or prevent illness. 

All testimony from yesterday’s hearing can be found on the Committee on Rules website.

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Researchers at Bristol University recently presented new findings regarding Campylobacter contamination in poultry populations.  Professor Tom Humphrey from the University’s Department of Clinical Veterinary Science, led a new study showing that Campylobacter levels increase in the gut of chickens and other farm animals when they are transported. According to a Bristol University press release:

Research in many countries has shown that after transport, levels of bacteria like Campylobacter are higher in the gut of food animals than on the farm. Work at Bristol has demonstrated that this may be associated with the release of the stress hormone noradrenalin. This hormone makes Campylobacter grow more quickly, become highly motile and invasive, leading to an increase in its ability to cause disease - its virulence.

A further finding in the studies at Bristol is that Campylobacter can interact with other organisms in the gut of food animals. When this happens it can become even more infective. The results of this study provide vital information to enable the control of infection in the production environment, making chicken safer and decreasing cases of food poisoning.

Infection caused by Campylobacter bacteria is called campylobacteriosis and is usually caused by consuming unpasteurized milk, raw or undercooked meat or poultry, or other contaminated foods and water, and contact with feces from infected animals.

Symptoms of Campylobacter infection, which usually occur within 2 to 10 days after the bacteria are ingested, include fever, abdominal cramps, and diarrhea (often bloody). In some cases, physicians prescribe antibiotics when diarrhea is severe. The illness can last about a week.

Complications can include meningitis, urinary tract infections, and possibly reactive arthritis (rare and almost always short-term), and rarely, Guillain-Barre syndrome, an unusual type of paralysis. While most people who contract campylobacteriosis recover completely within 2 to 5 days, some Campylobacter infections can be fatal, resulting in an estimated 124 deaths each year.

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Georgia's agricultural problems continue as Anaheim peppers are recalled from distribution in Ohio and two other states.  WTTE and the Associated Press report that Herring Produce is recalling half-bushel boxes of the peppers due to Salmonella contamination.  The affected peppers carry the lot number 0801206.

Georgia agriculture suffered quite a blow when the Peanut Corporation of America's facility in Blakeley, GA was determined to be the source of a nationwide outbreak of Salmonella in peanut products that sickened 700 and caused the deaths of nine.  Consumers stayed away from peanuts, and consumption dropped 25%.  Georgia, the country's largest peanut producer, felt the chilling effects of that drop.

In the wake of the PCA outbreak, Georgia tightened regulation for foodborne pathogens in processing plants.  According to Beth Bland of the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association, that regulation does not change oversight of fresh food growers.

Ms. Bland also knew the other states involved in the recall, New York and Massachusetts.  "There was only one positive sample found," she said.  "And that was in New York."

No illnesses have been associated with the contaminated peppers. 

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ABC News reported today that three separate strains of E. coli O157:H7 have been found in a Nestle USA cookie dough processing plant.  ABC's Briant Hartman writes about the E. coli testing:

Those tests, according to sources familiar with the investigation and confirmed by the FDA, determined the genetic fingerprint of the E. coli found at the plant is different than E. coli that has been linked to a 30-state outbreak that has sickened at least 72 people.

Sources also say an altogether different strain of E. coli was found in dough recovered from the home of a victim - E. coli O124.

FDA inspectors and CDC investigators have used several different testing methods during the outbreak.  Among them is Pulsed Field Gel Electrophoresis, or PFGE.  PFGE involves finding a bacteria's "fingerprint" by cutting the bacteria's DNA into tiny pieces and using a gel to separate the pieces from one another, creating a pattern, or fingerprint for each strain of bacteria. Scientists from public health laboratories around the nation are able to compare fingerprints isolated from patients and from food. When PFGE patterns from bacteria isolated from a person's stool and from food are indistinguishable, this strong evidence is combined with epidemiologic and environmental data to prove that a food, like cookie dough, is the source of a person's illness.

Investigators have not yet been able to determine how the cookie dough became contaminated with E. coli - whether it was from an ingredient or from environmental contamination is yet to be determined, and may never be known.

"There should be no confusion.  The finding of multiple strains of pathogenetic E. coli in either retained samples or someones home does not diminish the link between Nestle and the illnesses of 72 people", said William Marler, attorney for two dozen of the victims.

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In a press release issued July 7, 2009, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it had filed a complaint seeking an injunction against Peregrina Cheese, Inc, of Brooklyn, NY, and two of its officers. If granted by the Court, the injunction would temporarily stop the company from manufacturing and distributing food.

According to the complaint, which was filed on behalf of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the company has a history of producing cheese contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, a foodborne pathogen. A search of the FDA website revealed that FDA has cited insanitary conditions at the Peregrina Cheese factory several times over the last five years, and that Peregrina Cheese has recalled cheese products for Listeria contamination in the past. 

Listeria is the common name for the pathogenic or disease-causing bacterium known as Listeria monocytogenes. It is a foodborne illness that when ingested causes an infection known as listeriosis. Approximately 2,500 illnesses and 500 deaths are attributed to listeriosis in the United States annually.

In the DOJ press release, FDA acting associate commissioner for regulatory affairs, Michael Chappell, stated:

This company has consistently failed to make corrections to improve the insanitary conditions under which it processes cheese products, despite frequent warnings to do so. The FDA will not tolerate food companies that fail to provide adequate safeguards.

According to the complaint, FDA and New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets (NYSDAM) inspections have revealed violations of current Good Manufacturing Practice requirements for foods. Inspectors have noted such food safety violations as standing water in food processing equipment and a dead rodent inside the plant. NYSDAM has also assessed fines against the company.

Continue Reading...

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The media is reporting the tragic death of Vincent Smith.  As Mr. Smith was emptying pieces of solid chocolate into the melting vat at Cocoa Services,  he slipped from a platform into the eight-foot deep mixing unit.

A spokesman for the local prosecutor's office said Mr. Smith appeared to have died instantly from a blow to his head by a paddle mixing the chocolate.

Co-workers at the factory tried to shut down the mixer, but were too late. Mr. Smith was a temporary worker at the Cocoa Services Inc plant in the city of Camden.

Although there appears to be no link between this company and the Nestle Cookie Dough E. coli Outbreak, it does raise a question – “If a man can fall into a vat of chocolate, it seems possible that other contaminates – like E. coli – could get in too?”

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In a July 1 letter that appeared in the Stillwater News Press titled, "Know the Facts," Director of the Food Safety Division for the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry, Stan Stromberg, explained the milk pasteurization process:

In the High Temperature/Short Time process, which is typically used in milk pasteurization, the milk is forced between metal plates or through pipes heated on the outside by hot water, and is heated to 161 degrees F for 15 to 20 seconds, followed by quick cooling to about 39 degrees.

This process does not add any ingredient to the milk and it certainly does not add formaldehyde, which is considered to be carcinogenic.

This process is designed to achieve a 5-log reduction, killing 99.999 percent of the viable microorganisms in milk.

Mr. Stromberg writes, "I would suggest that before anyone makes a decision to consume raw milk, they should thoroughly research this issue and make a rational decision on a scientific basis and not on an unfounded emotional basis." 

Consuming raw milk and other unpasteurized dairy products made from raw milk is an established risk factor for infection with pathogenic bacteria such as E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella, and Campylobacter.  E. coli and other pathogens are shed in the feces of livestock such as cows and goats and can contaminate milk during the milking process. Although practicing standard hygiene such as washing hands and keeping equipment clean can lower the potential for contamination, pasteurization is seen as the most effective treatment for reducing the number of E. coli and other contaminants found in milk.

Licensing or certifying dairies to sell raw milk does not guarantee that a safe product will be produced. Laws regulating the sale of raw milk were passed in the early 20th century, and in what proved to be a major public health success in the United States, the percentage of all food and water-borne outbreaks attributable to milk products dropped from 25 percent in 1938 to about 1 percent by 2005. Today, it is a violation of federal law to sell raw milk packaged for consumer use across state lines (interstate commerce), but each state regulates the sale of raw milk within its own state lines (intrastate).

In Washington, all raw milk product packaging must include the following warning:  “WARNING: This product has not been pasteurized and may contain harmful bacteria. Pregnant women, children, the elderly and persons with lowered resistance to disease have the highest risk of harm from use of this product.”  Rules for producing raw milk products in Washington are online, courtesy of the Washington Department of Agriculture.

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For the third time this year, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) is carefully orchestrating a “voluntary recall” of all products containing a certain ingredient. 

This time it is products with nonfat dry milk produced by the Minnesota-based Plainview Milk Products Cooperative that are the main targets of the recall. 

Plainview Milk also made whey protein, fruit stabilizers and gums (thickening agents).

Anything using these products as ingredients will be become part of the recall. Plainview Milk discovered salmonella contamination on its equipment. The coop went looking for the problem when a dairy shake containing its nonfat dry milk was found with salmonella contamination.

If this year’s experience with both peanut and pistachios are any guide, ingredient recalls are stretched out affairs.   While 3,916 peanut products and 664 pistachio products were eventually removed from retail shelves so far in 2009, both of those ingredient recalls took several weeks.

The peanut product recall occurred to bring the Salmonella Typhimurium outbreak under control after its spread by the Peanut Corporation of America’s ill-fated processing plants in Blakely, GA and Plainview, TX.   PCA would in early February file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy as its way out of the 46-state outbreak that made 714 people sick and killed nine.

Manufacturers of brownies, cakes, candy, cereals, cookies, crackers, donuts, seasonings, toppings, snacks and products containing PCA peanuts as ingredients signed up for the “voluntary” recall. When Westco Fruit and Nut opted not to participate, FDA sent in armed U.S. Marshals who seized $34,500 in PCA products.

The pistachio product recall got underway before anyone got sick. When salmonella contamination was found at Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella Inc., FDA decided to implement its ingredient recall strategy. Cake, pie, candy, ice cream, snack makers and others recalled their products and FDA kept the public in loop with a single database.

The peanut and pistachio ingredient recalls have to date caused consumers to return 4,580 products.

The Plainview Milk ingredient recall began just this past Monday (June 29), and has been joined by Stop & Shop, Giant Foods, and an internet store called Bulkfoods.com. All seven entries on the FDA database so far are listing only nonfat dry milk products.

Not listed is Dunkin' Donuts, which removed hot chocolate and its Dunkaccino beverages from its menu and is also believed to be a Plainview Milk customer.  

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Over the 4th of July holiday, many Americans will get together for picnics, barbeques, and other gatherings.  For many, food will take center stage, and hopefully proper food safety practices will ensure that in the days following these gatherings people will not be doubled-over in pain, running to and from the bathroom because of something they ate.  The FDA has published recommendations for keeping food safe when eating outdoors that could be useful in helping prevent foodborne illness among your friends and family. 

For some, water - not drinking water - will take center stage.  And water sources can contain some of the same pathogens as food sources.  Pools, recreational water, and even municipal water sources have been pinpointed as the source of E. coli, cryptosporidium, Salmonella, and other outbreaks in recent years.   (See Cryptosporidiosis: A Recreational Water Threat That Hasn’t Gone Away)

Water sources can become contaminated with E. coli and other pathogens in a variety of ways. Water that is downstream from cattle pastures, feed lots, or barns can easily become contaminated with pathogens from runoff. When lakes become contaminated, several weeks or months can pass before water quality conditions improve or return to normal.  

Pools can become contaminated with E. coli by animal feces or through fecal contamination from an infected person. Children who are not yet toilet trained and soil diapers while playing in water have been identified as the source of several outbreaks. Proper chlorine levels must be maintained to prevent the spread of E. coli in pools and at water parks. 

In 1998, an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak was traced to an infected toddler who played in a pool at the White Water Water Park outside Atlanta, Georgia. Although the pool was chlorinated, the chlorine concentration and contact time was presumably insufficient to kill the E. coli resulting from fecal contamination by the toddler, and other children who were in the pool ingested E. coli bacteria while playing in the pool. Twenty-six culture-confirmed E. coli cases were identified during the outbreak, and 40 percent of children under five years of age with recognized E. coli infections were diagnosed with hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS).

In 2005, thousands of people fell ill with cryptosporidiosis, a gastrointestinal illness that causes diarrhea and vomiting, after visiting the spraypark at the Seneca Lake State Park in New York State.  By the time the public health investigation had concluded, at least 3,900 people in New York had reported becoming ill with cryptosporidiosis after taking part in recreational activities at the spraypark, which is located near Geneva. Cryptosporidium was found in two water storage tanks that supplied the 11,000-square-foot spraypark.  Since that time, the spraypark has undergone a renovation for its water storage devices. 

When municipal water sources become contaminated, systems must be flushed to ensure all bacteria has been eliminated from the system, and chlorine levels high enough to kill any bacteria, parasites, or viruses must be introduced.

In 2008, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) reported that 417 people became ill with Salmonella after drinking water from the Alamosa municipal water system, and one resident died. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and CDPHE confirmed the presence of Salmonella in five out of six water samples taken from various areas around Alamosa, and laboratory results confirmed the presence of Salmonella in the water system, which was flushed in a three-stage water treatment process beginning March 25.

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From a Nestle press release from yesterday afternoon:

Nestle USA's Baking Division was informed today by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that it has found and confirmed evidence of E. coli 0 (sic – its a O) 157:H7 in a retained production sample of 16.5 oz. Nestle Toll House refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough bar. The product has a day code of 9041 and a "Best before 10 JUN 2009" notation.

Nestle continues to work closely and in full cooperation with the FDA on the ongoing investigation. We are very concerned about those who have become ill from E. coli 0 (sic – its a O) 157:H7, and deeply regret that this has occurred.

Admitting you have a problem is the first step.  Saying sorry is a start.

However, there is more to do.  According to the CDC, as of Thursday, June 25, 2009, 69 persons infected with E. coli O157:H7 with a particular DNA fingerprint have been reported from 29 states. That number is expected to rise over the next few days.  We have filed three lawsuits so far.  We have a baker's dozen other ready to go.

The number of ill persons so far identified in each state is: Arizona (2), California (3), Colorado (5), Connecticut (1), Delaware (1), Georgia (1), Iowa (2), Illinois (5), Kentucky (3), Massachusetts (4), Maryland (2), Maine (3), Minnesota (6), Missouri (1), Montana (1), North Carolina (2), New Hampshire (2), New Jersey (1), Nevada (2), Ohio (3), Oklahoma (1), Oregon (1), Pennsylvania (2), South Carolina (1), Texas (3), Utah (2), Virginia (2), Washington (6), and Wisconsin (1).

Ill persons range in age from 2 to 65 years; however, 64% are less than 19 years old; 73% are female. Thirty-four persons have been hospitalized, and 9 developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS).

Here is the reality – After 16 years of litigating every major E. coli O157:H7 outbreak, medical bills for these 69 (and counting) people may range from a few thousand to hundreds of thousands of dollars to date. Some have insurance but many do not. Many have spent weeks in the hospital caring for their sick child or spouse. Some have lost wages, some their jobs.

As I always tell companies - "It is a bad idea to poison your customers."  So, when is Nestle going to take the next step and offer to help its customers?

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This Saturday, I met three friends for lunch.  As the conversation got underway, one of them asked me how working at Marler Clark had changed my eating habits.  It's a question I hear all the time, and one I have a ready answer for. 

1. I don't eat sprouts.  I love a lot of food items that contain sprouts, and I always ask service staff at restaurants to, "hold the sprouts" since the only safe sprouts - in my opinion - are irradiated. 
2. I don't cook ground beef very often, and have not cooked a hamburger since I started working for Marler Clark in 2002.
3. I use a digital food thermometer to measure the temperature of any meat product I cook. 
4. I always order my hamburgers well-done. 

As I expected, my friends were shocked that I would "ruin" a hamburger by fully cooking it.  They enjoy their burgers cooked medium, and two of them swore that they had eaten the best hamburger they had ever had the night before meeting me for lunch. 

Our conversation continued, and they kept coming back to my advice to always order hamburgers well-done.  Conceptually, they understood that grinding beef provides more surface area for E. coli contamination and that E. coli can be mixed into the middle of a burger - the place that takes the longest to reach 160 degrees and become safe.  But they aren't ready to start ordering their burgers well-done, and asked me what I would do if I was in their position and wanted to continue eating my burgers medium.  I explained to my friends that the safest hamburger not cooked to 160 degrees - and not irradiated - is probably a burger that is ground in-house, from one cut of beef, that is ground and prepared under the strictest of food safety standards. 

Today, as I read about the JBS Swift meat recall that includes intact cuts of beef that may have been ground into hamburger at restaurants and retail establishments nationwide, I re-thought my advice.  I'll be emailing my friends today and letting them know that the only safe medium-cooked hamburger is one that is irradiated.  I hope they pay attention.

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The Oregon Department of Agriculture announced today that beaches from the south jetty of the Columbia River to Neptune State Park, south of Yachats, have been closed to recreational mussel harvesting due to the presence of paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) toxins in those areas.  According to the ODA news release concerning the unsafe mussels:

Shellfish contaminated with PSP toxins can cause minor to severe illness or even death. The symptoms usually begin with tingling of the mouth and tongue. Severe poisoning can result in dizziness, numbness and tingling in the arms and legs, paralysis of the arms and legs, and paralysis of the muscles used for breathing. Shellfish toxins are produced by algae and usually originate in the ocean.

In addition to muscles, ODA recommends that recreational shellfish harvesters not consume whole scallops. 

The Washington Department of Health explains PSP poisoning associated with "red tide" on its Website.  According to WDOH, the amount of PSP toxin emitted from algae into the water increases when water conditions are favorable, but the exact combination of conditions that cause PSP levels to increase is not known. Unlike with bacterial contaminants like vibrio, warm water conditions do not necessarily increase the level of PSP toxins in the water.

A reminder to recreational shellfish harvesters:  Always check with the appropriate authorities before consuming shellfish that has been harvested from areas that could be impacted by PSPs or other pathogens.

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According to a USDA Press Release issued on June 24, 2009, "JBS Swift Beef Company, a Greeley, Colo., establishment is recalling approximately 41,280 pounds of beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7."  The USDA Press Release can be found here: www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/Recall_034_2009_Release/index.asp

If the location of Greeley, Colorado sounds familar, that is because it has been the source of contaminated meat before, most notably in 2002, when the plant was still owned and operated by ConAgra.  At the time, the recall was the second biggest in U.S. history.  According to a news report at the time:

A report by the US Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) inspector general blames both federal meat inspectors and ConAgra Beef Co. for errors that led to a multistate outbreak of Escherichia coli O157:H7 infections and an 18 million–pound ground beef recall last year.

USDA meat inspectors and the company largely ignored evidence of E coli O157:H7 contamination that began cropping up at the Greeley, Colo., plant in January 2001, more than a year before the recall and illness outbreak in May and June of 2002, according to the report. The plant was later sold to Swift Foods Co.

"Our audit found that neither ConAgra nor FSIS [the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service] effectively fulfilled their responsibilities" under the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) system, states the report from the office of Inspector General Phyllis K. Fong. HACCP has been the guiding strategy for the federal meat inspection program since 1998.

The report says the FSIS cited ConAgra for fecal contamination on beef carcasses many times before the recall but took no strong enforcement action and that most FSIS inspectors at the time of the recall were not competent to evaluate the plant's HACCP program. The inspector general also concluded that poor record-keeping and red tape made the recall slow and ineffective.

Of course, the current recall is nowhere near as large as the one in 2002. (It involved meat produced on April 21st and 22nd that was shipped to distributors and establishments in Colorado, Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah and Wisconsin.) 

Moreover,  the fact of the discovery of this contaminated meat may show that the USDA is finally getting better at prevention instead of merely reacting.  But, seeing yet another recall linked to this Greeley plant, I can't help but to think of that famous French phrase: Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose. (The more things change, the more they stay the same.)

To see the list of recalled products, please clcik Continue Reading. 

Continue Reading...

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Hepatitis A (HAV) is a foodborne illness that is relatively uncommon in nations with developed sanitation systems.  Despite this, approximately one-third of the United States population has at some point become infected with the hepatitis A virus, which causes an illness that ranges in severity from a mild illness lasting only a few weeks to a severe illness lasting several months.  In some cases, hepatitis A infection leads to acute liver failure and death. 

Infection with hepatitis A is the result of the ingestion of fecal matter from contact with contaminated surfaces, food, beverages, or other people.  Because infection with hepatitis A occurs after the ingestion of very few organisms, proper sanitation is key to preventing the spread of the virus.  HAV is relatively stable and will survive for up to a month at ambient temperatures in the environment, but can be inactivated by heating to 185°F (85°C) or higher, or exposure to formalin or chlorine.

In 2003, over 650 confirmed cases of hepatitis A, both primary and secondary, were linked to consumption of green onions at the Beaver Valley Mall Chi-Chi’s in Beaver, Pennsylvania. The victims included at least 13 employees of the restaurant, and numerous residents of six other states. Four people died as a consequence of their hepatitis A illness. In addition, more than 9,000 people who had eaten at the restaurant during the period of potential exposure, or who had been exposed to ill Chi-Chi’s customers, obtained immune globulin shots to prevent hepatitis A infection.

Rather than receiving immune globulin shots post-exposure, Americans have the choice of receiving the hepatitis A vaccine, which first became available in 1995 and is a series of two shots.  After the first does of hepatitis A vaccine, 94 to 100 percent of recipients are protected against hepatitis A infection; nearly all are protected after the second dose.  In 2005, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommended routine hepatitis A vaccination for all children ages 12-23 months. ACIP recommended that hepatitis A vaccination be integrated into the routine childhood vaccination schedule, and that children not vaccinated by two years of age be vaccinated subsequently.

As parents are readying their children to attend daycare, pre-school, elementary, and high school this summer, they should educate themselves about the hepatitis A vaccine, and talk with their health care providers about integrating this vaccine into their child's schedule if it has not been already. 

You know what they say about an ounce of prevention.

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For any of you out there audacious enough to still consume raw sprouts (click here for a recent discussion of the problem), today's announcement from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) provides yet another example of why eating raw sprouts is simply not worth the risk.  CDPH announced this afternoon that consumers should not eat certain Kowalke Organics alfalfa sprouts due to possible Salmonella contamination.

Mike's Produce, Inc., doing business as Kowalke Family Sprouts of Culver City, is voluntarily recalling the following products with sell-by dates from June 18 to 30:

* Kowalke Organics Alfalfa Sprouts - 4 oz., 8 oz., 1 pound and 5 pound packages
* Kowalke Organics Dinner Salad - 6 oz. package
* Kowalke Organics Onion Mix - 4 oz. package

Kowalke Family Sprouts has initiated this voluntary recall after receiving notification that a surveillance sample tested positive for Salmonella. These products were distributed primarily to grocery stores in Southern California including Gelson's and Whole Foods.

No illnesses have been reported from these products to date.  "Consumers, especially young children, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems are susceptible to serious infection when exposed to Salmonella," Horton said.

"Today's warning is part of our ongoing efforts to ensure the safety of foods sold in California."
Salmonella is an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.

Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. Consumers who have eaten this product and are experiencing the above symptoms should consult their health care provider.

CDPH continues to advise consumers about the risk of consuming raw sprouts. Sprouts have been linked to previous foodborne outbreaks. Conditions required for sprout growing are ideal for rapid bacterial growth. Additionally, green leaf sprouts, such as alfalfa sprouts, are usually eaten raw with no additional treatment, such as cooking to eliminate bacteria that can cause disease.

Consumers who wish to reduce their risk of foodborne illness may want to consider avoiding sprouts.

Consumers who purchased these products should immediately discard them or return them to the point of purchase for a refund. Consumers with questions may contact Kowalke Family Sprouts at (310) 636-1924.

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I am now in possession of potentially E. coli-contaminated Nestle Toll House cookie dough.  In an attempt to learn more about the warning labels Nestle prints on its cookie dough packaging, I set out for the supermarket closest to my house.  That store happens to be a Fred Meyer.  When I arrived, I was surprised by a few things:

• The refrigerated Cookie Dough section is so big, it has a sign - kind of like what you'd see over the egg, ice cream, or frozen pizza section.  I was stunned, mostly because I've never purchased refrigerated cookie dough before and I would never have guessed that there would be a big enough market for refrigerated cookie dough that it would command its own section.  It is a true tribute to Nestle and other companies' marketing departments that this section is necessary.
• Fred Meyer had not posted any recall notices in the refrigerated cookie section.
• A mother and daughter were trying to decide which refrigerated cookies to buy, and were leaning toward buying Kroger brand cookies, but were debating on whether to splurge and buy Nestle cookies.  I told them about the Nestle refrigerated cookie dough recall that was announced this morning, and they decided not to buy any cookie dough at all.  I can't say I would have made a different choice.

After purchasing recalled product, I notified a woman at the service desk that the cookie dough I had just purchased was recalled for potential E. coli contamination.  She seemed surprised, but told me she'd look up the Nestle cookie dough recall information on the FDA Website and would make sure the product was dealt with appropriately.

Since arriving home with the potentially E. coli-contaminated cookie dough, I have washed my hands at least 20 times and have sanitized my counters 4-5 times.  The Nestle cookie dough is currently in my freezer and I'm terrified.  I'm treating cookie dough, of all things, like I treat ground beef.  I assume that all ground beef is contaminated with E. coli and that all eggs are contaminated with Salmonella.  But cookie dough contains pasteurized egg products and should not be hazardous to our health - or at least that's what I thought until yesterday.

My roommates are out of town and know about the recall, but in case they forget by the time they get home on Sunday and I haven't yet thrown the cookie dough away, I've properly labeled it and am keeping it in the freezer. 

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Martha Stewart appeared as a guest on the Today Show this morning, and taught viewers how to make home-made ice cream.  Martha's recipe calls for 8 eggs to be made into a custard before being added to the ice cream maker.  Because custard is cooked, eggs in this recipe should reach a proper temperature to kill foodborne pathogens like Salmonella and Campylobacter that may be present in the eggs in a raw state. 

Other home-made ice cream recipes still call for raw eggs.  Luckily, consumers using these recipes don't have to sacrifice taste for safety.  Pasteurized eggs can be found at various retail outlets across the country.  Although they are not widely distributed, they may be in the future.

In the meantime, follow a recipe like Martha's - cook your eggs before you eat them!

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University of Louisville neurologist Robert P. Friedland, M.D., questions the safety of eating farmed fish in the June issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, adding a new worry to concerns about the nation's food supply.

Friedland and his co-authors suggest farmed fish could transmit Creutzfeldt Jakob disease--commonly known as mad cow disease--if they are fed byproducts rendered from cows. The scientists urge government regulators to ban feeding cow meat or bone meal to fish until the safety of this common practice can be confirmed.

"We have not proven that it's possible for fish to transmit the disease to humans. Still, we believe that out of reasonable caution for public health, the practice of feeding rendered cows to fish should be prohibited," Friedland said. "Fish do very well in the seas without eating cows," he added.

Creutzfeldt Jakob disease is an untreatable, universally-fatal disease that can be contracted by eating parts of an animal infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE or mad cow disease). An outbreak in England attributed to infected beef prompted most countries to outlaw feeding rendered cow material to other cattle because the disease is so easily spread within the same species.

The risk of transmission of BSE to humans who eat farmed fish would appear to be low because of perceived barriers between species. But, according to the authors, it is possible for a disease to be spread by eating a carrier that is not infected itself. It's also possible that eating diseased cow parts could cause fish to experience a pathological change that allows the infection to be passed between the two species.

"The fact that no cases of Creutzfeldt Jakob disease have been linked to eating farmed fish does not assure that feeding rendered cow parts to fish is safe. The incubation period of these diseases may last for decades, which makes the association between feeding practices and infection difficult. Enhanced safeguards need to be put in place to protect the public," Friedland said.

There have been 163 deaths from Creutzfeldt Jakob disease in the United Kingdom attributed to eating infected beef. Bovine spongiform encephalopathy has been identified in nine Canadian and three U.S. cattle.

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"Food, Inc." debuted at the Toronto Film Festival in September of 2008, and has since received rave reviews.  The film is about to be released at theaters nationwide, and is featured this week on PBS's "NOW, with David Brancaccio". 

Now's synopsis of its film coverage is as follows:

This week, David Brancaccio talks with filmmaker Robert Kenner, the director of "Food, Inc.," which takes a hard look at the secretive and surprising journey food takes on the way from processing plants to our dinner tables. The two discuss why contemporary food processing secrets are so closely guarded, their impact on our health, and another surprising fact: how consumers are actually empowered to make a difference.

Food, Inc. offers perspectives from various parties interested in our nation's food production, from farmers to food safety advocates.  Foodborne illness attorney Bill Marler's perspective, titled, "How To Combat Food Poisoning in the US" is shared on the NOW website.  He writes:

We need to use our technology to make food more traceable so that when an outbreak occurs authorities can quickly identify the source and limit the spread of the contamination.

Promote university research to develop better technologies to make food safe and for testing foods for contamination. Provide tax breaks for companies that push food safety research and employee training.

Improve consumer understanding of the risks of food-borne illness.

This may seem like a lot for a busy administration to chew on, but according to the CDC, every year nearly a quarter of our population is sickened, 350,000 hospitalized and 5,000 die, because of what they ate. People who eat and get sick also vote. Our politicians should do the math.

Every one of us is impacted by food safety, no matter what we eat or how it is produced.  The bottom line is that we all have a responsibility to ensure our food producers (farmers, meat producers, restaurant chefs, bakers, you and I) follow the best possible practices to ensure foods are produced safely and that they remain safe, from farm to fork. 

Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth gave every person something to think about when we were given suggestions for how to live more "green" lives at the end of the film.  Hopefully Food, Inc. will give us more information about how we can be smarter, more involved, consumers when we are finished watching.

 

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On the heels of massive foodborne illness outbreaks linked to spinach, peppers, and peanut butter (twice), there appeared to be bi-partisan support for an overhaul of food safety regulation in the U.S.  According to an article in the New York Times,  "In March, Representative Joe L. Barton of Texas, the senior Republican on the full committee, said that on the subject of food safety “there is no daylight” between himself and Representative Henry A. Waxman, Democrat of California and chairman of the committee."

Ah, but now that the spotlight has dimmed, businesses are working to water down portions of the bill, and Senator Barton is there by their side. 

Pamela G. Bailey, president of the Grocery Manufacturers Association, told the committee that the industry was concerned about the size of the proposed fees for inspection imposed by new the proposed legislation.  

“Our industry is ultimately responsible for the safety of its products,” Ms. Bailey said in a written statement, “but securing the safety of the food supply is a government function which should be largely financed with government resources.”

Senator Barton echoed the complaints that fees to inspected businesses were too high, and also argued that country of origin labeling was too burdensome.  Barton also argued against the expansion of FDA powers to include mandatory recall and subpoena power.

Apparently, we have learned nothing.  Successfully preventing foodborne outbreaks is not a negative for the food industry.   It would easily save them billions of dollars.   The knee jerk reaction to oppose a well funded and empowered FDA is getting old, folks......

 

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In a Order issued on May 21, 2009, a federal district court judge dismissed a class action lawsuit that, among other things, alleged that consumers had been defrauded by the makers of Captain Crunch with Crunch Berries because the "berries" were in fact brightly-colored cereal balls, and not actually fruit. (No, I am not making this up.) In its ruling, the judge stated:

" while the challenged packaging contains the word "berries" it does so only in conjunction with the descriptive term "crunch." This Court is not aware of, nor has Plaintiff alleged the existence of, any actual fruit referred to as a "crunchberry." Furthermore, the "Crunchberries" depicted on the [box] are round, crunchy, brightly-colored cereal balls, and the [box] clearly states both that the Product contains "sweetened corn & oat cereal" and that the cereal is "enlarged to show texture." Thus, a reasonable consumer would not be deceived into believing that the Product in the instant case contained a fruit that does not exist. . . . So far as this Court has been made aware, there is no such fruit growing in the wild or occurring naturally in any part of the world."

Although I try to avoid needless lawyer-bashing, I think few would disagree that there is a great need for lawyer bashing in this case.  And let's just say,the food company deserved to win this one.

The entire ruling in Sugawara v. Pepsico, Inc., which definitely deserves to be read in full, can be found here: kevinunderhill.typepad.com/Documents/Opinions/Crunchberries.pdf

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I moved to Seattle in 2002 and have never experienced a heat wave in late May and early June like the one we are enjoying now. There are few places I'd rather be than Seattle in the summertime, and to our benefit this year, everyone in the Seattle area who planted their garden around Mother's Day is enjoying watching their tomatoes bloom, mint grow full, and and snow peas sprout.

Where I grew up, every one of my neighbors had a huge, amazing garden full of strawberries, corn, potatoes, pumpkins, and a variety of other vegetables. We kids complained every summer while we weeded rows and picked potato bugs off leaves, but we loved the fresh produce on our dinner tables. Unfortunately, most of our moms decided to stop gardening when we kids got old enough to hold jobs and the free weeding disappeared. One of my neighbors, however, continues in the tradition of her Midwest roots and grows massive amounts of tomatoes, pickles, and other veggies that are great for canning and can be enjoyed year-round.

Because my neighbor has canned for as long as she can remember, she is fully aware of the food safety risks improperly canned foods can pose to an unassuming person. I never worry about suffering botulism poisoning when I eat her canned salsa, but people who are new to canning should read up before jumping in to what can be an extremely dangerous endeavor.

Connie Aclin, extension educator with the LSU AgCenter, wrote a recent article about the necessity for following proper canning procedures to prevent foodborne illness, particularly botulism, that appeared in the Shreveport Times:

For example, pressure canning is the only recommended method for canning meat, poultry, seafood and vegetables. The bacterium Clostridium botulinum is destroyed in low-acid foods when they are processed at the correct time and pressure in pressure canners. Other methods, like boiling water bath or "open-kettle" methods for these foods poses a real risk for botulism poisoning.

Whether food should be processed in a pressure canner or boiling-water canner to control botulinum bacteria depends on the acidity in the food. Acidity may be natural, as in most fruits, or added, as in pickled foods. Low-acid canned foods contain insufficient acidity to prevent the growth of these bacteria.

Botulism is a serious, sometimes deadly, illness caused by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. When ingested, the bacterium produces a toxin, which causes paralysis. Classic symptoms of botulism include double vision, blurred vision, drooping eyelids, slurred speech, difficulty swallowing, dry mouth, and muscle weakness. Infants with botulism appear lethargic, feed poorly, are constipated, and have a weak cry and poor muscle tone. These are all symptoms of the muscle paralysis caused by the bacterial toxin. If untreated, these symptoms may progress to cause paralysis of the arms, legs, trunk, and respiratory muscles. In foodborne botulism, symptoms generally begin 18 to 36 hours after consuming contaminated food, but they can occur as early as 6 hours or as late as 10 days after consumption.

Botulinum toxin causes flaccid paralysis by blocking motor nerve terminals at the myoneural junction. The flaccid paralysis progresses symmetrically downward, usually starting with the eyes and face, then moving to the throat, chest, and extremities. When the diaphragm and chest muscles become fully involved, respiration is inhibited and unless the patient receives treatment in time, death from asphyxia results.

If you're planning to can this summer of fall, call your local university extension office about proper canning procedures to prevent botulism. The Oregon State University Extension offers online information and a hotline you can call with canning questions.

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WESH.com reported that a Delta Airlines flight headed to Atlanta from Ecuador made an emergency stop in Orlando today after three passengers' food poisoning symptoms became severe and they required medical attention.  According to WESH, two of the three passengers were transported to Orlando Regional Medical Center for treatment for food poisoning, while the third passenger declined treatment.   

Last May, I was in Thailand suffering a severe bout of food poisoning.  My friends and I were staying at Railei, just a short boat ride from Krabi, where, as Colin reported yesterday, a Seattle woman recently died after suffering a bout of food poisoning.  Fortunately for me, after 48 hours of violent illness I made a slow recovery.  My travel companions were kind enough to delay our travel plans until I was able to ride a boat and bus for prolonged periods, and for that I am thankful.  Had we needed to board a plane, it may have been a different story and I may have been the passenger requesting an emergency landing.

To the right is a photo of a friend's dinner the night we stayed in Krabi. 

An experienced traveler's tip:  food that is beautifully presented and tastes scrumptious is not necessarily safe.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides information about safe food and water for travelers.  Following all of these precautions may not prevent every foodborne illness at home or abroad, but the recommendations can certainly go a long way to keeping you healthy and out of the hospital. 

The same can be said for food prepared at your neighborhood restaurant or in your own kitchen.  This summer, be particularly careful to prevent cross-contamination of ready-to-eat foods with raw meat, scrub melons such as cantaloupes with a brush before cutting into them, use separate plates for raw and cooked meats, and always use a food thermometer to ensure the temperature of foods you are grilling is hot enough to kill pathogens.

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In a "Perspective" piece published online by the New England Journal of Medicine Tuesday, May 26, the new Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D., and Principal Deputy Commissioner of FDA, Joshua M. Sharfstein, M.D., wrote about their vision for the future of how the FDA will operate under the Obama administration. 

In the piece, the authors promote bringing regulated industries, patient and consumer groups, and others to the table to discuss solutions to approval delays and safety issues.  They wrote, “We expect to collaborate with other federal agencies and outside partners to address problems that the agency cannot solve alone.”  Consumer groups such as S.T.O.P. and CFI will welcome more opportunities to converse with FDA leaders about food safety issues, particularly the prevention of foodborne illness. 

Notably, the new FDA Commissioner and Principal Deputy Commissioner state:

From our vantage point, the recent salmonella outbreak linked to contaminated peanut butter represented far more than a sanitation problem at one troubled facility. It reflected a failure of the FDA and its regulatory partners to identify risk and to establish and enforce basic preventive controls. And it exposed the failure of scores of food manufacturers to adequately monitor the safety of ingredients purchased from this facility.

In a USA Today article titled, "Kellogg scrutinizes food suppliers due to peanut recall," Julie Schmidt wrote:

Kellogg (K) says it's reviewing how it qualifies suppliers after a food-safety auditor gave superior ratings to the Georgia peanut plant now at the center of one of the nation's largest food recalls.

The auditor, paid for by Peanut Corp. of America, checked PCA's Blakely, Ga., plant in 2007 and 2008 and gave it superior ratings both times, says Kris Charles, Kellogg spokeswoman.

Schmidt’s story continued: 

The audit, which Kellogg requires for ingredient suppliers, checked PCA's compliance with good manufacturing, sanitation and other practices, Kellogg says. The audit was paid for by PCA.

Bill Marler, attorney for victims of foodborne illness and food safety advocate, agreed with the new FDA Commissioner before the article was ever written.  See his March 8, 2009 blog post titled, Private Third-Party Audits or Government Audits - Choose Your Poison.  

This Perspective piece is a good sign to anyone concerned about the nation’s food supply and food safety in general.  FDA has plans to collaborate and create a safer, more efficient food safety system.  Hopefully the government agencies it plans to partner with are on the same page. 

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The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced May 21 that Nutro Products was recalling its NUTRO® NATURAL CHOICE® COMPLETE CARE® Dry Cat Foods and NUTRO® MAX® Cat Dry Foods with “Best If Used By Dates” between May 12, 2010 and August 22, 2010.  The cat food was recalled due to incorrect levels of zinc and potassium. 

Nutro Products discovered the issue while auditing documentation from a supplier.  According to the press release issued by FDA, "zinc and potassium are essential nutrients for cats and are added as supplements to NUTRO®dry cat food."  But cats who have eaten the recalled products can experience symptoms such as reduction in appetite or refusal of food, weight loss, vomiting, or diarrhea. 

The product was distributed in all 50 states, as well as to Canada, Mexico, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, New Zealand, and Israel.  Customers who bought the product should discard it. 

Although the FDA has reported no illnesses associated with this recall, Nutro customers have rported illnesses among their animals associated with Nutro cat food at consumeraffairs.com.  Images of the labels printed on the recalled Nutro cat food bags can be found on the FDA website.

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As summer approaches health officials in at least four counties are monitoring unusually high levels of reported Shigella infections.   In Sedgwick County, Kansas, 52 cases of Shigella this year, an increase of 32 over last years total for the year.  In Lubbock County, Texas, officals are hoping that a nearly 8 month long outbreak of Shigella will fade as schools close.  In Macon County, Illinois, an outbreak that began in April appears to be persisting, according to health officals.  Finally, in Greene County, Missouri, more than a dozen new cases of Shigella have been reported.

Shigella infections are passed through fecal oral transmission.  The best way to protect against transmission is thorough and proper handwashing, especially by food service workers, and care providers.

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Please don't let the title mislead you.  I am certainly not implying there is a lighter side to any individual's foodborne illness--as anyone who has ever experienced an E. coli infection or the like can tell you--but it is much less common for someone's illness to be brought about by a nefarious act.  Unless, of course, you're the children of William Cunningham.

As reported by the AP today, Mr. Cunningham (emphasis added) was sentenced yesterday to 100 years in prison for poisoning his two children with the goal of extorting money from Campbell's Soup Co.  A  Georgia jury found him guilty of seven counts of aggravated assault.

He was indicted in July 2006 on tampering and fraud charges in federal court and was also charged with child cruelty in Clayton County. The girl and boy, then 18 months old and 3 years old, were hospitalized after Cunningham fed them soup tainted with prescription drugs and lighter fluid.

On one occasion, authorities said he used the prescription drugs Prozac and Amitriptyline — both used to treat depression — to poison the children.

Cunningham was arrested in March 2006. According to prosecutors, the former dump truck driver called Campbell's in January 2006 and threatened to sue the company because its soup was contaminated.

Authorities said there was no evidence the soup was tainted when it was purchased. A family member said the youngsters may suffer lifelong respiratory problems after swallowing the poisoned soup.

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The May 21, 2009 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine contained a Perspective piece that focused on how public health professionals can harness the Internet for surveillance purposes.

The article’s authors, John S. Brownstein, Ph.D., Clark C. Freifeld, B.S., and Lawrence C. Madoff, M.D., point out early on in the article that the Global Public Health Intelligence Network (GPHIN), a collaborative effort founded by the Public Health Agency of Canada and the World Health Organization (WHO), which uses search queries and news aggregators to retrieve keyword-specific articles from the Internet, was a key element in detecting and monitoring the SARS outbreak in 2002-2003. Since that time, such sites as HealthMap have popped up around the Web. Health Map is a Web application hybrid, or “mashup” that provides real-time monitoring of infectious disease threats worldwide.

Early detection of foodborne illness outbreaks, flu outbreaks, and other public health threats is made possible by monitoring online activity. The authors state that, “An estimated 37 to 52% of Americans seek health-related information on the Internet each year, generally using search engines to find advice on conditions, symptoms, and treatments.” Using its search results, Google Flu Trends is able to track users’ search terms and detect patterns of flu-related keyword searches that may indicate an uptick in illnesses in particular geographic areas. On some level, this information could be helpful to public health officials working to identify flu outbreaks.

Continue Reading...

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Where is Dave Thomas when you need him?  Jacob Zachariah, owner of a Wendy's franchise restaurant in Ukiah, California, could use a dose of the late Mr. Thomas's intelligence and simple charm.  Zachariah's Ukiah Wendy's restaurant was recently shut down, not by the health department, but by the Wendy's corporation for failure to adhere to acceptable standards of conduct in food safety and other things.  Actually, that last sentence should read "failure to adhere to any standards of conduct in food safety and other things."  The guy actually managed to score a ZERO in food safety during a July 2008 inspection by local health authorities!  I thought you got at least a point for showing up with a beating heart, but apparently not.

But that's not the end of the story (I know, it is almost comical how stupid some people are--but to laugh would require me to disregard the lethal risks that Mr. Zachariah was presenting to his customers, and without their knowledge).  In addition to becoming the first man in history to achieve a ZERO in food safety, it looks like Mr. Zachariah also assaulted an auditor sent by Wendy's corporate to try and get the restaurant on track, or pull Mr. Zachariah's franchise license . . . which is exactly what happened.  Mr. Zachariah, you are a true gentlemen.  I just hope your actions have not caused any 5-year-olds to lose their kidneys. 

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During the Bush administration, and its do-anything-help-big-business approach, agencies were required to insert "preemption" language into all regulations, rules, and policies that  the agencies promulgated.  This was intended as an attempt to "protect" corporations from state laws and regulations that had the effect of imposing stricter requirements, especially with regard to product safety.  One big "win" for this approach was the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Reigel v. Medtronic, which held that people injured by a medical device "pre-approved" by the FDA could not file a lawsuit claiming that the device was defective as a matter of state law.  A not so successful attempt to use preemption for food cases was that tried by the Excel Corporation in litigation arising from an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak linked to a Milwaukee-area Sizzler restaurant. In those cases, Excel argued that its admittedly contamianted meat was neither defective nor unsafe because USDA policy at the time only prohibited this deadly pathogen from being in ground beef. (For an op-ed piece I wrote about this USDA policy, see Who does the USDA Really Protect, which can be found here: www.marlerblog.com/2008/08/articles/lawyer-oped/who-does-the-usda-really-protect-when-it-comes-to-deadly-e-coli/)

But now most of the arguments in favor of preempting state law in favor of "uniform" federal regulations are going to be undercut by a just-issued Executive Order that declares a new (or renewed) era of states rights.  The introductory paragraph of the Order is telling and compelling:

From our Nation's founding, the American constitutional order has been a Federal system, ensuring a strong role for both the national Government and the States. The Federal Government's role in promoting the general welfare and guarding individual liberties is critical, but State law and national law often operate concurrently to provide independent safeguards for the public. Throughout our history, State and local governments have frequently protected health, safety, and the environment more aggressively than has the national Government.

Not only does this Order announce a new direction, it requires the heads of all federal agencies to "review regulations issued within the past 10 years that contain statements in regulatory preambles or codified provisions intended by the department or agency to preempt State law," and to remove them.  So once more the role of the state in protecting its citizens from unsafe food and other products is restored to its rightful place.  More importantly, the next time that a big food company argues that the USDA said it was okay to poison people, it will likely get laughed out of court. Or at least we can hope so.

To read the full text of the Executive Order, please click on the Continue Reading link.

Continue Reading...

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We learned over the weekend that L&M Companies was recalling whole cantaloupes sold between May 10 and May 15 in Wal-Mart Supercenter stores in North Carolina, South Carolina and South Hill, Virginia, because a cantaloupe at a farm in Mexico where L&M sources cantaloupe had tested positive for Salmonella.  The recall was initiated as a precaution, and was explained by L&M vice president of production and grower development, Mike McGee, in a written statement:

“L&M Companies takes food safety seriously and we are committed to the shoppers who buy our products everyday. We are issuing this recall because we want to ensure that even the slightest risk to public health is minimized.”

Consumers who purchase cantaloupes and other melons should be aware that several foodborne illness outbreaks have been traced to melons in the past.  In 2002, residents of several states became ill after consuming Salmonella-contaminated cantaloupe.

FOOD SAFETY TIP:  Bacteria such as Salmonella present on the fruit's surface can be transferred to the inside of the fruit as a person's knife pushes through the skin's surface and into the fruit.  Public health agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition have issued guidelines for preventing foodborne illness associated with cantaloupe and other hard-skinned fruits.  That includes washing the fruit and scrubbing cantaloupe rinds with a vegetable brush.

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In a bit of news that is less surprising than it should be, the AP today reports that the FDA has for the last several years failed to perform a large percentage of required audits for inspections being conducted (under contract) by the States.  According to today's report (based on documents recently released to Congress:

The Food and Drug Administration conducted only about half the state food safety audits it promised in the two years before the recent peanut salmonella outbreak, according to new documents the agency sent to Congress.

The documents show the agency did not do any of the required audits of state-run food inspections in five states during those states' budget years spanning 2007 and 2008. And the FDA was unable to say whether audits were conducted at all in 11 additional states during that time, including Georgia and Texas, where salmonella was found in two peanut plants during a wide-ranging peanut recall earlier this year.

Only 14 states saw 100 percent of the audits completed.

As you will recall, the failure of state-performed inspections was a key contribution the recent nationwide Salmonella outbreak linked to contaminated peanuts processed by the Peanut Corporation of America.  Ditto the Conagra pot pie Salmonella outbreak, and the Peter Pan peanut butter Salmonella outbreak.  Double ditto the Veggie Booty Salmonella outrbeak. 

But at least the FDA seems to starting its long overdue recovery process, taking the first step by admitting it has a problem.  As the AP story reports:

Stephen R. Mason, acting assistant commissioner for legislation at the agency, said the recent salmonella outbreak "has highlighted limitations in our current approach and has prompted internal discussions on potential enhancements to the audit program." 

An agency spokesperson, trying hard to put the best spin on things, goes on to offer the following lame rationalization:

FDA spokeswoman Susan Cruzan says the agency is "evaluating approaches" for improving the audits.

"Although FDA has not been able to fulfill the goal of conducting 100 percent of the audits expected under FDA's internal auditing policy, FDA has audited each state at least once, has good knowledge of the state programs and state inspection personnel, and works to improve the programs as needed," she said.

Having admitted the problem, one can now only hope that the FDA will move on to the crucial next step: Stop Being in Denial.

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In addition to being a lawyer, I am a longtime foodie.  So my attention was definitely grabbed this morning when I was listening to NPR and there were segments on two food-related books that I defintely will be reading soon.  The first is Watching What We Eat, by Kathleen Collins.  It is a history of cooking shows, from its beginning on radio, to its current near-ubiquity on television, like on the Food Network.  Here's a link to the author's fun blog. www.watchingwhatweeat.com/

The other book that merited a segment on NPR is The Food of a Younger Land: A Portrait of American Food--Before the National Highway System, Before Chain Restaurants, and Before Frozen Food, When the Nation's Food Was Seasonal by Mark Kurlansky, who also brought us a fascinating history of a fish: Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World. Here is an except from the new book's description on Amazon:

In the 1930s, with the country gripped by the Great Depression and millions of Americans struggling to get by, FDR created the Federal Writers’ Project under the New Deal as a make-work program for artists and authors. A number of writers, including Zora Neale Hurston, Eudora Welty, and Nelson Algren, were dispatched all across America to chronicle the eating habits, traditions, and struggles of local people. The project, called “America Eats,” was abandoned in the early 1940s because of the World War and never completed.

The Food of a Younger Land unearths this forgotten literary and historical treasure and brings it to exuberant life. Mark Kurlansky’s brilliant book captures these remarkable stories, and combined with authentic recipes, anecdotes, photos, and his own musings and analysis, evokes a bygone era when Americans had never heard of fast food and the grocery superstore was a thing of the future. Kurlansky serves as a guide to this hearty and poignant look at the country’s roots.

I have not read Kurlansky's latest yet, but I have read a great book that covers the same territory, and does so really well. It's called: America Eats!: On the Road with the WPA - the Fish Fries, Box Supper Socials, and Chitlin Feasts That Define Real American Food, and its author is Pat Willard.  I highly recommend reading it.  (Did I mention that I have over 100 cookbooks?)

For an excerpt from Kathleen Collin's book, copied from the NPR website, please click on the Continued Reading link.

Continue Reading...

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The Texas Department of State Health Services announced a recall of dried Chorizo manufactured by Houston meat company, Los Corrales, covering product produced since January 2009.  The reason?  Los Corrales has not been documenting that the Chorizo was properly cooked. 

The Texas Department of State Health Services believes the recalled product was distributed to stores in Dallas, Houston and parts of East Texas. The dried chorizo is sold in retail stores in 4-ounce clear plastic packages labeled with the company name. The recall volume is unclear at this time.

DSHS discovered the documentation error during a routine inspection of the facility. Improperly cooked meat products can cause foodborne illness in humans. DSHS is not aware of any illnesses associated with the recalled product.

Consumers who have the product should not eat it and should destroy it.

More information is available from the company by calling (713) 928-3669.

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Twenty-one people in Vermont who may have consumed raw milk from a cow infected with rabies may be looking at those painful shots in their future.

The raw milk drinkers are being advised by the Vermont Health Department to see their doctors about rabies shots.

While a rabid cow might seem like an isolated event,  this is not the first report Vermont has issued this year about cows carrying rabies.

In February, the Vermont Health Department issued a statewide alert about two rabid cows on a small Charlotte dairy farm spreading rabies through direct contact or from consuming unpasteurized milk. One of the two cows was provided so-called "raw milk."

Concerning this latest rabid cow, Vermont's Health Department and it Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets have identified those individuals who may have consumed the raw milk, including people who bought raw milk from the small Lamoille County farm.

Vermont's press release makes it clear that "raw milk can potentially contain a wide variety of harmful bacteria or viruses — including Salmonella, E. coli O157:H7, Listeria Campylobacter and Brucella, and the rabies virus."

Vermont's Legislature, however, just loosened up regulation of raw milk sales in the state, lifting the 50 quart per day cap on how much can be sold.  Groups like the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont, and Rural Vermont guided passage of the Fresh Milk Restoration Act of 2009 (H .125).

Rabies is a fatal viral disease found mainly in wildlife (especially raccoons, foxes, bats, skunks and woodchucks) but can infect domestic animals and humans.  The Centers for Disease Control has no record of rabies being transmitted by drinking raw milk, but health officials say they cannot rule out the possibility.

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A person working in an AT&T building in San Jose, California, decided to clean out an office refrigerator that had apparently been unplugged for some time on Tuesday.  Unfortunately, the combination of smells from rotten food and disinfectant was overpowering, and another building employee called 911 after smelling the fumes.  Seven people were sent to the hospital, and a total of 28 were treated for nausea and vomiting.  A hazmat team was called in to check out the situation.

According to the Associated Press, the person nearest to the smell was unaffected because she is an allergy sufferer. 

The National Ag Safety Database website has a page dedicated to Food Storage for Quality and Safety.  The page lists information about how long certain foods can be stored in a refrigerator or freezer, and notes that proper refrigerator temperatures fall between 35 and 40 degrees Fahrenheit.  Other food safety storage tips include:

• Refrigerate leftovers, perishable foods, and prepared foods within two hours of preparation or purchase unless the temperature is above 90°F.  Then reduce the time frame to one hour.
• When marinating foods, always do so in the refrigerator.
• Defrost food in a refrigerator over night.  For quick thawing, submerge food in cold water in an airtight container or use a microwave.
• When preparing leftover food products for storage, separate large amounts of hot leftovers into small, shallow containers, allowing for a rapid reduction in temperature.  Hot food can be placed directly in the fridge.

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The summer is fast approaching and that means--you guessed it--E. coli-contaminated meat recalls!

Bob's Food City, a Hot Springs, Ark., retailer is recalling approximately 375 pounds of ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.

The following ground beef products subject to recall were sold as tray packs of varying weights bearing a "Sell By" date of "05/09/09." The products subject to recall include:

• 1-pound through 5-pound tray packs of "GROUND BEEF CHUCK," "GROUND ROUND" or "REGULAR GROUND BEEF." Each pack bears a sell by date of "05/09/09." There is no USDA mark of inspection on the tray packs.

These ground beef products were produced on May 7, 2009, and were sold to customers of the Bob's Food City retail store located at 800 Malvern Avenue, in Hot Springs, Ark.

The problem was discovered through FSIS sampling procedures. FSIS has received no reports of illness due to consumption of these ground beef products.

While cooking meat to a thermometer-verified internal temperature of at least 160 degrees F is wise, it does not solve the problem of feces-contaminated (and therefore potentially E. coli-contaminated) meat.  How about the endless possibilities for cross-contamination before the meat ever hits the grill?

As Bill says, "get the poop out!"

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As reported by the Wall Street Journal's Jane Zhang,  states frustrated by the slow pace of national food safety reform have begun to take matters into their own hands.  Georgia was hit hard by the recent outbreak of Salmonella in peanut butter and peanut products;  as the leading producer of peanuts in the US, the 25% drop in demand has hurt farmers and businesses all the way up the production chain.  Even though the outbreak was traced to a single processor in Blakely, GA (the now-bankrupt Peanut Corporation of America), it affected consumers in 46 states, sickened hundreds, and cost nine people their lives.  Analysts estimate that beyond the human toll of the outbreak, the recall and lost revenues might add up to as much as 1.5 billion dollars.

Georgia has taken a "get tough" attitude, enacting legislation that requires food processing companies to report any contamination within 24 hours of a positive test.  Although a step in the right direction, this quick-to-the-books law may create as many problems as it hopes to solve.  A few bumps in the road:

1) The law does not mandate testing, just the reporting of positive tests.  Some consumer groups worry that this will actually cause companies to test less often.

2) If a food processor is considering where to locate, the law might tip the balance away from Georgia, which could negatively impact future economic growth.

3) As other states enact their own laws, the result could be a nationwide patchwork with a dizzying array of regulations which differ from state to state.  According to Zhang's article, no fewer than 600 different laws relating to food safety have been initiated at the state level. 

Meanwhile, several forms of national legislation are crawling forward at glacial speed.  Ostensibly everyone wants safe food.  How  - and if - we get there is another thing altogether.

Edward Abbey said "The idea of wilderness needs no defense, only more defenders."  Perhaps it's the same for food safety.

 

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Towns in Oklahoma, Texas, and Wisconsin are taking steps to prevent illness in residents using public water after positive tests for  E. coli.  Officials in Hollis, Oklahoma were distributing bottled water after positive tests in the public water system.

In Baytown, Texas, officials announced a boil order after positive E. coli tests. 

And finally, residents in Janesville, Wisconsin were also under a boil order, again after positive tests for E. coli.

The term E.coli referst to family of baceria that includes the dangerous E. coli O157:H7 bacteria.  A positive, general,  test for E. coli does not necessarily indicate the presence of E. coli O157:H7.  Likewise, it does not rule out its presence.

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I am heading to London Today for a series of lectures on food safety (with a side trip to Paris) and just in time the EU put out its report on foodborne diseases for 2007. Full report - Here.

In total, 5,609 food-borne outbreaks were reported by MSs in 2007 that is a slight decrease of 2.2% compared to 2006. Together 36.1% of the reported outbreaks were classified as verified. The verified outbreaks affected 39,727 people resulting in 3,291 hospitalizations and causing 19 deaths. In addition, the two non-MSs reported 93 food-borne outbreaks, of which 38.7% were verified and 1,475 people were affected, resulting in 55 hospitalizations and causing five deaths. France and Spain reported most (73.0%) of the verified outbreaks in the EU. There was a great variation between MSs in the numbers and proportions of verified outbreaks reported, which may reflect differences in the sensitivity and efficiency of the national systems for investigating and reporting outbreaks in place.

Salmonella was, as in previous years, the most commonly reported cause of food-borne outbreaks in the EU. Twenty-two MSs reported 2,201 Salmonella outbreaks of which 26.8% were verified. The 590 verified Salmonella outbreaks affected 8,922 people, resulted in 1,773 hospitalizations and caused ten deaths.

Food-borne viruses, mainly calicivirus (including norovirus), were reported as the second most common known cause of food-borne outbreaks, and 18 MSs reported a total of 668 outbreaks of which 16.6% were verified. The 111 verified virus outbreaks affected 3,784 people and resulted in 131 hospitalizations.

Campylobacter also remained a common cause of food-borne outbreaks in the EU and 17 MSs reported 461 outbreaks where only 6.5% were verified. The 29 (excluding the large waterborne outbreak) verified Campylobacter outbreaks affected 244 people and resulted in 19 hospitalizations.

Fourteen MSs reported 65 outbreaks caused by pathogenic E. coli, of which 44.6% were verified. The 29 verified E. coli outbreaks affected 541 people and resulted in 24 hospitalizations.
Bacterial toxins produced by Bacillus spp., Clostridium spp. or Staphylococcus spp. were reported by 18 MSs as the cause of 458 outbreaks, of which 93.2% were verified. The 427 verified outbreaks caused by bacterial toxins affected 6,277 people, resulted in 345 hospitalizations and caused four deaths.

Few outbreaks caused by other bacterial agents like Yersinia, Listeria, Shigella, Enterobacter and Citrobacter were reported. In addition, a number of outbreaks caused by parasites were recorded and most of them were Trichinella outbreaks related to consumption of uninspected pig and wild boar meat.

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The Internet has a bit of everything - many things you just would rather not know about when it comes to your food.

* French Fried Condom - It was a sad day for a 7-year-old girl in Switzerland. She got more than a little prize in her McDonald’s Happy Meal—she allegedly found a condom in her French fries. Cops are investigating how the crazy condiment got there. [MSNBC].

* Fake Finger - Las Vegas lady Anna Ayala claimed to have found a finger in her steaming cup o’ chili at a Wendy’s in San Jose. After an investigation trying to reunite the owner of finger with his/her severed digit, it was discovered to be big ol’ hoax - and a crime. [USA Today].

* Chicken n’ Mice - Tony Hill of Baltimore was enjoying some delicious Popeye’s chicken when he bit into a warm and furry treat. Turns out a mouse had furrowed into his chicken wing. [WBAL].

* French Fry Boo Boo - A student at the University of Illinois almost went into cardiac arrest when she found a used bandage in the McDonald’s French fries that she got at the student union. As a former Micky D’s employee, she offered first aid advice by suggesting that the ding bats wear gloves while cooking. [Daily Illini],

* Cold Cut - A health-conscious Queens man went to Subway and purchased a foot-long cold cut sub. He took a few bites and realized something didn’t taste quite right. He turned the sandwich over to find a 7-inch bread knife baked into it. [NY Post].

* Be Young, Have Fun, Drink Needles - In the 1990s, an elderly Tacoma couple never got their winning game piece for the “Be Young, Have Fun, Drink Pepsi” sweepstakes. The consolation prize…drum roll please…a syringe! The incident sent off a national panic, with more than 50 people claiming to have found the same thing. Uh, many of their claims were totally bogus. [BNET].

• Heads Up - This one is so gross, it hurts just to describe. If you are not faint of heart, check out the newscast below about a mother in Virginia who found a chicken head in her McDonald’s wings.

And, there is the Snake Head Salad [Times].  This one may also turn out to be a plant.

Not to forget my favorite mouse (vole) story that never has received any press:

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Michelle Bridgestock, a student at Abilene's Holland Medical High School, recently released the results of a medical research project she conducted as part of an independent study course.  Ms. Bridgestock tested menus at 12 local Abilene restaurants for the presence of bacteria.  Most menus tested positive for bacteria commonly found in soil, and of the 12 tested, one menu revealed traces of staph, and another traces of E. coli. 

It's easy to imagine how menus could become contaminated.  Hostesses, waiters, waitresses, and bussers regularly handle menus without the opportunity to wash their hands beforehand, and bacteria are everywhere.  In addition to restaurant staff, menus are handled by several customers every day.  Some may wash or use an alcohol-based sanitizer on their hands before handling the menu, but most likely do not.  Any bacteria that was on a customer's hands before they entered the restaurant can easily transfer to a menu in one touch.

In an article for the Abilene Reporter News, Ms. Bridgestock commented on her findings:  "When you go to a hospital, you expect a lot of germs so you clean a lot.  But when you go out to eat, you don't think about it. Sanitation is important wherever you are. Wash your hands after using the menu."

She added, "You would never guess which restaurants were bad." 

It would be interesting to see whether health inspection reports corresponded to Ms. Bridgestock's findings.  Did the restaurants with menus that tested high for bacterial count score poorly when last evaluated by city or county health inspectors?

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It looks like a foodborne illness disaster just waiting to happen was averted by swift action from our federal government.  The FDA announced today that due to extensive rodent and insect infestation throughout a warehouse for the American Mercantile Corporation of Memphis, Tennessee, a warrant was issued and executed by the US Marshalls, resulting in the seizure of more than $1.5 million worth of food products, including herbs and botanicals.

During an inspection of American Mercantile in March, FDA investigators discovered evidence of extensive rodent and insect infestation throughout the company’s warehouse. The company failed to correct these problems.  Acting on a warrant issued by the United Stated District Court in Memphis, U.S. Marshals seized all FDA-regulated food products exposed to rodent and insect contamination at the facility. The seized products violate the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act because they were held under insanitary conditions under which they may have become contaminated with filth. 

“FDA will not tolerate a company’s failure to adequately control and prevent filth in its facility,” said Michael Chappell, the FDA’s acting associate commissioner for regulatory affairs. “The FDA is prepared to use whatever legal means are necessary and appropriate to keep potentially contaminated products out of the marketplace.”

American Mercantile stores and processes food ingredients, which are then sold to and used in the dietary supplement and herbal tea industries. The seized articles include food products, such as sarsaparilla, spearmint leaves, cornstarch, sweet orange peels powder, licorice powder, sassafras, and salt.

The FDA has no reports of illness associated with consumption of the products.

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Striking a more cautious chord than previous health agencies, the World Health Organizaiton (WHO) announced today that meat from pigs infected with H1N1 flu (the so-called "Swine Flu") should not be used for human consumption.  The WHO also stated that it was preparing guidelines designed for workers handling the pigs.

According to Reuters, two global health agencies had previously downplayed such concerns: "the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) said import bans are not required to safeguard public health because the disease is not food-borne and has not been identified in dead animal tissue."

WHO officials think the flu virus could survive freezing and be present in thawed meat or blood. 

According to the WHO, 22 countries have officially reported 1,534 cases of the flu virus.

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There have not been any reported illnesses, but Kleen-Pak Foods is recalling packages of spinach due to possible contamination with Salmonella. 

The recall reportedly impacts stores in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the Chicago area.

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Those who think that the much maligned former head man at Peanut Corporation of America is a victim because of the bad press he's gotten lately need a dose of reality.  The obvious victims are those who were sickened, or died as a result of their illnesses.  But the effects, economic and otherwise, of such a massive outbreak are not limited to illnesses and deaths.  Salmonella, hepatitis A, E. coli O157:H7, norovirus, etc., not only wreak havoc on the human body, they cause insidious damage to the lives of ordinary people fortunate enough to have not consumed a contaminated product, but unlucky enough to be within a recalled product's, or maligned person's, sphere of influence.  See this article for a case in point.  For an even better illustration, see Bill Marler's (if you're reading this, you probably already have) recent blog-post on the subject.

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The following recall has been announced because the products may be contaminated with salmonella, an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections, especially in young children, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems:

• Nature's World LLC is recalling 88 cases of NW Delights Deluxe Mixed Nuts distributed to retail stores and sold in retail store bulk bins. No known illnesses have been reported, according to the company.
• The recalled product was distributed to Safeway, Rosauers and Thriftway retail stores in Washington, Oregon, Montana and Alaska and sold in the bulk bin section of the store. The products were sold between Jan. 21 and April 17 this year.

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It's a bit of a moving target.  We hear a lot of different things from the raw milk advocates about why pasteurization is unnecessary.  One of the arguments we are told is that some property in raw milk inhibits or prohibits the growth of "bad bacteria."   Once again we have proof that this just isn't true.   Health inspectors in New York state of identified Salmonella in commercially sold raw milk.  See article here. The farm has voluntarily suspended the sale of raw milk.  Also, thanks to the kind and smart people at Kansas State, we have a compendium a recent outbreaks of foodborne illness linked to raw milk products.

 

 

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After reading today's BBC News article about convicted Gloucester, England chemist, Sahnoun Daifallah, who was sentenced to nine years in prison for spraying a disgusting and dangerous concoction of urine and feces on various food items in Gloucestershire supermarkets, I began to wonder...what if that happened here in the US?  As it turns out, it already has.

In 1996, a disgruntled ex-Pizza Hut employee was charged with filling a container with feces and delivering it to a school along with Pizza Hut spaghetti lunches intended for the school's children.  Before the container was found, ten children had already consumed the spaghetti lunch.  Thankfully nobody was made ill.

And back in 2001, Marco Arellano was arrested in NYC for a dozen incidents of intentionally contaminating food at various public food buffets over several months.  He was finally caught in the act of using two bottles to spray what the police believed to be a mixture of his own urine and feces on a salad bar at the Alpine Gourmet Farm restaurant.

Is it too much to ask for feces and urine-free food, human or otherwise?  Based on the recent spate of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli outbreaks, that answer appears to be YES.

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The FDA and the California Department of Public Health continue to investigate Salmonella contamination in pistachios and pistachio products. Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella Inc., Terra Bella, Calif., is voluntarily expanding its recall of roasted pistachios to include all lots of roasted in-shell pistachios and roasted shelled pistachios that were produced from nuts harvested in 2008. The firm is also recalling those raw shelled pistachios from the 2008 crop that are not subsequently roasted prior to retail sale. The pistachios may be contaminated with Salmonella.

FDA Product Recall List

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From Bloomberg News:

Food safety in the U.S. is no longer improving, highlighting a need to re-evaluate the way an American meal makes its way from farm to table, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

Rates of salmonella have shown the least improvement of several food-borne illnesses the agency tracks, according to its annual report released today. The agency also announced that in response, it will increase capacity at its division overseeing incidents of food poisoning.

The CDC data come as Congress considers bills that would reshape the food safety system and require more preventive action. The issue has gained President Barack Obama's attention and driven proposals to create a stand-alone food agency outside the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Food safety has also inflicted economic damage to companies from Sears Holding Corp., which operates Kmart stores, to Kraft Foods Inc.

"This year's report confirms a very important concern, especially with two high-profile Salmonella outbreaks in the last year," Robert Tauxe, deputy director of the CDC's Division of Foodborne, Bacterial and Mycoctic Diseases, said in a statement. "We recognize that we have reached a plateau in the prevention of food-borne disease and there must be new efforts to develop and evaluate food safety practices," Tauxe said.

Food poisoning strikes 76 million Americans every year, with 300,000 ending up in the hospital and 5,000 dying, the CDC says. Salmonella infections can be fatal in the young and elderly.

Officials last month recalled 1 million pounds of pistachios suspected of possible salmonella contamination. A peanut-linked Salmonella outbreak has sickened hundreds and killed nine since late 2008. As of April 8, 3,900 peanut-linked products had been voluntarily recalled by their producers, including Whole Foods and Wal-Mart Bakery.

The massive salmonella-linked recalls of the last year have brought angry families to Capitol Hill to protest current safety standards and share worries about what they can safely feed their children. The outcry has prompted members of Congress to re-introduce bills to overhaul the food safety system.

These lawmakers argue that the system is geared to respond after an outbreak, when it should be structured to catch contamination before it reaches consumers.

Sen. Richard Durbin, an Illinois Democrat who has worked on food safety issues for years, introduced a bill that would increase food safety inspections, give the FDA greater access to records and testing results, and allow the FDA to mandate the recall of contaminated foods.

Connecticut Democrat Rep. Rosa DeLauro has introduced her own bill that would give the FDA greater power to inspect food manufacturers and require importers to verify the safety of their food imports. Her bill would also call for greater resources for the food agency.

The CDC data will give some momentum to the lawmakers' efforts, said Michael R. Taylor, a health-policy professor at George Washington University who has worked on food issues at the FDA and the Agriculture Department.

"This is all the more motivation and explanation of why we need to make this paradigm shift from a system that's largely reactive today, to one that's more active," Taylor said in a telephone interview.

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FDA Product Recall List

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The Chattanooga-Hamilton County Health Department recommends that consumers avoid raw oyster consumption. Recent illnesses associated with raw oyster consumption included 9 ill individuals who ate at a Hamilton County restaurant, the Boathouse Rotisserie and Raw Bar, between March 5 and March 8, 2009. Following standard protocol, the Health Department conducted an investigation to determine the cause of the illness. Persons reporting illness have been contacted and interviewed. Laboratory testing of ill individuals identified Norovirus as the cause of the illness. The establishment fully cooperated with the Health Department’s procedures, including halting service of implicated oysters when notified of the illnesses. Inspection at the restaurant did not identify the facility as a source of the infection.

 

Bacterial and viral pathogens can be carried in oysters, including Vibrio, Hepatitis A and Norovirus. Even in healthy individuals, these pathogens cause illness. These illnesses can be severe, particularly in the elderly or in persons with weakened immune systems. In addition, most of these illnesses can then be spread to other individuals through person to person contact.

 

“Oysters should be cooked thoroughly,” says Margaret Zylstra, Epidemiology Manager at the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Health Department. “Any oyster not thoroughly cooked poses the risk of foodborne illness.”

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From the Saint Cloud Times - Stephanie Smith of Cold Spring was a 20-year-old dance instructor when she contracted E. coli after eating a hamburger at a family barbecue in 2007.  She also developed HUS and spent nine months in the hospital, including two months in a medically induced coma to prevent seizures.

Smith returned home to Cold Spring in June. Her recovery has been much slower than the 21-year-old would like.  During physical therapy sessions at CentraCare Health Plaza in Sartell, Smith works at building strength and balance by sitting on a special seat that records her movement.

With a belt strapped around her waist, she leans from side to side, watching an electronic screen that resembles a video game. She tries to maneuver a figure on the screen into a little box.  Later, she lies on her back with her knees bent and tries to lift each leg into the air.  "Kick that muscle. Hold it up there," urges her physical therapist, Lisa Barker. She helps by lifting Smith's foot, clad in a stylish plaid sneaker. "Come on, kick, kick, kick."

When asked how she feels she's doing, Smith answers softly, "Crappy."

She wants to be able to walk again, Barker says. But so far, she doesn't have the muscle strength required to lift her legs forward.  "We haven't really been able to attack that like we'd like," Barker said.

Still, Smith has regained balance and is better able to transfer herself from her wheelchair to a bed or chair, Barker said. She can stand at home for an hour using a supportive frame and even stands on her own for short periods.

"It's a long battle," Barker said.

Smith's mother, Sharon, says she feels ill when she hears about the victims of the salmonella outbreak.  "I feel so bad in my heart, because I know what they're going to go through," she said.  Sharon Smith has been juggling taking care of her daughter and getting her to physical therapy appointments while still holding on to job as a Dairy Queen manager.  But she isn't complaining, and said she's extremely grateful for the prayers and financial support people have offered throughout the ordeal.

"Every day I wake up and say, 'Thank you, God,' " she said. "I don't care how difficult it is."

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Metallica lead singer James Hetfield was treated at Karolinksa Hospital in Stockholm for a suspected case of food poisoning, The Local said Monday.  Hetfield reportedly fell ill after eating a takeout Indian meal during the weekend. He was hospitalized Sunday, but released several hours later.

"As you can clearly see, one of the members of Metallica isn't with us up here on stage tonight. Unfortunately, I have to let you know that James has had a really, really, bad day and he's on his way to the hospital right now," the Expressen newspaper quoted Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich as telling the 16,000-strong crowd Sunday night. "We obviously hope that he'll be better really soon. Unfortunately, Metallica won't be able to play tonight.".

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Chinese lawmakers last week passed new food-safety laws meant to tighten supervision of manufacturers and impose tougher penalties on those who make bad products, as the government seeks to restore public confidence after a spate of problems with tainted food.

The new law requires:

1. A system to recall problem products;
2. The enforcement of uniform nationwide standards for allowable additives to nutritional labeling;
3. A national food-safety commission to coordinate work by other government agencies;
4. Companies that produce substandard products will face higher fines and hose whose licenses are revoked because of illegal conduct will be banned from food manufacturing for five years;
5. Companies are also legally liable for any harm they cause consumers;
6. Celebrities that endorse faulty products can also be held liable under the new law;
7. Farmers to adhere to safety rules governing the use of pesticides, fertilizers, veterinary drugs and feed additives in growing crops and raising animals;
8. Farmers will also be required to keep detailed records on raising crops and livestock for human consumption.

So, I wonder if our lawmakers will do anything?

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Authorities in China say two men have been sentenced to death in a food-poisoning case that killed two diners and sickened 61 others in Shenzhen City.  Ke Bizhi and Wang Ying were convicted of adding poison to food at a snack bar last February, Xinhua, China's state-run news agency, reported Monday. 

Zhu Yuanlin, a businessman convicted of masterminding the poisoning was sentenced to life in prison by Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court.  Prosecutors said Zhu paid Ke and Wang to poison the food in an attempt to get the local government to demolish a marketplace that had taken business from Zhu's stores in the same neighborhood.

I am not much of a believer in hanging or shooting people, and I am uncertain if it really has a deterent impact, but it sure does get one's attention.

My bet is that Stewart Parnell (aka Peanut Tycoon) is glad his parents had not moved to China.

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Here we go again!  Peanut butter is once again being implicated as the source of a major samlonella outbreak in the US (Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter were the implicated sources in the previous outbreak).

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) and the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) today issued a product advisory after MDA’s preliminary laboratory testing indicated the presence of Salmonella bacteria in a 5-pound container of King Nut brand creamy peanut butter.

The product is distributed in Minnesota to establishments such as long-term care facilities, hospitals, schools, universities, restaurants, delis, cafeterias and bakeries. At this time, the product is not known to be distributed for retail sale in grocery stores. State officials are urging establishments who may have the product on hand to avoid serving it, pending further instructions as the investigation progresses.

Eating food contaminated with Salmonella can result in abdominal cramping, diarrhea, and fever. Anyone who believes they may have become ill as a result of eating this product or foods made with this product should contact their health care provider.

State officials discovered the contamination as a result of product testing initiated after an MDH epidemiological investigation implicated King Nut creamy peanut butter as a likely source of Salmonella infections in Minnesota residents. The Minnesota cases have the same genetic fingerprint as the cases in the national outbreak that has sickened almost 400 people in 42 states; however, laboratory results for the product sample have not yet been linked to this national outbreak. Additional laboratory results are expected early next week.

State officials are coordinating their investigation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and other states. More information about the investigation – including laboratory results will be available early next week.

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As I'm sure many of you are aware who follow food poisoning in the news, there is a huge nationwide Salmonella Typhimurium outbreak currently being investigated by the CDC and many state and local health departments. 

To date there has been no identification of the source of this outbreak, but I have just learned that an announcement is expected shortly.  Any further information on this outbreak will be posted as soon as it becomes available.  Stay tuned...

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In an article published by AP writer, Martha Mendoza, she reports that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has found melamine and a byproduct, cyanuric acid, in four of 89 containers of infant formula made in the United States, doubling previously reported positive results.  The amounts, however, are apparently "safe" for babies to consume. 

Based on the little research available, how can the FDA comfortably say that even low levels of melamine are safe to feed to our children?  Don't we owe it to our most vulnerable population to be absolutely sure? 

In November, The Associated Press reported previously undisclosed FDA tests, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, showing that out of 77 containers of domestic infant formula tested, a can of milk-based liquid Nestle Good Start Supreme Infant Formula with Iron contained traces of melamine while Mead Johnson's Enfamil LIPIL with Iron had traces of cyanuric acid.

The FDA has now updated its response to AP's FOIA request by posting results of 89 tests on its Web site. Those results show that two additional containers of Enfamil LIPIL with Iron had traces of cyanuric acid.

Separately, a third major formula maker -- Abbott Laboratories, whose brands include Similac -- told AP in November that in-house tests had detected trace levels of melamine in its infant formula.

Those levels were below what FDA found in the other formulas, an Abbott spokesman said, and below any national safety guidelines. FDA tested 37 different Abbott Laboratories formulas and had no detections.

Abbott Laboratories, Nestle and Mead Johnson make more than 90 percent of all infant formula produced in the United States. In addition to the Abbott formulas, the FDA tested five Nestle formulas, 21 Mead Johnson formulas and 26 products of a fourth company, PBM Products.

Melamine at much higher levels was recently found to have contaminated milk products around the world and has been implicated in the sickening of nearly 300,000 babies in China and killing at least six infants there. Melamine is rich in nitrogen, which registers as protein on many routine tests. Authorities say the melamine was added to Chinese formula to artificially boost its protein levels.

The FDA and other experts said they believe the minute melamine contamination in U.S.-made formula had occurred during the manufacturing process, rather than intentionally. The U.S. government quietly began testing domestically produced infant formula in September, soon after problems with melamine-spiked formula surfaced in China. No Chinese manufacturers of infant formula have met requirements to sell their product here, according to the FDA.

Melamine can legally be used in some food packaging and can rub off into food from there. It's also part of a cleaning solution used on some food-processing equipment. Mead Johnson officials said the FDA had informed them of the test results and they were confident the levels of cyanuric acid are so low that they do not pose a health risk to infants. The company said it is considering changing the cleaning solutions it uses on its manufacturing equipment to reduce cyanuric acid contamination.

Though melamine is not believed harmful in tiny amounts, higher concentrations produce kidney stones and in serious cases can cause kidney failure.

To date, here are the FDA results for detections in U.S.-made formula:

 

• Two samples tested from one can of Mead Johnson's Infant Formula Powder, Enfamil LIPIL with Iron had cyanuric acid at levels of 0.412 and 0.31 parts per million;

   

   

• Three samples tested from one can of Mead Johnson's Infant Formula Powder, Enfamil LIPIL with Iron had cyanuric acid at levels of 0.304, 0.406 and 0.248 parts per million;

   

   

• Three samples tested from one can of Mead Johnson's Infant Formula Powder, Enfamil LIPIL with Iron had cyanuric acid at levels of 0.247, 0.245 and 0.249 parts per million;

   

   

• Two samples from a can of Nestle's Good Start Supreme Infant Formula with Iron detected melamine at levels of 0.137 and 0.14 parts per million.

   

  Before the contamination was disclosed, federal food regulators had said they were unable to set a safety threshold for melamine in infant formula. After the news reports, however, the agency set a threshold of 1 part per million of melamine in formula, provided a related chemical, including cyanuric acid, is not present. None of the formula has tested above that threshold.

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Winter has certainly come to the Northwest!  Here in Seattle we have over a foot of snow and the temperature has yet to crack freezing level in the past week and a half.  Wherever you are, now is the time of year to bundle up, take a walk, and sip on a nice cup of steaming hot cocoa.

But if you purchased that cocoa from Big Lots or Shopko under the brand name "G & J," put that cup down.   

Three "G & J" brand cocoa products packaged for Christmas sale at Big Lots and Shopko are being recalled after testing positive for melamine.  It seems this melamine problem will just not go away, as evidenced by the numerous recalls and stories from around the world, including contaminated baby formula in China that led to 294,000 children sickened, hundreds hospitalized, and at least six infants who lost their lives. 

As Phyllis Entis points out in her excellent three-part article, Getting Rid of Melamine, this problem is now not just China's or the US's.  More must be done to stop this type of flagrant disregard for food safety laws that puts all of us at risk.  How about starting with some of the suggestions made by Bill Marler in his open letter to the new Undersecretary for Food Safety at FSIS?

But I digress.  Getting back to the current recall, the products are:

• Hot Cocoa Stuffer (bar code number 061361201444), sold in small green and blue packages along with a candy cane and marshmallows.
• His and Hers Hot Cocoa Set (bar code number 489702201296), sold with two ceramic mugs in a brown box.
• Cocoa (bar code number 061361201260), sold in two flavors -- French vanilla, sold in a small green bag, and double chocolate, sold in a small pink bag. Both have a whisk attached.

For more details, see the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection.

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As an initial matter, I'm a lawyer, not a scientist.  This recent article from Science Daily.com is therefore a bit - OK, a lot - over my head, but the short version is researchers at the University of Illinois and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst have found a way to fool a bacteria’s evolutionary machinery into programming its own death.

Could this development have a place in foodborne bacteria reduction, leading to less human illnesses from the likes of E. coli, Campylobacter, or Salmonella?  Keep that funding coming and let's find out!

The basic idea is for an antimicrobial to target something in a bacteria that, in order to gain immunity, would require the bacteria to kill itself through a suicide mutation,” said Gerard Wong, a professor of materials science and engineering, of physics, and of bioengineering at the U. of I.

Wong is corresponding author of a paper accepted for publication in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The paper is to be posted this week on the journal’s Web site.

The researchers show that a synthetic “hole punching” antimicrobial depends on the presence of phosphoethanolamine, a cone-shaped lipid found in high concentrations within Gram-negative bacterial membranes. Although PE lipids are commandeered to kill the bacteria, without the lipids the bacteria would die, also.

“It’s a Catch-22,” Wong said. “Some mutations bacteria can tolerate, and some mutations they cannot tolerate. In this case, the bacteria would have to go through a mutation that would kill it, in order to be immune to these antimicrobials.”

In their work, the researchers compared the survival of the bacterium Escherichia coli with that of a mutant strain of E. coli, which lacked PE lipids in its membrane. The fragile PE-deficient mutant strain out-survived the normal, healthy bacteria, when exposed to a “hole punching” synthetic antibiotic.

However, the opposite was true when both strains were exposed to tobramycin, a conventional metabolic antibiotic that targets the bacterial ribosomal machinery rather than the membrane.

The researchers first reported on compounds that functioned as molecular “hole punchers” last year in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. Their latest work further elucidates the “hole punching” mechanism.

“The antimicrobial re-organizes PE lipids into holes in the membrane,” said Wong, who also is a researcher at the university’s Beckman Institute. “The perforated membranes leak, and the bacteria die.”

Finding new ways to treat emerging pathogens that are more and more resistant to the best antibiotics will be increasingly important in the future, Wong said. “Now that we more fully understand how our molecular ‘hole punchers’ work, we can look for similar ways to make antimicrobials that bacteria cannot evolve immunity to.”

With Wong, the paper’s co-authors include U. of I. graduate student and lead author Lihua Yang, materials science and engineering professor Dallas R. Trinkle, microbiology professor John E. Cronan Jr., and University of Massachusetts polymer science and engineering professor Gregory N. Tew, who earned a doctorate from Illinois.

The work was funded by the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health and the Office of Naval Research.

 

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Dr. Michael Millar, an infectious disease expert in the United Kingdom, certainly seems to think so.

According to a recent article published on Legal-Medical.com, Dr. Millar believes that by putting an increased focus on eradicating infections such as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Clostridium difficile (C. diff), other similarly dangerous bugs, like E. coli O157:H7, are being ignored.

He said: “It's not clear that overall things have got better. Rates of E. coli are going up and it almost compensates for MRSA, so all you've done is replaced one problem with another one.”

However the Department of Health said it had taken steps to tackle all infections.

Dr. Millar, a medical microbiologist at Barts and the London NHS Trust, said MRSA bloodstream infections account for only two percent of all healthcare-associated infections.

Narrow targets to reduce bloodstream MRSA rates push hospitals away from tackling other infections and even other types of MRSA infection. For example, bloodstream infection caused by antibiotic-resistant E. coli bacteria cause deaths in more than 20 percent of cases.

Dr. Millar told delegates at The Lancet Infectious Diseases conference on healthcare-associated infections, that targets should be set on the basis of local problems and measure patient outcomes rather than rates of one infection.

"There's no evidence that overall we have fewer hospital infections or fewer people are dying," he claimed.

Professor Hugh Pennington, emeritus professor of bacteriology at the University of Aberdeen, said there were good reasons for introducing MRSA targets at the time but a broader approach was now needed.

"It's a fair point - it happened with the C. difficile outbreaks, where it was found the hospitals were paying a lot of attention to MRSA but not enough to C. difficile which was more serious.

"We need to be a bit more mature about how we look at the overall problem."
He added that he had no doubt other infections were rising because attention had been diverted away from them.

"Generally what we're seeing is the tip of the iceberg - we need to get better statistics so we can see what the trends are."

In a recent State of Healthcare report, the Healthcare Commission warned that trusts need to have measures in place to combat all healthcare-associated infections.

A Department of Health said spokesperson said C. difficile and MRSA bloodstream infections have potentially very severe consequences for patients and both significantly affect patient confidence in the NHS.

"We are clear that the NHS needs to take action to address any infections that are a challenge locally.

"We don't currently have plans to set targets for other infections as it would be impossible to set a target for each and every infection."

According to Health Protection Agency figures, E. coli is the most common bloodstream infection with 22,000 cases reported in 2007, although rates have remained stable in recent years.
 

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I'm not sure how many of you out there are avid consumers of ungutted, salt-cured Alewives fish (mmm, sounds delicious, doesn't it?), but for those of you who are you need to heed the FDA's just-announced consumer warning! 

Retailers and food service operators are being instructed not to offer for sale ungutted, salt-cured alewives (also called gaspereaux fish) from Michel & Charles LeBlanc Fisheries Ltd., CAP-PELÈ, New Brunswick, Canada, because the fish may contain the Clostridium botulinum (C. botulinum) toxin. Consumers should not consume the product.

C. botulinum toxin can cause botulism, a serious and sometimes life-threatening condition. The toxin cannot be removed by cooking or freezing.

The fish were imported into the United States and sent to these Florida distributors:

• Quirch Foods Inc.
• Den-Mar Exports LLC
• Dolphin Fisheries Inc.
• Labrador & Son Food Products Inc.

The fish were packed in 30-pound, white plastic pails with green plastic lids. The brand name "Michel & Charles LeBlanc Fisheries Ltd.," appears on the side of the pails, as does the phrase "Product of Canada." One hundred seventy-three (173) 30 lb. pails of fish were distributed. The fish may have been repacked or sold loose by retailers in Florida.

The FDA considers any ungutted fish over five inches in length that is salt-cured, dried, or smoked, such as the ungutted, salt-cured alewives/gaspereaux fish, to be adulterated because it could contain the C. botulinum toxin. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services discovered the ungutted alewives/gaspereaux fish from Michel & Charles LeBlanc Fisheries Ltd. being sold in stores and alerted the FDA. The FDA prohibits the sale of this adulterated product in the United States.

To date, there have been no reported illnesses associated with this product. However, consumers who have purchased ungutted, salt-cured alewives/gaspereaux fish in Florida should contact the place of purchase to determine if the fish they bought originated from Michel & Charles LeBlanc Fisheries Ltd. If the fish were from this company or if the source of the fish cannot be determined, consumers should immediately discard the fish and any foods made with these fish. 

Symptoms of botulism poisoning can begin from six hours to 10 days after eating food that contains the toxin. Symptoms may include double vision, blurred vision, drooping eyelids, slurred speech, difficulty swallowing, dry mouth and muscle weakness that affects first the shoulders and then moves progressively down the rest of the body. Botulism poisoning can also cause paralysis of the breathing muscles which can result in death unless assistance with breathing (mechanical ventilation) is provided.

Individuals who show these symptoms and who may have recently eaten alewives/gaspereaux fish should seek immediate medical attention.

For information about other botulism related issues, check out http://www.botulismblog.com/.

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It looks like Congress is about to throw Detroit a bone by infusing some taxpayer money into the cash-starved Big Three.  But the area Congress should really be focusing its attention is on the US's preparedness (or lack thereof) for health emegencies.

Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) released a report yesterday that concludes the US's ability to protects itself from disease outbreaks, natural disasters, and bioterrorism is now at risk from budget cuts and the worsening economic crisis.

With regard to food safety specifically, the report noted that America’s food safety system has not been fundamentally modernized in more than 100 years.  Further, twenty states and the District of Columbia do not meet or exceed the national average rate for being able to identify the pathogens, like E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella, that are responsible for foodborne disease outbreaks in their respective states.

Conclusion?  SHOW FOOD SAFETY THE MONEY!

The full report is available here.

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China said Monday that a total of 294,000 children had fallen ill from consuming dairy products tainted with the industrial chemical melamine, with 154 of them still in serious condition.  In a statement on its website, the health ministry also indicated the number of dead may rise from the four previously announced, saying that six deaths since September 10 may be linked to the consumption of melamine-laced milk.  The health ministry's total number of children sickened amid this year's scandal was a more than five-fold rise from the government's previous figure given in September of 53,000.

"The use of Sanlu brand milk powder and other problem milk powders led to urinary tract problems in 294,000 children," the ministry's statement said.  Of those, 51,900 had been admitted to hospital.  It said 861 children remained in hospital and that 154 were "serious" cases.

Melamine is a chemical normally used to make plastics, but it emerged in September that it had been routinely mixed into Chinese milk and dairy products to give them the impression of having higher protein content.

 

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As I was sitting at my desk enjoying a berry protein smoothy this morning, I logged into the Seattle Times and discovered a new article, "How toxic chemical melamine got into China's food supply," by Maureen Fan and Ariana Eunjung Cha. 

As I read, it became terrifyingly apparent how easy it was for this toxic industrial chemical to be introduced into China's food supply, including baby formula that caused over 90,000 babies to become ill and killed at least four others. 

Melamine was used because it is cheap and can mimic protein in nutrition tests for milk and in products such as wheat gluten and chicken feed.  It could also be added to protein powder supplements like the kind I just consumed.  But that couldn't happen to food products sold in the US...right?

 

 

Continue Reading...

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What if I told you the above images were recently released by the US government to confirm that, in fact, UFOs do exist? Would you be shocked? Well, sorry to disappoint but they are not UFOs. What they actually are, however, is just as shocking.

The above images are thermal shots of the same product being cooked in six different microwave ovens with hugely varying (and inconsistent) uniformity of heating. While this may not be a problem for Aunt Betty using her microwave to boil water for afternoon tea, it is a potentially life-threatening problem for the many individuals who purchase prepared, but not ready-to-eat foods.

For example, only last week the Minnesota Department of Health linked fourteen cases of salmonellosis to raw frozen chicken entrees. The products include breaded and pre-browned Chicken Kiev and Chicken Cordon Bleu made by Milford Valley Farms. The affected Chicken Cordon Blue products have code dates of C8121, C126 and C8133 printed on the side of the package. The implicated Chicken Kiev carries the date code C149. For Minnesota, this is the sixth outbreak of salmonella linked to similar products since 1998.

All of this, of course, begs the question—what responsibility does a food manufacturer like Milford Valley Farms have to their consumers regarding effective cooking directions and warning labels?

How about: “WARNING! This product is not cooked and is not ready-to-eat. Failure to adhere with exact precision to the cooking instructions, including the use of a 1000 watt microwave and cooking the product for the exact cooking time specified followed by the stated resting period, may cause vomiting, profuse diarrhea, dehydration, kidney failure, or death."  Mmm…sounds delicious. Now, who’s hungry for pot pie?

Over at the Kalamazoo Gazette, the AP's Josh Funk has written a great piece on this issue, Undercooking a constant danger with microwave.  Especially useful is the "test your microwave" section where instructions are given to determine your microwave's true wattage (especially important considering that microwaves lose power over time). 

In the end, the convenience of a quicky dinner from a microwaved entree sounds like more work, and risk, than it's worth.  My tip?  Use an oven.  The classic kind.

For more commentary, see Dr. Doug Powell’s Barfblog site, including one of my personal favorite postings, Cooking the Poop Out of Pot Pies.
 

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Melamine-tainted milk powder has contaminated products world-wide, from infant formula, cookies, tea, and candies.  The contamination has been blamed for the deaths of four children and kidney ailments among 54,000 others.  More than 13,000 children have been hospitalized, over 1,400 with kidney failure.  There have been four deaths.  And guess what?  The tainted powder can be found in food on store shelves in the US.  No recall?

As our government spends $700,000,000,000 on Wall Street, I guess it simply does not have the time nor the money to protect us from an industrial chemical blamed for sickening thousands of infants in China? Go figure.  Where is the FDA and our famous “food czar?”  My guess is they are all watching the stock market and their government retirements flush down the food safety toilet.

Were governments world-wide are pulling products containing the milk powder, the FDA could not be bothered.   Leave it to our new Superhero, “Eddie, the Haphazard Gourmet Girl” to swing into action when the FDA could not be bothered (lycra suit?).   She and her photographer did what the FDA seems incapable to do – take this stuff of store shelves before children eat it.   She first blogged about it a few days ago and then she made made FOX TV 11 in Los Angeles (click here or on picture on right).  FDA, where are you?

For those who forget, melamine, which is high in nitrogen, is used to make plastics and fertilizers and experts say some amount of the chemical may be transferred from the environment during food processing.  But in China's case, suppliers trying to boost output are believed to have diluted their milk, adding melamine because its nitrogen content can fool tests aimed at verifying protein content.  And remember this:

December 2007 - Sanlu Fonterra had first received complaints about its powdered baby formula.

March 2008 - Sanlu Fonterra had hired private companies to test its milk powder for contaminants.  Sanlu Fonterra never issued any public warnings and never stopped promoting its products.

May 18 - After the devastating earthquake in Sichuan Province, the Sanlu Fonterra made a much-publicized donation of $1.25 million worth of baby formula for infants orphaned or displaced by the catastrophe.

June 30 - A mother in Hunan Province had written a detailed letter pleading for help from the food quality agency, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (organization that sponsored the Food Safety Conference I attended).  The letter, posted on the agency’s Web site, described rising numbers of infants at a local children’s hospital who were suffering from kidney stones after drinking powdered formula made by Sanlu Fonterra.  The watchdog agency's director, Li Changjiang, and several Communist Party officials in Hebei province, where Sanlu Fonterra is based, lost their jobs.

August 2 - Sanlu Fonterra officials informed the board about the melamine problem.

September - The New Zealand government, after discussions with Fonterra executives, contacted authorities in Beijing.  Beijing officials say they knew nothing about the scandal until September, though a Fonterra company spokesman said the company believed the central government knew in August.

September 9 – Recall announced.

September 29 - FDA does nothing, but the Haphazard Gourmet Girl swings into action.

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To the Members of the California State Senate:
 
I am returning Senate Bill 201 without my signature.
 
This bill weakens food safety standards in California, something I cannot support.
 
Last year I signed AB 1735, which passed the Legislature unanimously and put into law food safety standards for raw milk.  Those standards are now in question by the
proponents of this bill.  Looking past the lobbying techniques, public relations campaign, and legal maneuvering in the courts, one conclusion is inescapably clear:  the standard in
place has kept harmful products off the shelves and California’s raw milk dairies have been operating successfully under it for the entirety of 2008.
 
Based on fears with no basis in fact, the proponents of SB 201 seek to replace
California’s unambiguous food safety standards for raw milk.  Instead they have created a
convoluted and undefined regulatory process with no enforcement authority or clear
standards to protect public health.
 
For these reasons, I cannot support this measure.
 
Sincerely,
 
 
 
Arnold Schwarzenegger

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China's melamine scandal hasn't exactly reached the United States yet, but you can now see it from here.   The U.S. Food & Drug Administration this morning issued a warning about "Mr. Brown" instant coffee and milk tea products made in the PRC. 

Business Week sums up the extent of the melamine crisis: In China, more than 50,000 children—most of them babies—have fallen ill and more than 13,000 have been hospitalized. Several Chinese children have died so far.

From FDA's statement today:

...FDA is alerting consumers that seven Mr. Brown instant coffee and milk tea products manufactured in China are being recalled by the King Car Food Industrial Co. Ltd. due to possible contamination with melamine.  The products, manufactured by China’s Shandong Duqing Inc., are:

• Mr. Brown Mandheling Blend Instant Coffee (3-in-1)
• Mr. Brown Arabica Instant Coffee (3-in-1)
• Mr. Brown Blue Mountain Blend Instant Coffee (3-in-1)
• Mr. Brown Caramel Macchiato Instant Coffee (3-in-1)
• Mr. Brown French Vanilla Instant Coffee (3-in-1)
• Mr. Brown Mandhling Blend instant Coffee (2-in-1)
• Mr. Brown Milk Tea (3-in-1)

The FDA recommends that consumers not consume any of the above Mr. Brown instant coffee and milk tea products. The FDA also recommends that retailers and foodservice operators remove the products from sale or service.

FDA says testing of milk products being imported to the United States has not found melamine contamination.

Others, however, have not been so lucky.  FDA says:  The New Zealand Food Safety Authority reports that its testing of White Rabbit Creamy Candies has shown melamine contamination at high levels.

In light of the widespread contamination of milk and milk-based products in China and the New Zealand Food Safety Authority’s finding, the FDA recommends that consumers not eat White Rabbit Creamy Candy and that retailers and foodservice operations remove the product from sale or service.

See the rest of the FDA statement here.

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We really cannot explain this one.   We do know that federal Magistrate Judge Karen Stromborn went the the University of Wisconsin Law School, so maybe she still gets weak knees around dairy farmers.

Whatever, the reason, Judge Stromborn took the old term "slap on the wrist" to a new, much lower level in sentencing Woodland raw milk pushers Anita and Mike Puckett to--get this--$25 in court fees after both plead guilty to federal Class A misdemeanors for spreading the raw milk that made 18 people sick in 2005.

We said "slap on the wrist" was defined down because the deal the U.S. District Attorney's office had worked out with the Pucketts wasn't much--$250 fines and a year's probation.  The judge decided to disregard that agreement, apparently saying the probation officer's time could be better spent.

So break federal law by distributing adulterated food, and pay a $25 fine.  Wow.  What can we say? (It's a fine that amounts to a couple gallons of raw milk each!)

Judge Stromborn also is reported to have used the $8,000 fine the State of Washington imposed as an excuse for not fining them at the federal level.   (Actually, the Pucketts check to the state bounced.)

Here's what happened: Final Investigation Summary of Dee Creek Farm

Go here for more.

 

 

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Stephen J. Hedges of the Chicago Tribune's Washington Bureau weighs in with a story questioning whether the new ruling by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to allow irradiation of some fresh produce is a public relations stunt.  Hedges writes:

The FDA's irradiation decision is the latest attempt to find a technical fix to what has become a near-epidemic food safety problem.

•In 2000, the FDA approved the use of irradiation on meat, a practice that has not gained widespread consumer acceptance.

• In July 2004, the agency approved the application of carbon monoxide gas to preserve the red color of packaged meat.

•In January more controversy was stirred when the FDA approved the sale of meat and dairy products from cloned cows.

Whether consumers will accept irradiated lettuce and spinach is an open question. Irradiated meat, for example, is hard to find in most stores.

"Hopefully there'll be some manufacturers that will take that step," said Bill Marler, a Seattle attorney who represents food contamination victims. "Hopefully the public will be less concerned about it. All the evidence suggests that there's not a risk."

For more from Hedges, go here.

P.S. If the symbol above is on a food package, its gone through irradiation.

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning consumers against eating certain frozen cooked mussel products made by Bantry Bay Seafoods, imported from Ireland, because they may be contaminated with azaspiracid toxins, a group of naturally occurring marine toxins known to cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach cramps.

Azaspiracid toxins are odorless, tasteless, and cannot be destroyed or neutralized by freezing or cooking, including boiling. Individuals who have experienced gastrointestinal symptoms such as those noted above after eating any of the products listed below should consult their health care professional. Symptoms typically occur within hours of consumption and persist for two to three days.

In July, two people in Washington state became ill after eating the company's "Mussels in a Garlic Butter Sauce." FDA tested unopened product from the same production lot and found that it contained the azaspiracid toxins.

Consumers should throw out the following Bantry Bay Seafood frozen cooked products with "Best before end" dates ranging from January 23, 2009, to November 15, 2009:

* Mussels in a Garlic Butter Sauce
* Mussels in White Wine Sauce
* Mussels in Tomato and Garlic Sauce

The "Best before end" dates are displayed on the side of the box in the following format: MM:DD:YY. Products to be thrown out are marked with dates 01:23:09 through 11:15:09.

These products are sold frozen in 1 pound cardboard packages in stores throughout the United States.

The FDA also recommends that retailers and foodservice operators remove these products, and any food in which these products were used as an ingredient, from sale or service.

Azaspiracid toxins were an unknown marine toxin until 1995, when they were identified and linked to an outbreak of foodborne illnesses associated with consumption of Irish shellfish. The toxins have since been identified in other shellfish from the west coast of Europe. They have never been detected in shellfish harvested from U.S. waters.

 

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SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In just a year and a half, the American meat industry has experienced a whiplash of beef recalls. 40 million pounds of meat tainted with highly toxic E. coli O157:H7 has been publicly recalled, up by a staggering factor of two hundred from the 2006 amount of only 181,900 pounds.

“This is beyond the ‘wheels coming off’ of the meat supply system,” said food borne illness attorney William Marler. “It’s the entire train in a tangled heap. And the people caught in the train wreck are you and me and all of our neighbors. When reports say that there is a one in 400 chance that the package of ground beef you pick up at the supermarket will be tainted with a lethal bacterium, the food safety system is no longer functioning, and immediate, radical steps must be taken.”

In more than thirty recalls ranging from a few hundred to millions of pounds, the Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) has deemed E. coli contaminated meat a class I (one) health hazard to consumers. (A class I recall involves a health hazard situation in which there is a reasonable probability that eating the food will cause health problems or death.)

“There are many theories as to why there has been such an unprecedented jump in E. coli,” said Marler. “It could be regulatory complacency, better reporting, or immigration sweeps that have left slaughterhouses empty of skilled workers. Global warming may be spreading fecal dust. High oil prices may have led to an E. coli-producing diet for cattle. The microbe itself may even be evolving to elude capture. Another possibility is that the higher costs of slaughterhouse inputs (beef cattle) have collided with retailer’s low price pressures on outputs (hamburger) from those same slaughterhouses. These ideas need investigation and research, so that real change can begin.”

To advance that change, Marler reached out to the food safety community and asked for ideas from experts, scientists, regulators, and food agency brass. He distilled the volumes of submitted suggestions into ten action items (full text can be found here):

• Improve surveillance and reporting of bacterial and viral diseases.
• Require real training and certification of food handlers at restaurants and grocery stores.
• Stiffen license requirements for large farm, retail, and wholesale food outlets.
• Increase food inspections.
• Reorganize federal, state, and local food safety agencies to increase cooperation and reduce wasteful overlap and conflicts.
• Establish tax credits for companies with good food safety records, and greater legal consequences for sickening or killing customers with tainted food.
• Use our technology to make food more traceable.
• Promote university research.
• Improve consumer understanding of the risks of food-borne illness.
• Provide Presidential leadership on a topic that impacts every single one of us.

“There are a lot of very smart, very dedicated professionals in the food safety community,” Marler concluded. “They have spent their careers working toward a better food supply, and that collective knowledge is available to design and implement change. We need our leaders to get on board, and get the food safety train back on track.”

BACKGROUND: Marler Clark has represented thousands of victims of foodborne illness outbreaks since 1993. The firm’s attorneys have litigated high-profile food poisoning cases against such companies as ConAgra, Wendy’s, Chili’s, Chi-Chi’s, and Jack in the Box. Marler Clark currently represents thousands of victims of outbreaks traced to ground beef, peppers, pot pies, spinach, and peanut butter, as well as other foods. For further information contact Mary Siceloff at msiceloff@marlerclark.com or (206) 719-4705, or visit www.MarlerClark.com.

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Just in time to ruin your summer vacation to Bar Harbor and other locations on the beautiful Maine coast comes this warning from our friends at the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA):

Avoid eating tomalley in American Lobster (Maine Lobster), regardless of where the lobster was harvested, because of potential contamination with dangerous levels of the toxins that cause Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP).

American lobster, also known as Maine lobster, are harvested from the waters of the Atlantic Ocean from Northeastern Canada to South Carolina, inclusive.

The FDA advisory applies only to tomalley, the soft, green substance found in the body cavity of the lobster that functions as the liver and pancreas. Cooking does not eliminate the PSP toxins. However, studies have shown that, even when high levels of PSP toxins are present in lobster tomalley, lobster meat itself is typically unaffected.

Symptoms of PSP include tingling and/or numbness of the mouth, face or neck; muscle weakness; headache; and nausea. In extreme cases, when large amounts of the toxin are consumed, these symptoms can lead to respiratory failure and death. Symptoms usually occur within two hours of exposure to the toxin. Anyone experiencing these symptoms should seek medical attention.

For more, go to the FDA here.

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Got Raw Milk? It ran on American Public Media. Pointed out one thing we didn't know. Raw milk sells for $12 a gallon! Check it out here.  It is fair and balanced.

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Raw Milk's first cousin Raw Cheese is bringing death to San Diego in the form of a disease most Americans think no longer exists in the United States.   Doug Irving, writing in the Orange County Register, yesterday reported:

Researchers have found a potentially deadly strain of tuberculosis infection spreading through Latino communities in Southern California and suspect the disease is being imported from Mexico in unpasteurized cheese...

Tuberculosis is an infection of the lungs that kills nearly 2 million people worldwide every year. The strain of tuberculosis that researchers found in San Diego County is more often linked to cattle, but can spread to people through raw dairy products.

That particular strain remains rare, even in San Diego County, the researchers concluded. But more than 90 percent of the people who were sickened by it were Latino, mostly from Mexico.

There's one error in Irving's story, his report has all unpasteurized milk and cheese being illegal in the United States.  Some may wish that were true.   However,  the OC Register is well worth the read and can be found here.

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South Dakota is recalling milk  for a potential health risk due to improper pasteurization.

 We are wondering if the "dirty dairy" bill passes in California if states that discover unpasteurized milk could in the future just send it to the Golden State where it could be mixed into the "bacteria cocktails" for sale by retailers like Whole Foods.

But we digress.  Health officials in South Dakota are urging people not to drink any half-gallon, 1 percent Hy-Vee Health Market Milk with a product code before June 2nd.  The recall was issued by the South Dakota Department of Agriculture.

Unpasteurized milk may contain E. coli, Salmonella, and other harmful bacteria that can cause life-threatening illness.  

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Let’s call it what it is: the “dirty dairy” bill.

California has always been silly about its organic movement. Yet, it’s usually been serious about food safety and public health.

Raw milk is NOT pasteurized. According to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, more than 1,000 people got sick from raw milk and raw cheese between 1998 and 2005. More than 100 went to the hospital. Two died.

There’s a small market commercial market for raw milk in California—about 40,000 people. (Or 1/10th of one percent of all California consumers)

But with just two raw milk producers in the state, the troubled Organic Pastures of Fresno County and Claravale Farms on San Benito County, the raw milk market is big enough. OP sells to 300 retail stores, including Whole Foods.

Hang in there; we will get to the “dirty dairy” bill in a minute.

Sacramento health officials are very much aware of the destruction caused by Organic Pastures. It is implicated in both E. coli and Campylobacter outbreaks and a Listeria recall. Attorney Bill Marler represents a couple of OP’s former customers, both HUS victims with one for sure requiring a transplant.

So, California, being a serious state, opted to regulate raw milk with a scientifically measurable standard of 10 coliform bacteria per milliliter of raw milk.

The “dirty dairies” howled and went into action, filing a lawsuit against the new state regulation. They lost. Now, the “dirty dairies” are commanding their minions, specifically Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, to introduce the “dirty dairy” bill to lift the safety standard.

The limits are there to make sure dairies are clean because dirty dairies are more likely to breed pathogens. The California Department of Food & Agriculture views the standards as “reasonable and attainable.”Current regulations allow the dairies to use independent labs and only if specific harmful pathogens are found and verified could raw milk production be halted.

Not good enough for Dean’s “dirty dairy “ bill, which would eliminate bacteria limits.
The crux of what he is saying is that what raw milk customers want to buy is the bacterium cocktail that only a “dirty dairy” can produce.

All those dairy cases at Whole Foods can get pretty confusing.   Lot's of people are just grabbing for a bottle of milk, and are not aware they might be buying a "bacterium cocktail."  Today California is in business to protect consumers.  Tomorrow, it might be in business to protect Dean's dirty dairies.

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We've been wondering if we'd ever hear anything from the public health side of Pennsylvania government.   The state or more specifically its Ag department issues licenses to dairy farms that want to sell raw milk.
Pennsylvania tests raw milk and when those tests show the raw milk has gone bad, it does issue warnings and recalls.
Dr. Stephen Ostroff, Bureau of Epidemiology Director for the Pennsylvania Department of Health, has stepped up to the plate with a guest editorial in the Lebanon Daily News.  Under the headline: Raw milk raw deal for many consumers,  Dr. Ostroff calls raw milk "inherently unsafe."
Here's some more of what Dr. Ostroff has to say:

While the permitting process unquestionably enhances the safety margin of raw milk, and we strongly endorse this program, it is not a substitute for milk pasteurization.

Milk pasteurization is one of society’s greatest public-health achievements. Since its widespread adoption in the 1930s, it has prevented millions of needless illnesses and saved countless lives.

Despite that, some advocates are promoting raw milk in the mistaken belief that it is healthier or more nutritious. The scientific evidence simply does not support this claim.

All of Ostroff's comments can be found here.

 

 

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Food labs responsible for testing imports for safety are being put under suspicion by the U.S. House Committee on Energy & Commerce.

The Committee's Oversight and Investigations subcommittee has sent out letters to ten food labs, suggesting they had been encouraged by importers to keep testing until the product was found to be safe.

A story on the Oversight subcommittee's action in today's Chicago Tribune comes complete with a picture of a San Francisco chemist--who just happens to be Chinese--working in her laboratory. 
Tribune reporter Stephen J. Hedges quotes from the letter:

"We're gathering information from both the FDA and private industry about the labs almost being complicit in helping importers game the system," said Rep. Bart Stupak, D-MI, chairman of the Oversight and Investigations subcommittee that is investigating the labs and food companies. "Someone told us you pay for the result you want to get from the labs."

In addition to the May 1st letter to the labs, the Oversight subcommittee on May 8th wrote to 50 multi-national food companies demanding recall and import documents going back to the year 2000.

"We wish to assess the extent of microbiological and/or chemical contamination occurring during the processing of food and the extent to which controls have failed to prevent or eliminate contamination in food," the committee wrote.

According to the Chicago Tribune:

The role of food testing laboratories became an issue in February, when the CEO of one private lab, Anresco Laboratories of San Francisco, said private labs don't always tell the FDA when tests show that imported food may be contaminated.

So far, only two of the ten food labs have cooperated with the Subcommittee.   We soon will be seeing a bunch of  lab executives rising before the Subcommittee to swear to tell the truth!

Go here for more.

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This is interesting.

Lifeway Foods, Inc. and its subsidiary, LFI Enterprises, Inc., both Illinois companies, are pushing back against the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA).


The federal government last Thursday (5/15/08) ordered Lifeway to shutdown its cream cheese and seafood operations.  FDA said:

A consent decree of permanent injunction, signed by both corporations and two of their top executives, Julie and Edward Smolyansky (the defendants), halts cream cheese and seafood processing in facilities in Skokie, Ill., and Philadelphia, Pa.

The Smolyanskys did not see it that way.   On the Manufacturing Business & Technology website, they weighed in with separate statements.

Julie Smolyansky, CEO commented, "The Consent Decree has absolutely no impact or affect upon Lifeway's products or production facilities. We vigorously disagree with the allegations of the complaint. These same products have been produced for over 15 years for a very small and select group of customers in the Philadelphia area without one consumer complaint, and while we of course respect the government's position, we do not agree with their unfounded assertions. We know that we are and have been compliant as to any alleged violation asserted in the complaint. We would never place our customers at risk."

Edward Smolyansky, CFO commented, "Lifeway and LFI filed an answer to the complaint denying all material allegations. Lifeway will continue to produce and ship all of its products including its kefir, farmer's cheese, and spreadable cheese products without any interruption. As our most recent quarterly report filed on May 15, 2008 exhibits, our core product lines continue to grow at a tremendous pace, and we have never been more confident about the future of our business as a whole."

Continue Reading...

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We've been watching the Houston area media today for reports on the Hope Food Supply, which has been shutdown on the order of the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA).  But, we ain't seen much.

There's been no comment out of Hope Food Supply, which has also been ordered to recall all its dried smoked catfish steaks and any other seafoods it has ever produced.  No one seems concerned about people being put out of work.

So maybe Hope Food Supply is a little pissant business, and its passing isn't going to be missed by anybody.  Here's what FDA is saying:

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today directed Hope Food Supply Inc., a Pasadena, Texas, food processing company, to shut down and immediately recall all products manufactured from its Texas facility since 2007.

The company, under a different name, had manufactured dried smoked catfish steaks and other smoked seafood products and had been subject to a consent decree of permanent injunction requiring it to develop and implement an adequate Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) plan for its fish and fishery products. The firm had not developed this plan. The company cannot restart manufacturing until they have implemented an FDA-approved HACCP plan.

"We simply will not allow a company to put the public's health at risk by not implementing adequate procedures and plans to produce safe food," said Margaret O'K. Glavin, associate commissioner for regulatory affairs. "The FDA will take action against companies and against their executives who violate the law and endanger public health."

The rest from FDA can be found here.

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 76 million foodborne illness cases occur in the United States every year. This amounts to one in four Americans becoming ill after eating foods contaminated with such pathogens as E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella, Hepatitis A, Campylobacter, Shigella, Norovirus, and Listeria.  On an annual basis, approximately 325,000 people are hospitalized with a diagnosis of food poisoning, and 5,000 die.

While most foodborne illness cases go unreported to health departments, nearly 13.8 million food poisoning cases are caused by known agents—30% by bacteria, 67% by viruses, and 3% by parasites (Mead, et al., 1999).  Now an article in Clinical Infectious Disease this month explains why so few cases get reported - Emergency care physicians' knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to surveillance for foodborne disease in the United States

The article suggests:

• Because public health surveillance for bacterial foodborne diseases fundamentally depends on stool cultures, we conducted a survey of physicians who attended an emergency medicine conference to describe knowledge, attitudes, and practices among this provider population.

• Thirty-eight percent reported having ordered a stool culture for the most recent patient with acute diarrheal illness examined in the emergency department, but only 26% of the physicians subsequently received the stool culture results.

• For only 2 pathogens (Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella species) did at least one-half of the respondents provide the correct response regarding whether selected diarrheal disease pathogens were reportable in their state.

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Something called the U.S. China Economic and Security Review Commission last week held a hearing on “Chinese Seafood: Safety and Trade Issues.”

The big talker was Don Kraemer from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. He is deputy director in the Office of Food Safety.

Kraemer went into some extensive detail on the legal authority FDA maintains over Chinese imports to the United States; and all the policies and procedures it employs.

With doctors telling us all to eat fish twice a day, Kraemer started to get our attention with statements like this: “More than 80 percent of the seafood consumed in the U.S. is imported from approximately 130 countries, and over 40 percent of that seafood comes from aquaculture operations.”

And about China specifically, this:

"By volume, China is the largest exporter of seafood to the U.S., and the second largest in terms of monetary value. In particular, China exports significant amounts of shrimp and catfish products, which represent two of the ten most consumed seafood products in the U.S.

As the aquaculture industry continues to grow, concern about the use of unapproved drugs and unsafe chemicals in aquaculture operations has increased significantly. There is clear scientific evidence that the use of unapproved antibiotics and other drugs and chemicals, such as malachite green, nitrofurans, fluoroquinolones, and gentian violet, can result in the presence of residues in the edible portions of aquacultured seafood.

 

Fluoroquinolones are not approved for use in food fish and have been prohibited from extra-label use in the U.S. and many other parts of the world because of public health concern about the development of antimicrobial resistance. Moreover, prolonged exposure to nitrofurans, malachite green, and gentian violet, or their metabolites, has been shown to induce cancer in humans or animals.

 
Since June 28,2007, there’s been a detention order on all farm-raised catfish, basa, shrimp, dace and eel from China. This means the Chinese farm fish are subject to detention FDA without examination.

Since imposition of the countrywide Import Alert, FDA has detained 2,964 shipments of aquacultured seafood from China, and through laboratory testing, 1,387 of those shipments have been released into U.S. commerce.
Only one company, Zhanjiang Guolian Aquatic Products Corporation, Zhanjiang, China (Guolian), has taken the steps needed to get out from under the detention order.

The Review Commission is a 12-member panel created by Congress to monitor trade with China.

For Kraemer’s complete statement, go here.

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The Institute for Food Laws & Regulations (IFLR) at Michigan State University will present a Food Labeling Workshop on July 23-24, 2008, at The James B. Henry Center for Executive Development adjacent to the MSU campus.

This workshop is designed for food industry personnel and regulatory officials who are responsible for reviewing food labels and labeling for compliance with state and U.S. federal law.

Those involved with label evelopment or review will find the course of invaluable interest. Trade association staff, food consultants, and attorneys will also find this program valuable.

Topics to be covered in the workshop include the latest information on food allergen labeling, requirements for principal and information panels, ingredient statements, nutritional labeling, nutrient content claims, and health messages along with practical issues in food labeling regulation. The workshop format will also allow time for questions and a hands-on review of label problems.

“Labeling regulations are a specialized, complex area of law,”
said Neal Fortin, IFLR Director, “understanding these requirements is both essential for staying within the law and for ensuring food safety."

The mission of the Institute for Food Laws and Regulations is to further the education of food laws and regulations. In addition to the Food Labeling Workshop, the Institute offers the International Food Law Distance Education Certificate Program with nine courses to choose from including the International Food Laws and Regulations overview course and courses on Food Regulation in the United States, Canada, Latin America, European Union, Asia and Codex Alimentarius (the Food
Code), OIE (animals) and IPPC (plants).

Through the generosity of the Michigan Department of Agriculture and the Michigan food industry, a number of tuition scholarships are available. More information about the scholarship opportunities and the Food Labeling Workshop can be found at www.iflr.msu.edu/label.html, by calling 517-355-8295, or e-mailing IFLR@msu.edu.

###

EVENTS AND SEMINARS:

US Food Labeling Workshop
Lansing, Michigan, USA
July 23-24, 2008
8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Institute for Food Laws & Regulations, MSU
Special early-bird registration rate before May 16, 2008
Attendance limited to first 40 registrations
Telephone: Mary Anne at 517-355-8295
Email: IFLR@msu.edu
http://www.iflr.msu.edu/label.html
http://www.iflr.msu.edu <http://www.iflr.msu.edu/>

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The CDC estimates that 76 million foodborne illness, or food poisoning, cases occur in the United States every year, which means that one in four Americans contracts a foodborne illness annually after eating foods contaminated with such pathogens as E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella, Hepatitis A, Campylobacter, Shigella, Norovirus, and Listeria. Approximately 325,000 people are hospitalized with a diagnosis of food poisoning, and 5,000 die. The estimated costs in terms of medical expenses and lost wages or productivity are between $6.5 and $34.9 billion (Buzby and Roberts, 1997; Mead, et al., 1999).  While most foodborne illness cases go unreported to health departments, nearly 13.8 million food poisoning cases are caused by known agents – 30% by bacteria, 67% by viruses, and 3% parasites (Mead, et al., 1999).

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The British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal has ruled that there is no evidence of: the relationship between food contamination and hand-washing; nor is there any  risk to the public if a restaurant employee's hand-washing is limited (or non-existent) and no reason for concern about other employees being adversely affected.  

So maybe  if your planning a vacation trip or convention in Vancouver, BC, you may want to cancel now and RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!  

The context for this daffy decision by the BC Tribunal was a dispute between McDonald's and long-time employee Beena Datt.   After working at McD's for more than 20 years, Ms. Datt came down with a skin condition that her doctor said limited or prevented her from being able to wash her hands as often as required by McDonald's policy for all employees.

There's a long story here and it is told by the blog Northern Exposure, which covers employment law for U.S. companies with employees in Canada.    It's a great read.  Check it out here.

The bottom line is McDonald's was ordered to pay Ms. Datt about $55,000 for what apparently amounts to unlawful dismissal.   Who among us can be critical of someone else for getting McDonald's to pay up?  

Still to make an actual finding that there is no link between food contamination and failure of restaurant workers to wash their hands is so stupid, one has to question what's going on in name of "human rights" in Canada.   No restaurant worker has the right to make his or her fellow workers or their customers sick.

Canada may want to be taken seriously in the worst way.   Well, this is the worst way.

 

 

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The Centers on Disease Control & Prevention today (4/10/08) held a telephone press conference to mark the release of "Preliminary FoodNet Data on the Incidence of Infection with Pathogens Transmitted Commonly Through Food - 10 States, United States, 2007" which is also being published in this week's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Dr. Robert Tauxe, Deputy Director, CDC Division of Foodborne, Bacterial and Mycotic Diseases, said that after marking declining trends for food borne diseases after FoodNet was established in 1996, more recent data--including that for 2007--is not showing progress.

"The lines go up and the lines go down," Dr. Tauxe said.  "We cannot say we've made significant progress in the last few years.

FoodNet monitors every diagnosis of a major food borne illness in each of ten states and then projects on the population to spot trends.

FoodNet has picked up on a signficant increase in cyptosoridium that Dr Tauxe says may be partially due to a better lab test and treatment for the parasite.

Here's the preliminary data from FoodNet for 2007 from the MMWR;  Go here for the real thing.

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The top health official for Colorado's El Paso County, home of the U.S. Air Force Academy,  U.S. Northern Command,  and the Northern American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), just acknowledged local restaurants could be unsafe.

"We've got a large increase in the number of complaints that are coming to us, we really ought to be out there finding these things before they end up to be a complaint," says El Paso County Public Health Administrator Rosemary Bakes-Martin.  "We think what's lagging the most right now is restaurants, a restaurant inspection is pretty time consuming."

Colorado law requires local health departments inspect restaurants twice a year.  El Paso County budget constraints keep them from inspecting even once every two years.

At a budget hearing, the health department said the number of restaurant-related complaints and violations increased six-fold.   Maybe someone should call Homeland Security.

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Every year the Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association and Pennsylvania Diary Promotion Program sponsor the "butter sculpture" at the Harrisburg Farm Show.  This year, the buttery likenesses of Benjamin Franklin and the Liberty Bell were big hits.   At the end of the show, they were converted into high quality biodiesel.

Butter would become a whole lot more expensive if Auckland University epidemiologist Professor Rod Jackson gets his way.   Professor Jackson says butter is poison and should be hit with high taxes just like tabacco and alcohol.

Here's the news about the proposed butter tax from Stuff.co.nz

A top public health expert is calling for a health tax on butter, saying it's "pure, natural poison" and as bad as cigarettes.

 New Zealanders eat more butter per head than any other nationality and Auckland University epidemiologist Professor Rod Jackson says that's why our cholesterol levels are also among the world's highest.

"We have a health tax on alcohol and cigarettes and there should be a health tax on butter. It's the most poisonous commonly consumed food in New Zealand. It's about the purest form of saturated fat you can eat and it has no protein and no calcium. Butter has had all the good things taken out and just left the poison."

Find out more here.

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The decline of the print media gets much attention.   So much so, that one sign of life for the print media goes un-noticed.   That is the rise of the number of Sunday newspapers.   We are a weekend people in this 21st Century, and newspaper publishers while often stupid are usually are not fools.

For that reason, according to figures from the Newspaper Association of America, the number of Sunday newspapers today is over 900, up from 549 in 1950.

We bring this up as an excuse because it sometimes takes us the whole week to get to what was really important in one of America's Sunday newspapers.   In fact, we cannot really make any excuses because we should always check on what Phil Brasher at the Des Moines Register is reporting.

Last Sunday, writing from the newspaper's Washington bureau, Brasher filed a story that ran online under the headline: Inspectors didn't catch cattle abuse in California.

We ran across it on www.the-inspector.com

That's the website for the federal "badge-carrying" inspectors.  However, Brasher's focus was not on those guys, but the "third party" auditors that the Westland/Hallmark Meat Co,. owner made the central item in his testimony to Congress.

In the system that grown up, we've been led to believe that meat packers are more likely to jump to their feet if one of their customers ---like Jack In The Box or Sam's Club-- are in town with "third party" auditors.  This is suppose to relieve our worries about their not being enough federal inspectors around with those badges.  Brasher reports:

Independent inspectors from auditing firms based in Virgina and Illinois both missed the livestock abuse at the Westland/Hallmark's Chino slaughterhouse that resulted in the plant's entire production for the past two years - 143 million pounds - being recalled.

The vice president of HACCP Consulting Group, a Virginia-based auditing firm, inspected the California plant last Nov. 13-14 and reported that it had a well-designed humane-handling program "to ensure that live animals are treated in a manner conducive to the tenets of established humane-handling practices."

A week later, a representative of an Illinois-based auditing firm, Silliker Inc., graded the plant's humane-handling practices according to an audit system that's in wide use through out the meatpacking industry.

The plant received 106 out of a possible 110 points, including perfect scores on the condition of the cattle and the way they were unloaded and treated in holding pens.

How could a plant treat cattle poorly - the company president says he was sickened by what he saw on the videos - and yet pass its outside inspections with no problem?

One possible explanation is that the company knew the auditors were coming and cleaned up its act.

There's a link to Brasher's story here.

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The Centers For Disease Control & Prevention says we do not need get a vaccine for Typhoid Fever unless we travel to Third World countries or work in a laboratory with Salmonella Typhi bacteria.  Oh, and if you happen to come into contact with anyone who is a typhoid carrier.

That last category now applies to at least 100 customers of  who ate at Mama Sbarro's at 265 Broadway in Hicksville, New York on Long Island on March 14, 15 and 16.  It seems a kitchen worker had come down with Typhoid Fever.

Typhoid fever is an acute, life-threatening febrile illness caused by the bacterium Salmonella enterica serotype Typhi.  The CDC estimates there are 22 million cases resulting in 200,000 deaths worldwide.

Newsday reports customers were upset with the Nassau County Department of Health for not closing Mama Sbarro's.  The Newsday story can be found here.

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The quickest way to get ink in newspapers is to do some place-based rankings.   Name the states where you are most at risk while eating out, and you are certain to get some play.   That's what the website www.healthinspections.com found out last Friday when it named "the five most dangerous states for eating out."

The dangerous five are: Florida, California, Minnesota, Ohio and New York.   The rankings stem from 2006 data on restaurant-related outbreaks tallied by the Centers for Disease Control.  The website said:

Restaurants in these five states spread bacteria such as E.coli and salmonella, making nearly 3,000 customers sick and putting 65 in the hospital.

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Before the witnesses got to testify in yesterday's hearing of the House Subcommittee on  Oversight & Investigations,  Chairman John  D. Dingell had a few things to say, including:

Those who heard the testimony at our first food safety hearing of the parents of the children who became very sick or seriously injured from contaminated food understand how important these efforts are.

What have we learned so far from our work?

• CEOs of major food companies testify that they will do better—only to find that they have not.

• FDA employees and our own staff investigators tell us that the FDA has little or no control over the quality of the food entering the U.S. because the agency is understaffed.

• Yet, the FDA rewards Headquarter bureaucrats with bonuses, while they systematically starve their field inspection and laboratory forces.

• The new FDA food Czar, its enforcement chief, and the Commissioner himself tell us that the FDA can do more with less, a patently false claim I have heard for 30 years.

• FDA promises new technologies, yet they have delayed the deployment of irradiation, a technology that some experts say promises a truly effective “Kill Step” for the pathogens that contaminate our food.

The Michigan Democrat is Chairman of the House Energy & Commerce Committee to which the Subcommittee reports.  His entire  statement can be found here.

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Few subjects draw more immediate attention or concern than the safety of the food we eat. Recent years have seen a plethora of food warnings and recalls, raising new questions about the quality and integrity of our existing system for assuring food safety. In addition to explaining how our present system works, this program is intended to generate discussion on how changing consumer preferences are affecting the development and distribution of food, examine whether Federal, state, and industry oversight roles are changing, and discuss how regulatory and judicial processes can be most efficiently balanced. Participants include national and local representatives of government, the food industry, consumer organizations, and scientists.

Join Seattle University, Marler Clark, and Stoel Rives in welcoming renowned food safety experts from across the globe at the Seattle food safety conference:  Who's Minding the Store?  The Current State of Food Safety and How it Can be Improved.

Who should attend:
• Food Industry Professionals
• Regulators and Policy Makers
• Consumer Advocates
• Plaintiff & Defense Attorneys
• Public Interest Representatives

SPACE IS LIMITED; REGISTER EARLY.


Conference Agenda

April 11, 2008
8:15 a.m. - 9:15 a.m.

Welcome & Introductory Remarks

Kellye Testy, Dean, Seattle University School of Law

Barbara Kowalcyk, Director of Food Safety, Center for Foodborne Illness Research and Prevention

Richard Raymond, MD, Under Secretary for Food Safety, USDA FSIS

9:15 a.m. - 10:45 a.m. Defining the Problem
How concerns about food safety are viewed by physicians, disease experts, state regulators, and consumers.

Tom Billy, President, International Food Safety Consulting LLC

Sandra McCurdy PhD, Extension Food Safety Specialist, School of Family and Consumer Sciences, University of Idaho

Carlota Medus PhD, MPH, Epidemiologist, Acute Disease Investigation and Control Section, Minnesota Department of Health

William Keene, PhD, MPH, Senior Epidemiologist, Oregon Public Health Services, Acute and Communicable Disease Program

Richard Siegler MD, Professor Emeritus, University of Utah School of Medicine

11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. How the Regulation of Food Safety Works
The roles and responsibilities as seen by Federal and State regulators, industry, and consumers

Mansour Samadpour PhD, CEO, IEH Laboratories

Christine Bruhn PhD, Director, Center for Consumer Research, University of California-Davis

David Goldman MD, MPH, Assistant Administrator, Office of Public Health Science, Food Safety and Inspection Service, USDA

Bala Swaminathan PhD, Vice President, Technical and Business Development, IHRC Inc.

Caroline Smith DeWaal, Food Safety Director, Center for Science in the Public Interest

12:30 - 1:45 p.m. Lunch, Seattle University School of

Kellye Testy, Dean, Seattle University School of Law

Luncheon Speaker: Governor Christine Gregoire

1:45 p.m. - 3:15 p.m. Zones of Responsibility
What are the responsibilities of growers/producers, sellers, government, and consumers in the food safety system?

John Munsell, President, Montana Quality Foods & Processing; Manager, Foundation for Accountability in Regulatory Enforcement

Craig Wilson, Assistant Vice President / GMM, Food Safety & Quality Assurance, Costco Wholesale

Scott Rickman, Associate General Counsel, Del Monte Foods

Andrew Benson PhD, Professor, Department of Food Science and Technology, University of Nebraska -Lincoln

Devon Zagory PhD, Senior Vice President, Food Safety & Quality Programs, NSF Davis Fresh

3:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Roles of the Civil and Criminal Justice System
Different perspectives on foodborne illness litigation

Neal Fortin JD, Director & Professor, Institute for Food Laws & Regulations, Michigan State University

Bradley Sullivan JD, Managing Attorney, Lombardo & Gilles LLP

Denis Stearns JD, Marler Clark LLP PS

Sarah Brew JD, Partner, Greene Espel PLLP

Alan Maxwell JD, Weinberg, Wheeler, Hudgins, Gunn & Dial LLC

5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Reception, Seattle University School of Law Court Level Gallery


SATURDAY, APRIL 12, 2008
8:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.

Welcome and Introductory Remarks

Patricia Griffin MD, Chief, Enteric Diseases Epidemiology Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

9:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. How is Food Protected Overseas?
International perspectives on food safety

Liu Zhouhui, Deputy Director General of Certification and Accreditation Administration, People’s Republic of China

Jorgen Schlundt, Director, Department of Food Safety, Zoonoses and Foodborne Diseases; Acting Director, Department of Nutrition in Health and Development, World Health Organization

Canice Nolan PhD, First Counselor, Food Safety, Health, Consumer Affairs, Delegation of the European Commission, Washington DC

Chris Griffith PhD, Professor, Head Food Research and Consultancy Unit, University of Wales Institute-Cardiff

Deon Mahoney, Principal Microbiologist, Food Standards Australia New Zealand

10:45 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. Role of Media in Public Health and Food Safety
The contributions of media and science writers to food safety

Douglas Powell PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology, Kansas State University; Scientific Director, International Food Safety Network

Andrew Martin, Reporter, New York Times

Stephen Hedges, Reporter, Chicago Tribune

Philip Brasher, Washington Correspondent, Des Moines Register

Jim Pervor, Editor-in-Chief, Perishable Pundit

12:15 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. Lunch and Closing Remarks

John Kobayashi, MD, MPH, Clinical Assistant Professor, University of Washington School of Health

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We deal with many victims of food borne illness, often while they or family members are still being treated at hospitals and clinics.   Many of them use the Internet in those moments of crisis to find an attorney.   So, we cannot rule out the possibility that victims of food borne illness will also go on-line and fill out a lengthy questionnaire that ultimately will be shared with their local or regional health department.

That's exactly what the National Food Safety & Toxicology Center at Michigan State University wants victims of food borne illnesses to do.   They want anyone suffering from food poisoning to go to www.ReportFoodPoisoning.com and take about 20 minutes to fill out a report that will then be submitted to health department with jurisdiction over the specific case.

Goal of the project is to increase reporting of food borne illnesses.  Currently only 1-2 percent of all food borne illnesses get reported to health officials.  The on-line questionnaire requires the victim to submit pretty much the same information they would be asked to provide if interviewed in person by health officials.

Personal characteristics, residential information, symptoms, non-food exposures, food sources and a four day food history are all included in the on-line report.

Michigan universities and health agencies at the state and local levels designed the project.

We will be looking forward to finding out how its doing down the road.

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This week, you are going to hear a lot about what the federal government should be doing to clean up its act when it comes to making sure our food supply is safe.  John D. Dingell, powerful chairman of the House Energy & Commerce Committee, is holding a public hearing on Tuesday that will hear from lots of experts, including our own Bill Marler.

With the Chino slaughterhouse scandal bringing the nation's largest beef recall in history, facts are dripping out of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in bits and pieces.   USDA's big wigs held a press conference last Thursday (2/21), and the transcript was published on their website this morning (2/25).

We learned more about the current operation of the 62-year old National School Lunch Program.

Hallmark, which operated the Chino slaughterhouse, was one 23 meat packers eligible to sell product to USDA for schools.  Westmark was one 10 eligible grinders that was eligible.  USDA viewed Hallmark/Westland as "one operation" from which they purchased 20 percent of all beef used by the federal school lunch program.

Bill Session, USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service, explained:

We have an eligibility process for suppliers that they must go through to be eligible to supply. And this is in course with the federal acquisition regulations. First they have to demonstrate financial solvency and their ability to be financially independent. They have to have the technology and the means as far as the equipment and the personnel to perform the task. They then have to submit what we call a technical proposal, and that outlines all of how they, all the specific processes they will go through to meet the requirements that are contained in our specification and contracts. And then once they submit that technical proposal, it is subject to a desk audit by our scientific staff back here in Washington. Then if it passes that, then they are subjected to an in-plant audit, and that means that they have to be doing what they say they're doing and what they are doing meets the requirements contained in our specification and contractual requirements.

After that, they then become what was known as an "eligible supplier," and they then have to compete on a low-bid basis for the right to supply product. Once they are awarded a contract, we have an in-plant grader that is there monitoring the actual preparation and grinding process, and they oversee all aspects of that. In addition to that, we have monthly audits that they come in and look at all aspects of what was going on there. And additionally – I should say the plant would be operating under a federal grant of inspection; that's the foundation that we build on. We are really no different than any other large commercial purchaser of ground beef items. We rely on our colleagues at FSIS to provide that foundation of safety; then we build on that with other specific requirements that meet the end needs of our users.

As of the press conference, USDA figured that 50.3 million pounds of the Hallmark/Westland beef that is subject to the recall (143.3 million pounds in total) went to federal nutrition projects.  Officials said 19.6 million pounds were consumed (mostly by school children) and 15.2 were "on hold" (mostly in school freezers).  An additional 15.5 million pounds are "being traced."

All product recovered through the recall will be destroyed without further testing, according to USDA.   Contracts require Hallmark/Westland reimburse the school lunch program. 

No E. coli, salmonella or other common food-borne illnesses have been attributed to the recalled beef.  Any reports of Mad Cow disease probably won't be made  for 15 to 30 years.

The entire USDA transcript can be found here.

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New and troubling questions are raised in a story today by the Gannett News Service about the home grown problems that threaten food safety in the United States.   The story by Amanda Gardner quotes Marler Clark partner Bruce Clark about the lack of a "kill step" when it comes to the increasingly tainted fruits and vegetables.

The GNS story reports that:

Increasingly today, produce is grown in fields close to cattle and, sometimes, wild animals. The E. coli spinach contamination could have come from cattle or boar feces, or from contaminated irrigation systems, federal officials concluded.

The widening of E. coli cases from protein products to fresh fruits and vegetables is related to "the fact that U.S. agricultural commodities tend to be grown in areas that have cattle, which are reservoirs for bacteria," explained Bruce Clark, a partner in the Seattle law firm of Marler Clark, which represents victims of food poisoning. "As soon as you have manure on the ground, and you have birds and wild animals and water, you have all these vectors for transferring bacteria to fresh fruits and vegetables."

And most of the time, Clark added, produce is not subjected to the "kill step" (usually cooking), which would eliminate the pathogens. In fact, washing may not even help because of the ability of the organisms to cling to food surfaces.

Check out the whole story here.

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We thought New Era's production of botulism was probably over in mid January when it expanded its recall to include all of the beans and garbanzo beans produced by the Michigan processing plant in the last five years.

We were wrong.

Today, New Era Canning Company announced it was further expanding its recall to include all "vegetable products in #10 cans (large cans containing between 6 and 7 pounds) on the list below because they may have been processed under conditions which could have led to contamination by Clostridium botulinum bacterium spores, which can cause life-threatening illness or death."

This includes a long list of products as New Era cans for many labels around the country.  It also requires consumers to have knowledge of both the Uniform Product Code (UPC) and lot codes.

This ongoing New Era botulism recall has its own website at the U.S. Food & Drug Administration.  Go here to check it out.

Meanwhile here's the latest list of recalled products:

Classic Sysco brand, Distributed by Sysco Corporation, Houston, TX.

Green asparagus cuts & tips (asparagus, water, salt) in 101 oz. (6 lb. 5 oz.) cans (UPC 7486510471). All lot codes beginning with "00249" are included.

Great Northern beans (Great Northern beans, water, salt, calcium chloride, EDTA) in 108 oz. (6 lb. 12 oz.) cans (UPC 7486510486). All lot codes beginning with "00249" or "NORTH" are included.

Green beans, Italian cut, (Italian green beans, water, salt), in 105 oz. (6 lb. 9 oz.) cans (UPC 7486511294). All lot codes beginning with "00249" or "ITAL" are included.

Light red kidney beans (kidney beans, water, corn sweetener, salt, calcium chloride, EDTA) in 108 oz. (6 lb. 12 oz.) cans (UPC 7486510642). All lot codes beginning with "00249" or "LRKID" are included.

Red beans (red beans, water, salt, calcium chloride, EDTA) in 110 oz. (6 lb. 14 oz.) cans (UPC 7486510638). All lot codes beginning with "00249" or "RED" are included.

Cut wax beans (wax beans, water, salt) in 101 oz. (6 lb. 5 oz.) cans (UPC 7486511434). All lot codes beginning with "00249" or "WAX" are included.

Code brand, Distributed by Code, Atlanta, GA.

Dark red kidney beans (soaked kidney beans, water, corn sweetener, salt, calcium chloride, EDTA) in 6 lb. 12 oz. cans (UPC 1207316042). All lot codes beginning with "00249" or "DRKID" are included.

Fancy cut wax beans 4 sieve (wax beans, water, salt) in 6 lb. 5 oz. cans (UPC 1207310183). All lot codes beginning with "00249" or "WAX" are included.

Frosty Acres Restaurant's Pride Preferred brand, Packed for F.A.B., Inc., Alpharetta, GA.

Black beans (cooked black beans, water, ferrous gluconate, calcium chloride) in 6 lb. 15 oz. cans (UPC 4820049145). All lot codes beginning with "00249" or "BLACK" are included.

Blackeye Peas (Blackeye peas, water, salt, calcium chloride, EDTA) in 6 lb. 12 oz. cans (UPC 4820049146). All lot codes beginning with "00249" or "BEP" are included.

Fancy Great Northern beans (Great Northern white beans, water, salt, natural flavors and calcium chloride) in 110 oz. (6 lb. 14 oz.) cans (UPC 4820068288). All lot codes beginning with "00249" or "NORTH" are included.

Fancy cut Italian green beans (Italian beans, water, salt) in 105 oz. (6 lb. 9 oz.) cans (UPC 4820068390). All lot codes beginning with "00249" or "ITAL" are included.

Fancy dark red kidney beans (dark red kidney beans, water, corn syrup, salt, calcium chloride) in 111 oz. (6 lb. 15 oz.) cans (UPC 4820068171). All lot codes beginning with "00249" or "DRKID" are included.

Fancy Mexican style chili beans (white beans, water, corn syrup, sugar, tomato paste, salt, dextrose, onion powder, garlic powder, oleoresin paprika, natural flavors) in 111 oz. (6 lb. 15 oz.) cans (UPC 4820068534). All lot codes beginning with "00249" or "CHILI" are included.

Fancy pinto beans (pinto beans, water, salt, calcium chloride, EDTA) in 111 oz. (6 lb. 15 oz.) cans (UPC 4820068939). All lot codes beginning with "00249" or "PINTO" are included.

Fancy red beans (prepared red beans, water, salt, calcium chloride, EDTA) in 6 lb. 12 oz. cans (UPC 4820069023). All lot codes beginning with "00249" or "RED" are included.

Fancy vegetarian beans in tomato sauce (white beans, water, corn syrup, sugar, tomato paste, salt, dextrose, onion powder, garlic powder, oleoresin paprika and natural flavorings) in 112 oz (7 lb.) cans (UPC 4820069161). All lot codes beginning with "00249" or "VEG" are included.

GFS brand, Distributed by Gordon Food Service, Grand Rapids, MI

Fancy all green asparagus cuts & tips (asparagus, water, salt) in 6 lb. 5 oz. cans, reorder no. 229601 (UPC 9390122960). All lot codes beginning with "00249" are included.

Fancy black beans (black beans, water, salt) in 6 lb. 12 oz. cans, reorder no. 557714 (UPC 9390155771). All lot codes beginning with "00249" or "BLACK" are included.

Italian cut green beans (Italian green beans, water, salt) in 6 lb. 9 oz. cans, reorder no. 769878 (UPC 9390176987). All lot codes beginning with "00249" or "ITAL" are included.

Medium lima beans (lima beans, water, salt) in 6 lb. 12 oz. cans, reorder no. 118796 (UPC 9390111879). All lot codes beginning with "00249" or "LIMA" are included.

Fancy Mexican style chili beans (soaked red beans, water, chili seasoning, salt, corn starch, tomato paste, sugar, calcium chloride) in 6 lb. 12 oz. cans, reorder no. 192015 (UPC 9390119201). All lot codes beginning with "00249" or "CHILI" are included.

Fancy cut wax beans 4 sieve (wax beans, water, salt) in 6 lb. 5 oz. cans, 118834 (UPC 9390111883). All lot codes beginning with "00249" or "WAX" are included.

Kitchen Essentials brand, Distributed by Gordon Food Service, Grand Rapids, MI.

Cut wax beans mixed sieve (wax beans, water, salt) in 6 lb. 5 oz. cans, 274453 (UPC 9390127445). All lot codes beginning with "00249" or "WAX" are included.

Monarch Heritage brand, Packed for PYA/Monarch, Inc, Greenville, SC.

Italian style cut green beans (green beans, water, salt) in 6 lb. 5 oz. cans, 173865 (No UPC code). All lot codes beginning with "00249" or "ITAL" are included.

Necco brand, Packed by New Era Canning Company, New Era, MI.

Cut wax beans (wax beans, water, salt) in 6 lb. 6 oz. cans (UPC 3683513440). All lot codes beginning with "00249" or "WAX" are included.

New Era brand, Distributed by New Era Canning Co, New Era, MI.

Asparagus cuts & spears (asparagus, water, salt) in 108 oz. (6 lb. 12 oz.) cans (UPC 3683511220). All lot codes beginning with "00249" are included.

Black beans (black beans, water, salt) in 108 oz. (6 lb. 12 oz.) cans (UPC 3683511692). All lot codes beginning with "00249" or "BLACK" are included.

Black-eyed peas (black-eye peas, water, salt, calcium chloride, EDTA) in 108 oz. (6 lb. 12 oz.) cans (UPC 3683511698). All lot codes beginning with "00249" or "BEP" are included.

Butter beans (lima beans, water, salt, sugar, calcium chloride, EDTA) in 108 oz. (6 lb. 12 oz.) cans (UPC 3683511694). All lot codes beginning with "00249" or "LIMA" are included.

Chili beans in 108 oz. (6 lb. 12 oz.) cans (UPC 3683511675). All lot codes beginning with "00249" or "CHILI" are included.

Great Northern beans (Great Northern beans, water, salt, calcium chloride, EDTA) in 110 oz. (6 lb. 14 oz.) cans (UPC 3683511688). All lot codes beginning with "00249" or "NORTH" are included.

Italian Cut Green Beans (Italian beans, water, salt) in 108 oz. (6 lb. 12 oz.) cans (UPC 3683511342). All lot codes beginning with "00249" or "ITAL" are included.

Light red kidney beans, (kidney beans, water, corn sweetener, salt, calcium chloride, EDTA) in 108 oz. (6 lb. 12 oz.) cans (UPC 3683511682). All lot codes beginning with "00249" or "LRKID" are included.

Dark red kidney beans, (kidney beans, water, corn sweetener, salt, calcium chloride, EDTA) in 108 oz. (6 lb. 12 oz.) cans (UPC 3683511680). All lot codes beginning with "00249" or "DRKID" are included.

Lima beans (lima beans, water, salt) in 108 oz. (6 lb. 12 oz.) cans (UPC 3683511696). All lot codes beginning with "00249" or "LIMA" are included.

Pinto beans (pinto beans, water, salt, calcium chloride, EDTA) in 108 oz. (6 lb. 12 oz.) cans (UPC 3683511686). All lot codes beginning with "00249" or "PINTO" are included.

Red beans (red beans, water, salt) in 6 lb. 12 oz. cans (no UPC). All lot codes beginning with "00249" or "RED" are included.

Vegetarian beans (white beans, water, cane syrup, tomato paste, corn syrup, salt, vinegar, calcium chloride, onion powder, paprika, spice, natural flavorings) in 108 oz. (6 lb. 12 oz.) cans (UPC 3683511670). All lot codes beginning with "00249" or "VEG" are included.

Cut wax beans (wax beans, water, salt) in 102 oz. (6 lb. 6 oz.) cans (UPC 3683511440). All lot codes beginning with "00249" or "WAX" are included.

Nugget brand, Distributed by Nugget, Atlanta, GA.

Asparagus cuts & tips (asparagus, water, salt) in 6 lb. 12 oz. cans, (UPC 4410503580). All lot codes beginning with "00249" are included.

Reliance Sysco, Distributed by Sysco Corporation, Houston, TX.

Cut wax beans 4 sieve (wax beans, water, salt) in 6 lb. 5 oz. cans, 4108056 (UPC 7486512190). All lot codes beginning with "00249" or "WAX" are included.

Wax beans mixed and short cuts (wax beans, water, salt) in 6 lb. 5 oz. cans, 4182788 (UPC 7486512231). All lot codes beginning with "00249" or "WAX" are included.

 

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