Food Safety Director at the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), Caroline Smith DeWaal, recently issued a statement in response to Del Monte’s current lawsuits against both the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as well as Oregon Public Health. Del Monte filed suit against the agency after a collaborative epidemiologic investigation conducted by

agonapapaya.pngA total of 106 people from 25 states have been sickened in the Salmonella Agona outbreak linked to papayas since January 1, 2011.  Epidemiologic, traceback, and laboratory investigations linked the outbreak to eating fresh, whole papayas imported from Mexico by Agromod Produce, Inc. of McAllen, Texas.

On July 23, 2011, Agromod Produce voluntarily recalled fresh

groundturkey.bmpThe CDC updated the victim count in the Salmonella Heidelberg outbreak linked to ground turkey produced by Cargill.  107 people have been sickened over the past 5 months with antibiotic resistant Salmonella.  Highlights from today’s update:

  • 107 ill in 31 states.
  • 84 of the victims have genetically indistinguishable DNA patterns (by PFGE testing) in

updated Salmonella Heidelberg map.jpgToday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that there have been a total of 107 persons infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Heidelberg reported from 31 states between February 27 and August 9, 2011. That number has risen from the 78 infected individuals reported by CDC in an update issued last

cargill-logo.pngCargill Value Added Meats, one of the largest turkey processors in the country and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cargill, Inc., an international producer and marketer of food, agricultural, financial and industrial products and services, announced today that it is recalling nearly 36 million pounds of fresh and frozen ground turkey produced at its facility in

GROUND TURKEY

The USDA reported today that ground turkey “may” be responsible for a Salmonella Heidleberg outbreak that has sickened 77 people in 26 states.  But neither USDA nor CDC have been able to determine the producer of the bad turkey.  No outbreak summary yet from the CDC, and the investigation continues.

Turkey products have caused big Salmonella outbreaks

In its announcement of the papaya Salmonella Agona outbreak, which has sickened 99 people in 23 states and prompted a national recall of the fruit, the CDC gave the following advice to consumers:

  • Consumer should not eat recalled papayas, and restaurant and food service operators should not serve them.
  • Consumers who have papayas in

Papaya outbreak by state.jpgThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released an update today on the ongoing multistate outbreak of Salmonella Agona linked to the consumption of fresh, whole papayas imported from Mexico by Agromod Produce, Inc. of McAllen, Texas. According to the report:

A total of 99 individuals infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Agona