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

The FDA has announced the recall of Haifa Smoked Fish brand vacuum packaged Whole Schmaltz Herring with the lot number 20, because the product was found to be uneviscerated.  The risk to consumers is that, due to the errors in production, the fish may be contaminated with clostridium botulinum.

The lot being recalled is a product of Norway, individually vacuum-packed in clear plastic pouches with lot # 20 indicated on the label and distributed through various food retailers in the NY and NJ area. 

The Whole Schmaltz Herring was sampled by a New York State Agriculture and Markets Food Inspector during a routine inspection. Subsequent analysis of the product by New York State Food Laboratory personnel confirmed that Whole Schmaltz Herring was not properly eviscerated prior to processing. 

The sale of uneviscerated fish is prohibited under New York State Agriculture and Markets regulations because of Clostridium Botulinum spores are more likely to be concentrated in the viscera than any other portion of the fish. Uneviscerated fish has been linked to outbreaks of botulism poisoning. 

Botulism is a serious and potentially fatal form of food poisoning, causes the following symptoms: general weakness, dizziness, double-vision and trouble with speaking or swallowing. Difficulty in breathing, weakness of other muscles, abdominal distension and constipation may also be common symptoms. People experiencing these problems should seek immediate medical attention. 

Haifa Smoked Fish, Inc's troubled past

On November 13, 2009, The U.S. Department of Justice, on behalf of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, filed a complaint for permanent injunction against seafood processor Haifa Smoked Fish Inc. of Jamaica, N.Y., and two of its top officers for violations of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.

The injunction was sought to prevent the company from further manufacture, distribution, and sale of its products. “This company has consistently failed to make corrections to improve the insanitary conditions under which it processes smoked fish products, despite frequent warnings to do so,” said Michael Chappell, the FDA’s acting associate commissioner for regulatory affairs. “The FDA will not tolerate food companies that fail to provide adequate safeguards to protect the public.”

The company processes and distributes brined, cold-smoked, and hot-smoked fish and fishery products. The violations documented by the FDA pose a public health hazard because, without adequate controls, products made by Haifa Smoked Fish could become contaminated with (L. mono) or other pathogens and could cause serious illnesses.

“The public must be able to trust that the food in their grocery stores is safe for them to eat,” said Benton J. Campbell, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. “We will continue to work with the FDA to ensure that companies that produce food under dangerous or insanitary conditions take corrective action to clean up their act.”

Since 2001, the FDA and the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets (NYSDAM) have inspected the Haifa Smoked Fish facility on numerous occasions. The inspections revealed insanitary conditions that could lead to the contamination of the finished product with L. monoor other pathogenic microorganisms. The act refers to unsanitary conditions as insanitary.

FDA analyses of samples taken during the inspections revealed that food products and environmental surfaces, including food-contact surfaces, were contaminated with L. mono. The company also continually failed to comply with FDA’s Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) regulations. HAACP regulations require that seafood processors identify all food safety hazards likely to occur for each kind of seafood product, and develop and implement adequate plans to prevent and control those hazards.

The FDA issued warning letters to Haifa Smoked Fish in 2001 and 2004. In response, company officers promised to correct the violations. Subsequent inspections, however, revealed that the company did not make the corrections.
 

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Blake Morrison and Peter Eisler report in today's edition of the USA Today:

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced sweeping steps Thursday to "assure the safety and quality of food" purchased for the National School Lunch Program.

The measures include tightening requirements on companies that supply ground beef to schools, testing the beef more often and more thoroughly, and improving communications within the USDA to "identify potential food safety issues" before children get sick.

The initiatives come in the wake of a USA TODAY investigation that revealed failures in government programs intended to protect students from food-borne illnesses. More than 31 million children participate in the school lunch program.

The newspaper found that McDonald's and other fast-food chains are far more rigorous than the government in checking for bacteria and dangerous pathogens in beef. USA TODAY also found that the government lacks ways to quickly alert schools when products have been recalled or implicated in safety investigations.

The measures outlined Thursday are intended to address each of those points, bringing the standards and testing protocols in line with those used by the most selective restaurants and retailers. "It's a big deal," food safety consultant David Theno said of the USDA measures. He said the moves will push companies to "play to a higher standard" if they want to continue to supply food to schools.

The USDA also pledged to review the safety records of its school lunch suppliers more carefully and bar companies that have had repeated problems with their commercial products.

Such a move could affect companies such as Beef Packers, a Fresno company that recalled 826,000 pounds of ground beef last summer because it contained a drug-resistant strain of salmonella. Public health officials warned consumers to discard products from the company, which had a history of salmonella problems, but USA TODAY found that the USDA paid Beef Packers hundreds of thousands of dollars for 450,000 pounds of ground beef made during the period covered by the commercial recall.

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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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I received this article today from Steve Whybrew, the father of a college-age girl we represent who became infected with E. coli O157:H7 in a lettuce outbreak last year.  Steve's daughter, Heather, was hospitalized for 3 weeks.  She was also interviewed recently in an article for the New York Times about food safety. 

But back to the point of this post.  Given that the trend (very noticeably here in Seattle) is toward using reusable bags, this article provides some serious food for thought.  Among the findings recounted in the article:

The results complied in “A Microbiological Study of Plastic Reusable Bags and `First or single-use’ Plastic Bags” show that reusables are a breeding ground for bacteria and pose public health risks – food poisoning, skin infections such as bacterial boils, allergic reactions, triggering of asthma attacks, and ear infections. Over 30% of the bags had unsafe levels of bacterial contamination, 40% had yeast or mold and some of the bags had intestinal faecal bacteria embedded in their surface when there should have been 0.

What are we to do?  Do we have to choose between being environmentally responsible and getting sickened by a foodborne illness?  All I know is non-permeable surfaces make for better washability.  I'm not so sure about reusable canvas grocery bags after this article.

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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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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 statement by Devon Zagory, Ph.D, an industry leader in produce safety science, discussing the proper role of FDA regulations.  If I may be so bold, and speak for Dr. Zagory, I believe he would fully acknowledge the importance of FDA regs on any number of produce, medicinal, or other food products.  But he appears to also share the sentiment that FDA regs are a floor, not a ceiling.  He states, in reference to sprouts and his new job with Salad Cosmo:

"In the mean time we are already instituting a program that includes adherence to FDA test-and-hold procedures [step one] and goes well beyond FDA guidelines [step two] in terms of seed testing, water testing, environmental sampling, hazard analysis, development of detailed SOPs and validation of food safety programs and processes. Of course we are investigating seed sources to try to find seed produced following GAPs. It is a challenge that we relish. I don’t eat sprouts unless I know where and how they were produced. I eat sprouts from Salad Cosmo."

(emphasis and commentary supplied)

We see way too many companies in litigation trumpeting their adherence to FDA regs, or standards, and drawing the connection between that and proof of reasonable conduct.  The two are not equal.  There are hundreds, probably even thousands, of files in our file cabinets at Marler Clark containing the records of people injured in outbreaks where the manufacturer was "adhering to FDA standards."  Think about it.  Would you ever advise somebody--your children, co-workers, anybody--to "do the bare minimum and all will be well?"  Why should that defense work in front of a jury then?

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Relax, this is not a first account of Lindsay Lohan, um, "losing control" during another jail stint. It's far less irrelevant than that.  What Upton Sinclair started with his brief, though sordid descriptions of Chicago's stockyards in The Jungle, Hollywood has finally chosen to finish with an expose on the often-ugly underbelly of our country's food supply.  I don't know how much diarrhea and vomiting we'll see in the soon-to-be-released film titled Food, Inc.--please, not another yellow vomit scene like in Supersize Me--but I do know that the devastating effects of E. coli O157:H7 and hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) will be prominently featured in the story of Kevin Kowalcyk, who died as a young boy as a result of his HUS illness.  His mother, Barbara Kowalcyk, is a passionate food-safety advocate, and has been instrumental in bringing this topic to the fore.  Who knows, maybe a slap from Hollywood will do to food manufacturers what hundreds of millions of dollars, maybe even billions, in losses from past outbreaks has not???

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“We have heard time and again how valuable the information provided on these sites is to parents whose children are in the hospital. When your kid is sick, you arm yourself with as much information as you can, and these sites provide a comprehensive look at these ‘bugs’ and the illnesses they cause,” commented William Marler, managing partner of Marler Clark.

The sites also provide information related to high-profile food poisoning outbreaks that have occurred in the last 15 years. “Since Marler Clark has represented victims of nearly every major foodborne illness outbreak in the last fifteen years, we felt it was important to share the details of these outbreaks with anyone doing research on a particular pathogen,” Marler continued.

Marler Clark has represented thousands of victims of foodborne illness outbreaks since the 1993 Jack in the Box E. coli outbreak. The firm has resolved $300 million worth of cases against such food-companies as AFG, BJ's Wholesale Club, Blimpie's, the Brook-Lea Country Club, Byerly's, Cargill, Carl's Jr., Carneco, Carrabba's Italian Grill, Chi-Chi's, Chili's, China Buffet, ConAgra, Cub Foods, Dole, Emmpak, Excel, Filiberto's, Finley School District, Friendly's, Gate Gourmet, Gold Coast Produce, Golden Corral, Habanero's, Harmony Farms, KFC, King Garden Restaurant, Lund's, Malt-O-Meal, McDonalds, Natalie’s Orchid Island Juice Co., Natural Selections Foods, Odwalla, Olive Garden, Paramount Farms, Pat & Oscar's, PM Beef Holdings, Quality Inn, Quizno's, Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel, Robert's American Gourmet (Veggie Booty), Sam's Club, San Antonio Taco, Senor Felix, Sheetz, Silver Grill Location Catering, Sizzler, Sodexho, Spokane Produce, Subway, Sun Orchard Juice Co., Supervalu, Sushi King, Susie Cantaloupe, Taco Bell, Taco John's, Topps, United Food Group (UFG), Viva Cantaloupe, Wal-Mart, and Wendy's.

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The US food safety system was profiled today in an article published in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.  The article, which is the first in a three-part series, focused on what we know about our food safety system: 

• Fresh produce is more and more popular, and has become the leading cause of foodborne illness outbreaks.  Spinach, lettuce, sprouts, parsley, basil, tomatoes, and other fresh produce items have been identified as the source of E. coli, Salmonella, and other foodborne pathogens in recent years.
  
  Bruce Clark, a partner in Seattle-based Marler Clark, commented on the increase in produce-related outbreaks for the story:

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.

• Meat, which was previously the most prevalent cause of foodborne illness outbreaks, is back on public health officials' and food safety experts' radar, as 2007 brought several recalls due to E. coli contamination.
  
• Large food firms have begun purchasing smaller firms, and the consolidation of food resources has resulted in wider distribution of food products by fewer suppliers.  A small amount of contaminated food can now travel greater distances and be more geographically disbursed, thus leading to widespread outbreaks that are not geographically concentrated and are harder to trace.
  
• Government agencies charged with the responsibility for ensuring our nation's food is safe face challenges.  The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) works with 20 percent of the nation's food safety budget, but regulates 80 percent of food products.  The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) works with 80 percent of the nation's food safety budget, but regulates only 20 percent of food products.  

The story's author, who will continue the article series with a piece on imported produce, wrote:

The whole food production system has grown increasingly concentrated, overwhelmingly complex, and -- paradoxically -- at times fragmented.

At the same time, critics charge, U.S. government oversight is not adequate.

"Our real issue here comes down to appropriate oversight and regulation by our government agencies," said Mickey Parish, chairman of the department of nutrition and food science and acting chairman of the Center for Food Systems Security at the University of Maryland. "They have been cut back so severely in the last six to eight years that, quite frankly, it is more difficult to do the proper inspections that need to be done to ensure that the food is absolutely as safe as it possibly can be."

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Public health officials in North Carolina have not been able to identify the foodborne pathogen that sickened at least 76 people who attended a Force Protection Industries plant dedication in Roxboro.  The cause of the food poisoning outbreak has thus far been narrowed down to pork loin and/or pasta vegetable salad, according to an article in the Roxboro Courier. 

When interviewed, David Bergmire-Sweat of the Epidemiology Section of the N.C. Division of Public Health noted that improper holding temperatures for food can contribute to the growth of bacteria.  As reported by the Courier:

“Cold foods should be held at 45 degrees or below and hot foods should be cooked to the proper temperature or reheated to 165 degrees and then maintained at 135 degrees or above,” officials emphasized.

The Force Protection function was held on Friday, Nov. 30, at the former Collins & Aikman Corp. Elm Plant, which FP has refitted for production of the company’s Cheetah bomb-resistant armored vehicle.

Approximately 400 people attended the dedication ceremony, and the health department reported that 76 of the 335 people contacted, after health officials began investigating on Dec. 4, reported suffering from symptoms such as abdominal cramping, diarrhea and chills.

Improper food handling and holding temperatures have contributed to the spread of pathogens in several other outbreak-situations.

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As the year comes to a close, many publications are looking back on the year and assessing our nation's food safety system.  From the Wall Street Journal to USA Today and Reuters, everyone has something to say about the American food supply. 

The Wall Street Journal focused today on the USDA and the number of E. coli outbreaks in 2007.  Bill Tomson wrote about the Topps E. coli outbreak and the impact it has had on USDA's food safety policies:

It took one of the largest-ever beef recalls -- 21.7 million pounds of frozen hamburger patties linked to severe illnesses -- in 2007 to make USDA officials question whether beef processors around the country were following safety guidelines when it came to E. coli contamination. The New Jersey-based Topps Meat Co., the producer behind the massive recall, certainly wasn't, USDA officials said.

"When we sent food-safety assessors into the Topps plant, we found that their policies they had in place were not being followed nearly as vigorously as they had been just two years ago when we did a food-safety assessment in the same plant," USDA Under Secretary for Food Safety Richard Raymond said in an interview.

The Topps event led to several tough questions. The first was whether the Topps situation was unique.

"We don't know if Topps was the tip of the iceberg and other plants have gotten sloppy, or Topps was kind of an isolated incident," Mr. Raymond said.

USA Today focused on under-funding at the FDA and what that means for American consumers purchasing food products regulated by FDA.  Julie Schmidt wrote:

The appropriation is 12% more than the agency got for food safety in fiscal 2007. But half the increase will be eaten up by annual cost increases, including pay raises, and the FDA won't get the other half until July — and only then if it has a performance plan in place that lawmakers find adequate.

"In the budget climate we're in, any increase is better than nothing," says Scott Faber of the Grocery Manufacturers Association, which represents foodmakers. "But we're disappointed and surprised in light of soaring imports and declining consumer confidence." A broad coalition of groups, including the GMA, have pushed for bigger food-safety increases in the past year because of a string of high-profile food recalls. The Coalition for a Stronger FDA, which includes three former secretaries of Health and Human Services, which oversees the FDA, has sought 15% increases for the FDA for each of the next five years.

And Reuters carried an article about foods imported from China and Americans' worries about foodborne illness coming from Chinese imports.  Missy Ryan wrote:

China is struggling to meet food safety demands from trading partners as it slowly modernizes a food production system still rooted in small-scale family farms, U.S. and Chinese officials said on Tuesday.

"China is a country in economic transition and it has a mixture of traditional problems and modern problems that both coexist," Wu Yongning, an official at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a seminar on food safety at a Washington think tank.

Those problems, he said, now range from improper food preparation on family-run farms to shortcuts taken on industrial chicken farms.

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The CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) includes a report titled, "Norovirus Outbreak Associated with Ill Food-Service Workers --- Michigan, January--February 2006" this week.  In it, we learn that:

• On January 30, 2006, the Barry-Eaton District Health Department (BEDHD) in Michigan was notified of gastrointestinal illness in several members of two dining parties after a meal at an Eaton County restaurant on January 28.
  
• BEDHD began an investigation to identify the source and agent of infection
• Norovirus genogroup I (GI) was detected in stool specimens submitted by multiple patrons and employees.
  
• Several food-service workers had been ill during January 19--February 3, 2006, and that a line cook had vomited in the restaurant on January 28, possibly increasing environmental contamination and transmission of virus.
  
• At least 364 restaurant patrons became ill with norovirus during the outbreak. 
  

Norovirus is easily spread in restaurant settings.  This week's food safety infosheet from the International Food Safety Network (iFSN) focuses on norovirus, the symptoms of norovirus illness, and its source - poop.

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The LA Daily News reported that at least two LA-area restaurants have been identified as the source of norovirus outbreaks recently.  The Buca di Beppo restaurant located in the Valencia Town Center and the Marie Callender's restaurant located near Magic Mountain - both in Los Angeles County - were the source of food poisoning outbreaks that caused symptoms of vomiting, diarrhea, nausea, fever, and dehydration.  According to the Daily News, one employee who worked at both restaurants could have been the source of disease transmission. 

Ironically, this week's MMWR, published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, contains a report on norovirus outbreaks at Michigan restaurants in early 2006.  An editorial note in the MMWR contains the following:

Norovirus can be transmitted person-to-person (via the fecal-oral route) and spread through contaminated airborne droplets, food, water, environmental surfaces, and fomites (3). In the outbreak described in this report, at least 364 restaurant patrons became ill with gastroenteritis after dining at a restaurant where employees had reported to work while ill. In a norovirus outbreak, a vomiting incident is a major risk factor for norovirus illness and can double the attack rate (4). In this outbreak, vomiting by a line cook at the work station might have contributed to transmission. Because of the open physical layout of the restaurant, no barrier impeded airborne spread of the virus from the kitchen to the main dining area. Attack rates increased after this incident, and among employees who worked on January 28, a higher percentage of line cooks became ill compared with servers. In addition, other environmental contamination probably contributed to transmission. Low-level transmission was occurring in the week before January 28; seven patrons who dined at the restaurant during January 21--27 met the case definition. During January 21--February 3, exposure to virus likely occurred by contact with contaminated surfaces and objects.

Norovirus, as seen here, is particularly easy to spread and is frequently spread through modes of transmission other than food.

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Ediets.com provided some good tips on safer eating this morning in an article titled, "13 Foods That Could Kill".  The thirteen foods the column focuses on are:

Lettuce: because lettuce has been identified as the source of several E. coli and other foodborne illness outbreaks.  In 2006, Dole spinach was the source of a large E. coli outbreak, and lettuce was the source of outbreaks at Taco Bell and Taco John's restaurants.  Ediets.com states, "All raw fruits and vegetables can harbor disease-causing bacteria. Thoroughly wash any raw produce under cold running water before eating it. If appropriate, use a small scrub brush to remove any visible dirt. This is true even for organic fruits and vegetables."

Water: because contaminated water can harbor bacteria, viruses, and parasites, it is important to ensure your drinking water, as well as water in pools or at sprayparks, has been properly treated to eliminate the possibility of contamination.  According to Ediets.com, "The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends that private water supplies be tested at least once a year for: nitrates, total dissolved solids and coliform bacteria, the presence of which (although it is generally harmless) may indicate other contamination. You may need to test more frequently and for more potential contaminants if a problem is suspected."

Raw sprouts: Because sprout seeds can be contaminated with foodborne pathogens that cause food poisoning, raw sprouts should be avoided.  Raw sprouts have been associated with E. coli and Salmonella outbreaks.  Ediets encourages consumers to cook sprouts thoroughly to kill bacteria.

Unpasteurized juice, milk or cheese: Because unpasteurized juices and "raw" dairy products do not go through a "kill step" before they are served, bacteria, viruses, or parasites could be present in the products.  Several E. coli outbreaks have been traced to raw juices, including a 1996 E. coli outbreak traced to apple juice and subsequent Salmonella outbreaks traced to orange juice.  outbreaks have been traced back to raw milk, including E. coli outbreaks that resulted in children being hospitalized for kidney failure.  Edites.com states, "Make sure you always purchase the pasteurized versions of your favorite products. Pasteurization kills bacteria. When you go to a juice bar, make sure the juices being served are pasteurized. Unpasteurized products have been linked to salmonella, E. coli and Listeria -- all of which can lead to death."

Moldy peanuts:  Because moldy peanuts, wheat chereals, and corn can produce aflatoxins.  Ediets.com encourages people to check these products for any signs of discoloration or mold, as, "Alfatoxins have been found to cause liver cancer in animal species."

Raw or undercooked shellfish: Because shellfish, such as clams and oysters, can be contaminated with micro-organisms such as vibrio or viruses such as norovirus.  Raw oysters should be avoided.  Ediets.com states:  "Any animal protein consumed raw or undercooked has an increased potential for causing illness."

Swordfish, shark, king mackerel and tilefish: Because these fish have been associated with high levels of methyl mercury, which can cause brain damage in unborn and young children.  According to Ediets.com, "The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the EPA advise young children, women who are planning to become pregnant and pregnant or nursing women not to eat these fish."

Caesar salad: Because many recipes for Caesar salad dressing call for raw eggs, and eggs can carry Salmonella, Campylobacter jejuni, and other foodborne pathogens. Ediets.com encourages you to ask your server or host if Caesar salad dressing contains raw eggs because, "Many restaurant or homemade recipes call for raw eggs in Caesar salad."

Wild mushrooms: Because several species of mushrooms contain deadly poisons.  According to Ediets.com, "Portabella and shiitake lovers have no reason to worry. Just don’t go scavenging in your backyard. Only eat mushrooms you’ve purchased in the grocery store."

Raw, homemade cookie dough. Because, again, raw eggs can contain potentially deadly foodborne pathogens.  Ediets.com says, "We're not talking about the prepackaged kind that many of us prefer to nibble on straight from the tube or tub. We're talking about homemade batter that's made with eggs."

Rare hamburger. Because ground beef can be contaminated with E. coli, Salmonella, and other bacterial pathogens that cause food poisoning.  All ground beef products and hamburgers should be cooked to 160 degrees fahrenheit.  Ediets.com provides the advice to, "Always use a food thermometer to ensure you've cooked the beef to a safe temperature. Avoid any restaurant entrée labeled "tartare" – it's raw."

Turkey and stuffing. Because stuffing cooked inside a turkey or chicken has a reduced likelihood of reaching a hot enough temperature to kill Salmonella, Campylobacter, or other "bugs".  Ediets explains, "The bird cooks both from the outside and the inside. When you stuff the bird, it reduces the heat penetration. Your best bet is to cook the turkey and stuffing separately. If you do choose to cook them together, make sure the temperature reaches at least 180 degrees Fahrenheit in the innermost part of the thigh while the center of the stuffing inside the turkey reaches 165 degrees."

Shakes and eggs. Because, as pointed out earlier, raw eggs can carry Salmonella or Campylobacter jejuni.  Protein shakes can be made with p asteurized eggs, but unless they're pasteurized, avoid raw eggs.  Ediets warns, "Once again, you're putting yourself at risk for salmonella when you consume raw eggs. Also, beware of sunny side up or runny eggs. The rule of thumb is to cook the egg until both the yolk and the white are firm."

More about food poisoning can be learned at www.foodborneillness.com. 

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E. coli, Salmonella, and botulism were all featured in the news today:

In Hutchinson, Kansas, the Hutchinson News reported that a five-year-old girl from Sterling, Kansas, has been put on dialysis.  She became ill with an E. coli infection and hemolytic uremic syndrome.  She is in critical condition after 18 days in the hospital.  As reported by the Hutchinson News:

Aubrey Anderson, 5, continued to undergo daily dialysis treatments lasting three to five hours each at Wesley Medical Center, said her father, Bill Anderson, who is principal of Sterling High School.

"Aubrey's hemoglobin was down a little today, which is not good," Anderson said in an e-mail. "Her platelets, however, have reached a 'normal' level and the doctor feels that they will not decrease again, and that is encouraging. Her toxicity level is down from yesterday, but they would like to see it come down farther."

In Omaha, Nebraska, the Omaha World Herald reported that ConAgra has resumed the production of Banquet and private label pot pies - one of two ConAgra products identified earlier this year as the source of a nationwide Salmonella outbreak.  According to the World Herald:

ConAgra Foods Inc. said Wednesday that it had enhanced its food safety procedures and resumed making frozen Banquet and private-label pot pies, which the company recalled last month after they were linked to salmonella illnesses.

The company said it would ship the pot pies to stores beginning in December, and they should be back on store shelves as soon as January.

And in Roanoke, Virginia, a relative of a doctor who passed away this week - allegedly of botulism poisoning - spoke with the Roanoke Times.  While testing has not been completed, the relative stated that health authorities are investigating the possibility that the doctor's death was caused by botulism.

Kwang Kim, the doctor’s younger brother, said the family is still awaiting laboratory results to confirm the death was caused by botulism. They expect those results Thursday, he said.

Kwang Kim said the state health department approached the family last week about the doctor’s illness. Dr. Kim’s husband, George Makarie, is also ill and was still hospitalized Wednesday morning, Kwang Kim said. He said he doesn’t know if Makarie’s illness is also related to botulism.

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. The annual dollar costs of foodborne illnesses—in terms of medical expenses and lost wages and productivity—range from $6.5 to $34.9 billion.

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Tortillas were pulled from school kitchens this week in Racine, Wisconsin, after students and teachers became ill.  Del Rey manufactured flour tortillas that are suspected of being the cause of an outbreak of food poisoning at three Racine Unified School District middle schools, and FDA officials stepped in to prevent the tortillas to be served again.

A Department of Public Instruction spokesperson spoke to the Journal Times, which reported on the story:

“In an effort to protect children from becoming ill, we are strongly encouraging all schools to refrain from serving the flour tortillas,” the DPI said in its release.

State health officials suspect Del Rey flour tortillas, the brand served at Starbuck, Mitchell and Gilmore middle schools, where more than 90 students suffered from symptoms like vomiting and stomach cramps.

The tortillas came in 12-ounce bags, 12 tortillas per package. The case linked to the illness contained 40 packages and was labeled Del Rey Flour Tortillas #6, according to a DPI statement.

A January 12, 2006 MMWR from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention contained a report on previous school food poisoning from tortillas.

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At least 26 players and 3 coaches from the Chatfield High School football team became ill with apparent food poisoning after traveling to Fort Collins, Colorado, for a game last Saturday.  The team ate two meals together before playing in a playoff game, and coaches believe one of the two meals was probably the source of illness.  Lane Lyon from the Denver Channel wrote:

The Jefferson County Department of Public Health has yet to determine the source of the contamination. A spokesperson said Monday that tests are being run and both restaurants investigated. Neither the school district, nor health officials identified the businesses where the Chatfield team ate meals.

The school district believes the illness is isolated to the team.

Food poisoning can be caused by a variety of microbes such as bacteria, fungi, viruses, and parasites. Harmful toxins or chemicals present in food also may cause foodborne illness.

Different causes of food poisoning cause different symptoms, so there is no one syndrome that is foodborne illness; however, common symptoms include abdominal cramping, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting, fever, headache, fatigue, and body aches.

Generally, after contaminated food is consumed there is a delay before food poisoning symptoms start. This delay is called the “incubation period”. The incubation period of a foodborne illness can range from less than an hour (which is rare) to days or weeks, and depends on the organism causing the illness and the amount ingested.

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The Times-Argus of Barre and Montpelier, Vermont, featured an article about Listeria monocytogenes, a foodborne pathogen.  The article focuses on the need for specific populations (i.e. pregnant women, elderly people) to be aware of the risks Listeria poses to them, and on the importance of public knowledge about Listeria since it is present in many environments and can be a contaminant in processed foods.

Listeria emerged as a serious contamination problem in meat and poultry products in the 1980s. By 1999, an especially virulent strain of L. monocytogenes had evolved, alarming health officials and prompting them to urge food producers to clean up their act. When another disastrous outbreak occurred in 2002, the inspection service concluded that voluntary measures were not enough and more stringent regulations were needed.

Although the "interim final rule" for ready-to-eat meat and poultry products issued in 2003 has helped control exposure to the bacteria, it has clearly not eliminated it. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 2,500 people become seriously ill with listeriosis each year, and 500 people die of it.

Last year, in a further effort to protect the public, the Food and Drug Administration approved using an antiseptic spray to help control contamination of ready-to-eat meat and poultry products. The spray contains a mix of six bacteriophages, otherwise harmless viruses that destroy L. monocytogenes. Consumers cannot tell, however, whether this spray has been used, which means those at risk of serious listeria infections should continue to follow the guidelines below.

More about Listeria can be learned at about-listeria.com.

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The Center for Science in the Public Interest announced today that it has launched a new database that contains details about foodborne illness outbreaks.  In its press release, CSPI stated:

CSPI has long maintained an offline database of foodborne illness outbreaks, compiled largely from the data issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s surveillance unit. For the early years, CSPI added data culled from state health departments, peer-reviewed medical journals, and verified media reports. (In the past, CDC did not make outbreak data public, but that changed when CSPI started filing Freedom of Information Act requests for it. Now CDC releases data about two years after the outbreaks occurred.) CSPI’s database includes all outbreaks (where two or more individuals got sick from eating the same food) for which both the food source and the pathogen have been identified. The database released today covers the years 1990 to 2004. Additional data on 2005 is available from CSPI, and will be released later this year.

The new online database lets individuals search by food, by pathogen, or by state. And the results aren’t pretty. Take poultry. The database includes 541 outbreaks and 16,280 associated illnesses. A search on produce reveals 639 outbreaks and 31,496 associated illnesses. Multi-ingredient items—sandwiches, salads, pasta, and other foods—were linked to 948 outbreaks and 27,812 associated illnesses.

Click here to access the CSPI food poisoning database.

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The Associated Press reported today that Castleberry's, the plant that was the source of a botulism outbreak traced to several hot dog chili products, has closed its doors.  WFAA.com out of Dallas/Fort Worth carried the AP story, "Castleberry's shuts plant over botulism outbreak." 

Over the weekend, 16 cans of chili produced at the Castleberry's Georgia plant tested positive for botulism, and company officials have confirmed that the canned products were not cooked to high enough temperatures to kill Clostridium botulinum, the bacterium that causes botulism food poisoning.  AP reported:

So far, four cases of botulism have been reported -- two from Indiana and two from Texas. All four people consumed Hot Dog Chili Sauce Original, a product made by Castleberry's.

On Saturday, Castleberry's expanded its recall of canned meat products that may be connected to a botulism outbreak. It recalled more than 80 types of canned chili, beef stew, corned beef hash and other meat products in addition to the 10 brands it had recalled Thursday.

The latest FDA and USDA recall announcements can be found here:

• July 23 FDA Botulism Recall Announcement
• July 21 USDA Botulism Recall Announcement

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Grant County, Washington, health officials have reported that a Salmonella outbreak in the county has sickened 11 people since February.  Seven people have been confirmed ill with Salmonella senftenberg since the outbreak began, and four possible cases have submitted samples for testing. 

The Columbia Basin Herald interviewed Grant County health officer Alexander Brzezny for its story on the outbreak:

In the past three weeks the cases in Grant County have been connected through DNA as all being from the same bug, Brzezny said. The health district has several leads on the origin, he said.

"If we find out where it's coming from, I think it's going to be very publishable data because it's rare and it's in Grant County," he said.

Senftenberg salmonella was only discovered in the 1990s, Brzezny noted.

He said the cases in Grant County seem to be isolated and not part of a broad, countywide outbreak.

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Wisconsin public health officials are investigating an apparent foodborne illness outbreak among attendees of a Beaver Dam-area wedding reception.  The wedding and reception took place on June 16th, and guests began exhibiting symptoms of food poisoning, including fever, diarrhea, vomiting, and body aches shortly thereafter.  Dodge County and the Wisconsin Health Department are looking into the cause of the outbreak, according to the Beaver Dam Daily Citizen.

The first call following the wedding came from the Columbus Community Hospital after someone came to the hospital showing signs of gastrointestinal distress, Langfeldt said. The patient had just attended a wedding.

"After we started to get more calls, we contacted the department for the state restaurant inspections for Dodge County," [Jody] Langfeldt said.

The Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services Southern regional office in Madison is still working closely with the county, Langfeldt said.

So far, Langfeldt said her department has interviewed almost 100 guests.

Several bacteria and viruses cause symptoms similar to those experienced by guests at the wedding reception.  For more information about common causes of food poisoning, visit www.foodborneillness.com. 

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The June 2007 QSR Magazine features an article on trying to ensure food safety when serving fresh produce at quick-serve restaurants.  The article's author interviewed different players in the food industry, asking their thoughts about how to prevent foodborne illness outbreaks.  Weighing in were representatives from the National Restaurant Association, the Hospitality Institute of Technology and Management, Rutgers University, and other organizations with a stake in the food industry and food safety. 

Director of Science and Regulatory Relations for the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF), Kristie Grzywinski, says areas like sanitation, supply-chain practices, and holding temperatures are all areas where contaminations are easily introduced. “Really a lot of it is just making sure you have good practices in your establishments,” she says.

Dr. Peter Snyder, Hospitality Institute of Technology & Management president, says one of those good practices is trusting your instincts when picking suppliers, especially for produce.

“If he’s stupid enough to come in a filthy truck that means there’s bad management,” he says. And that could mean trouble or even a potential outbreak for restaurants having their food supplied by the company. Most importantly, Snyder says only buy from suppliers who get their products from approved sources. He says going to the site to see the operation makes this decision easier. Also, he suggests scheduling food deliveries for off-peak hours so that there is ample time to inspect the food and packaging for problems and potential hazards.

Some of the people interviewed in the article argued for more federal oversight and regulations of the food industry, as a way to increase food safety and prevent foodborne illness. Fred Gordon, an attorney who represents food industry companies who face claims of foodborne illness in claims against their suppliers, was interviewd for the article:

Gordon admits that responsibility lies on everyone in the supply chain to maintain the safety of the food but says just because the spotlight falls on the restaurants, farms should not ignore the important role they play in creating a safe product from the start..

“It’s, in my opinion, solely driven by economics,” he says. “We have plenty of laws already on the books that if there were sufficient resources to actually police the entities, we’d be great.”

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The Lexington Herald-Leader reported that a hepatitis A outbreak is ongoing.  The Lexington-Fayette County Health Department is working to trace the source of the outbreak, and has discovered that a food worker was one of three people diagnosed with hepatitis A.

The food worker is among three confirmed cases of hepatitis A that the health department reported yesterday. A fourth likely case is being investigated. Kevin Hall, the health department's spokesman, said the four cases occurred in two households and that the infected people know one another.

"There was interaction between the households," Hall said.

At this point, health department investigators think the food service worker had a low likelihood of spreading the disease. The person was not at work when he or she was most infectious and did not work at the restaurant for long.

Hepatitis A is a communicable (or contagious) disease that spreads from person to person. It is transmitted by the “fecal – oral route.” This does not mean, or course, that Hepatitis A transmission requires that fecal material from an infectious individual must come in contact directly with the mouth of a susceptible individual. It is almost always true that the virus infects a susceptible individual when he or she ingests it, but it gets to the mouth by an indirect route.

Food contaminated with the virus is the most common vehicle transmitting Hepatitis A. The food preparer or cook is the individual most often contaminating the food. He or she is generally not ill: the peak time of infectivity (i.e., when the most virus is present in the stool of an infectious individual) is during the 2 weeks before illness begins. Hepatitis A is spread almost exclusively through fecal-oral contact, generally from person-to-person, or via contaminated food or water. Outbreaks associated with food have been increasingly implicated as a significant source of Hepatitis A infection. Such “outbreaks are usually associated with contamination of food during preparation by an HAV-infected food handler.”2 Indeed, “[v]iral gastroenteritis was reported as the most common food-borne illness in Minnesota from 1984 to 1991, predominantly associated with poor personal hygiene of infected food handlers.”

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The Green Bay Press-Gazette reported today that an Egg Harbor restaurant was to reopen after a foodborne illness caused it to close its doors recently.  According to the Press-Gazette, the Log Den restaurant is open again after a three-day closure to ensure that employees were no longer ill and would not transmit illness to customers.  From the article:

"We recommended they be closed until Wednesday due to the three-day incubation period," of rotavirus, said Dennis Hibray, regional director for the state Department of Public Health. "If an employee becomes sick, they should be over it by then. And once you get it, you don't get it again."

Rotavirus, which most commonly causes severe vomiting and diarrhea in small children, is easily transmitted from people, objects and food.

The restaurant voluntarily closed Friday after the state and county learned that some of the restaurant's employees were ill. It was allowed to reopen Saturday after meeting criteria set by the state: using bottled water and packaged ice, excluding sick employees, wearing protective gloves and sanitizing the restaurant and kitchen.

Then, on Saturday night, "they had another sick employee and as a result of that, another employee who became ill at work," Hibray said. "Knowing that, we contacted them and recommended they close their business, which they did."

Marler Clark sponsors a Web site about foodborne illness, where you can learn about common foodborne pathogens.

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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).

A recent report (2005) released by the CDC in collaboration with the FDA and USDA showed important declines in foodborne infections due to common bacterial pathogens in 2004. From 1996-2004, the incidence of E. coli O157:H7 infections decreased 42 percent. Campylobacter infections decreased 31 percent, Cryptosporidium dropped 40 percent, and Yersinia decreased 45 percent. Salmonella infections dropped 8 percent, but only one of the five most common strains declined significantly. The incidence of Shigella, which is found in a wide variety of foods, did not change significantly from 1996 through 2004. Vibrio infections increased 47 percent.

Foodborneillness.com describes seven of the most commonly recognized bacteria and viruses that cause food poisoning. In addition to a general description of each pathogen, we have provided information on the symptoms and risks of each kind of foodborne illness, as well as how they are detected as the cause of infection, and measures you can take to prevent contracting each type of bacterial or viral food poisoning.

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Knoxville News Sentinel reports that about a third of America's adults have suffered from food illnesses like Salmonella, Botulism and E. coli at least once in their lives.

A national survey of 1,031 adults by Scripps Howard News Service and Ohio University found that among those who've gotten ill from something they ate, slightly more than half say they've contracted food illness more than once, a third say the illness was serious enough to cause them to visit a doctor and one in eight said they were hospitalized.

People who've experienced food-borne disease are much less trusting that their state and local health departments will keep them safe from contaminated foods than are people who've never gotten sick, the survey found.

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Knoxville News Sentinel reports that more than 50,000 people got sick or died from something they ate in a hidden epidemic that went undiagnosed by the nation's public health departments over a five-year period.

Americans play a sort of food-poisoning Russian roulette depending on where they live, an investigation by Scripps Howard News Service found. Slovenly restaurants, disease-infested food-processing plants and other sources of infectious illness go undetected all over the country, but much more frequently in some states than others.

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Say, this lettuce tastes funny!

The Associated Press reports:

"Two police officers sued Burger King Corp., claiming they were served hamburgers that had been sprinkled with marijuana.

The lawsuit says Mark Landavazo and Henry Gabaldon, officers for the Isleta Pueblo tribal police, were in uniform and riding in a marked patrol car when they bought meals at the drive-through lane October 8 of a Burger King restaurant in Los Lunas, New Mexico.

The officers ate about half of their burgers before discovering marijuana on the meat, the lawsuit said. They used a field test kit to confirm the substance was pot, then went to a hospital for medical evaluations."

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A foodborne illness or sometimes incorrectly referred to as food poisoning, is any illness resulting from the consumption of food contaminated with pathogenic bacteria, toxins, viruses, prions or parasites. Such contamination usually arises from improper handling, preparation, or food storage. Good hygiene practices before, during, and after food preparation can reduce the chances of contracting an illness. The action of monitoring food to ensure that it will not cause foodborne illness is known as food safety. Food poisoning refers to a particular category of foodborne illness caused by ingesting toxic chemicals or bacterial toxins and is more correctly referred to as a foodborne intoxication.

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Nine family members, including three children, from a remote Territory community are being treated for food poisoning after eating a locally caught fish. The family group from Angurugu on Groote Eylandt were diagnosed with potentially fatal ciguatera poisoning from a gifted reef fish, known as a mother-in-law fish.

Four seriously ill adults were flown to the Royal Darwin Hospital yesterday. A 40-year-old woman is in the High Dependency ward. Two women, aged 54 and 52, and a 45-year-old man are in a stable condition. They are likely to be monitored for two to three days. There was no fish left for authorities to analyse.

Director of the Centre for Disease Control in Darwin, Vicki Krause said the poison can be very serious when it accumulates in the body. "Initially people will normally get nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps and diarrhoea," she said. "They can then go on to have a tingling feeling around their lips, a tingling around their hands and their feet, they can get intense itching, headaches and muscle aches. They can also get a slow heart beat and low blood pressure."

Symptoms arise between 1 hour and 30 hours after eating. Ciguatera is a poison found in coral beds.

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Alina Simon reports that a mom-and-pop caterer may be the culprit behind the food poisoning involving 140 students of SM Teknik II.

A Kedah Health Department spokesman said the caterer, who operates from his house in Merbok, supplied the nasi lemak supper for 758 students staying at the school hostel last Thursday.

He said the boiled egg served with the rice could have been spoiled.

Thirty-nine of the affected students, aged between 16 and 17, have been warded while 91 received outpatient treatment. Many are expected to be discharged either today or tomorrow.

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Ellen Connolly of the Sunday Telegraph (Australia) reports that it was every bride's worst nightmare: the picture-perfect country wedding ruined by food poisoning from a hens' night at the local Chinese restaurant.

Country bride, Simone Sprenkeler, her bridesmaids and mother were struck down for a week with vomiting and diarrhoea after their girls' night out at the Sapphire Chinese Restaurant in Inverell, in the State's north-west.

The bridal party held the hens' night on the Wednesday before the Saturday wedding. By the morning of her big day, they were all so ill they could hardly leave the toilet.

They tried valiantly to get ready, and Mrs Sprenkeler eventually arrived at the garden ceremony 50 minutes late. She vomited on the way to the church, she vomited during the wedding vows. So severe was the gastric that she was unable to have wedding photos taken.

While family and friends gathered outside the church to celebrate the just-completed nuptials, Mrs Sprenkeler had to be helped to the toilet where all she could do was "hug the bowl'' with her ill mother crying at her side. Her bridesmaids were crying outside the toilet.

All of them then spent the next three hours at the Inverell Base Hospital, receiving injections in an attempt to curb the nausea, while Mrs Sprenkler's new husband, Michael, entertained with the wedding guests at the reception without her.

The fallout from the ill-fated wedding, held on April 10, 2004, has been severe.

Mrs Sprenkeler was left traumatised. Along with her mother Irene Devoy and her sisters Lauren Devoy and and sister-in-law Kerry-Anne King, she launched legal action against the restaurant's owners Suny Yuen and Elan Chen in the Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal of NSW. Yuen and Chen subsequently sold the restaurant and it is now operating under new management.

Last week, Mrs Sprenkeler and her bridal party were awarded a combined $30,391.70 in compensation by the tribunal for "physical inconvenience, distress and disappointment'' for "ruining the wedding day''.

"I burst into tears,'' Mrs Sprenkeler, 25, told the tribunal about the moments immediately after the ceremony. "Everything became a blur and all I could do was hold on to the toilet bowl and vomit.''

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The Bellingham Herald reports that high levels of bacteria in raw oysters from south Puget Sound and Hood Canal have been making people ill across Washington and in other states.

About 50 people in Washington and dozens elsewhere have become sick, said Donn Moyer, media relations manager for the state Department of Health. At least two people have become sick enough to be hospitalized.

The bacteria, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, are present in Northwest marine waters all year, but levels are higher during warmer weather. Eating raw shellfish that contain high levels of the bacteria can cause explosive diarrhea and stomach cramps in humans.

The outbreak of illness has been traced to oysters from Hood Canal, between the Olympic and Kitsap peninsulas, and Eld and Totten inlets, northeast of Olympia.

Shellfish from those areas is harvested recreationally and commercially and distributed widely, Moyer said.

Levels of the bacteria are still within levels deemed acceptable by the Food and Drug Administration, but they still are high enough to make people sick, Moyer said.

Moyer said avoiding raw shellfish in the summer probably is a better defense than avoiding shellfish from areas that are known to contain high levels of bacteria.

"If you get them someplace else, it's that buyer-beware thing," he said. "In the summer it's a risk. It doesn't mean stay away from oysters. The bacteria can easily be killed by cooking oysters to 145 degrees."

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Dr. Elizabeth Smoots of Myrtle Beach Online reports that in most cases of food poisoning, the culprit is contamination from tiny bacteria, viruses or parasites that live in our environment. According to a primer published by the American Medical Association, the medical profession and the public have grown complacent about infectious organisms that cause this preventable condition. The result is that 76 million people get sick, 300,000 are hospitalized, and 5,000 die from foodborne illnesses in our country every year.

Signs of infection

The most frequent signs of foodborne illness are diarrhea, abdominal cramps, vomiting, headaches, muscles pains and fever.

Symptoms usually start 12 to 72 hours after eating contaminated food, but I've found that some can occur 30 minutes to four weeks later.

Most people recover within four to seven days without antibiotics.

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Mrudu Naik and Adarsh Madhavan report that food poisoning cases are on a high. A three-month (April to June, 2005) Ministry of Health statistics reveal that a total of 127 cases were reported, a top Ministry of Health official told the Times of Oman in a recent interview.

Indeed, a cursory look at last year's statistics will reveal that more than 500 cases were reported. Last year (excluding January, February and March 2004), a total of 545 cases were reported. The second quarter of last year saw 178 food poisoning cases, which was 51 more than the ones reported for this year in the same period.

"For every food poisoning case that is reported, 10 goes unreported," Dr Hassan Al Tuhami, head of the surveillance and communicable disease, Ministry of Health, told the Times of Oman/Thursday in a recent interview.

According to him, only severe cases are reported. "Many others with mild forms of food poisoning are known to quietly suffer from home," he said.

There were seven cases reported in Muscat: 10 in Dhofar, 39 in Dakhiliyah, 10 in North Sharqiyah, four in South Sharqiyah, 39 in South Batinah, seven in Dhahirah and 11 in Al Wusta.

Dr Tuhami noted that food poisoning of infectious origin is one of the commonest infectious diseases in Oman. Relevant statistics from 1991 to 2003 shows a steadily increasing graph, peaking in 2001 to above 1000 and then just below 1000 in 2003. In short, the food poisoning trend is on the rise, he notes.

Dr Tuhami notes that the root causes include rapid change in lifestyle, food habits etc.
The condition is characterised by a history of recent ingestion of common shared food. Many persons are affected at the same time and there is similarity of signs and symptoms in the majority of affected persons.

Outbreaks are particularly common during the hot months (May to September) when the environmental ambient temperature is in the vicinity of 37 degrees Celsius. In such situations, inappropriately stored food material (raw or cooked) may provide an excellent substrate for bacteria to multiply and flourish, Dr Tuhami said.

Patients don't often furnish complete information about food, which is eaten from outside. And quite often, it is an overall mix of restaurant and/or hotel food. Carelessness, unhealthy consumption of non-vegetarian food are some of the main reasons for food poisoning.

Food poisoning is a syndrome of acute gastroenteritis caused by the ingestion of food or drink contaminated with either bacteria or their toxins or poisons derived from plants or animals.

Some of the immediate symptoms of food poisoning are nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal cramps and dysentery in severe cases, Dr Shalini notes.

The commonest epidemiological pattern of this disease is a sharp and explosive outbreak, mostly in close communities, catering organisations, e.g., students' hostel, armed forces mess, worker camps, hotels and restaurants, Dr Tuhami adds.

Such outbreaks can also occur in a household situation if storage is improper. Festive occasions when large gatherings of people are offered a communal meal, eg., wedding, birthday parties, etc., might also present an opportunity for an outbreak of food poisoning, he said.

According to Dr Tuhami, all food poisoning cases -- minor or major -- should be reported within 24 hours to the regional health authorities (epidemiologist or the focal point for communicable diseases). As for major cases of food poisoning, epidemiological investigation must be conducted.

A preliminary report should be prepared and submitted within 24 hours to national surveillance unit. "The final report should then be submitted after the reports of laboratory investigations are received and community actions for control are undertaken," Dr Tuhami said.

However, for minor cases of food poisoning, detailed investigations are not mandatory. The actions are limited to visiting the households and we are offering health education to the family in food hygiene to prevent such occurrences in future, he said.

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Per the CP News Wire in Moscow, Chief state epidemiologist Gennady Onishchenko was cited as telling a news conference Tuesday that at least 17 people have died in Russia from eating poisonous mushrooms so far this year, fewer than during similar periods over the previous four years, and that authorities have recorded 179 cases of people falling ill from eating mushrooms this year, including 21 children,. At least four of the dead were children.

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A story from this weekend's Globe and Mail, by Beppi Crosariol:

Growing up Italian, I learned to appreciate many undervalued things: family, naps in the afternoon, impractical shoes, guilt.

I also learned to love veal. Consuming the flesh of infant calves may arouse the scorn of Pamela Anderson and her ilk, but served up as melt-in-the-mouth scallopine or ossobuco Milanese, the delicate white meat beats kelp juice any day.

Thus when a two-inch-thick boneless chop arrived before me at an acclaimed Asian-fusion restaurant in Toronto, I was stoked. Gargantuan steak knife in hand, I began to carve away at its caramelized exterior in anticipation of that ultimate in bovine tenderness.

Then it happened: a bloody mess. My serrated Excalibur turned out to be no match for the distressingly undercooked flesh below. Soon I was hacking away at its rubbery middle like Jack Nicholson in the role of some nuthouse inmate.

My veal ordeal was not the only raw experience I've had in recent weeks. At another top spot in the financial district, I was served a "medium-rare" strip steak so underdone it could have ambled back to the kitchen for a remedial searing.

Then there was the swordfish "catch-of-the-day" at another Bay Street hangout, so pink and cold inside that the faint grill marks on its pale exterior might as well have been penciled on.

As sizzling summer temperatures transform the great outdoors into a giant sauna and amateur cooks everywhere fire up the barbie, there is one place Canadians can go to escape contact with a heat source: a restaurant kitchen. As trendy chefs seem gripped by a collective pyrophobia, raw has become the new cooked, and flavour and texture are the lesser for it.

I know what you're thinking: "trailer-park boy." Not so fast. For the record, I love many raw things, from beef tartare to tuna to oysters, even monkfish liver.

But I risk such delicacies only when I know the kitchen staff will brook no compromise in the matters of provenance and handling. Ask any parasitologist: Pathogens such as salmonella, E. coli and campylobacter can fester in poorly handled meat, especially in summer. And there are other parasites, common to many fish, especially, yes, swordfish.

Besides -- and this is the point many of today's appearance-before-flavour chefs seem to be missing -- not all things taste good raw or even rare.

One man who knows how to handle his ingredients is Mark Bittman, the gifted cook behind The New York Times column The Minimalist..

I called him to ask if he, too, has tired of raw-flesh fanaticism, and he sounded like Archimedes bounding from the bath.

"At super-upscale restaurants, it's true, they're not cooking it any more," he said. "I just had the experience last week."

At a private party for 100 at a posh Manhattan eatery, Bittman recounted, the lamb chops were so underdone that about 10 per cent of the foodie crowd sent their plates back. "And a lot of them left chunks of meat on their plate because they were too rare to eat."

Rare lamb, though it may glisten with the promise of succulent tenderness, is in fact disgusting. Why? Unmelted lamb fat is bitter and exceptionally tough, hardly fair game for the delicately evolved human jaw, unless, of course, your name happens to be Dracula.

Bittman also described a recent guest appearance by famed chef Daniel Boulud on his PBS television series How to Cook Everything: Bittman Takes on America's Chefs, in which the namesake of New York's ultra-expensive Daniel restaurant made a point of grilling baby lamb chops all the way to medium. "He said baby lamb and veal and baby goat are no good rare, they taste metallic and they're too chewy and they have no flavour."

In scientific terms, the muscle of many young animals contains a high proportion of collagen, the connective tissue that holds fleshy fibres together. Only when cooked does collagen melt into gelatin, yielding flavour and a silky texture.

So why the obsession with undercooking? Bittman theorizes that it's a sort of "Look, Ma, no stove!" affectation intended to signify a willingness to live on the edge, a kind of Fear Factor for foodies. "We're so cool, we do things extreme," Bittman offered, facetiously.

Another influence is simple perception. "You anticipate that it's going to be tender if it's undercooked," said Professor Peter Purslow, a meat science expert and chairman of food science at the University of Guelph in Ontario. As for his own preference, "I don't like the taste of raw blood, and it's something that I avoid."

By ordering your steak rare, you may also miss out on what less extreme diners have known since the dawn of the barbecue. If you cook beef past rare, it will actually taste better. Don't believe me? Try the comparison with a blindfold on.

Jeffrey Steingarten, the celebrated food scribe for Vogue magazine, made this point years ago in a piece on Wagyu beef -- also known as Kobe -- the super-fat, $500-a-kilogram Japanese delicacy from black cows raised on beer and sake-soaked grain. "While my wife was in the ladies' room, I made off with two of her Wagyu morsels for the scientific purpose of comparing her rare with my medium-rare," he wrote. "Mine won. It lacked none of the tenderness and moisture that steak can lose when you grill it medium; like most blood-red meat, hers lacked a rich beefy taste."

Michael Olson, chef at 17 Noir restaurant in the Fallsview Casino Resort in Niagara Falls, Ont., notes that there's a patronizing attitude prevalent in many kitchens when customers ask for a steak beyond medium doneness. "I think it's none of our business," said Olson, who prefers his steak medium-rare.

The raw obsession is just as common, if not more so, in the case of seafood. Exhibit A is the seared sea scallop, mainstay of countless ritzy appetizer menus. The theory is to flash-fry the bivalve in butter or oil to create a golden crust and firm up the gelatinous interior without cooking it so long it becomes dry and rubbery. Rather than risk the latter, chefs will err on the side of sushi, offering up a slimy, fish-flavoured marshmallow.

"I am personally tired of raw scallops," said Olson, who is also a professor at the Niagara Culinary Institute. "If I'm standing next to the ocean, yes, but if I'm 2,400 kilometres from the ocean, I'm going to treat it differently."

Olson thinks the raw-fish craze started with North America's obsession with all things Japanese in the 1980s. Proclaiming one's fondness for sushi became code for worldly sophistication. But Olson, who lived in Japan in the early 1980s, says virtually all the fish he ate there was cooked, often in dumplings or soups.

Another social movement undoubtedly feeding today's raw-flesh extremism is the raw-vegetable craze. Underweight movie stars such as Uma Thurman and Natalie Portman have touted the nutritional benefits of all-raw diets. Dozens of stove-less establishments have sprung up across North America, with books such as Eating in the Raw by Carol Alt preaching that plant matter begins to lose its nutritional value above about 115 degrees Fahrenheit.

When it comes to the nutritional value of meat and fish, though, the virtues of proper heating outweigh any concerns about burning away vitamins and minerals.

Here's the raw truth: As prehistoric humans developed a taste for cooked fare, we developed smaller mouths and shorter digestive systems, enabling us to harness higher-energy diets. In return, we ended up with reduced digestive capacity. Untrendy though it may be, our survival imperative forces us to favour cooked meat.

"Why is it that only in the last 20 years we've been going away from that?" asked a cynical Prof. Purslow. "It's because we've survived longer eating cooked meat."

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