In April, The Oklahoma State Health Department (OHD) published its final report on a massive outbreak of E. coli 0111 linked to the Country Cottage restaurant in Locust Grove, Oklahoma. E. coli O111, one of the family of E. coli bacteria, is classified as an STEC, a shiga toxin producing escherichia coli. In other words, it
Heather Whybrew’s E. coli O157:H7 Illness
Andrew Martin of the New York Times wrote a nice article this morning on the safety of our food supply. We represent all three individuals profiled in his article: Heather Whybrew, Carl Ours, and Mary Tardiff. All suffered devastating illnesses in separate outbreaks and from different pathogens. All have unbelievable stories of suffering.
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.
During her rehabilitation, Heather had to relearn many basic motor functions, including how to walk. Relearn these skills she did, and despite her brain tumor, Heather eventually went on to college at Pacific Lutheran University.
Heather was infected by E. coli O157:H7 in the midst of finals her freshman year from contaminated lettuce served in a University Cafeteria. She would ultimately be hospitalized at St. Francis Hospital and Seattle Children’s Hospital for three weeks. During her hospitalization, Heather battled endless nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, a bad pneumonia illness, and severe blood clots in the superficial veins of her arms. The combined medical treatment would cost almost $114,000. She would have to make up her final exams during the next school year.Continue Reading Heather Whybrew’s E. coli O157:H7 Illness
A Question for Caudill Seed
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
Towns in Texas, Oklahoma, Wisconsin Reacting to Fears of E. coli in Public Water
Towns in Oklahoma, Texas, and Wisconsin are taking steps to prevent illness in residents using public water after positive tests for E. coli. Officials in Hollis, Oklahoma were distributing bottled water after positive tests in the public water system.
In Baytown, Texas, officials announced a boil order after positive E. coli tests.
And finally, residents in
Sprout advice from a Sprouter
I recently received this comment to a recent post that I called …:
"You need to buy your seeds organically grown. This will almost ensure that there will be a lesser chance of bacterial problems.
Before you begin sprouting you should rinse your seeds very well with a mixture of hydrogen peroxide. The hydrogen peroxide
About Dan Flynn, Editor
Dan Flynn is editor of the Food Poison Blog. He is an independent journalist, writer, and editor with more than a decade of food safety experience. His Cecil Paul Company has since 1998 helped clients with all sorts of editorial needs. Previously Flynn worked as an editor and staff writer for newspapers throughout the West.
Recalls Found to be Even Less Effective Than Expected
There has for a long time been valid criticism of food recalls, both with regard to how agencies like the FDA implement them, and whether recalls really work to prevent foodborne illness. In my view, most recalls are best described as closing the barn-doors after the horses have escaped. But that said, when a food product is determined to be contaminated, there is no avoiding the need to try to remove the product from the market. That means recalls are necessary. It also means that recalls need to be effective as possible at limiting the spread of foodborne disease. According to a great and interesting new study out of Rutgers’ Food Policy Institute, it appears that recalls are anything but effective in prompting necessary public action. For example, in a survey of over 1,100, the study found that only about 60 percent of the studied sample reported ever having looked for recalled food in their homes, and only 10 percent said they had ever found a recalled food product.
This is a disturbing finding, because, unless we can reliably count on the public to take the actions necessary to prevent the spread of foodborne disease, we may be assuming that recalls work when, in fact, they do not. This study thus deserves to be read carefully by public health officials, and additional research definitely seems to be needed.
The full study can be found here: www.foodpolicyinstitute.org/docs/news/RR-0109-018.pdf
To read the full press release announcing the study, please hit the Continued Reading link.
Continue Reading Recalls Found to be Even Less Effective Than Expected
Sprout Outbreak Update: this may get messy
Here is a copy of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report from the CDC addressing the recent sprout outbreak. We have been reporting on this for weeks now (maybe months), since cases were first report in Nebraska in February. Please take a look at this report; it provides a good summary of the anatomy of
European Union Has Food Safety Problems Too?
I am heading to London Today for a series of lectures on food safety (with a side trip to Paris) and just in time the EU put out its report on foodborne diseases for 2007. Full report – Here.
In total, 5,609 food-borne outbreaks were reported by MSs in 2007 that is a slight decrease
“Gross-Out” Food Stories – Cases We Do Not Take, But They Sure Catch Your Eye
The Internet has a bit of everything – many things you just would rather not know about when it comes to your food.
* French Fried Condom – It was a sad day for a 7-year-old girl in Switzerland. She got more than a little prize in her McDonald’s Happy Meal—she allegedly found a condom