March 2013

The CDC in MMWR, reports that in May 2012, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health’s Acute Communicable Disease Control Unit and Environmental Health, Food, and Milk Program investigated an outbreak of shigellosis associated with a private bridge club. This investigation documented the first known transmission of Shigella sonnei with decreased susceptibility to

An Ethiopian restaurant, Ambassel, in Seattle on Jefferson and Twelfth,  has been shut down by the Seattle King County Department of Health for these violations:

• Foods not protected from cross-contamination
• Poor personal hygiene practices: insufficient handwashing
• Equipment not properly sanitized
• Handwashing facilities not working
• Imminent health hazard: establishment

Bumble Bee Foods, LLC, has issued a voluntary recall on specific codes of 5-ounce Chunk White Albacore and Chunk Light Tuna products. The recall has been issued because the products do not meet the company’s standards for seal tightness.  These products were distributed for retail sale nationwide between January 17, 2013 and February 28, 2013. 

MARCH 5, 2013—Baltimore, MD—The Center for Biosecurity of UPMC today released online ahead of print a new report, When Good Food Goes Bad: Strengthening the US Response to Foodborne Disease Outbreaks. The authors analyzed existing data and studies on foodborne illness outbreak response, identified emerging trends, and interviewed dozens of federal and state-level officials and

Two Hospitalized, Dairy Unnamed.

Matthew Smith of KTVA 11 News reports that Alaska State health officials report a total of 24 people have fallen ill, two of whom were hospitalized, after drinking tainted raw milk from a Kenai Peninsula dairy. Among the ill is an infant who did not directly imbibe the raw milk, but

Ottawa, March 4, 2013 – The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Pro-Amino International Inc. are warning the public not to consume the Proti Diet High Protein Chocolate Dream Bar described below because it may be contaminated with Salmonella.

There have been no reported illnesses associated with the consumption of this product.

Pro-Amino International Inc,

Tip o’ pen to JoNel Aleccia, Staff Writer, NBC News for reporting the Easter has been saved.  According to Ms. Aleccia, the Indiana firm that recalled its Zachary Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Eggs less than a month before Easter over fears of salmonella contamination now says that a test was wrong and the candy is fine.