President's Choice E. coli O157:H7 Beef Recalled (JBS Swift Beef)- So, What Is President Obama Grilling For the 4th of July?
News yesterday from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), which is warning the public not to consume certain beef products described below because they may have been contaminated with E. coli O157:H7. This recall of beef products in Canada is related to the expanded recall of beef products in the USA by JBS Swift Beef Company, Greeley, Colorado due to possible E. coli O157:H7 contamination. JBS Swift Beef is recalling over 420,000 pounds of meat that has been linked to at least 23 illnesses in 9 states, including 2 with HUS.
The following President’s Choice (PC) brand beef products – steaks, roasts and ground beef, bearing Best Before dates April 29 to June 16, 2009 inclusive, are affected by this alert. These fresh (not frozen) beef products were sold at retail in variable weight packages consisting of trays with a plastic over wrap as well as from the in-store meat counters. Consumers are advised to check their freezers and dispose of if they have the affected beef products. These products have been distributed in Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada from the following retail stores:
Ontario:
Cash & Carry
Real Canadian Wholesale Club
Dominion
Extra Foods
Fortinos
Freshmart
Loblaws
No Frills
Real Canadian Superstore
Loblaw Superstore
Valu-mart
Your Independent Grocer
Zehrs
Westfair
Québec:
AXEP
Intermarché
Loblaws
Entrepôt Presto
Club Entrepôt Provigo
Provigo
Atlantic:
Cash & Carry
Real Canadian Wholesale Club
Dominion
Freshmart
Red & White
Quick Mart
Save Easy
Atlantic Superstore
Valu-mart
Mr. President, you might check the full list just released by USDA/FSIS. Another idea is to invite Secretary Vilsack over for the picnic.
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The Cuyahoga County Board of Health confirms that three children have contracted .jpg)
Wegman's grocery chain (73 stores in five states--MD, PA, NJ, NY, and VA) issued a recall yesterday for all fresh Anaheim peppers sold in its produce departments due to concerns of possible Salmonella contamination. The recall involves 
I'm no longer surprised when we get word of an outbreak associated with some new, seemingly innocuous food item. Cookie dough for Christ's sake. Elissa Elan reported this week that Dunkin Doughnuts learned that its supplier of instant non-fat dried milk and whey protein (Plainview Milk Products Cooperative of Plainview, Minn) had detected Salmonella on some of its equipment used to produce the products. .jpg)
It really is a bit hard to imagine what today was like for JBS Swift and the FSIS - checking the list of retailers that might have received the 420,000 pounds of E. coli O157:H7 meat. This morning a few names trickled out - this evening a torrent, tomorrow a flood? Here is the most recent list:
Michigan is no stranger to outbreaks of E. coli O157:H7 . . . particularly over the course of the last year. The CDC reports six culture-confirmed, PFGE matched cases in the 
In the last several weeks Nestle and JBS Swift customers have been hospitalized (some still are) with medical bills in the millions of dollars. Those that developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), face a life-time of kidney and bowel complications that will cost families tens of millions of dollars. People have been out of work for weeks – some have lost jobs. And, what have we heard from two multi-billion foreign corporations (Nestle - Swiss and JBS - Brazilian)? Nothing. Both companies have been linked by Local, State and Federal authorities to the illnesses, yet the companies remain silent. Nestle, JB Swift, time to step up and take care of your customers.
72 persons infected with a strain of E. coli O157:H7 with a particular DNA fingerprint have been reported from 30 states. Of these, 51 have been confirmed by an advanced DNA test as having the outbreak strain; these confirmatory test results are pending on the others. The number of ill persons identified in each state is as follows: Arizona (2), California (3), Colorado (6), Connecticut (1), Delaware (1), Georgia (1), Iowa (2), Illinois (5), Kentucky (2), Massachusetts (4), Maryland (2), Maine (3), Minnesota (6), 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). Ill persons range in age from 2 to 65 years; however, 65% are less than 19 years old; 71% are female. Thirty-four persons have been hospitalized, 10 developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS).
JBS Swift Beef E. coli Outbreak.png)
Nestle USA’s flour supplier for its Danville, VA cookie dough plant is now the focus of a joint investigation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services..png)
E. coli O157:H7 was found today at the Danville, Virginia plant Nestle makes Toll House Cookie Dough. According to Brian Hartman of 
The recent (and still unfolding) E. coli O157:H7 outbreak linked to contaminated Toll House cookie dough manufactured by Nestle has no shortage of lessons to teach, including the reminder that this deadly pathogen can find its way into nearly any food product if sufficient care is not taken during its manufacture. But this sad outbreak is also a case study in the ridiculously complicated, and too-often ineffective, state of food safety inspection in the United States. What makes the outbreak such an excellent case-study is the fact that the Nestle plant located in Danville, Virginia was not only manufacturing Toll House cookie dough products, but also a variety of Buitoni flat and stuffed pastas, and pasta sauces. This made the plant what is called a “dual jurisdiction establishment” that fell under the regulatory authority of both the FDA and the USDA. And to make things even more interesting, Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) was performing routine plant inspections under contract with the FDA. So how come with all these agencies involved no one prevented the outbreak?.jpg)
By way of background, the FDA has jurisdiction over all domestic and imported food products, except meat, poultry, or processed egg products, which fall under the jurisdiction of the USDA. But not all food products fall neatly on one side of the jurisdiction line or the other. For example, the products that Nestle manufactured for its Buitoni-brand fell on both sides of the line, with a few falling almost on the line. Meat-flavored pasta sauce would be inspected by the FDA, while meat sauce containing 3% or more of meat would be inspected by the USDA. The ravioli stuffed with cheese would be the responsibility of the FDA, while those stuffed with pork or prosciutto would be the responsibility of the USDA. Thus, if you look at the FDA Inspection Report from September 11 and 12, 2006, you will see that the inspector takes note of fettuccini and linguine being manufactured (FDA products), and chicken tortellini being manufactured (USDA product). Only the Toll House cookie dough products feel solely within the jurisdiction of the FDA. Nonetheless, the FDA plainly took note of all products being manufactured, without, however, making mention of whether or how what was found would be communicated to the USDA. Of course, since the USDA had an inspector onsite, and the FDA showed up in the plant only every year or so, it is the USDA that presumably knew much more about the plant..jpg)
In the early morning hours of Sunday, June 28, the JBS Swift Beef Company expanded the earlier recall of 41,280 pounds of beef contaminated with the highly toxic pathogen E. coli O157:H7 to include an additional 380,000 pounds. The beef recalls are FSIS Class I, meaning the “use of the product will cause serious, adverse health consequences or death.” The company and The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) have made available a list of recalled products, but so far have refused to reveal where those products were shipped, even in light of illnesses linked to the meat.
Nestle today is getting some competition from beef as the JBS Swift Company recall of four days ago has been increased to 380,000 pounds, up from 41,280 pounds..jpg)
Sometime in the early hours of 
As reported by the 
The beef products were produced on April 21, 2009 and were distributed both nationally and internationally. .jpg)
According to FSIS, together with traceback information and laboratory data, the recall is being expanded as a result of FSIS' cooperation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in an ongoing investigation into 24 illnesses in multiple states, of which at least 18 appear to be associated. 
We filed suit yesterday in Federal Court for the District of Colorado on behalf of Madison Sedbrook, who is six years old, and her parents Tristan and Cindy. Madison ate cookie dough on multiple occasions in April 2009 and developed a severe gastrointestinal illness. She bounced from hospital to hospital, doctor to doctor, while nobody could really figure out what was wrong with her. 
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned consumers not to eat two brands of pistachios repacked by Orca Distribution West Inc. of Anaheim, California. The brands are:
An E. coli lawsuit was filed yesterday on behalf of a Denver-area child who became gravely ill with 
urred last week, and sickened members of two groups who ate foods catered by the same unlicensed caterer. Nine people were hospitalized, and approximately 40 people became ill after attending the two events - a family reunion in Wilton and a wedding in Washburn. 
A young woman who was hospitalized for seven days after eating raw cookie dough made by Nestle USA filed suit today against the company in California Superior Court, San Mateo County. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of 18-year-old Jillian Collins by her attorneys, 
Lynne Terry from The Oregonian reports on a parent’s worst nightmare – buying food that sickens your child and husband. Here is part of the story:
Nestle Toll House raw cookie dough. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) put out the first official information about the outbreak late on June 18. The 
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.
John was hospitalized at East Tennessee Children's Hospital from October 4 through 12, then was transferred to the University of Tennessee Medical Center where he remained until October 29. During his hospitalization, John's kidneys failed requiring extensive dialysis to cleanse his blood, and he became badly anemic requiring many blood transfusions.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) issued a press release on June 18 about an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 which has been under investigation by several state health departments and the CDC. The 
We have been investigating several seemingly unrelated E. coli O157:H7 illnesses that may not be so unrelated. There are .png)
The .png)
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However, the problem was discovered through an epidemiological investigation of illnesses, NOT before the meat made it between hamburger buns. On May 13, 2009, FSIS was informed by the Ohio Department of Health of a cluster of E. coli O157:H7 infections. Illnesses have now been reported in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Illinois. About a dozen people were sickened and one young girl in Ohio died.
FSIS has 
We at Food Poison Blog have been 
According to a news report on 
Most of the time when we're writing about, reading about, or representing people for illnesses suffered in an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak related to produce, we're looking at things retrospectively. An outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 happened, we know it was linked to lettuce, spinach, or some other type of fresh, raw produce, but we are sometimes left digging for answers as to how the E. coli got onto (or even into) the lettuce or spinach leaves.
John was hospitalized at East Tennessee Children's Hospital from October 4 through 12, then was transferred to the University of Tennessee Medical Center where he remained until October 29. During his hospitalization, John's kidneys failed requiring extensive dialysis to cleanse his blood, and he became badly anemic requiring many blood transfusions.
Tiffany and Russ Erickson were just like most Americans until September 2006. Their four-year-old son Regan (pronounced "Ree-gun") was one of many young kids whose future was unalterably and forever changed by spinach. What appears below is Regan's story. It is a little long, but that must be forgiven. Regan's illness very nearly cost him his life..jpg)
Kelly Cobb is yet another example. Kelly was also infected by California produce, though her illness arose from a different outbreak than Ruby Trautz. Kelly was more fortunate than Ruby, but only because her younger body was more capable of fighting the severe infection than Ruby's was. 
E. coli O157:H7 outbreaks associated with lettuce or spinach, specifically “pre-washed” and “ready-to-eat” varieties, are by no means a new phenomenon. By way of illustration:
1. The company detected the bacteria in roasted pistachios in October but did not change its processing procedures until March.png)
Yesterday the 
Approximately 96,000 pounds of ground beef products are being 
Once again, the Perishable Pundit has managed to give, and get, some excellent commentary on sprouts and other food safety issues. I particularly enjoyed the .jpg)
The CDC has updated its numbers with respect to the alfalfa sprouts outbreak. See the full 
Good Lord, where do I start? Well, to begin with, thank you to Mr. Orwig (picture left), Caudill Seed, and Jim Prevor, aka "the Perishable Pundit" (the latter thank you being entirely without my tongue in my cheek--I really do enjoy Jim's weekly emails) for a wealth of extremely valuable information. What I'm referring to here is an interview that the Pundit had with Lyle Orwig, spokesman for Caudill Seed, who is now embroiled, despite any remonstrances to the contrary, in a public health nightmare--i.e. national Salmonella outbreak--linked to its alfalfa sprout seeds. Read the interview 
Heather's story is unique, perhaps because she had lived through so much pain in her life even before her severe E. coli O157:H7 illness. In November 2004, after two years of headaches, she was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Treatment for her relatively rare condition—giant cell glioblastoma—included a full craniotomy to remove the tumor from the left frontal lobe of Heather’s brain. The procedure left her partially paralyzed. She remained hospitalized at Seattle Children’s Hospital and in intensive rehabilitation from November 16 until December 24, 2004.
I'm doing my best to find any reference to a recall of the seeds implicated by the FDA and CDC in the recent Salmonella Saintpaul outbreak, which is now responsible for at least 228 illnesses in 13 states. I can't find any action by Caudill Seed taken to actually recall the product. I'm not talking about a market withdrawal, or any other less-than-serious effort to obscure the reality of this very significant public health nightmare. I'm talking about a recall . . . something that is supposed to voluntarily happen when a company (Caudill Seed) sells a product (alfalfa sprout seeds) that pose a significant public health risk (228 illnesses and counting). 
Moreover, consider now that the CDC is reporting at least 228 illnesses from 13 states (including NE, IA, SD, MI, KA, PA, MN, OH, IL, WV, FL, NC, and UT). These outbreaks are evolving things, and more illnesses may ultimately be determined to have been confirmed in this outbreak by the time all is said and done. But even if a hundred additional illnesses are added, that's nothing compared to the true scope and impact of this outbreak. I've been 
Our work at Marler Clark requires lots of travel . . . sometimes even overseas. Looks like it might be time to up my intake of spaghetti carbonnara and red wine so that I'm ready to roll when it comes time to take a closer look at the 
There is plenty of information out there on (1) what sprout and seed companies should be doing to reduce or eliminate the risk that they sell contaminated food to customers, and (2) what sprout sellers should be doing now, in the context of the 
Setton International Foods, Inc., has just 
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today recommended that consumers not eat raw alfalfa sprouts, including sprout blends containing alfalfa sprouts, until further notice because the product has been linked to Salmonella serotype Saintpaul contamination. Other types of sprouts have not been implicated at this time.
FDA held a call Saturday, April 25 to inform industry (but not consumers) of a forthcoming FDA press release (today or tomorrow?) related to an outbreak of .png)
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Some of the basic controls directed by FDA include:
The CDC has just released a 10-state study, .png)
Of the 6,299 (92.8%) Salmonella isolates serotyped, seven serotypes accounted for 61.6% of infections: Enteritidis, 1,062 (16.9%); Typhimurium, 1,006 (16.0%); Newport, 656 (10.4%); I 4,[5],12:i:-, 358 (5.7%); Javiana, 347 (5.5%); Heidelberg, 243 (3.9%); and Montevideo, 211 (3.4%). Among 102 (94.4%) Vibrio isolates for which the species was identified, 59 (57.8%) were parahaemolyticus, 18 (17.7%) were alginolyticus, and 13 (12.8%) were vulnificus. Among 260 STEC non-O157 isolates tested for O antigen determination, 228 (87.7%) had an identifiable O antigen, primarily O26 (21.5%), O103 (20.6%), or O121 (19.3%)..png)
Among age groups of persons infected with the following pathogens, the percentage of persons hospitalized was highest in persons aged >50 years: Listeria (86.2%), STEC O157 (53.3%), Vibrio (45.6%), Salmonella (40.0%), Yersinia (37.5%), Shigella (27.9%), Cryptosporidium (24.5%), and Campylobacter (20.5%). Among age groups of persons infected with the following pathogens, the case fatality rate (CFR) was highest in persons aged >50 years: Listeria (19.5%), Vibrio (7.4%), Salmonella (1.3%), Shigella (0.4%), and Campylobacter (0.4%). For infection with STEC O157, the CFR was highest among children aged <4 years (2.8%); for infection with Cryptosporidium and Yersinia, the CFR was highest in persons aged 20--49 years (1.3% and 3.0%, respectively).
Sprouts are the germinating form of seeds and beans. Sprouts, including mung beans and alfalfa sprouts, have become a common food item in grocery stores, salad bars and Asian dishes. As the popularity of sprouts increases, however, so does the potential for sprout-related illnesses. Most sprouts, including alfalfa sprouts, can only be eaten raw. This means they are not exposed to temperatures high enough to kill bacteria that may be present.
Nuts have been associated with Salmonella outbreaks in the US and Canada several times over the last ten years. Almonds were responsible for the first outbreaks, in 2001 and then again in 2004, when contamination with Salmonella Enterica triggered a recall of 13 million pounds of California almonds. A requirement was implemented in 2007 that all almonds sold on the domestic market be pasteurized. A court recently upheld that requirement.
Onondaga County Health officials have confirmed seven cases of Shigellosis among people who ate at an Applebee's restaurant in a Syracuse suburb earlier this month; about 100 more have reported getting sick. 
The California Department of Public Health traced the tainted spice to Union International Food Company, a Union City firm that distributes most of its pepper to Asian restaurants. Most of the 33 sick people found in this state were in northern and central California, although nine additional cases were found in other states..png)
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The outbreak that's sickened people in four Midwest states has been tied to SunSprout Enterprises' sprouts that were distributed to grocery stores and restaurants. The Omaha company "voluntarily" recalled its products..png)
Today, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) confirmed five cases of salmonella that might be linked to sprouts from a Nebraska company. KDHE said it had identified a possible link to sprouts from SunSprout Enterprises, Inc. of Omaha, Neb., but added that laboratory testing hasn't confirmed it yet. The sprouts also have been linked to salmonella cases in Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota.
When Marler Clark clients, Billie Rector went to St. Joseph Hospital in mid-January complaining of nausea and wrenching stomach pain, doctors at first suspected his gallbladder. When his 3-year-old daughter, Payton, was hospitalized a day later because of bloody diarrhea, doctors wondered if both family members might have been infected with E. coli. It turned out that the little girl, at least, was among the 666 people in 44 states to become ill after eating peanut products tainted with Salmonella typhimurium.
State media in China is reporting that at least 70 people have fallen ill after eating pork treated with the steroid clenbuterol, which is used to prevent animals from gaining fat, BBC News reported. The China Daily said on Monday that the people involved suffered from stomach pains and diarrhea after eating the tainted pork in southern China's Guangdong province over the past few days, with three victims still in hospital. Clenbuterol, a drug often given to people to treat asthma, has been administered to pigs in China to reduce their fat, despite being a banned food additive. The drug can sometimes be fatal for humans, although some athletes have used it to illegally build muscle. In 2006, some 336 people in Shanghai were hospitalized after eating pig meat or organs contaminated with the additive, the China Daily said.
Well, it's official. This peanut butter 
Hey. Did you just hear that? It was the collective sigh of relief from all the cookie fiends out there like me who are addicted to those delicious, sweet morsels of goodness known as Do-si-dos and Tagalongs Girl Scout Cookies. In the first bit of good news I've heard since this whole 
In a stunning and far-reaching 
Food inspectors conducting recall effectiveness checks in the state this week in response to the nationwide salmonella outbreak linked to King Nut peanut butter have confirmed the presence of 
Preliminary analysis of an epidemiologic study conducted by CDC and public health officials in multiple states comparing foods eaten by ill and well persons has suggested peanut butter as a likely source. Ongoing investigations suggest that peanut butter-containing products may also be linked with illnesses. To date, no association has been found with common brands of jars of peanut butter sold in retail grocery stores. _pdf (1 page)(1).jpg)
From a Press Release
The Minnesota Departments of Agriculture and Health today 
Minnesota Department of Health announces late Friday that the have linked thirty illnesses ( and a death) to the consumption of King Nut Peanut Butter (and Parnell's Pride?). There is nothing on the CDC website or other State Health Department sites naming names - yet. On Saturday King Nut and the FDA jointly release a recall notification, but King Nut blames the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) for its problem. PCA’s lawyers write a press release that tries to deny as much as possible.
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.
As I'm sure many of you are aware who follow food poisoning in the news, there is a huge nationwide 
It turns out none of us are invulnerable from food poisoning illnesses, not even health department employees. That's the hard lesson learned by the folks at the Lawrence County Health Department in Illinois following their holiday party this month.
Hands should be washed using soap and warm, running water
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