The Massachusetts camp where food made Rhode Island middle school children ill has said that officials linked the illnesses to hamburger, but no recall has yet been issued for the tainted meat. Foodborne illness expert and attorney Bill Marler today called upon the USDA and Massachusetts Department of Agriculture to share their findings with consumers
Antibiotic Resistant Salmonella Isolated in Retail Meats in U.S.
Ok, I admit that even the abstract from this article goes a bit over my head. What I can decipher is scary enough – "Our findings indicate a varied spectrum of co-resistance traits is present in [antibiotic resistant] Salmonella in the U.S. meat supply." The study was conducted on strains of Salmonella detected in retail meat
Entire Oregon Coast now closed to mussel harvesting
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The Oregon Department of Agriculture and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife announce the closure of the entire Oregon Coast to recreational mussel harvesting, from the mouth of the Columbia River to the California border, due to elevated levels of paralytic shellfish toxins (PST).
The north and central coast had already been closed to
CONSUMERS WARNED NOT TO EAT JIGONG CHAYOTE CANDY
SACRAMENTO – Dr. Mark Horton, director of the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), today warned consumers not to eat Jigong Chayote Candy imported from China after tests found unacceptable levels of lead. Recent analysis of this candy by CDPH determined that Jigong Chayote Candy contained as much as 0.68 parts per million (ppm) of
Report on Turtle Salmonella Outbreak Published in “Pediatrics”
Earlier this week, we reported here on the multi-state outbreak of Salmonella linked to pet turtles. 107 people were sickened in the outbreak, primarily children. A report on the outbreak was published this week in the medical journal "Pediatrics." Here is a link to the abstract of the article.
The basics of the outbreak:
We identified 107 patients with
Why Food Traceability Is so Important
It’s not much good to announce the recall of 4,000 pounds of ground beef for E. coli O157:H7 contamination when no one knows where the beef went. According to this report, state health officials in Texas are working with the owner of Culebra Meat Market No. 1 in San Antonio to determine which restaurants purchased meat there that may
Intervention improves employees’ food safety compliance rates
Authors: Pilling, Valerie K., Brannon, Laura A., Shanklin, Carol W., Roberts, Kevin R., Barrett, Betsy B., Howells, Amber D.
Publication Date: 2009; Journal: International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management; Volume: 21, Issue: 4, Starting Page: 459, Ending Page: 478
Abstract: Abstract: Purpose – This paper aims to evaluate the relative effectiveness of four-hour ServSafe® food
Rhode Island and Massachusetts Departments of Health Investigate E. coli O157:H7 Outbreak
On October 19, the Rhode Island Department of Health (HEALTH) was notified several sixth grade students from Lincoln Middle School had diarrheal illness. The students had attended a field trip at a camp in Massachusetts from October 13 through October 16.
As of today (October 21), there have been 15 cases of diarrheal illness. There
Food Safety: Majority in U.S. feel food industry doesn’t do enough
On the heels of the largest product recall in U.S. history, an American Society for Quality survey reveals that although the majority of the food industry may be following safe production procedures, the majority of the public doesn’t feel it does enough. Food safety is still igniting widespread concern according to the survey of U.S.
FDA releases 2007 monitoring data for antimicrobial resistance in retail meat
The percentage of Salmonella isolates found in ground turkey that displayed resistance to nalidixic acid dropped from 8.1 percent in 2002 to 2.6 percent in 2007.
Similarly, the percentage of isolates resistant to ceftiofur dropped from 8.1 percent to 5.3 percent in that period.
In contrast, the percentage of Salmonella isolates in ground turkey with resistance to ampicillin increased from 16.2 percent to 42.6 percent in that time.Continue Reading FDA releases 2007 monitoring data for antimicrobial resistance in retail meat