Marler Blog : Food Poisoning Lawyer & Attorney : Bill Marler : Marler Clark

The Beef Industry and the USDA really need to get their shit together.  This it truly stupid.  It is beyond words.

According to a recent press release:

“The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Vermont Agency of Agriculture today suspended their respective licenses and thereby ceased operations at the Bushways Slaughterhouse facility in Grand Isle, Vermont.

“The Vermont Agency of Agriculture was notified by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) late Wednesday afternoon of alleged animal welfare violations at the facility. The agency immediately referred the matter to the USDA as the facility is operated and monitored under the inspection of USDA.

“USDA and the state have suspended the operation of the facility and are conducting an investigation. These allegations of inhumane handling and treatment of animals if verified, warrant prompt corrective actions to ensure they do not happen again.

“In addition, in accordance with agency animal health statutes, the Attorney General has been notified of possible criminal actions in regards to animal health and welfare.

“The agency finds the alleged animal welfare practices disturbing and states that there is no excuse for the inhumane treatment of animals. These practices are not representative of the industry as a whole in Vermont and such actions will not be tolerated in our state. The agency is taking every action within its power to address the situation.”

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Although recalls of beef have fallen off a bit in 2009 (only 571,922 pounds) from 2008 (7,083,399 pounds) and 2007 (33,756,142 pounds) (PDF), 2006 was the best year we had seen awhile - 181,900 pounds. 

Of course this does not account for the over 143,000,000 pounds of beef product recalled due to the Hallmark fiasco.  Illnesses?  Well, we have not yet seen a downturn as we had hoped.  Let's hope the rest of 2009 has no more recalls and no more illnesses.

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Rhode Island health officials said 15 students from Lincoln Middle School suffered diarrhea after a trip to Camp Bournedale in Cedarville Massachusetts last week. Two of the students tested positive for E. coli O157:H7. Two students were hospitalized for treatment.

Rhode Island health officials said the sixth-grade students from Lincoln attended a three-day session at the camp from Oct. 13-16. Health officials were notified that several students had become sick on Monday, Oct. 19. The Rhode Island Department of Health reported that Massachusetts health officials are investigating foods at the camp as the likely source of the illness. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention is said to be assisting in the investigation.

Arnie Gerson, owner and director of the camp, said state and federal health officials traced the outbreak to tainted raw hamburger. Gerson said the camp will no longer cook raw hamburger. As a precaution, the camp will serve pre-cooked burgers to campers, if it serves hamburger at all.

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“Keeping America’s Families Safe: Reforming the Food Safety System”

Good morning. Food safety is not a partisan issue – we all want the safest food supply possible. The United States has one of the best food safety systems in the world. But even in the best of systems, there is always room for improvement.

The volume of food imports and the number of foreign producers and manufacturers are growing. At the same time, the supply chain is becoming more complex, due to innovations such as repackaging of fresh produce that mixes output from dozens of farms, or the potentially hundreds of ingredients in a ready-to-eat processed food.

FDA is the gold standard worldwide among public health agencies. After many years of inadequate resources, Congress has provided significant funding increases to FDA for food safety and related activities such as information technology. While it is important to sustain these increases, FDA also needs a modernization of its authorities.

The powers the agency was given 100 years ago were appropriate for a world in which most of our food was grown and processed domestically. That is no longer the case, and FDA’s tools need to keep pace with the challenges.

These outdated authorities coupled with a lack of resources have been made clear by recent outbreaks. For example, in the Peanut Corporation of America case last year, FDA did not know the facility was even making peanut butter, since the facility was initially registered as just roasting peanuts. There is currently no statutory requirement to update registration status when information changes. Last summer, during the Salmonella in tomato/peppers outbreak, FDA was not able to put enough “boots on the ground” to trace shipments back to the source of the contamination quickly.

Clearly, the complex nature of our food safety system requires all of the global partners – regulators, importers, manufacturers, academia – and other stakeholders to come together to propose meaningful, collaborative solutions.

I believe some of those solutions are contained in S. 510, the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, which a number of members of this committee have cosponsored. I have a few concerns about the bill, particularly the provisions regarding FDA’s relationship with farms as well as with state officials. While this bill is a good start, it is important that we go through regular order and do the hard work of making the bill even better. There is a lot of expertise on the HELP Committee about these issues, and we should bring that to bear on the legislation.

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According to news reports, the Rhode Island Department of Health was notified Monday of several sixth grade students from Lincoln Middle School with diarrheal illness.

The students just returned from Camp Bournedale in nearby Plymouth, Massachusetts which they attended from October 13th through 16th.  As of today (October 21), there have been 15 cases of diarrheal illness. There have been two students who tested positive for E. coli O157:H7. Two students are hospitalized. It is unclear if those two have developed Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome.

“We want to assure parents and students that we are not seeing this diarrheal illness spread person to person,” said Chief of HEALTH’s Center for Infectious Diseases Robert S. Crausman, MD, MMS. “However, any student or chaperone who was on the field trip and has diarrhea should call their doctor for medical evaluation and treatment. HEALTH is working closely with our colleagues at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health in the investigation of this incident.”

Students or chaperones who were on the field trip who do not have diarrhea do not need to take any special precautions. Massachusetts Department of Public Health and the USDA are investigating foods at the camp as the likely source of this illness. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will be assisting with this investigation.

“Our first concern is the health and safety of our students and staff,” said Lincoln School Superintendent Georgia Fortunado. “We are working collaboratively with the Department of Health on this response.”

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Andrew Zajac of the Los Angeles Times penned what I hope to be correct – “Bill giving FDA new powers to oversee food supply has wide support.” He says, “Industry and public backing -- a recent poll showed 90% of voters favor measures similar to those in the legislation -- adds up to a "quick win for both parties."

According to those inside the beltway, that seems to be the case:

• "There's broad public support. It would be a quick win for both parties," said Erik Olson, director of chemical and food safety programs, in Pew's Health & Human Services Policy program. "This is a rare situation where the industry is shoulder to shoulder with consumers."
• The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), would require the FDA to step up inspections of food facilities and to issue new rules to improve the quality of imported food and to combat contaminants in fresh produce. The measure also would give the agency authority to recall products on its own, instead of relying on industry cooperation.
• "Hardly a week goes by that there isn't a report of an outbreak of food-borne illness or death in America," Durbin said. "The current system really just reacts to food illness. We have to have a system that is protective of consumers" by preventing outbreaks or nipping them in the bud.
• An indication of the breadth of support for reform is the list of co-sponsors on Durbin's bill. It includes five Republicans, including Sens. Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson, both senators from Georgia, a state hard hit by the peanut recall.
• "This legislation affords regulators the authority they need to better identify vulnerabilities in our food supply while maintaining the high level of food safety most Americans enjoy and take for granted," Chambliss said in a statement.

Even someone in the "other Washington got a word in:

Bill Marler, a Seattle attorney who specializes in representing victims of food-borne illness. One little-noticed provision of both versions of the food safety bill requires the FDA to bolster the capabilities of local and state officials to spot illness outbreaks more promptly, Marler said.

"Assuming proper funding -- and that's a big assumption -- the focus on money flowing to state and local health departments would allow you to do more rapid surveillance," Marler said. "They would have more information sooner and illness and business disruption would be reduced."

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Everyone will want one - a Food Safety News widget.  Next is video on FSN and perhaps an Iphone App?

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Several weeks ago I got a call from a producer of CSI to get background on an episode that they were thinking of running.  I just finished watching the episode (click on photo below).  Frankly, most of the science was inaccurate, but the point that E. coli O157:H7 is a poison and that producers whose food is tainted could be held criminally liable should worry some of my readers.  Yes, E. coli O157:H7 is murder.

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Thursday, October 22, 2009 – 10:00 a.m.
430 Dirksen Senate Office Building

Panel I

Dr. Margaret Hamburg, Commissioner, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, White Oak, MD

Panel II

Caroline Smith DeWaal, Director of Food Policy, Center for Science in the Public Interest, Washington, DC - Testimony

Michael Roberson, Food Marketing Institute, Arlington, VA - Testimony

Daniel L. Ragan, Director, North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services, Food & Drug Protection Division, Raleigh, NC - Testimony

Thomas Stenzel, President and CEO, United Fresh Produce Association, Washington, DC - Testimony

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Elizabeth Weise of USA Today reported on a speech by “FDA's Michael Taylor [where he] outlined the agency's plans to combat the deadly bacteria vibrio vulnificus by requiring Gulf-raised oysters to undergo post-production processing to kill the bacteria. Taylor told the assembled state health department and shellfish industry officials that as of 2011, the agency would no longer allow fresh, live oysters from Texas, Louisiana and Florida to be sold during the warm-weather months unless they were processed.”

Of course, oysters are grown and eaten raw in other parts of the country – and have been linked to vibrio vulnificus illnesses as well – at least twice – 2006 and 2009 – from the State of Washingon.  Curious why the requirement is not on all oysters?  Of course, I always thought it was a bit unwise to eat raw oysters anyway.  Frankly, over the years we have been asked to look at several vibrio cases and we have declined to represent the ill persons.

According to Ms. Weise, “FDA would require that Gulf coast oyster undergo one of four processes to kill potential bacteria:

• Quick freezing
• High pressure treatment
• Mild heat
• Low dose gamma radiation”

According to an online textbook on bacteriology:

V. vulnificus causes disease in individuals who eat contaminated seafood (usually raw or undercooked oysters) or have an open wound that is exposed to seawater. Among healthy people, ingestion of V. vulnificus can cause vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. Most V. vulnificus infections are acute and have no long-term consequences.

In immunocompromised persons, particularly those with chronic liver disease, V. vulnificus can invade the bloodstream from either a wound or from the GI tract, causing a severe and life-threatening illness called primary septicemia, characterized by fever, chills, septic shock and death. Blistering skin lesions accompany the disease in about 70% of the cases. V. vulnificus bloodstream infections are fatal about 50% of the time.

Although V. vulnificus is a rare cause of disease, it is likely that it is unrecognized and underreported (one estimate of the total number of cases annually in the U.S. is as high as 45,000). Between 1988 and 1995, CDC received reports of over 300 V. vulnificus infections from the Gulf Coast states, where the majority of cases occur.

Persons who are immunocompromised, especially those with chronic liver disease, are at risk for V. vulnificus when they eat raw seafood, particularly oysters. These individuals are 80-200 times more likely to develop V. vulnificus primary septicemia than are healthy people. For this particular risk group, the infection carries one of the highest mortality rates of all bacterial infections.

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Dr. Mark Horton, director of the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), today warned consumers not to eat Del Monte whole cantaloupe sold at Northern California and Nevada Raley’s, Bel Air, Nob Hill Foods and Food Source stores between October 5 and October 16, 2009 because the cantaloupe may be contaminated with Salmonella. Raley’s, which owns Bel Air, Nob Hill Foods and Food Source stores, is voluntarily recalling 1,120 cartons of Del Monte whole cantaloupe after routine testing detected Salmonella. No illnesses have been reported from these products.

CDPH is issuing this alert in case consumers may still have some of the affected cantaloupe in their possession.

Salmonella is an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. Consumers who may eaten this product and are experiencing the above symptoms should consult their health care provider.

There have been several Salmonella cantaloupe outbreaks over the last few years - some involving serious injury and death.  Here are three:

Viva Cantaloupe

Susie Cantaloupe

Cantaloupe Litchfield

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Nebraska Firm Recalls Beef Tongues That Contain Prohibited Materials

J.F. O'Neill Packing Company, an Omaha, Neb., establishment is recalling approximately 33,000 pounds of beef tongues that may not have had the tonsils completely removed, which is not compliant with regulations that require the removal of tonsils from cattle of all ages, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.

Tonsils are considered a specified risk material (SRM) and must be removed from cattle of all ages in accordance with FSIS regulations. SRMs are tissues that are known to contain the infective agent in cattle infected with Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), as well as materials that are closely associated with these potentially infective tissues. Therefore, FSIS prohibits SRMs from use as human food to minimize potential human exposure to the BSE agent.

The following product is subject to recall:

" Various weight cases of "BEEF TONGUES." Each case bears the establishment number "EST. 889A" inside the USDA mark of inspection and were sold under the following brand names:

"J.F. O'NEILL PACKING CO.," "WHOLE FOODS NATURAL," "WHOLE FOODS ORGANIC," "PREMIER PROTEIN PARTNERS," "MONTANA RANCH BRAND," "GRASSLAND BEEF," "AUSTIN MEATS," "MORGAN RANCH," "KOBE BEEF AMERICA," "IMPERIAL WAGYU BEEF," "BRAND ADVANTAGE WAGYU," "BRAND ADVANTAGE PARTNERS," "YAMAYA U.S.A.," and "A.D. ROSENBLATT."

The company is recalling all products packed between July 1, 2009, and October 8, 2009. These products were shipped primarily to distribution centers in Nebraska and California for further sale to restaurants, hotels and institutions.

The problem was discovered through a food safety assessment FSIS conducted at the establishment.

FSIS routinely conducts recall effectiveness checks to verify recalling firms notify their customers (including restaurants) of the recall and that steps are taken to make certain that the product is no longer available to consumers.

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We are now into the fourth week of the publication of www.foodsafetynews.com.  Our offices in Seattle, Denver and Washington DC have been busy gathering the most up to date news on food safety - there has been a lot.  In analyzing visitors to the site today, the USA, including Alaska (is that you Sarah?), leads on readership.  However, we seem to be getting hits from all over.

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The Michigan Department of Community Health and Department of Agriculture said 12 cases of Salmonella Typhimurium infections caused by eating raw alfalfa sprouts have been reported in Kent, Bay, Genesee, Macomb, Oakland, Washtenaw and Wayne Counties. One of the 12 cases was found in Kent County, said Health Department Spokesman James McCurtis Jr.

"Eating raw sprouts is a known risk for exposure to Salmonella or E. coli bacteria," said Dr. Gregory Holzman, chief medical executive for state health department. "We want to educate people about this known risk in order for them to make informed decisions concerning their health."

State officials said everyone -- especially young children, frail, elderly and those with weakened immune systems -- should avoid eating raw alfalfa sprouts until the origin of the contamination is determined. Other types of sprouts are not involved, they said.

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Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), often referred to as "staph," is a bacterium commonly carried on the skin or in the nose of healthy people. S. aureus typically causes a skin infection, but can cause infections in the bloodstream and major organs. Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) occurs when the bacteria become resistant to the antibiotic, methicillin and other more common antibiotics such as oxacillin, penicillin and amoxicillin, making it more difficult to treat. The rate of invasive MRSA (infections in typically sterile sites like the bloodstream) is estimated to be 32 per 100,000 persons in the United States; the mortality (death) rate is thought to be about 6 per 100,000 persons. The risk of invasive MRSA infections is highest among older individuals, Blacks/African Americans, and men.

MRSA infections were initially limited to hospitals and nursing homes, especially among patients with weakened immune systems. Since the 1980s, community-acquired cases and outbreaks also have been reported. Community acquired cases are those not related to past year hospitalization or medical procedures like dialysis, surgery, or catheterization. These infections typically occur among otherwise healthy individuals and are more likely to be limited to skin infections. An increase in the virulence of MRSA bacteria in the past decade, however, has been responsible for more severe and sometimes fatal community acquired infections. More recently, MRSA has been identified in food animals and a few outbreaks have been ‘food-initiated’ or foodborne. In one such outbreak, those affected developed typical foodborne illness symptoms, such as vomiting and stomach cramps.

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Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) is a spore-forming, gram-positive anaerobic bacillus that produces two toxins: toxin A and toxin B. These toxins typically cause gastrointestinal disease, often with severe complications. In rare cases, C. difficile-associated disease can be fatal. Although C. difficile bacteria can be present in human intestinal tracts and cause no clinical symptoms (a condition called colonization), some individuals with C. difficile colonization are at increased risk of becoming ill. The most common risk factor for C. difficile-associated disease is exposure to antibiotics, especially those with broad-spectrum activity. Although less common, exposure to agents that suppress the immune system may also increase the risk of illness. Advanced age, severe underlying illness, gastrointestinal surgery, use of nasogastric tubes, and gastrointestinal medications (such as gastrointestinal stimulants or antacids) have also been associated with an increased risk of colonization. Most cases are acquired in hospitals or nursing homes, but an increased incidence of community–acquired C. difficile has been reported as well. Recent studies indicate that C. difficile can also be found in food products.  So, is it another bug to worry about in our food?  Visit C. difficile blog.

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Click above to download report.

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From the GAO:

Over the past few years, several food recalls, such as for beef and peanut products, have affected schools. It is especially important that recalls affecting schools be carried out efficiently and effectively because young children have a higher risk of complications from food-borne illnesses. GAO was asked to determine how federal agencies (1) notified states and schools about food recalls, (2) advised states and schools about disposal and reimbursement of recalled food, and (3) ensured that recalls were being carried out effectively. To do this, GAO reviewed and analyzed relevant documents and interviewed federal and state officials, as well as officials from 23 school districts that had experience with at least one of four recent cases involving the safety of food in the school lunch program.

Despite its efforts, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), which oversees federal school meals programs, did not always ensure that states and schools received timely and complete notification about suspect food products provided to schools through the federal commodity program. The federal commodity program provides food to schools at no cost to the schools, and accounts for 15 to 20 percent of food served in school meals. During 3 recent recalls, FNS notified states, but in only one case did it inform schools to hold and not serve suspect foods prior to an official recall of commodity products. When a videotape aired by the media showed inhumane treatment of cattle at a plant that provided beef to the commodity program, FNS told states to have schools stop serving the company's beef weeks before the official recall of commodity beef was announced. However, when the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recalled suspect peanut products and canned vegetables in two other cases, FNS did not inform states and schools to hold and not serve the companies' commodity products until the recalls were expanded to include the companies' commodity products--weeks later. FNS's initial notification to states regarding recalls did not provide complete information on the full range of products affected. Instead, states and schools continued to receive information on multiple other recalled products over time. It sometimes took states and schools a week or more to determine what additional products were subject to a recall, during which time they unknowingly served affected products. FNS provided instructions for disposal and reimbursement of recalled products to states who, in turn, provided instructions to schools but, nonetheless, some schools experienced problems. Some schools reported to GAO problems in finding landfills that would accept large quantities of recalled products. Some schools also reported that reimbursement instructions were not clear, reimbursement was delayed for months, and that all of their expenses related to the recalls were not reimbursed. Although both USDA's Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) and the FDA procedures direct them to conduct recall quality checks, neither included thousands of schools that had received recalled USDA-commodities products for the beef and peanut recalls because they thought FNS conducted these checks. As a result, they were unable to ensure that the recalls were being carried out effectively by schools. FNS officials said that they did not conduct any kind of systematic quality checks of schools receiving recalled commodities, because they relied on FSIS and FDA to conduct such checks. FDA did include schools in its canned vegetable recall audit checks, and some may have received recalled-commodity canned vegetables. However, because FDA does not systematically sample for schools or analyze results of the quality checks for the group, the agency cannot be assured that the recall was carried out effectively in schools.

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The California Department of Public Health warned consumers not to eat “Queen Victoria” and “Tubby” bunched spinach because they may be contaminated with salmonella, which can cause serious illness.  The 12-count and 24-count spinach bunches were bound with a twist tie which says “PLU 4090 UPC 33383-65200.” The twist tie associated with the “Queen Victoria” label has the Queen Victoria logo on it. The twist tie for the Tubby label has a generic spinach band on it.

Of the 1,715 cartons of recalled bunched spinach, a total of 1,515 cartons were packed under the “Queen Victoria” label and distributed to California, Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, and to British Columbia, Ontario, and Manitoba in Canada.  The remaining 200 cartons were packed under the “Tubby” label and distributed in California and New York. The recalled spinach was harvested September 1 through September 3, and distributed to retail, food service and wholesale buyers.

The recalled bunched spinach was packed in 12-count and 24-count spinach bunches in cardboard boxes with “Spinach” printed on the side panel, in wire bound crates or reusable plastic containers.

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According to press reports, eleven children and two adults came down with E. coli days after visiting the petting zoo at the Pacific National Exhibition this summer.  A spokesman for B.C. Children's Hospital in Vancouver confirmed Tuesday three of the 13 cases were serious enough to warrant hospital care. One child remained in hospital Tuesday in fair condition and two children have been sent home. The ages of the victims ranged from 21 months to 69 years.

Reports of E. coli linked to the PNE surfaced on the same days as reports of Great Britain's biggest ever outbreak of E. coli spread from farm animals. A London newspaper reported 36 children had E coli after visiting a petting farm in Surrey, England; three of the children were reported to be seriously ill.

Here are some amazing quotes straight from the - excuse me - "the horses mouth:"

Petting zoos will always be a potential risk because they mix animals, little kids and poop, Dr. John Carsley, a medical health officer with Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, said yesterday in an interview....

“The innate difficulty is the clientele of petting zoos tends to be families with small children. So no matter how fastidious you want to be, and try to be, you cannot reduce the risk to zero,” Dr. Carsley said....

Officials did not announce the outbreak of E. coli. An announcement would have been pointless, Dr. Carsley said. No one was at risk to be infected after the PNE closed and, if someone was exposed to the germ but has not yet fallen ill, there is nothing that could be done to prevent an outbreak of the illness, he said. “If you have nothing to offer people, what are you going to tell them?” he said.

The majority of people who went into the barn and were exposed to the germs were at no risk, he also said. “So you are basically scaring an enormous amount of people and telling them, you might have been exposed to a potentially fatal illness about which you can do nothing,” Dr. Carsley said.

Laura Ballance, a spokesperson for the PNE, said the fair has undertaken extensive precautions to prevent the spread of disease from animals to humans. The procedures “have been successful for several decades, and for hundreds of thousands of kids who have been passing through,” she said.

When leaving the barn, children must walk through an alleyway that has washing stations with hot and cold water, and staff is there at all times telling everyone to wash their hands. Eighteen hand sanitizers are in the vicinity. Also staff receive training on E. coli, on ways to prevent the spreading of the germs, Ms. Ballance said.

“This is the most extensive [effort] you can do to prevent it, short of [staff] washing people's hands,” she said.

And, yet it still happened.

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Muranaka Farm Inc. is recalling 1,005 cases of parsley distributed in 10 states, including Illinois, because it may be contaminated with salmonella.

The Moorpark, Calif., company says it's voluntarily recalling cases of 60-count fresh bunched parsley, lot code 0023909, after sampling conducted in cooperation with the Food and Drug Administration showed bacteria.

Thirty cases of the parsley were distributed in Arizona; 574 were distributed in California; 35 in Colorado; 60 in Florida; three in Iowa; one in Illinois; seven in Missouri; five in Tennessee; 278 in Texas; and 12 in Wisconsin.

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Windsor Foods, a Riverside, California, establishment, is recalling approximately 2,268 pounds of beef and bean burrito products that may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced.

The following products are subject to recall:

* 18-pound bulk cases containing individually wrapped "BUTCHER BOY RED CHILE BEEF & BEAN BURRITOS."

Each case of Butcher Boy brand burritos, subject to recall, contains a total of 72 burritos and bears the establishment number "EST. 1905" within the USDA mark of inspection; the package code "1219215;" the case code "2080001;" and advises "KEEP FROZEN."

The products were produced on August 3, 2009 and distributed to a storage center in Minnesota for further retail sales. The products available for direct consumer purchase will not bear the establishment number and package code. Customers with concerns should contact their point of purchase.

Consumption of food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes can cause listeriosis, an uncommon but potentially fatal disease. Healthy people rarely contract listeriosis. However, listeriosis can cause high fever, severe headache, neck stiffness and nausea. Listeriosis can also cause miscarriages and stillbirths, as well as serious and sometimes fatal infections in those with weakened immune systems, such as infants, the elderly and persons with HIV infection or undergoing chemotherapy. Individuals concerned about an illness should contact a physician.

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Two California produce shippers have recalled thousands of cases of green onions supplied by an onion farm in Mexicali, Mexico, over fears the onions could be contaminated with salmonella.

U.S. Department of Agriculture inspectors found salmonella in a routine test taken in New York last month. No illnesses have been reported.

Officials notified the shipper, Salinas-based Steinbeck Country Produce. The company issued a voluntary recall Aug. 28 for 3,360 cartons.  Steinbeck's produce was distributed in California, Massachusetts, Texas, Indiana, New York, Michigan, Missouri, Kansas and Arizona.  Castroville-based shipper Ocean Mist Farms recalled 1,746 cases as well, after realizing they came from the same lot. Ocean Mist wouldn't say where it's onions were distributed.

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Someone emailed me this link to some very interesting glass art by Luke Jerram.  I guess I know what I will be asking Santa for:

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Recall Release CLASS I RECALL
FSIS-RC-046-2009 HEALTH RISK: HIGH

Big Boy Food Group, a Warren, Mich., establishment, is recalling approximately 39,514 pounds of ready-to-eat meal kits that may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.  The following product is subject to recall:

Dinolunch Brand:

* 3.6 oz “DINOLUNCH CARNIVORE HAM & CHEESE” meal kits. Each tray includes ham, cheese, and crackers; a juice drink and Dino cookies. The front of each package bears the establishment number “EST. 4205” inside the USDA mark of inspection as well as the Use by/Sell by date of “10/24/2009.”
* 3.6 oz “DINOLUNCH T-REX TURKEY & CHEESE” meal kits. Each tray includes turkey, cheese, and crackers; a juice drink and Dino cookies. The front of each package bears the establishment number “P- 4205” inside the USDA mark of inspection as well as the Use by/Sell by date of “10/24/2009.”

Each case of the Dinolunch brand meal kits, subject to recall, can be identified by the case code “9237” and contains approximately twelve (12) trays. The products were produced on August 25, 2009 and distributed to wholesale and retail establishments in Texas.

Lunch Buddies Brand:

* 3.6 oz “Lunch Buddies Ham & Cheese” meal kits. Each tray includes ham, cheese, and crackers; a juice drink and a sweet treat. The front of each package bears the establishment number “EST. 4205” inside the USDA mark of inspection as well as the Use by/Sell by date of “10/24/2009.”
* 3.6 oz “Lunch Buddies Turkey & Cheese” meal kits. Each tray includes turkey, cheese, and crackers; a juice drink and a sweet treat. The front of each package bears the establishment number “P- 4205” inside the USDA mark of inspection as well as the Use by/Sell by date of “10/24/2009.”

Each case of the Lunch Buddies brand meal kits, subject to recall, can be identified by the case code “9237” and contains approximately sixteen (16) trays. The products were produced on August 25, 2009 and distributed to wholesale establishments in Ill., Ind., Ohio, and Wisc. FSIS has no reason to believe that these products are available for consumer purchase as recalled products were distributed only at the wholesale level; so, none of these meal kits would have reached consumers.

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A laboratory test by the Georgia Department of Agriculture (GDA) found Listeria monocytogenes in a sample of Kellogg’s Buttermilk Eggo Waffles manufactured at an Atlanta plant. The sample was taken as part of a routine inspection by GDA of the Kellogg’s plant at 5601 Bucknell Dr. SW, Atlanta. While no illnesses have been reported, out of an abundance of caution, Kellogg is voluntarily recalling a limited number of the following products produced in the same facility:

Kellogg’s® Eggo® Cinnamon Toast waffles, 10-count package, UPC code 3800040440 with “Best If Used Before” dates beginning with: NOV22 10 EA, NOV23 10 EA and NOV24 10 EA.

Kellogg’s® Eggo® Toaster Swirlz™ Cinnamon Roll Minis eight-count package, UPC code 3800023370 with a “Best If Used Before” date beginning with beginning with NOV15 10 EA.

Kellogg voluntarily ceased production at the plant, began an investigation to determine a possible cause of contamination and began a regimen of cleaning and sanitizing. Kellogg will execute its hygienic restoration plan under GDA before it resumes production at the plant.

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In my ongoing effort to understand the risk to humans of non E. coli O157:H7, this weekend I read the manuscript “Molecular Analysis of Virulence Profiles and Shiga Toxin Genes in Food-Borne Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli” by Slanec, T., Fruth, A., Creuzburg, K., and H. Schmidt from the Department of Food Microbiology, Institute of Food Science and Biotechnology, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany. Click below to download full manuscript:

In general, the manuscript noted that Shiga toxin (Stx)-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) can cause a spectrum of human disease ranging from watery diarrhea to bloody diarrhea (hemorrhagic colitis), which can be followed by serious sequelae such as the hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS). STEC are genetically heterogeneous and although more than 200 STEC serotypes have been described, only a limited number of serotypes has been isolated from human cases. The most important serotypes, which can cause severe human disease, are O157:H7, O157:NM, and the non-O157 serotypes O26:H11, O111:NM, O103:H2, and O145:NM. STEC infections are mainly food-borne infections, although direct transmission from animals or from person-to-person has been described. Foods of high risk for transmission are minced meat, other meat products, produce, and dairy products.

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I was reading recently an article in the European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases by R. J. Pomajz, M. Varman, A. Holst and A. Chen entitled, Hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) incidence and etiologies at a regional Children’s Hospital in 2001–2006. Here is the abstract:

Hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) is a serious health concern in children. HUS has primarily been linked to Escherichia coli O157:H7 infections, but non-O157 strains are gaining attention. Hemolytic anemia, thrombocytopenia, and acute renal failure are the characteristics of the syndrome. This study investigated the incidence of HUS at a regional Children’s Hospital between 2001 and 2006 by retrospective review. Cases of HUS were investigated for outcomes based on stool culture and an association of acute pancreatitis. A total of 44 cases were identified, of which 57% were female and 43% were male, with an age distribution of 13 months to 17 years and a median age of 3.44 years. Data revealed 13 cases in 2006 compared to two cases in 2001, with 84% of all illnesses occurring in the summer and fall seasons. The median duration of thrombocytopenia was eight days and 50% of all cases required dialysis. E. coli O157:H7 was the predominant pathogen; however, 53% of the cases had unknown etiology. This data may suggest a growing number of cases from 2001 to 2006 and a role for agents other than E. coli O157:H7. E. coli O157:H7 caused longer intensive care unit (ICU) stay. No association between HUS and acute pancreatitis was found.

In addition, the article itself noted: “An increasing number of reports show E. coli of the non-O157 serotypes as the causative agent in developing HUS. Some non-O157 serotypes that have been associated with HUS include O26, O103, O111” and others.

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I blew it. I look at the FSIS site daily and I missed that they had posted the below list of retail outlets that received the Salmonella Newport Beef:

I am sorry.

The Sterling Pacific Meat products subject to recall include:

Fatburger Brand:

* 20-pound packages of "8 oz. PUCK (80/20) GROUND BEEF PATTIES."
* 10-pound "2.5 oz. BABY GROUND BEEF PATTIES."

Stock Yards Brand:

* 12-pound packages of "6 oz ROUND 80 % LEAN PURE GROUND BEEF PATTIES." Each package bears the identifying case code "13627."
* 12-pound packages of "(3/1) ROUND 80% LEAN PURE GROUND BEEF PATTY." Each package bears the identifying case code "13582."
* 12-pound packages of "(3/1) ROUND 80% LEAN GROUND BEEF PATTIES." Each package bears the identifying case code "10457" and the pack date "05/18/2009."
* 12-pound packages of "GROUND BEEF PATTY (8/1) SLIDER 80% LEAN." Each package bears the identifying case code "13657" and the pack date "05/18/2009."
* 12-pound packages of "(4/1) ROUND 85% LEAN PURE GROUND BEEF PATTY." Each package bears the identifying case code "13575" and the pack date "05/18/2009."
* 12-pound packages of "PURE GROUND BEEF PATTY 7oz WIDE PATTY 80% LEAN." Each package bears the identifying case code "13520" and the pack date "05/18/2009."
* 12-pound packages of "PURE GROUND BEEF PATTY (7/1) ROUND PATTY 80% LEAN." Each package bears the identifying case code "13577" and the pack date "05/18/2009."
* 11.80-pound packages of "PURE GROUND BEEF PATTIES 7 oz ROUND 80% LEAN." Each package bears the identifying case code "13520" or "13561" and the pack date "05/18/2009."

The packages also bear the establishment number "EST. 550" within the USDA Mark of Inspection and advise "KEEP REFRIGERATED" and/or "KEEP FROZEN." The ground beef products were produced on May 18, 2009, and were distributed at the wholesale level to food service companies, who further distributed the product to restaurants in Calif. and Ariz.

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On August 6, 2009 Beef Packers, Inc., of Fresno, California recalled approximately 825,769 pounds of ground beef products linked to an outbreak of salmonellosis (disease that can be caused by antibiotic-resistant Salmonella Newport). This was announced on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) website.

Today is August 13 – seven (7) days into a Class 1 Recall. The FSIS is supposed to make available to the public the names and locations of retail consignees (grocery stores, etc.) of meat products recalled by a federally-inspected meat establishment (like this one) if the recalled product has been distributed to the retail level. The rule applies to Class I recalls (like this one). The information is supposed to be posted on the FSIS website, generally within three (3) to ten (10) working days, following the announcement of the recall.

So, FSIS, Day seven (7) of ten (10), what gives? California has already produced what is thought to be a complete list of retail consignees. Why cannot the FSIS? More to the point, why cannot Beef Packers, Inc., (a.k.a. Cargill)?

So far at least 28 people in California, Colorado and Wyoming have reported salmonella-related illnesses since last week. You have to wonder why the "foot-dragging?" Wouldn't it be better to tell the public where contaminated beef might have been sold? Wouldn't it make it much easier for people to check there freezers if they knew they may have purchased contamianted meat?

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In cooperation with Beef Packers, Inc.’s (Cargill's) recall of 825,769 pounds of ground beef linked to an outbreak of salmonellosis, Pleseanton, California Safeway, Inc. is recalling fresh ground beef products sold between June 6 through July 14, 2009, at stores in Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, South Dakota and Wyoming.

While the recalled product is no longer in stores, Safeway is asking its customers to check all ground beef in their freezers. Fresh ground beef products sold at both the full-service counter and in the self-service area on the dates listed above, should be discarded or returned for a full refund. These products include fresh ground beef, fresh ground beef patties and fresh meat loaf.

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California, Colorado and Wyoming health officials said this afternoon that at least 27 people have reported illnesses tied to recalled ground beef tainted with antibiotic resistant Salmonella Newport.  On Thursday, Fresno-based Beef Packers Inc. (Cargill) recalled 825,769 pounds of ground beef produced June 5-23.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service says the beef was sent to retail distribution centers in Arizona, California, Colorado and Utah.  The beef was repackaged and sold under different retail brand names, so customers are being urged to check with their local store to determine if they bought any of the beef.

So far only Safeway, Vons and Sam's Club have been named.  So, Obama Administration, where is the beef?  Why are we still counting bodies when we should be recalling product by actually telling consumers what meat is likely contaminated and where they might have purchased it.  Grade - A for "Cash for Clunkers."  Grade - F for food safety.

Quote of the Day from the LA Times:

Salmonella prefers warm, damp environments with little oxygen, which is why it is so prevalent in manure and other forms of excrement. But it can live in almost any climate. If conditions aren't suitable for growth, it can lie dormant for a year or longer, waiting for the right opportunity.

"It's like the sea monkeys you had as a kid -- you add water and it comes to life," said Bill Marler, a Seattle lawyer who specializes in food-borne illness cases and updates his Salmonella Blog several times a day.

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Colorado State health officials, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and several other state health departments have been investigating an outbreak of infections that are resistant to several commonly used antibiotics. To date, cases of illness have been identified in 11 states. The majority of cases, 21 illnesses, have been reported in Colorado in the following counties: Arapahoe (3), Broomfield (3), Denver (3), Douglas (1), Elbert (1), Garfield (1), Jefferson (5), Mesa (1), Pueblo (1) and Weld (2). Four people have been hospitalized.

Most people became ill during late June and early July, with the most recent illness occurring July 13. Because it can take at least two weeks for cases of illness to be reported to the state health department, it is possible additional cases may be reported. This is the second large outbreak of Salmonella the department has investigated since July 1. Both outbreaks have been linked to ground beef.

The ground beef products associated with the known cases were produced on various dates ranging from June 5, 2009, through June 23, 2009, and bear the establishment number "EST. 31913" printed on the case code labels.  The ground beef products were distributed to retail distribution centers in Arizona, California, Colorado and Utah. Of Colorado’s confirmed cases, the state has epidemiologic data showing that 15 of 16 confirmed illnesses (out of a total of 21 confirmed cases) purchased their ground beef product at Safeway Stores. Point of purchase information is not available on the other Colorado cases. At this time, it is not known whether the product was distributed to other stores.

Because these products were repackaged into consumer-sized packages and sold under different retail brand names, consumers should check with their local retailer to determine whether they may have purchased any of the products subject to recall.

As part of its investigation into an outbreak of Salmonella Newport associated with ground beef products, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment notified the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service of the situation. Epidemiologic and traceback investigations determined there is an association between the fresh ground beef products and illnesses reported in Colorado.

The illnesses also were linked through the epidemiologic investigation by their uncommon pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) pattern found in PulseNet, a national network of public health and food regulatory agency laboratories coordinated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Safety Inspection Service is investigating 40 illnesses in nine states - including five people in the California counties of Orange and Tulare – who have been sickened. At least four people have been hospitalized.

The state public health department released a list of affected retailers, mostly Safeway stores in Northern California and Vons stores in Southern California. The meat was produced June 5-23 and would have been sold sometime last month. A Safeway spokeswoman said Thursday that ground beef purchased from June 6 to July 14 should be discarded or returned to the store for a refund. List of California stores impacted:

The strain of bacteria associated with the outbreak is Salmonella Newport, which is resistant to many drugs typically used to treat infections, according to the Food and Safety Inspection Service. Salmonella can be life-threatening, especially in people with weak immune systems such as babies, the elderly and people with HIV infection or undergoing chemotherapy.

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I am showing my age that I remember the famous TV ad from the 1980's - "Where is the Beef?"  So, Cargill, where is the million pounds of Salmonella Newport?  We know it is in 11 States - which ones?  We know that Safeway and King Soopers is doing a recall - what others?  It would be nice to know where the beef really is.

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The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment today announced that Beef Packers, Inc., a Fresno, Calif., establishment, is recalling approximately 826,000 pounds of ground beef products that may be linked to an outbreak of illness from Salmonella Newport.

State health officials, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and several other state health departments have been investigating an outbreak of infections that are resistant to several commonly used antibiotics. To date, cases of illness have been identified in 11 states. The majority of cases, 21 illnesses, have been reported in Colorado in the following counties: Arapahoe (3), Broomfield (3), Denver (3), Douglas (1), Elbert (1), Garfield (1), Jefferson (5), Mesa (1), Pueblo (1) and Weld (2). Four people have been hospitalized, and all are recovering.

Most people became ill during late June and early July, with the most recent illness occurring July 13. Because it can take at least two weeks for cases of illness to be reported to the state health department, it is possible additional cases may be reported. This is the second large outbreak of Salmonella the department has investigated since July 1. Both outbreaks have been linked to ground beef.

The ground beef products associated with the known cases were produced on various dates ranging from June 5, 2009, through June 23, 2009, and bear the establishment number "EST. 31913" printed on the case code labels.

The ground beef products were distributed to retail distribution centers in Arizona, California, Colorado and Utah. Of Colorado’s confirmed cases, the state has epidemiologic data showing that 15 of 16 confirmed illnesses (out of a total of 21 confirmed cases) purchased their ground beef product at Safeway Stores. Point of purchase information is not available on the other Colorado cases. At this time, it is not known whether the product was distributed to other stores.

Because these products were repackaged into consumer-sized packages and sold under different retail brand names, consumers should check with their local retailer to determine whether they may have purchased any of the products subject to recall.

As part of its investigation into an outbreak of Salmonella Newport associated with ground beef products, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment notified the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service of the situation. Epidemiologic and traceback investigations determined there is an association between the fresh ground beef products and illnesses reported in Colorado.

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I had a nice chat this morning with Jerry Hirsch from the LA Times on the resent recall of some 800,000 pounds of hamburger. As I said to Jerry:

Regulators probably jumped on the beef case out of concern for antibiotic resistant strains of salmonella, said William Marler, a Seattle attorney and food safety expert who specializes in food-borne illness litigation.

Unlike the often lethal food-borne bacterium E. coli O157:H7, salmonella is not considered an “adulterant” in federal food regulations and does not trigger an automatic recall, Marler said.

“I commend the company for recalling the beef because legally, they would be on strong ground not to do so,” he said.

The pathogens are treated differently because it takes only a small about of E. coli – just 50 organisms to infect a person – where it typically takes millions of salmonella bacteria to trigger an illness, Marler said.

Nonetheless, Marler would like to see regulation expanded to include salmonella and other pathogens that cause serious illness.

My quote of the day:

“I think that anything that can poison or kill a person should be listed as an adulterant,” he said.

We have been following the problem of Salmonella in hamburger for awhile.  Here is a recent article:

Prevalence and Characterization of Salmonellae in Commercial Ground Beef in the United States
Joseph M. Bosilevac,* Michael N. Guerini, Norasak Kalchayanand, and Mohammad Koohmaraie
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Roman L. Hruska U.S. Meat Animal Research Center, Clay Center, Nebraska 68933-0166

Received 5 November 2008/ Accepted 2 February 2009

Commercially produced ground beef samples (n = 4,136) were collected from seven regions of the United States over a 24-month period (July 2005 to June 2007) and analyzed for the presence of Salmonella enterica by using methods that concurrently provided total prevalence and enumerable levels. The overall prevalence of Salmonella strains was 4.2%. Enumeration showed that 94.2% were present at levels below 2 CFU/g. Regional monthly prevalences of Salmonella strains varied from 1.8% to 6.5% but were not statistically different (P > 0.05). All Salmonella isolates were serotyped and their antibiotic susceptibilities determined and analyzed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). The most common serotypes identified were Salmonella enterica serotypes Montevideo, Anatum, Muenster, and Mbandaka, with these accounting for one-half of the isolates obtained. The prevalence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) Salmonella was determined to be 0.6%. The most common MDR serotypes were Salmonella enterica serotypes Dublin, Reading, and Typhimurium. MDR strains had resistance to between 2 and 10 antibiotics. There were no regional differences in prevalence of MDR Salmonella. PFGE analysis revealed that indistinguishable XbaI and AvrII restriction digest patterns (RDPs) could be observed in isolates of the same serotype found in different regions and months of sampling. The RDPs of 19 Salmonella strains were compared to RDPs in the PulseNet USA database. Thirteen were indistinguishable from existing patterns, and the number of records for each ranged from 1 to 478. These data show that Salmonella prevalence in commercial ground beef is low and suggest that attempts to identify sources contributing to Salmonella in ground beef by serotype, antibiogram, and PFGE cannot be made without additional documented evidence.

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Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that USDA's Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) is issuing guidance for inspectors to begin conducting routine sampling of bench trim for E. coli O157:H7. Bench trim is the fat and meat trimmed from cuts like steaks and roasts as they are prepared in processing plants. Bench trim is normally added to other meat used in ground beef. FSIS inspectors generally perform tests for E. coli O157:H7 in the slaughterhouse on most meat used in ground beef, however, bench trim had not previously been tested by the inspectors, creating a potentially dangerous hole in the government’s food-safety regimen.

According to the New York Times today, Jerold R. Mande, deputy under secretary for food safety at the Agriculture Department, said the government tests of bench trim were to begin in about a month. They are intended to verify testing for E. coli O157:H7 in hamburger that is already being done by plant operators, and many of the operators already test bench trim for the bacterium, he said. According to Mande, on average, the bench trim at an individual plant will be tested two or three times a year, for a total of 1,500 samplings nationwide over 12 months.

Hmm, only 1,500 total samples per year? Is that really sufficient to assure that our hamburger supply is safer? Had I known that the sampling would be that skimpy, I may not have said the below:

Bill Marler, a lawyer in Seattle who specializes in food poisoning cases, said that bench trim was suspected as a source of E. coli O157:H7 in many ground beef recalls. He said the new testing represented an important change. “You’re adding an additional layer of assurance that the ultimate product, the hamburger, is less likely to be contaminated,” he said.

If you are going to test for E. coli O157:H7 and actually be interested in finding it, scientifically based testing should be preformed at several points in the slaughter/manufacturing/grinding production operation. This should include testing for E. coli O157:H7 in finished product and holding it (not shipping it) at the grinding operation until the test results are returned. The testing should be done frequently enough to assure that the production operation is excluding E. coli O157:H7 from finished product.

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Here is the bill that (I think) is to be voted on in about an hour:

Click above to download.

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Congressman John D. Dingell gave an impassioned speech today on behalf of HR 2749 - The food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009.  I think it should be renamed the Dingell Bell, errr, Bill.  Anyway, the guy is a stud.

The vote on the Bill should happen soon.  Check out www.foodpoisonjournal.com for the latest.

Congressman John D. Dingell represents Michigan’s 15th Congressional District and is the Chairman Emeritus of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, one of five ‘exclusive’ committees in the U.S. House. During the 111th Congress, he has the lead role in crafting national health insurance legislation that goes before this Committee and the House. On the Committee, he also works on energy and climate change issues, telecommunications and consumer protection policy, and conducts oversight and investigations. Dingell serves the people of Monroe County and parts of Wayne and Washtenaw Counties. His work includes fighting for the working families that keep America's economy going, including making health care more affordable and accessible to all families and protecting our nation's natural heritage. On February 11, 2009, Congressman Dingell became the longest serving Member in the history of the U.S. House of Representatives.

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Once again contaminated food products are shipped to US grocery stores and consumers become ill.  The US pubic continues to be the "canary in the coal mine."  As FSIS reports:

As a result of an ongoing investigation into an outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium DT104 associated with ground beef products, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) notified FSIS of the problem. Epidemiological investigations and a case control study conducted by CDPHE and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) determined that there is an association between the fresh ground beef products and 14 illnesses reported in Colorado.

Recall Release CLASS I RECALL
FSIS-RC-039-2009 HEALTH RISK: HIGH

King Soopers, Inc., a Denver, Colo., establishment, is recalling approximately 466,236 pounds of ground beef products that may be linked to an outbreak of salmonellosis, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today. The products subject to recall include:

* 1-pound chubs of (93/7) ground beef. Each package bears the identifying case code "69558."
* 1 - 1.25-lb. tray packs of (96/4) ground beef. Each package bears the identifying case code "67164."
* 1 - 1.25-lb. tray packs of (96/4) ground beef. Each package bears the identifying case code "67664."
* 1 - 1.25-lb. tray packs of (93/7) ground beef. Each package bears the identifying case code "67663."
* 1 - 1.25-lb. tray packs of (93/7) ground beef. Each package bears the identifying case code "67163."
* 2.5 - 3-lb. tray packs of (93/7) ground beef. Each package bears the identifying case code "67654."
* 6-pack trays of (93/7) ground beef patties. Each package bears the identifying case code "67106."
* 4-pack trays of (93/7) ground beef patties. Each package bears the identifying case code "67115."

The ground beef chub products bear a use-by/sell-by date between "05/31/09" and "06/21/09;" the tray packs of ground beef bear a use-by/sell-by date between "06.02.09" and "06.23.09;" and the ground beef patty products bear a use-by/sell-by date between "06.01.09" and "06.22.09."

The ground beef products were produced on various dates ranging from May 23, 2009 through June 13, 2009 and bear the establishment number "EST. 6250" within the USDA Mark of Inspection, which is printed on the front of the packages. The ground beef products were distributed to retail establishments in Colo., Kan., Mo., Neb., N.M., Utah and Wyom.

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From a Company Press Release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 21, 2009

Tanimura & Antle, Inc. of Salinas, Calif. is voluntarily recalling one lot of romaine lettuce because it has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella. No illnesses have been reported to date, and the company is working with FDA to inform consumers of this recall.

Salmonella is an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis. The recall comes after a random test conducted by the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture tested positive.

Within hours of being notified yesterday, Tanimura & Antle, Inc. traced back the entire lot of romaine and advised all customers who received the recalled product of the test result. Tanimura & Antle, Inc. has instructed these customers to destroy the product. Although the recalled product is past its shelf life, the company is issuing this voluntary recall out of an abundance of caution to ensure that any product purchased by consumers will also be destroyed. Consumers who have purchased the recalled romaine as described above should not consume it, and should destroy the product.

The cartons of bulk or wrapped romaine being recalled are marked with the lot code 531380 and were harvested June 25 - July 2. This recall includes only this single lot of romaine; no other products are involved.

The recalled romaine was sold to retail, wholesale and food service outlets in Canada, Puerto Rico and the following 29 states: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Texas, Massachusetts, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, North Carolina, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming.

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I am so glad Al Gore (or whomever) invented the internet.  I can not tell you how many emails I get from former employees or whistle-blowers.  Here is one I received a few days ago:

“Mr. Marler:  I was an employee at the ________________ plant and was told that they had a power outage and uncooked product sat out too long, this was after I got fired. Also of note many employees were drunk on the job. Thank god that place is shut down for good.”

I took the name of the plant out - for now.

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Thousands of people are lining up in southern Illinois to receive Immunoglobulin (IG or Immune Globulin or Gamma Globulin) shots. IG is pooled/plasma-containing antibodies against a number of diseases like measles, rubella, varicella, and Hepatitis A. For protection against Hepatitis A after exposure, it must be given within two weeks of exposure and should be given concurrently with Hepatitis A to develop active immunity. A second dose of Hepatitis A is required six months later.

Side effects after receiving IG may include: muscle stiffness, redness, warmth, pain and tenderness at injection site. Fever, chills, headache, weakness and nausea may occur. If these symptoms continue beyond 48 hours or become bothersome, contact your physician. If skin rash, swelling of hands/feet or face, or trouble breathing develop, contact your doctor immediately. IG may interfere with the immune response to live vaccines, so discuss this with your physician before taking it. If you take IG, you will not be able to donate blood for several months.

In the last several years, the need to get IG shots because of infected restaurant employees or food has happened at a far too frequent rate. Here are some examples of cases we have been involved in where we filed Class Actions on behalf of those that were required to get IG shots:

Carl’s Jr. Hepatitis A Outbreak – Washington – 1,300 IG shots given

Chi-Chi’s Hepatitis A Outbreak – Pennsylvania – 9,000 IG shots given (we also represented the state of Pennsylvania in securing reimbursement for the cost of giving free shots)

D’Angelo’s Deli Hepatitis A Outbreak – Massachusetts – 1,600 IG shots given

Friendly’s Hepatitis A Exposure – Massachusetts – 3,800 IG shots given

Houlihan’s Hepatitis A Exposure – Illinois – 3,000 IG shots given

Quizno’s Hepatitis A Exposure – Massachusetts – 850 IG shots given

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The number of ill has risen to 20 and more can be expected.  Questions are still being raised as to when McDonalds and Rock Island County Department of Health knew when McDonalds had its first Hepatitis A ill employee.  I have been flooded with emails from local residents worried about their kids.  See below:

Customer 1:

I had to take my daughter to get a hepititis A shot last Thursday. I didn't get the shot because I don't have health insurance. McDonalds is my daughter's favorite place to eat. I'm outraged that they didn't take safety precautions, especially when the resturant is aimed towards little kids with an inside playground etc.

Customer 2:

We ate from the McDonalds in "Quad-City" Milan IL that has the Hepatitis A outbreak. about 8 times. before the health Dept had closed it down. today we will be going to the health dept for the free shots for this.  Myself and my wife have been stressed out over this whole matter. we called the health dept on friday july 17th they would not provide any info to us. we hav eonly learned about the shots today from the local news kwqc.

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Sweet Superior Fruit LTD. Co. of McAllen, Texas, is recalling 104 crates of fresh cilantro (coriander) because the product has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonellaoften experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis.

The recalled fresh cilantro (coriander) was sold July 13-16, 2009 in 15 pound, black plastic crates to individuals and companies through cash sales at Sweet Superior Fruit LTD. Co., 2501 W. Military Hwy., Suite #A-5 and A-6, McAllen, Texas. The product may have been further sold through direct retail sales in McAllen, Texas and surrounding areas or used as an ingredient to manufacture additional products.

No illnesses have been reported to date in connection with this problem.

The potential for contamination was revealed through testing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration which found the presence of Salmonella in the product.

Individuals and companies who purchased fresh cilantro (coriander) from Sweet Superior Fruit LTD. Co., July 13-16, 2009, should immediately discontinue use of the product. Companies should make efforts to recall the product from customers and consumers who may have purchased the product and ask them to return or throw it away.

Consumers who have purchased fresh cilantro (coriander) in McAllen, Texas and surrounding areas since July 13, 2009 should determine from the store they purchased the product whether or not the fresh cilantro (coriander) they purchased is involved in this recall.

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Thank goodness for what is left of a free press. If not for the Quad-City Times and KWQC, the folks of Rock Island County would not know the following:

From KWQC - Hepatitis A Outbreak Latest

• Rock Island County now has 14 with Hepatitis A. That brings the total number to 20 cases, with 11 people being hospitalized.
• Two workers at the Milan McDonald's tested positive for Hepatitis A but those tests came back a month ago.
• Even though the first case was confirmed back in mid-June, the Rock Island County Health Department didn't close the McDonald's until this past Wednesday.
• The health department now says it didn't respond back then because it didn't know back then. The health department says it didn't find out about the case on June 9th until July 10th, a month later because the provider who diagnosed a Milan McDonald's employee with Hepatitis A back on June 9th did not report that case as required. As a result, another month went by before steps could be taken.
• The Health Department says in addition to the two confirmed cases at the Milan McDonalds, there are also confirmed Hepatitis A cases involving other local businesses.

From the Quad-City Times - Rock Island County to set up hepatitis A vaccination clinic Monday, Tuesday

• The Rock Island County Health Department will offer vaccination clinics Monday and Tuesday at Rock Island High School for those people who dined at a Milan, Ill., McDonald's restaurant connected to a recent hepatitis A outbreak. The clinics will be from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Hepatitis A vaccine will be given to people ages 1-40, while immune globulin will be administered to people under 1 year of age or over 40 years of age. Eligible recipients of the vaccines are those who consumed food or beverages at the Milan McDonald's from July 6-10 and July 13-14.
• If a person receives the vaccine or immune globulin more than 14 days after they have eaten at the Milan McDonald's, it might not provide protection.
• The county has procured enough Hepatitis A vaccine and immune globulin to vaccinate between 5,000 and 10,000 people who may have dined at the restaurant during the specified time periods.

So, there has been Hepatitis A at McDonalds since at least late May (ill worker diagnosed July 9 would have been infectious weeks earlier).  And, that worker likely infected the other worker and customers over weeks.

One wonders why the physician who diagnosed the worker in June did not alert authorities? 

One wonders if management at the Milan McDonalds knew the worker to be sick?

One wonders why it took Rock Island County Health Department so long to get IG shot prepared?

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Media reports, press releases and comments from the Rock Island County Health Department, Illinois Department of Health and the McDonald’s in Milan at 400 W. 1st St. on U.S. 67 franchise owner are a bit light, but we know that at least 19 patrons of the restaurant are ill with Hepatitis A - 11 have been hospitalized.

First reports of illnesses were on July 15, 2009 - although oddly, Illinois Department of Health published a press release on the 13th urging families in the State to vaccinate against Hepatitis A. There are rumors that there are at least 2 ill employees.

The restaurant is on U.S. 67, near Highway. 280, and near the Quad-City Airport. You must wonder how many customers may have been exposed to Hepatitis A and where they are now.

From our site www.about-hepatitis.com:

Hepatitis A is a communicable (or contagious) disease that spreads from person to person. It is transmitted by the “fecal – oral route,” generally from person-to-person, or via contaminated food or water.

Food contaminated with the virus is a 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.

Symptoms typically begin about 28 days after contracting the hepatitis A virus, but can begin as early as 15 days or as late as 50 days after exposure (Koff, 1998), and include muscle aches, headache, anorexia (loss of appetite), abdominal discomfort, fever, and malaise. After a few days of the aforementioned symptoms, jaundice (also termed “icterus”) sets in.

Hepatitis A is TOTALLY PREVENTABLE. Although outbreaks continue to occur in the United States, outbreaks NEED NOT OCCUR if responsible preventive measures are taken. Responsible restaurant managers will exclude ill food-handlers from work, with pay. Food-handlers must also be taught to always wash their hands with soap and water after using the bathroom, changing a diaper, and certainly before preparing food.

After a known exposure to the hepatitis A virus, administration of a shot of Immune Globulin (IG) should be considered. IG is 80%-90% effective in preventing hepatitis A infection if it is administered within 2 weeks of the exposure.

It appears that the Rock Island Health Department is going to begin IG shots for the public on Monday – seems a bit odd it would not start sooner? Did they have adequate supplies of the IG shots?

Some other questions that need to be answered:

1. When was the first reported case of Hepatitis A linked to this McDonalds reported to the Rock Island Health Department?
2. When did McDonalds have notice if an employee was in fact ill?
3. What are McDonalds hand-washing and glove policies and were they being used?
4. Assuming that the illness originated with an ill employee, how many customers were served during the period of time the employee worked – and where are the customers now?
5. Did the ill employees and customers become so at the same time? If so, this may well point to a food product as the source.

More questions than answers at this point.

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I was “struck” how easy it is to spend a few moments on Google to see what a problem McDonalds seems to have with Hepatitis A infected employees. I really do not get it? Why risk it? The Hepatitis A vaccine is a 2 dose series with the 2 doses given at least 6 months apart for lasting protection against infection by the Hepatitis A virus. The CDC site has good information about the disease and the vaccine: www.cdc.gov/hepatitis. Why not give all employees the $50 for the shot series? Seems cheaper than poisoning a bunch of customers? But, like Ford and the Ford Pinto, perhaps poisoning a few customers with a potential deadly liver disease is worth it? What do you think?

2009 - 19 Hepatitis A cases linked to a Milan, Illinois McDonalds - 13 are in Rock Island County, and 6 more are being reported in Henry, Mercer, Warren and Woodford Counties.

As of Thursday afternoon, there are 19 confirmed Hepatitis A cases. 13 are in Rock Island County, and six more are being reported in Henry, Mercer, Warren and Woodford Counties.

2008 - Scott County Iowa Reports Hepatitis A Case.

A worker at a Davenport McDonalds has been diagnosed with the infectious Hepatitis A, but health department officials do not believe customers are at risk. A news release from the Scott County Health Department indicates that the food handler and the restaurant were investigated, and the Iowa Department of Public Health was consulted. The case at the McDonalds on Northwest Boulevard is the third report of Hepatitis A in Scott County this year, health department officials said.

2007 - Hepatitis A Case at Calgary McDonald's Prompts Public Health Alert.

Public health authorities are asking customers who ate at a Calgary McDonald's restaurant to contact them after a food handler at the location was confirmed to have Hepatitis A. The person assisted in meal preparation at the restaurant in the Foothills Industrial Park in the city's southeast. The Calgary Health Region said people who ate at the McDonald's between Oct. 1 and Oct. 23 may have been exposed.

2006 - McDonald’s and Hepatitis, strange bedfellows?

Apparently, on December 15th 2006, a worker tested positive for Hepatitis A, at a McDonald’s in Auckland, New Zealand was not wearing gloves. According to spokeswoman Joanna Redfern Hardisty, the workers that prepare the meals are not required to wear gloves but are required to clean their hands with anti-microbial soap. Ms. Hardisty has said that people who were eating at the restaurant during the worker’s shift would only now be experiencing the first symptoms of Hepatitis A.

2005 - Ex-McDonald's Employee Tests Positive for Hepatitis A.

Health-care providers in San Luis Obispo County are on the lookout for cases of hepatitis A after a former Paso Robles McDonald's employee caught the disease. County public health officials began notifying doctors, hospitals, urgent-care clinics and school nurses.

2002 - McDonald's Closes after 3 Hepatitis A Cases - Worker Diagnosed with Hepatitis A.

A Green Bay area McDonald's restaurant voluntarily closed after one employee, her son and another child became infected with hepatitis A. The McDonald's worker, Jessica Van Straten, 19, is hospitalized at University Hospital in Madison in critical condition, hospital spokesman Tim Lemond said Thursday. Van Straten's 18-month-old son and another employee's child, also 18 months, were diagnosed with the virus as well. The children attend the same day-care center. Their conditions were not immediately known.

2002 - Beach McDonald's Cited for "Critical Violations."

The hepatitis A threat at the McDonald's at Bonney Rd and Independence Blvd. hasn't made for a lot of happy meals lately. An investigation revealed that same McDonald's has been cited by the Virginia Beach health six times in the past five months. Inspectors call them "critical violations" -- such things as not sanitizing utensils, having leaky faucets which could pose contamination problems, an excessive number of flies and improperly storing toxic chemicals.

1998 - McDonald’s Hepatitis A Outbreak – Washington.

In March of 1998, the Skagit County Health Department (SCHD) received a number of reports that residents had been diagnosed with hepatitis A and began an investigation into what appeared to be a hepatitis A outbreak. During its investigation into the outbreak’s source, SCHD determined that the outbreak had occurred among patrons of the McDonald’s restaurant located on Riverside Drive in Mt. Vernon, Washington, who had eaten at the restaurant in mid-February, 1998. Through its investigation, SCHD learned that an assistant manager at the McDonald’s had worked while infected with hepatitis A and had contaminated food.

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As of Thursday afternoon, there are 19 confirmed Hepatitis A cases. 13 are in Rock Island County, and six more are being reported in Henry, Mercer, Warren and Woodford Counties.

John David at WQAD has reported: that “Lunch customers coming to the Milan McDonalds on Thursday found the doors locked. Drive-up customers were being turned away. According to investigators, an outbreak of Hepatitis-A may be linked to employees or someone who ate there.”

I guess lightening does strike at least twice. In March of 1998, the Skagit County Health Department (SCHD ) in Washington State received a number of reports that residents had been diagnosed with hepatitis A and began an investigation into what appeared to be a hepatitis A outbreak. During its investigation into the outbreak’s source, SCHD determined that the outbreak had occurred among patrons of the McDonald’s restaurant located on Riverside Drive in Mt. Vernon, Washington, who had eaten at the restaurant in mid-February, 1998. Through its investigation, SCHD learned that an assistant manager at the McDonald’s had worked while infected with hepatitis A and had contaminated food.

Hepatitis A is one of five human hepatitis viruses (hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E) that primarily infect the liver and cause illness. An estimated 80,000 cases occur each year in the U.S., although much higher estimates have been proposed based on mathematical modeling of the past incidence of infection. Each year, an estimated 100 persons die as a result of acute liver failure in the U.S. due to hepatitis A, but the rate of infection has dramatically decreased since the hepatitis A vaccine was licensed and became available in the U.S. in 1995.

Hepatitis A is a communicable (or contagious) disease that spreads from person-to-person. It is spread almost exclusively through fecal-oral contact, generally from person-to-person, or via contaminated food or water. 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, although he or she is generally not ill at the time of food preparation. The peak time of infectivity, when the most viruses are present in the stool of an infectious individual, is during the two weeks before illness begins. Although only a small percentage of hepatitis A infections are associated with foodborne transmission, foodborne outbreaks have been increasingly implicated as a significant source of hepatitis A infection.

In the last ten years we have been involved in a dozen Hepatitis A cases around the country. Most, if not all could have been prevented if restaurant or field workers had received a Hepatitis A shot BEFORE serving the customer.

Carl’s Jr. Hepatitis A Outbreak - Washington
Chi-Chi’s Hepatitis A Outbreak - Pennsylvania
Chipotle Grill Hepatitis A - San Diego, California
D’Angelo’s Deli Hepatitis A Outbreak - Massachusetts
Friendly’s Hepatitis A Exposure - Massachusetts
Houlihan’s Hepatitis A Exposure - Illinois
Maple Lawn Dairy Hepatitis A Outbreak - New York
McDonald’s Hepatitis A Outbreak - Washington
Quizno’s Hepatitis A Exposure - Massachusetts
Soleil Produce Hepatitis A Outbreak - California
Subway Hepatitis A Outbreak - Washington
Taco Bell Hepatitis A Outbreak - Florida

Hepatitis A can be severe.  In one case, in late October 2003, Beaver County ER doctors reported an alarming number of Hepatitis A cases. Investigators from the Pennsylvania Department of Health initiated an investigation immediately and discovered that many, if not all, cases had eaten at Chi Chi’s restaurant in Monaca, Pennsylvania’s Beaver Valley Mall. Along with the health department, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) conducted further studies of the outbreak. Preliminary analysis of a case-control study suggested that green onions were the probable source of the outbreak. The onions had been shipped to the restaurant in boxes and were stored and refrigerated in buckets of ice. They were eventually chopped up and served in various dishes at the restaurant, often uncooked, as in the preparation of mild salsa. “Preliminary trace-back information indicated that the green onions supplied to Chi Chi’s had been grown in Mexico.” Ultimately, over 650 people were sickened in the outbreak. The victims included at least thirteen Chi Chi’s employees and numerous residents of six other states. Four people died from their injuries, and more than 9,000 people obtained immune globulin shots as protection against the virus. This is the story of one of those cases.

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According to the Chaffee County Public Health Department, two children in Salida were recently diagnosed with Escherichia coli (E. coli) and at least three others have reported symptoms that could indicate the illness.

Chaffee County Public Health Department personnel are working with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to investigate the cluster of E. coli illnesses.  Officials said one child was hospitalized and has recovered. At least three others have reported symptoms similar to E. coli illness and testing is in progress for those youths.

A source for the infection hasn't been determined, officials said.

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On the eve of the July 4th weekend, The Cuyahoga County Board of Health (CCBH) released a press release that it was:

“currently investigating a cluster of Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS) cases associated with exposure to E. coli O157:H7 bacteria. E. Coli can cause intestinal infection resulting in severe bloody diarrhea and abdominal cramps. In some people, particularly young children and the elderly, the bacterial infection produces a toxin, which can cause a complication called HUS. HUS affects the kidneys and the blood clotting system. HUS occurs in approximately 2% - 7% of cases with E. coli O157:H7 bacteria. HUS requires hospitalization and therapy.

Currently, the cluster involves three children; two from Olmsted Falls and one from Strongsville. The children are either still hospitalized or recovering at home. Two other cases of HUS among children are still under investigation.

People become infected with E. coli O157:H7 by ingesting the bacteria in undercooked beef, especially hamburger. Spread can also occur among groups of small children because of their close contact and lack of well-developed hygiene skills. Frequent and thorough hand washing, especially after using the restroom and before eating, is important in preventing spread of this disease.

The CCBH is currently investigating the cluster of cases and staying in contact with health care providers to determine if further cases have occurred. It is currently not known if these cases are associated with any current recalls of ground beef. ‘On this holiday weekend, is very important that ground beef is thoroughly cooked until a thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the burger reads 160 degrees Fahrenheit. If you cook meat without a using a thermometer, you can decrease your risk of illness by not eating ground beef patties that are still pink in the middle, said Terry Allan, Cuyahoga County Health Commissioner. ‘Frequent hand washing while preparing food, particularly ground meat, is very important.’”

The real question is the status of the investigation and if other children are still being sickened? Also, given the timing, is there a link between either the Nestle Cookie Dough or the JBS Swift Meat national outbreaks and recalls of their products?

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I was watching again this morning the Vice President and Secretaries Vilsack and Sebelius talking about the Food Safety Working Group as I was responding to emails from people concerned about yet another recall of a staple food product. This time the Plainview Milk Products Cooperative Salmonella Recall.

According to the FDA, Plain is voluntarily recalling instant nonfat dried milk, whey protein, fruit stabilizers, and gums (thickening agents) that it has manufactured over the past two years, because they might be contaminated with Salmonella. Plainview has stopped production of these products and has notified its customers of the recall.  During an investigation of the Plainview facility, FDA found that some of the equipment was contaminated with Salmonella. At this time, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has not linked any human illnesses to potentially contaminated products from the Plainview facility. But how do they know that? Given that FDA, USDA and/or CDC presumably has the Salmonella positive milk product test result? Has a Genetic Fingerprint (PFGE) been done? Has it been compared to ill people in the United States? Have those ill people been linked to the consumption of Plainview Milk Products?

So, how does PFGE work? When a sample is taken from either a piece of meat or poultry that is contaminated with a dangerous form of bacteria, such as Salmonella, it can be cultured to obtain and identify the bacterial isolate. If a person consumes some of the contaminated product, and becomes infected as a result, a stool sample can then be cultured to obtain and identify the bacterial isolate. These bacterial isolates are then broken down into their various component parts creating a DNA "fingerprint".

The process of obtaining the DNA fingerprint is called Pulse Field Gel Electrophoresis, or PFGE. This technique is used to separate the DNA of the bacterial isolate into its component parts. It operates by causing alternating electric fields to run the DNA through a flat gel matrix of agarose, a polysaccharide obtained from agar. The pattern of bands of the DNA fragments — or “fingerprints” — in the gel after exposure to the electrical current is unique for each strain and sub-type of bacteria. By performing this procedure, scientists can identify hundreds of strains of Salmonella as well as strains of pathogenic bacteria.  The PFGE pattern of the bacteria can then be compared and matched up to the PFGE pattern of the strain of infected persons who consumed the contaminated product. When PFGE patterns match, they, along with solid epidemiological work, are proof that the contaminated product was the source of a person's illness.

So, where is the PFGE?

Plainview Milk Cooperative Ingredient Recall Product List. Information current as of noon July 06, 2009 - 
56 entries in list

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Batch/UPC Code:  Anaheim peppers sold since June 11, 2009.

Reason for Recall:  Wegmans has removed fresh Anaheim peppers from its Produce departments due to the possibility of salmonella contamination. The FDA is currently investigating the situation.

If you still have Anaheim peppers, please throw them away. Do not return them to the store. You may go to the service desk for information on receiving a refund.

No indication of illnesses yet.

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It really is a bit hard to imagine what today was like for JBS Swift and the FSIS - checking the list of retailers that might have received the 210 Tons of E. coli O157:H7 meat.  This morning a few names trickled out - this evening a torrent, tomorrow a flood?  Here is the most recent list:

Price Chopper

Hannaford

Stop & Shop

Food 4 Less

Fry's

Smith's

Costco

Sams Club

Kroger

SAV a Lot

Knight Super Foods #4

Weldon's Meat Market

Jasper Mercantile

Keeney's Food Mart

Sweetbay

All DAY AM PM MART

Hobby's Hoagies Produce

SHRTN HTL Produce

Giant

Here is the most recent list (sure to expand in the coming days):

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From eFoodAlert:

Since USDA hasn't yet posted a retail consignee list for the JBS Swift Beef Company meat recalls, we've decided to pitch in.

The following is a list of live links to retail-level recall announcements that were triggered by the JBS Swift recalls. If you shop at any of these grocery stores, please follow the link to the supermarket chain's recall announcement for details.

* Bloom and Food Lion Stores in Georgia, South Carolina and Virginia – beef cuts and ground beef
* CostCo – steaks, ribs, ground beef
* Food 4 Less – ground beef, 15%
* Fry's Food and Drug Stores – ground beef
* Hannaford Bros. Co. – beef cuts and ground beef
* Kroger – ground beef
* Price Chopper – ground beef and beef loin bottom sirloin steaks
* Roundy's Supermarkets, Inc., including Pick 'n Save, Copps and Rainbow stores – beef cuts and fresh ground beef
* Smith's Food and Drug Stores – ground beef
* Smith's Food and Drug Stores in Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming – beef cuts and ground beef
* Stop & Shop Supermarket Company – ground beef
* WinCo Foods, LLC Stores in Idaho and Oregon – boneless bottom round roast, steak, carne asada, ground beef

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency advises that meat recalled by JBS Swift was sold under the President's Choice brand (steaks, roasts and ground beef) in the following stores:

* Ontario: Cash & Carry,Real Canadian Wholesale Club, Dominion, Extra Foods, Fortinos, Freshmart, Loblaws, No Frills, Real Canadian Superstore, Loblaw Superstore, Valu-mart, Your Independent Grocer, Zehrs, Westfair, Sue’s Market (205 Don Head Village Blvd., Richmond Hill)
* Québec: AXEP, Intermarché, Loblaws, Entrepôt Presto, Club Entrepôt Provigo, Provigo
* Atlantic Provinces: Cash & Carry, Real Canadian Wholesale Club, Dominion, Freshmart, Red & White, Quick Mart, Save Easy, Atlantic Superstore, Valu-mart

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The good/bad thing about hitting 50ish, and litigating food poisoning cases for 16 years, is the institutional memory that I have developed regarding bad food and bad commercials.

Coming days before the 4th of July barbeque's, JBS Swift Beef Company expanded the approximately 40,000 pounds of “assorted beef primals” recalled on June 24 to include another approximately 380,000 pounds of “assorted beef primals" due to E. coli O157:H7 contamination.  Somewhere between 18 and 24 Illnesses have been reported in what is believed to be Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah and Wisconsin?  As reported by the Food Safety and Inspection Services (FSIS):

The beef products were produced on April 21, 2009 and were distributed both nationally and internationally.  Each box bears the establishment number "EST. 969" inside the USDA mark of inspection as well as the identifying package date of "042109" and a time stamp ranging from "0618" to "1130." However, these products were sent to establishments and retail stores nationwide for further processing and will likely not bear the establishment number "EST. 969" on products available for direct consumer purchase. Customers with concerns should contact their point of purchase.

The recalled products include intact cuts of beef, such as primals, sub-primals, or boxed beef typically used for steaks and roasts rather than ground beef. FSIS is aware that some of these products may have been further processed into ground products by other companies. The highest risk products for consumers are raw ground product, trim or other non-intact product made from the products subject to the recall.

So, where is the recalled beef?

On August 18, 2008 after years of hand wringing, the FSIS finally put public health before “proprietary” business interests when it made the following rule:

9 C.F.R. § 390.10 Availability of Lists of Retail Consignees during Meat or Poultry Product Recalls

The Administrator of the Food Safety and Inspection Service will make publicly available the names and locations of retail consignees of recalled meat or poultry products that the Agency compiles in connection with a recall where there is a reasonable probability that the use of the product could cause serious adverse health consequences or death.

The full rule can be reviewed at: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/rdad/FRPubs/2005-0028F.pdf

The Bottom Line:

The FSIS is now supposed to make available to the public names and locations of retail consignees (grocery stores, etc.) of meat and poultry products recalled by a federally-inspected meat or poultry establishment if the recalled product has been distributed to the retail level.  The rule will only apply to Class I recalls (like the JBS Swift ones). The information is supposed to be posted on the FSIS website, generally within three (3) to ten (10) working days, following the announcement of the recall. 

So, where is the recalled beef?

 

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Plainview Milk Products Cooperative, Plainview, Minn., is voluntarily recalling instant nonfat dried milk, whey protein, fruit stabilizers, and gums (thickening agents) that it has manufactured over the past two years, because they might be contaminated with Salmonella. The company sells these products to other industry customers, including distributors and manufacturers, who may have incorporated them into their own products. None of Plainview’s products were sold directly to the public.

Plainview has stopped production of these products and has notified its customers of the recall. Currently, the Plainview recall is limited to industry customers who received suspect product.

This is an ongoing investigation, and the FDA will update the public as new information emerges. At this time, the FDA is not aware of products being recalled at the consumer level.

"This recall is an appropriate precaution to protect public health,” said David W.K. Acheson, M.D., associate commissioner for foods in the Food and Drug Administration. “It reflects the concerted efforts of numerous partners at the local, state, and federal levels."

During an investigation of the Plainview facility, FDA found that some of the equipment was contaminated with Salmonella. At this time, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has not linked any human illnesses to potentially contaminated products from the Plainview facility.

The FDA became aware of this problem through the U. S. Department of Agriculture. USDA found Salmonella in Dairyshake powder, in 100-gram pouches that were not for retail sale. The FDA began an investigation as to the source of the contamination. In the course of that investigation, Plainview Milk Products was identified as a supplier of a key ingredient in the Dairyshake powder. Inspection of the firm uncovered conditions that resulted in the broader recall.

The FDA is conducting this investigation in collaboration with USDA, CDC, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, and state and local health departments.

FDA investigators are working to track the distribution of the Plainview ingredients to identify additional products that contain the recalled ingredients. 

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Sometime in the early hours of June 28, JBS Swift Beef Company expanded the approximately 40,000 pounds of “assorted beef primals” recalled on June 24 to include another approximately 380,000 pounds of “assorted beef primals" due to E. coli O157:H7 contamination.

So, are the illnesses in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah and Wisconsin? More than these eleven? Are these the only States that received product? Where internationally did the meat go (are the three Canadian cases somehow linked)? Which restaurants, grocery stores, schools, hospitals did the product land?

As reported by the FSIS:

Together with traceback information and laboratory data, the recall is being expanded as a result of FSIS' cooperation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in an ongoing investigation into 24 illnesses in multiple states, of which at least 18 appear to be associated.

The beef products were produced on April 21, 2009 and were distributed both nationally and internationally. A list of the products subject to the expanded recall attached – 104 Pages.

Each box bears the establishment number "EST. 969" inside the USDA mark of inspection as well as the identifying package date of "042109" and a time stamp ranging from "0618" to "1130." However, these products were sent to establishments and retail stores nationwide for further processing and will likely not bear the establishment number "EST. 969" on products available for direct consumer purchase. Customers with concerns should contact their point of purchase.

The recalled products include intact cuts of beef, such as primals, sub-primals, or boxed beef typically used for steaks and roasts rather than ground beef. FSIS is aware that some of these products may have been further processed into ground products by other companies. The highest risk products for consumers are raw ground product, trim or other non-intact product made from the products subject to the recall.

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Recall Release CLASS I RECALL
FSIS-RC-034-2009 HEALTH RISK: HIGH

Well, I was right to speculate a few days ago that the June 24 recall of JBS Swift meat might well be related to illnesses.  It seems like "E. coli O157:H7 Season is Nearly Upon Us - Will it be 2005 and 2006 or 2007 and 2008?"

FSIS just announced that JBS Swift Beef Company, a Greeley, Colorado is voluntarily expanding its June 24 recall to include approximately 380,000 pounds of assorted beef primal products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7.

Together with traceback information and laboratory data, the recall is being expanded as a result of FSIS' cooperation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in an ongoing investigation into 24 illnesses in multiple states, of which at least 18 appear to be associated. This investigation prompted the company to re-examine the effectiveness of their food safety system for the April 21 production of beef primals, and they are conducting this recall out of an abundance of caution as the safety of the products produced on a portion of that day could not be assured.

The beef products were produced on April 21, 2009 and were distributed both nationally and internationally. A list of the products subject to the expanded recall attached.

Each box bears the establishment number "EST. 969" inside the USDA mark of inspection as well as the identifying package date of "042109" and a time stamp ranging from "0618" to "1130." However, these products were sent to establishments and retail stores nationwide for further processing and will likely not bear the establishment number "EST. 969" on products available for direct consumer purchase. Customers with concerns should contact their point of purchase.

The recalled products include intact cuts of beef, such as primals, sub-primals, or boxed beef typically used for steaks and roasts rather than ground beef. FSIS is aware that some of these products may have been further processed into ground products by other companies. The highest risk products for consumers are raw ground product, trim or other non-intact product made from the products subject to the recall.

The first recalled products were produced on April 21 and 22 and shipped to distributors and retailers in states including Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah and Wisconsin.  It is unclear if the expanded recall of product includes other states.

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The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned consumers not to eat two brands of pistachios repacked by Orca Distribution West Inc. of Anaheim, California. The brands are:

* California Prime Produce
* Orange County Orchards

The pistachios may be contaminated with Salmonella, an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. The products affected by the current warning are associated with an earlier recall by Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella Inc. The distributor, Orca, received and repacked some pistachios recalled by Setton Pistachio.

The two brands of pistachios, California Prime Produce and Orange County Orchards, were distributed to retail locations in airports and hotels nationwide. Both brands were packaged in clear 6-ounce flexible plastic Ziploc bags, UPC Number: 8 10826 01116 2, with Sell By Dates of 7/30/09 and 8/30/09.

FDA visited Orca as part of its follow-up checks on Setton Pistachio’s recall. The agency found that products that were part of the recall had been repacked and distributed by Orca under the California Prime Produce and Orange County Orchards brands.

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Alfalfa sprouts products sold in Southern California Gelson’s and Whole Foods Market grocery stores were recalled today by the California Department of Public Health because of possible salmonella contamination.

Mark Horton, director of the CDPH, warned consumers not to eat certain Kowalke Organics’ alfalfa products with sell-by dates between June 18 and June 30. Those products include:

• Kowalke Organics Alfalfa Sprouts - 4 oz, 8 oz, 1-pound and 5-pound packages

• Kowalke Organics Dinner Salad - 6 oz package

• Kowalke Organics Onion Mix - 4 oz package

The Culver City company that operates Kowalke Organics, Mike’s Produce Inc., said it was voluntarily recalling raw alfalfa sprouts products.

Mike Matthews, Kowalke’s owner, told the Associated Press that only one package -- with the sell-by date of June 21 -- tested positive for salmonella, so far. All the products with that date, Matthews said, have already been taken off store shelves.

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Recall Release CLASS I RECALL
FSIS-RC-034-2009 HEALTH RISK: HIGH

JBS Swift Beef Company, a Greeley, Colo., establishment is recalling approximately 41,280 pounds of beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.

The products subject to recall include:

* Boxes of "USDA CHOICE OR HIGHER, Bnls Beef Bottom Sirloin, Butt Ball Tip 2/DN S/T." Each box bears the establishment number "EST. 969" inside the USDA mark of inspection, identifying package dates of "042109" or "042209" and a case code of "21852."
* Boxes of "USDA CHOICE OR HIGHER, Bnls Beef Bottom Sirloin, Butt Ball Tip 2/UP S/T." Each box bears the establishment number "EST. 969" inside the USDA mark of inspection, identifying package dates of "042109" or "042209" and a case code of "21853."
* Boxes of "Swift, Bnls Beef Bottom Sirloin, Butt Ball Tip 2/DN S/T." Each box bears the establishment number "EST. 969" inside the USDA mark of inspection, identifying package dates of "042109" or "042209" and a case code of "31852."
* Boxes of "Bnls Beef Bottom Sirloin, Butt Ball Tip 2/UP S/T." Each box bears the establishment number "EST. 969" inside the USDA mark of inspection, identifying package dates of "042109" or "042209" and a case code of "31853."
* Boxes of "Swift, USDA SELECT, Bnls Beef Bottom Sirloin, Butt Ball Tip 2/DN S/T." Each box bears the establishment number "EST. 969" inside the USDA mark of inspection, identifying package dates of "042109" or "042209" and a case code of "33852."
* Boxes of "USDA SELECT, Bnls Beef Bottom Sirloin, Butt Ball Tip 2/UP S/T." Each box bears the establishment number "EST. 969" inside the USDA mark of inspection, identifying package dates of "042109" or "042209" and a case code of "33853."
* Boxes of "BLACK ANGUS, Swift Premium, BEEF, USDA CHOICE OR HIGHER, Bnls Beef Bottom Sirloin, Butt Ball Tip 2/UP S/T." Each box bears the establishment number "EST. 969" inside the USDA mark of inspection, identifying package dates of "042109" or "042209" and a case code of "41853."
* Boxes of "BLACK ANGUS, Swift Premium, BEEF, USDA CHOICE OR HIGHER, Bnls Beef Bottom Sirloin, Butt Ball Tip 2/UP S/T." Each box bears the establishment number "EST. 969" inside the USDA mark of inspection, identifying package dates of "042109" or "042209" and a case code of "41853."
* Boxes of "Bnls Beef Bottom Sirloin, Butt Ball Tip 2/DN S/T." Each box bears the establishment number "EST. 969" inside the USDA mark of inspection, an identifying package date of "042109" and a case code of "79852."
* Boxes of "Bnls Beef Bottom Sirloin, Butt Ball Tip 2/UP S/T." Each box bears the establishment number "EST. 969" inside the USDA mark of inspection, an identifying package date of "042109" and a case code of "79853."
* Boxes of "USDA CHOICE OR HIGHER, Bnls Beef Bottom Sirloin, Butt Ball Tip 2/UP S/T." Each box bears the establishment number "EST. 969" inside the USDA mark of inspection, identifying package dates of "042109" or "042209" and a case code of "90853."

These beef products were produced on April 21 and 22, 2009, and were shipped to distributors and retail establishments in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah and Wisconsin.

Here is why I wonder if there are illnesses linked to this recalled beef:

The problem was discovered through FSIS microbiological sampling and an investigation into the distribution of other products.

FSIS micro sampling is a great way to catch problems, however, the wording "investigation into the distribution of other products," makes me wonder if that "investigation" was into illnesses?

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Recall Release CLASS I RECALL
FSIS-RC-033-2009 HEALTH RISK: HIGH

International Meat Co., Inc., a Chicago, Ill., establishment is recalling approximately 6,152 pounds of ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.

The products subject to recall include:

* "5-pound, plastic lined boxes of "International Meat Co., PURVEYOR OF FINE MEATS TO HOTELS AND RESTAURANTS, BEEF PATTIES." Each box bears the establishment number "EST. 22080" inside the USDA mark of inspection and identifying package codes of "061709," "061809" or "061909."

* "5- and 10-pound bags of bulk "International Meat Co., BEEF PATTIE MIX." Each bag bears the establishment number "EST. 22080" inside the USDA mark of inspection and identifying package codes of "061709," "061809" or "061909."

* "10-pound bags of "International Meat Co., GROUND BEEF." Each box bears the establishment number "EST. 22080" inside the USDA mark of inspection and identifying package codes of "061709," "061809" or "061909."

* "10-pound bags of "Packed For, Purely Gourmet & Organic, Ground Beef." Each box bears the establishment number "EST. 22080" inside the USDA mark of inspection and identifying package codes of "061709," "061809" or "061909."

These ground beef products were produced on June 17, 2009, through June 19, 2009, and were shipped to distributors and restaurants in the Chicago, Ill., metropolitan area.

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Two long days after word first surfaced about a multi-state outbreak of E. coli tied to raw cookie dough, the CDC has issued information detailing the illnesses.  The outbreak appears to have begun March 1, 2009 and is still ongoing four months later

The CDC reports:

CDC is collaborating with public health officials in many states, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the United States Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) to investigate an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 infections.

As of Thursday, June 18, 2009, 65 persons infected with a strain of E. coli O157:H7 with a particular DNA fingerprint have been reported from 29 states. Of these, 23 have been confirmed by an advanced DNA test as having the outbreak strain; these confirmatory test results are pending on the others. The number of ill persons identified in each state is as follows: Arkansas (1), Arizona (2), California (2), Colorado (5), Delaware (1), Hawaii (1), Iowa (2), Illinois (5), Kentucky (1), Massachusetts (4), Maryland (2), Maine (3), Minnesota (5), Missouri (2), Montana (1), North Carolina (1), New Hampshire (2), New Jersey (1), Nevada (2), Ohio (4), Oklahoma (1), Oregon (1), Pennsylvania (2), South Carolina (1), Texas (3), Utah (2), Virginia (2), Washington (5), and Wisconsin (1).

Ill persons range in age from 2 to 57 years; however, more than 70% are less than 19 years old and none are over 60 years old; 75% are female. Twenty-five persons have been hospitalized, 7 developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS); none have died. Reports of these infections increased above the expected baseline in May and continue into June.
Investigation of the Outbreak

In an epidemiologic study, ill persons answered questions about foods consumed during the days before becoming ill and investigators compared their responses to those of persons of similar age and gender previously reported to State Health Departments with other illnesses. Preliminary results of this investigation indicate a strong association with eating raw prepackaged cookie dough. Most patients reported eating refrigerated prepackaged Nestle Toll House cookie dough products raw.

E. coli O157:H7 has not been previously associated with eating raw cookie dough. CDC, the state health departments, and federal regulatory partners are working together in this ongoing investigation.
Clinical Features

Most people infected with E. coli O157:H7 develop diarrhea (often bloody) and abdominal cramps 2-8 days (average of 3-4 days) after swallowing the organism, but some illnesses last longer and are more severe. Infection is usually diagnosed by culture of a stool sample. Most people recover within a week, but some develop a severe infection. A type of kidney failure called hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) can begin as the diarrhea is improving; this can occur in people of any age but is most common in children under 5 years old and the elderly.
Advice to Consumers

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are warning consumers not to eat any varieties of prepackaged Nestle Toll House refrigerated cookie dough due to the risk of contamination with E. coli O157:H7. If consumers have any prepackaged, refrigerated Nestle Toll House cookie dough products in their home they should throw them away. Cooking the dough is not recommended because consumers might get the bacteria on their hands and on other cooking surfaces. The recall does not include Nestle Toll House morsels, which are used as an ingredient in many home-made baked goods, or other already baked cookie products.

Individuals who have recently eaten prepackaged, refrigerated Toll House cookie dough and have experienced any of these symptoms should contact their doctor or health care provider immediately. Any such illnesses should be reported to state or local health authorities.

Consumers should be reminded they should not eat raw food products that are intended for cooking or baking before consumption. Consumers should use safe food-handling practices when preparing such products, including following package directions for cooking at proper temperatures; washing hands, surfaces, and utensils after contact with these types of products; avoiding cross contamination; and refrigerating products properly.

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are warning consumers not to eat any varieties of prepackaged Nestle Toll House refrigerated cookie dough due to the risk of contamination with E. coli O157:H7.

The FDA advises that if consumers have any prepackaged, refrigerated Nestle Toll House cookie dough products in their home that they throw them away. Cooking the dough is not recommended because consumers might get the bacteria on their hands and on other cooking surfaces.

Retailers, restaurateurs, and personnel at other food-service operations should not sell or serve any Nestle Toll House prepackaged, refrigerated cookie dough products subject to the recall.

Nestle USA, which manufactures and markets the Toll House cookie dough, is fully cooperating with the ongoing investigation by the FDA and CDC. The warning is based on an ongoing epidemiological study conducted by the CDC and several state and local health departments. Since March 2009 there have been 66 reports of illness across 28 states. Twenty-five persons were hospitalized; 7 with a severe complication called Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS). No one has died.

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Click on below image to download complete list of recalled items due to E. coli O157:H7 contamination:

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Tip 'o the hat to Nestlé USA’s Baking Division for Initiating Voluntary Recall.  From a Press Release:

(SOLON, Ohio) – June 19th, 2009 – Nestlé USA’s Baking Division is initiating a voluntary recall of Nestlé® TOLL HOUSE® refrigerated cookie dough products. Nestlé is taking this action out of an abundance of caution after being notified that the Food and Drug Administration, together with the Centers for Disease Control, are conducting an investigation into reported E. coli 0157:H7 illnesses that may be related to consumption of raw cookie dough.

A number of consumers reporting illness reported consuming raw Nestlé TOLL HOUSE refrigerated cookie dough. While the E. coli strain implicated in this investigation has not been detected in our product, the health and safety of our consumers is paramount so we are initiating this voluntary recall. We have been and will continue to cooperate fully with the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control in this investigation. Providing safe, high quality products to our consumers is our number one priority.

No other Nestlé TOLL HOUSE products are impacted, including already baked TOLL HOUSE cookies purchased outside the home, all varieties of Nestlé TOLL HOUSE morsels, chocolate baking bars, or cocoa, and Dreyer’s and Edy’s ice cream products with Nestlé TOLL HOUSE cookie dough ingredients.

We want to strongly advise consumers that raw cookie dough should not be eaten. This message also appears prominently on our packaging. Nestlé TOLL HOUSE cookies made from refrigerated dough are safe to consume when baked as directed on the package.

Consumers who have purchased these products should not consume them. Instead, we are asking that consumers return these products to their local grocer for a full refund. We invite consumers with questions to contact Nestlé Consumer Services at 1-800-559-5025 and visit our web site at www.verybestbaking.com.

The products involved in the voluntary recall include all varieties of Nestlé TOLL HOUSE refrigerated Cookie Bar Dough, Cookie Dough Tub; Cookie Dough Tube; Limited Edition Cookie Dough items; Seasonal Cookie Dough and Ultimates Cookie Bar Dough. Variety information is included in the list attached.

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DENVER--The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment is urging Coloradans not to eat raw Nestle Toll House cookie dough because of possible contamination with E. coli O157:H7.

Colorado state health officials, the CDC and several other state health departments are investigating an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 infections. To date, 66 cases from 28 states have been identified. Preliminary evidence from the multi-state investigation suggests that Nestle Toll House cookie dough may be the source of the outbreak, although further investigation is ongoing.

Five cases have been reported in Colorado in the following counties: Denver, Douglas (2), Jefferson and Weld. Two of the people have been hospitalized, and one has developed a severe complication called hemolytic uremic syndrome. Of the four people interviewed so far by the state health department, all had consumed the raw cookie dough during the week before they became ill.

Alicia Cronquist, the foodborne disease epidemiologist at the state health department, said, “We can’t be certain that raw cookie dough is the source of these infections, but we are concerned enough that it might be and want consumers to be aware.”

Daniel Rifkin, Wholesale Food Program manager for the Department of Public Health and Environment’s Consumer Protection Division, said, “Nestle is currently evaluating what actions they will take regarding their product. In the meantime, it is important that consumers do not eat or use raw Nestle Toll House cookie dough for now. If you decide to use the product, ensure that the cookies are cooked thoroughly and wash your hands well after handling the raw dough. More information will be forthcoming.”

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Over the last few weeks we have been investigating E. coli O157:H7 illnesses in several states.  All seemed unconnected.  However, common food items were uncooked Nestles Toll House Cookie Dough, Strawberries, Fruit Roll-ups and Ground Beef.  The vast majority reported eating Toll House Cookies.

We now have reports that federal, state and local health officials are investigating a cluster of at least 63 cases of E. coli O157:H7 in 26 states. Reports indicate the ill people's E. coli O157:H7 isolates share a common genetic pattern and likely a common source.

Hopefully, a link will be made and consumers will be told.

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Marler Clark is in the process of updating www.fsis-pfge.org through 2009.  We have taken the initiative to publish this information in the hopes that it will provide assistance to government agencies - Federal, State and Local – as well as individuals, in ascertaining the source of E. coli O157:H7 infections.  More broadly, Marler Clark hopes to spur greater communication amongst government agencies to better protect the public from serious health threats associated with contaminated meat.

The website contains Pulse Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE) patterns of particular strains of E. coli O157:H7 associated with recalls of ground beef since 2000.  Comparison of PFGE patterns sampled from individual persons infected with E. coli O157:H7 may allow the identification of the source of an individual's illness.  It is for this reason that Marler Clark has created this website, hoping to advance the cause of food safety, and to assist health departments in determining the source of outbreaks.

What is PFGE?

When a sample is taken from either a piece of meat or poultry that is contaminated with a dangerous form of bacteria, such as E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella, Shigella, Listeria, or Campylobacter, it can be cultured to obtain and identify the bacterial isolate.  If a person consumes some of the contaminated meat or poultry, and becomes infected as a result, a stool sample can then be cultured to obtain and identify the bacterial isolate.  These bacterial isolates are then broken down into their various component parts creating a DNA "fingerprint".

The process of obtaining the DNA fingerprint is called PFGE. This technique is used to separate the DNA of the bacterial isolate into its component parts.  It operates by causing alternating electric fields to run the DNA through a flat gel matrix of agarose, a polysaccharide obtained from agar.  The pattern of bands of the DNA fragments — or “fingerprints” — in the gel after exposure to the electrical current is unique for each strain and sub-type of bacteria.  By performing this procedure, scientists can identify hundreds of strains of E. coli O157:H7 as well as strains of listeria and campylobacter, and other pathogenic bacteria.

The PFGE pattern of the bacteria can then be compared and matched up to the PFGE pattern of the strain of infected persons who consumed the contaminated product.  When PFGE patterns match, they, along with solid epidemiological work, are proof that the contaminated product was the source of a person's illness.

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Snow Creek Meat Processing, a Seneca, S.C., establishment is recalling approximately 75 pounds of fresh beef trim products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.

Various sizes of Cryovac bags of "BEEF TRIMMINGS, BEEF ITEM" packed in boxes. Each box bears the establishment number "EST. 20478" inside the USDA mark of inspection and a "Sell By" date of "06/02/09."

These fresh beef trim products were produced on June 2, 2009, and were distributed to retail establishments for further processing in North Carolina and South Carolina.

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Snow Creek Meat Processing, a Seneca, SC, establishment is recalling approximately 75 pounds of fresh beef trim products that may be contaminated with E. coli, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced Monday.

The products subject to recall include:

Various sizes of Cryovac bags of "BEEF TRIMMINGS, BEEF ITEM" packed in boxes. Each box bears the establishment number "EST. 20478" inside the USDA mark of inspection and a "Sell By" date of "06/02/09."

These fresh beef trim products were produced on June 2, 2009, and were distributed to retail establishments for further processing in North Carolina and South Carolina.

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From A New York State Agriculture Press Release:

New York State Agriculture Commissioner Patrick Hooker today warned consumers in the Hoosick Falls, New York area not to consume “unpasteurized” raw farm milk from Breese Hollow Dairy due to possible Listeria contamination.

Breese Hollow Dairy, located at 454 Breese Hollow Road, Hoosick Falls, New York 12090 holds a Department permit to legally sell raw milk at the farm. Samples are taken monthly and tested by the Department to determine if the raw milk is free of pathogenic bacteria.

A routine sample of the milk, taken by an inspector from the Division of Milk Control and Dairy Services on May 26, 2009, was subsequently tested by the Department’s Food Laboratory and discovered to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. On May 29, 2009, the producer was notified of a preliminary positive test result and volunteered to suspend raw milk sales until the sample results were confirmed. Test results were confirmed on June 3, 2009 and the producer is prohibited from selling raw milk until subsequent sampling indicates that the product is free of pathogens.

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Maine CDC is investigating a cluster of 7 shiga toxin positive E. coli O157:H7 (STEC) cases in Cumberland and York counties that occurred among residents over the past month (case onset dates of April 17 to May 17). This is double the usual number of STEC cases reported this time of year (n=3). The median age of cases was 26 years (age range 14 years to 65 years). As of May 28, 6 of the 7 cases have been confirmed shiga positive E. coli O157:H7 by the Health and Environmental Testing Laboratory (HETL). Of these, 4 cases match by Pulse-Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE) and are considered part of a national cluster. At this time, the investigation is ongoing although we have not identified any common venues, events or foods based on case interviews.

What is PFGE?

When a sample is taken from either a person, piece of meat or poultry that is contaminated with a dangerous form of bacteria, such as E. coli O157:H7, listeria, or campylobacter, it can be cultured to obtain and identify the bacterial isolate. If a person consumes some of the contaminated meat or poultry, and becomes infected as a result, a stool sample can then be cultured to obtain and identify the bacterial isolate. These bacterial isolates are then broken down into their various component parts creating a DNA "fingerprint".

The process of obtaining the DNA fingerprint is called Pulse Field Gel Electrophoresis, or PFGE. This technique is used to separate the DNA of the bacterial isolate into its component parts. It operates by causing alternating electric fields to run the DNA through a flat gel matrix of agarose, a polysaccharide obtained from agar. The pattern of bands of the DNA fragments — or “fingerprints” — in the gel after exposure to the electrical current is unique for each strain and sub-type of bacteria. By performing this procedure, scientists can identify hundreds of strains of E. coli O157:H7 as well as strains of listeria and campylobacter, and other pathogenic bacteria.

The PFGE pattern of the bacteria can then be compared and matched up to the PFGE pattern of the strain of infected persons who consumed the contaminated product. When PFGE patterns match, they, along with solid epidemiological work, are proof that the contaminated product was the source of a person's illness.

It will be interesting to see if Maine, the CDC and other States' Health Departments will be able to link the illnesses in Maine to other states and to a possible source.

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It is not 5:00 AM and I am on my way to the airport in Seattle (again) heading to New York for a speech to Excess Insurance Executives. FSIS just released another recall of meat. It appears this time it is BEFORE people were sickened. So much for test and hold. Here are the details:

SP Provisions, a Portland, Ore., establishment is recalling approximately 39,973 pounds of ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7.  The products subject to recall include:

Cascade Natural Beef Brand:

* 5-pound and 10-pound bags of ground beef. Each package bears the identifying case code "13-016G."
* 5-pound and 10-pound bags of chili grind. Each package bears the identifying case code "13-016C."
* 15-pound boxes of ground beef patties. Each package bears the identifying case code "13-016GP."

SP Provisions Brand:

* 5-pound and 10-pound bags of ground beef. Each package bears the identifying case code "01-136."
* 5-pound and 10-pound bags of chili grind. Each package bears the identifying case code "01-136C."
* 15-pound boxes of ground beef patties. Each package bears the identifying case code "01-136P."

Each identifying case code is preceded by the date code "040809" through "052809," signifying the production date in "month/date/year" format, i.e. April 8, 2009 through May 28, 2009. Additionally, each product bears the establishment number "EST. 2866" inside the USDA mark of inspection.

Alex & George Wholesale, Inc., a Rochester, New York firm, is recalling approximately 4,663 pounds of ground beef products because they may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7.  The following products are subject to recall:

* 10-pound poly bag of "A & G Brand BULK GROUND BEEF"
* 10-pound poly bag of "A & G Brand 'HOT SAUCE' SPECIAL BLEND"
* 25-pound poly bag of "A & G Brand BULK GROUND BEEF"
* 30-pound poly bag of "A & G Brand BULK GROUND BEEF"
* 10-pound case of (3-1) "A & G Brand GROUND BEEF PATTIES"
* 10-pound case of (5-1) "A & G Brand GROUND BEEF PATTIES"
* 10-pound case of "A & G Brand 'Homestyle Press' GROUND BEEF PATTIES"
* 10-pound case of (6-1) "A & G Brand GROUND BEEF PATTIES"
* Cases containing 48, 4.25-ounce"A & G Brand GROUND BEEF PATTIES 'PUCKS'"
* Cases containing 48, 5-ounce "A & G Brand 'Homestyle Press' GROUND BEEF PATTIES"
* Cases containing 48, 5-ounce (4-1) "A & G Brand 'Homestyle Press' GROUND BEEF PATTIES"
* Cases containing 48, 5-ounce "A & G Brand GROUND BEEF PATTIES 'PUCKS.'"

These packages of ground beef were packed in 10, 15, 25, and 30-pound shipping cases which bear the establishment number "EST. 4553" inside the USDA mark of inspection. The (3-1), (4-1), (5-1) and (6-1) refers to the number of portions per one pound.

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E. coli O157:H7 outbreaks associated with lettuce or spinach, specifically “pre-washed” and “ready-to-eat” varieties, are by no means a new phenomenon. By way of illustration:

- In October 2003, thirteen residents of a California retirement home were sickened, and two people died, after eating E. coli-contaminated, pre-washed spinach;

- In September 2003, nearly forty patrons of a California restaurant chain fell ill after eating salads prepared with bagged, pre-washed lettuce; and

- In July 2002, over fifty young women fell ill with E. coli O157:H7 at a dance camp after eating “pre-washed” lettuce, leaving several hospitalized and one with life-long kidney damage.

Here are a few more examples:

August 1993 - E. coli O157:H7 outbreak linked to a salad bar; 53 reported cases in Washington State

July 1995 - Lettuce (leafy green; red; romaine) E. coli O157:H7; 70 reported cases in Montana

September 1995 - Lettuce (romaine) E. coli O157:H7; 20 reported cases in Idaho

September 1995 - Lettuce (iceberg) E. coli O157:H7; 30 reported cases in Maine

October 1995 - Lettuce (iceberg; unconfirmed) E. coli O157:H7; 11 reported cases in Ohio

May-June 1996 - Lettuce (mesclun; red leaf) E. coli O157:H7; 61 reported cases in Connecticut, Illinois, and New York

May 1998 - Salad E. coli O157:H7; two reported cases in California

February.-March 1999 - Lettuce (iceberg) E. coli O157:H7; 72 reported cases in Nebraska

July-August 2002 - Lettuce (romaine) E. coli O157:H7; 29 reported cases in Washington and Idaho

October 2003-May 2004 - Lettuce (mixed salad) E. coli O157:H7; 57 reported cases in California

April 2004 - Spinach E. coli O157:H7; 16 reported cases in California

September 2005 - Lettuce (romaine) E. coli O157:H7; 32 reported cases in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Oregon

But we all know that the list does not end there. E. coli O21:H19 nearly killed two women at a Wendy's in Utah. Who can forget the September 2006 outbreak associated with Dole Baby Spinach?  Also, Taco Bell and Taco John's in late 2006. 2008 saw E. coli outbreaks linked to lettuce in Michigan and the State of Washington - Spinach too in Oregon. And, there have been may others sickened in produce-related outbreaks of E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella, and other dangerous bugs.

So, what's going on?

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Abigail Fenstermaker's family is asking for help, after their 7-year-old died from E. coli complications last week. 

A fundraiser is being held on Abby's behalf on Friday, May 29th from 7 - 11 p.m. It will take place at The Clevelander, 834 Huron Rd. Cleveland, by Jacobs Field.  For more information on the fundraiser, see this link.

My daughter, Sydney, turned 10 in April.

I wonder if the manufacturers of hamburger in this county take the time to look at this picture?

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Harlan Spector of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported this morning that:

Last week, his [Cleveland Department of Health] department inspected Deekers Side Tracks in Mentor after an illness was reported. In all, four cases have surfaced in the Cleveland area.

Two of the infections led investigators to the North Olmsted VFW Post 7647, said the Cuyahoga County Board of Health. In addition, a 7-year-old Cleveland girl died [from HUS] Sunday from an E. coli infection that also may be linked to meat served at the VFW.

According to the article, the restaurant and VFW Hall appear to have served hamburger that has been linked to the nearly 100,000 pounds of E. coli O157:H7 product produced at Illinois Valley Meats LLC.

As I said yesterday, Valley Meats is located at 2302 1st St., Coal Valley, IL 61240.  One of the products recalled in this recent recall are a variety of J & B Brand Products.

Interestingly, J & B Meats Corporation (USDA EST. 5712) is (or was) also located at 2302 1st St., Coal Valley, IL 61240 and is (or was) a manufacturer of branded specialty meats and prepared foods serving the institutional food service market.  As of 2005, J&B Meats Corporation was a subsidiary of Topps Meat Company, LLC. Topps Meat was linked to dozens of illnesses in October 2007, was forced by FSIS to recall over 21,000,000 pounds of hamburger and eventually filed for bankruptcy.  J & B recalled nearly 175,000 pounds of hamburger in that recall, 76,000 pounds in August 2003, and in June 2002 recalled nearly 65,000 pounds of hamburger.

One would think that with the numbers Americans poisoned by E. coli O157:H7 increasing in the last two years, our President, Congress and the USDA would be asking one simple question – “What is going on?” Perhaps as a start it is would be better to be honest with the public as FDA's Dr David Acheson was after an E. coli outbreak tied to spinach when he was quoted as saying: "The spinach that is going to come on to the market next week or whenever is going to be as safe as it was before this outbreak.”

Clearly this administration and Congress cannot yet critically analyze itself. Congress needs to act now. It is time for Congress to accept a leadership role and call hearings on “How safe is our meat supply?” not only to explore the reasons for this recent outbreak, but also to help prevent the next one. Congress must reach out to all facets of the meat industry, from “farm to fork,” to consumers who bear the burden of illnesses, and to academics and regulators to find reasonable, workable solutions to prevent meat-related illnesses. More regulation may not help. Testing all products may not be feasible. More funding for the CDC and USDA may not work. And, more funding for university research may also not be the answer. But, getting all to the same table is a start.

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In a 483 Inspection Report released today, FDA inspectors identified multiple food-safety shortcomings at the Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella California that was linked to a Salmonella outbreak earlier this year:

1. The company detected the bacteria in roasted pistachios in October but did not change its processing procedures until March

2. In one instance, the company re-roasted pistachios that had tested positive for Salmonella and blended them together with other nuts for sale.

3. Inspectors identified a "failure to manufacture, package and store foods under conditions and controls necessary to minimize the potential for growth of microorganisms and contamination."

4. Specific physical problems ranged from a rusty hole in the roof above one pistachio roaster to "thick layers of dust and debris" in a packaging room.

5. Procedural shortcomings included failure to monitor roasting temperatures and allowing raw and roasted pistachios to potentially come into contact.

6. Between October 2008 and March 2009, the report noted that "there were at least eight reported Salmonella-positive test results" coming out of the Terra Bella plant. When the firm learned of the private laboratory test results, inspectors said, there were no "procedures in place" to respond appropriately.

7. Prior to January, inspectors added, the Terra Bella plant did not monitor roasting temperatures, roasting times or the depth of pistachios placed on the roasting conveyor belts.

8. Inspectors checked records for 14 lots of roasted pistachios. In a potentially dangerous step, 10 of these lots had raw pistachios packed on the same packaging equipment prior to the roasted pistachios being run.

Does this not sound just a bit like the 483 Inspection report at the Peanut Corporation of America?  Setton is just lucky they did not sicken and kill people or they may too be facing bankruptcy and jail time.  When are companies going to get a clue?

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Yesterday the FSIS announced that Valley Meats LLC, a Coal Valley, Illinois meat establishment (USDA EST. 5712) recalled approximately 100,000 pounds of ground beef products that are likely contaminated with E. coli O157:H7 after illnesses linked to the hamburger were reported in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Illinois.  One child is reported to have died as a result of E. coli O157:H7 complications – likely Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome.  Valley Meats is located at 2302 1st St., Coal Valley, IL 61240.  One of the products recalled in this recent recall are a variety of J & B Brand Products.

Interestingly, J & B Meats Corporation (USDA EST. 5712) is (or was) also located at 2302 1st St., Coal Valley, IL 61240 and is (or was) a manufacturer of branded specialty meats and prepared foods serving the institutional food service market.  As of 2005, J&B Meats Corporation was a subsidiary of Topps Meat Company, LLC. Topps Meat was linked to dozens of illnesses in October 2007, was forced by FSIS to recall over 21,000,000 pounds of hamburger and eventually filed for bankruptcy.  J & B recalled nearly 175,000 pounds of hamburger in that recall, 76,000 pounds in August 2003, and in June 2002 recalled nearly 65,000 pounds of hamburger.

I guess some folks never learn.  The reality is that the 2009 E. coli season seems be underway, with an outbreak in Ohio, Illinois, and Pennsylvania that has already claimed a young life.  Outbreaks spike up as temperatures climb, and so do the recalls.  There are lots of theories why, but regardless of how it comes about, come about it does.  2006 was a banner year in my book.  From 2002-2005, 28 million pounds of contaminated meat was recalled in step-down amounts year to year, but in 2006, the amount dropped to an impressive low of just 181,000 pounds.  The numbers of E. coli cases in my office reached exactly the point I am always striving for – zero.  Then E. coli came roaring back.   Since 2007, 41 million pounds of contaminated meat has been recalled – 100,000 of those pounds just last week in Ohio, Illinois, and Pennsylvania. E. coli is here, and it’s clearly deadly.

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The Cleveland Ohio Health Department said moments ago that a 6 or 7-year-old girl died from E. coli O157:H7 last weekend and that the death (likely due to Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome) appears linked to E. coli O157:H7 illnesses in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Illinois that have led FSIS and CDC health investigators to ground beef produced by Valley Meats, LLC of Coal Valley, Illinois.

According to Misti Crane of THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH:

The Ohio Department of Health contacted the U.S. Department of Agriculture with a report of three genetically linked cases of E. coli O157:H7 in the Cleveland area earlier this month.  All three were sickened in mid-April, but do not have any connection to one another, said ODH spokesman Kristopher Weiss.  They were classified as a cluster when the genetic fingerprints of the bacteria that had infected each person matched, he said. The illnesses were then linked to products containing meat from Valley Meats.  The people who were sickened were a 3-year-old girl, a 24-year-old man and a 71-year-old man. Two of the three were hospitalized and all have since recovered, Weiss said.

Leila Atassi and Harlan Spector of the CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER are also covering the story:

Health officials did not identify the girl or provide details of the circumstances that led to her death. But Cleveland Health Director Matthew Carroll said the case might be the latest in a cluster of E. coli infections traced to Valley Meats LLC, of Coal Valley, Ill.

The company pulled nearly 100,000 pounds of hamburger patties after a U.S. Department of Agriculture investigation confirmed that three Cleveland-area residents were infected by eating the same tainted ground beef. Carroll said two local restaurants, one of them in Cuyahoga County, might also be involved and will be investigated.

The three who grew ill - a 3-year-old girl, a 24-year-old man and a 71-year-old man - have recovered, said Kristopher Weiss, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Health. Health officials determined the cases originated from a common source when they found matches among the genetic fingerprints of the bacteria that infected each person, Weiss said. The state reported its findings to the USDA on May 13. The brands included in the recall are 3-S, Grillmaster, J and B, Klub, Thick 'n Savory, Ultimate, and more than a dozen generic brands.

A few weeks ago I wrote "E. coli O157:H7 Season is Nearly Upon Us - Will it be 2005 and 2006 or 2007 and 2008?"

From 1993 - 2003 we represented over 1,000 people sickened and families who suffered losses due to E. coli O157:H7-tainted hamburger.  From 2003 - spring of 2007, the number of ill and the number of recalls dropped significantly.  In fact, in 2006, less that 200,000 pounds of E. coli-tainted hamburger was recalled.  However, since the Spring of 2007 nearly 42,000,000 pounds of hamburger has been recalled.  Clearly, there is a problem.  Earlier this year I wrote "Open Letter to a New Under Secretary for Food Safety - FSIS - The End of E. coli Conservatism," in part to start a discussion about why we are again seeing E. coli illnesses and deaths and in part to encourage the new administration to act.  The new administration is taking new steps, but much more needs to be done.

For an explaination of the movie clip above:

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E. coli O157:H7 illnesses in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Illinois have led health investigators to ground beef produced by Valley Meats, LLC of Coal Valley, IL. The company has initiated a recall of 95,898 pounds of ground beef product that is possibly contaminated with E. coli O157:H7.

“E. coli in ground beef has been so prevalent in the last two years that it’s estimated that the consumer has a one in 400 chance of buying a product that might make them very sick,” said food safety advocate and attorney William Marler. “In 2006, it seemed that the meat industry had gotten a handle on recalls, but with 41 million pounds recalled since then, that is clearly not the case.”

Many benign strains of E. coli (Escherichia coli) live in the intestinal tracts of humans and other mammals. Infection with one of the toxic strains, most notably E. coli O157:H7, can cause serious illness, organ failure, and even death. E. coli is often contracted by consuming food or beverage that has been contaminated by animal (especially cattle) manure. The majority of foodborne E. coli outbreaks has been traced to ground beef; however leafy vegetables, sprouts, unpasteurized dairy or juice products or even water can become tainted with the pathogen.

The first symptom of E. coli infection is the onset of abdominal pain and severe cramps, followed within 24 hours by diarrhea, often bloody. This is hemorrhagic colitis, and it typically occurs within 2 to 5 days of ingestion of E. coli; however the incubation period—the time between the ingestion of E. coli bacteria and the onset of illness—may be as broad as 1 to 10 days.

“If you’re experiencing these symptoms, it is critical to visit your healthcare provider, because an E. coli infection can make you very, very sick,” Marler continued. “In some instances E. coli infection can lead to hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a cause of acute kidney failure, so make sure you know what you’re dealing with.”

Marler Clark has represented victims of every major food borne illness outbreak since 1993. The firm’s attorneys have litigated high-profile food poisoning cases against such companies as ConAgra, Wendy’s, Chili’s, Chi-Chi’s, and Jack in the Box, securing over $500,000,000 for their clients. Marler Clark currently represents thousands of victims of outbreaks traced to ground beef, tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, peanut butter, and spinach, as well as other foods.

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FSIS announces the first CLASS I RECALL after E. coli O157:H7 illnesses linked in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Illinois of the season - more to follow?

ILLINOIS FIRM RECALLS GROUND BEEF PRODUCTS DUE E. COLI O157:H7 CONTAMINATION

Valley Meats LLC, a Coal Valley, Ill., establishment is recalling approximately 95,898 pounds of ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.  The problem was discovered through an epidemiological investigation of illnesses. On May 13, 2009, FSIS was informed by the Ohio Department of Health of a cluster of E. coli O157:H7 infections. Illnesses have been reported in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Illinois.

For more information about E. coli O157:H7, see, www.about-ecoli.com and for complications like Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome, see, www.about-hus.com.

The products subject to recall include:

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I just finished a day at the Louvre, walking along the Seine and trying to find the French I learned in college, as I ordered a meal with my daughter at a cafe on a busy avenue.  I then was brought back to what Spring is really all about - another Cantaloupe recall due to Salmonella. 

Apparently, a North Carolina company is recalling whole cantaloupes sold this week in Wal-Mart stores across North and South Carolina and in South Hill, Virginai, because they could be contaminated with Salmonella.  L&M Companies Inc. says the cantaloupes all came from the same small farm where a melon tested positive for the organism this week. No illnesses from eating the cantaloupes had been reported as of Friday.  Officials say the cantaloupes were sold at Wal-Mart stores from Sunday through Friday. Anyone who bought cantaloupes from those stores during that time should destroy them.

Over the last several years, it seems each Spring we hear of yet another recall.  Many have invloved severe illnesses and even deaths.  Let's hope this testing and recall catches it before it becomes a problem again.  There are three that I recall in the last few years:

Cantaloupe Salmonella Litchfield Outbreak, 2008 - Nationwide

In March of 2008, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that a Salmonella outbreak had been identified among residents of Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin. In all, 50 people had been linked to the outbreak; 14 were hospitalized.

Susie Cantaloupe Salmonella Outbreak, 2002 - Nationwide

On May 13, 2002 the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a press release reporting that an outbreak of Salmonella serotype Poona had been traced to the consumption of Susie Brand cantaloupes distributed in the United States and Canada by the I. Kunik Company of McAllen, Texas. FDA reported that the cantaloupe was sold in retail stores, restaurants, and possibly used in other institutions. FDA investigators determined that dozens of people had been sickened after eating the contaminated cantaloupe, and detained all cantaloupe imported by I. Kunick from Mexico.

Viva Cantaloupe Salmonella Outbreak, 2001 - Nationwide

On May 25, 2001 the FDA issued a press release warning consumers that Viva brand imported cantaloupe had been identified as the source of a Salmonella poona outbreak. FDA stated that the cantaloupe had been sold by S.P.R. De R.I. Legumbrera San Luis and S.P.R. De R.I. Los Arroyoas of Mexico and imported by Shipley Sales Service of Nogales, Arizona. Illnesses associated with the consumption of the contaminated cantaloupe had been identified in Arizona, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Tennessee, and Washington State.

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Bruce Clark, my law partner and Patti Waller, my Epidemiologist, were in Argentina this week.  The conference topics were:

 - STEC/VTEC epidemiology from around the world

- Reservoirs. Sources and routes of transmission

- Pathogenesis. Host response to STEC/VTEC infections. Animal models of HUS

- Virulence factors. Genomics

- Clinical and diagnostic aspects of STEC/VTEC infections and HUS

- Strategies of control and prevention

I wish I could have attended, but I was in London at another E. coli Conference.  I will get Patti and Bruce to write something up on their experiences.  Here is part of what Bruce and Patti presented at teh Conference:

We have completed a portion of the first year’s tests and are in the process of compiling the data. We hope to publish the results in the next month. (See Abstract):

PREVALENCE OF NON-O157 ENTEROHAEMMORRHAGIC ESCHERICHIA COLI IN RETAIL GROUND BEEF IN THE UNITED STATES

Non-O157 STEC are capable of causing the same debilitating triad of diseases as E. coli O157:H7, including hemorrhagic colitis, hemolytic uremic syndrome, and thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura. Infection with the non-O157 STEC can result in death in children, the elderly and the immunocompromised. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of reported cases of illnesses caused by this group of pathogenic E. coli has been steadily increasing over the past several years. Despite this, Non-O157:H7 STEC is not considered an adulterant under current law in the U.S. That needs to change.

Non-O157:H7 STEC are also known to occur in imported beef from several trading partners, yet the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has not required that imported beef be free of these pathogens. The Agency has also failed to devise steps to measure and control the presence of these pathogens in domestic beef production and the ground beef supply, at the slaughterhouse or the grocery store.

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I am going to take a side trip to Paris for a couple of days after the Food Safety Conference here in London and the news that French supermarket giant Carrefour has been accused of violating a number of regulations related to the labeling and food safety of meat products caught my eye. Carrefour has been charged with providing the incorrect country of origin, putting less meat in packages than stated on the labels, storing frozen products at temperatures that were too high and selling products after their sell by date.

According to a spokesperson for the supermarket chain, “the health of its customers was not in danger at any time."

"At this time?"  The French government demands a penalty of EUR220.000 for all violations combined. A ruling in the case is expected soon.  Interesting thought, same facts, but in the USA? Violation?  Fine?

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Poor Bill Baldwin of Forbes – his Editorial “Needed: Tort Lawyers” in this week's Forbes – has been printed and reprinted on other lawyer blogs and websites to tout their bona fides as food lawyers. Funny thing, all of them missed this part of Mr. Baldwin’s editorial:

Meet William Marler, a 52-year-old Seattle attorney whose career was launched with a $15.6 million settlement against Jack in the Box. (This victim survived but lost her large intestine.) Sixteen years later he can brag that his firm, Marler Clark, has extracted just shy of half a billion dollars in settlements from food vendors. This suggests cumulative revenues of maybe $150 million for a small firm (seven lawyers, one full-time epidemiologist). But letting lawyers get rich has a nice side effect. The settlements get the attention of food producers. Bill Marler is not shy about using the Web, press releases and Capitol Hill testimony to publicize what he's doing.

The “newbie” lawyers into food litigation believe that if they put up a few Google ads and post a few blogs, the glitter of it all will attract people poisoned by the food they and their children have eaten to their firms. They then think they can cash in on the victims injuries.

But these “newbie” lawyers are mistaken it is not about the money – victims of foodborne illness today can tell the real from the fake, from the glittery website site and dazzling smile to 21 years of 24/7 365 day advocacy. Those clients, like Heather Wybrew, Carl Ours and Mari Tardiff profiled in the New York Times this Monday in “Health experts say food supply is safer today than a decade ago, but recalls raise new concerns,” understand the differences. They get it. As I said to the New Your Times:

The paradox is that even as food has grown safer, contamination scares and recalls keep coming to light. William Marler, a Seattle lawyer who specializes in representing victims of food-borne illness, said that every time his business appeared to slow from a drop-off in cases, some new type of contamination would crop up.

"It's like the Dutch boy putting his finger in the dike," Marler said. "When you put your finger in one hole, another emerges."

The clients understand that it is not about the money, the glitz or the glitter – it is about hard work, dedication and caring. Well, time to board the plane to London. I need to put another finger in the dike.

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A few days after the President and Vice President ordered and ate burgers in Arlington Virginia, the First Lady and her staff ate burgers at Good Stuff Eatery, 303 Pennsylvania Ave. SE, Washington, DC 20003.

Unlike with the President’s burger binge, the First Lady’s was not caught on video nor was the “doneness” of her burger reported.   Also, I tried to find the restaurant inspection reports of the Good Stuff Eatery online, but apparently Washington DC, unlike neighboring Arlington VA, do not put inspections online.

Although FDA does not oversee Hamburger, Dr. Margaret Hamburg has been tapped to head FDA. As she noted in her testimony before the Senate this week:

Turning to food safety, Hamburg said it will require sustained effort, more money, and stronger laws to improve the situation. She wants to shift from chasing outbreaks after they have broken out to preventing them first. That would require all food companies to follow written safety plans, overseen by federal and state inspectors. Traceability and import safety — weak links in the system — would have to be strengthened.

Obama's budget, released Thursday, calls for a $260-million increase for the FDA's food safety program. Past budget cuts have hit the food inspection program hard, and part of the new funding would go to rebuild the ranks of inspectors.

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FSIS announced this evening that Alex & George Wholesale, Inc., a Rochester, New York firm, is recalling approximately 4,663 pounds of ground beef products because they may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7.  The following products are subject to recall:

* 10-pound poly bag of "A & G Brand BULK GROUND BEEF"
* 10-pound poly bag of "A & G Brand 'HOT SAUCE' SPECIAL BLEND"
* 25-pound poly bag of "A & G Brand BULK GROUND BEEF"
* 30-pound poly bag of "A & G Brand BULK GROUND BEEF"
* 10-pound case of (3-1) "A & G Brand GROUND BEEF PATTIES"
* 10-pound case of (5-1) "A & G Brand GROUND BEEF PATTIES"
* 10-pound case of "A & G Brand 'Homestyle Press' GROUND BEEF PATTIES"
* 10-pound case of (6-1) "A & G Brand GROUND BEEF PATTIES"
* Cases containing 48, 4.25-ounce"A & G Brand GROUND BEEF PATTIES 'PUCKS'"
* Cases containing 48, 5-ounce "A & G Brand 'Homestyle Press' GROUND BEEF PATTIES"
* Cases containing 48, 5-ounce (4-1) "A & G Brand 'Homestyle Press' GROUND BEEF PATTIES"
* Cases containing 48, 5-ounce "A & G Brand GROUND BEEF PATTIES 'PUCKS.'"

These packages of ground beef were packed in 10, 15, 25, and 30-pound shipping cases which bear the establishment number "EST. 4553" inside the USDA mark of inspection. The (3-1), (4-1), (5-1) and (6-1) refers to the number of portions per one pound.  These ground beef products were produced on April 29 and distributed to restaurants in western New York.

The contamination was found through routine testing - thank God.

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The WHO reports this morning that a farm worker in Canada has infected a herd of pigs with swine flu, the first documented case of the virus being passed from humans to animals.  The herd of pigs tested positive for the H1N1 virus after the worker returned from Mexico with the disease. The herd has been quarantined (and the worker?).  Up to 200 pigs had been infected at the Alberta Farm, and that both the man and pigs are recovering, adding that the virus did not seem to have spread. 

The case adds to growing international concern about the safety of eating pork products, with Russia, China, Indonesia, Ukraine, Philippines and Serbia introducing partial or total import bans of pork from the US.  The UN and WTO said on Saturday that there is no justification for such anti-pork trade measures as a result of the swine flu epidemic.

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Wisconsin officials are recommending residents throw away bags of spinach distributed by a Milwaukee food processor after some tested positive for salmonella.

The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection says consumers should discard 10-ounce bags of Kleen-Pak curly-leaf fresh spinach with use-by dates of April 29, April 30 and May 1.

It says routine food safety tests of the spinach were positive for salmonella.  The bacteria can cause diarrhea, fever and vomiting. Infections can be deadly to young children, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems.

Kleen-Pak spinach is distributed in grocery stories in Wisconsin and Illinois.

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New Hampshire state health officials say a mixer used to make pudding was the source of salmonella that sickened children at a camp in Madison this month.  The Stone Environmental Camp voluntarily closed last week, and is looking forward to reopening, now that the source has been identified.

Health investigators determined that pudding served to the campers was contaminated.  Although the mixer is supposed to be sanitized after each use, a possible defect may have allowed bacteria to get to an area where it couldn't be cleaned out.

The state confirmed 15 salmonella cases among more than 120 children and adults who reported getting sick. The state said some could have had mild forms of infection also related to the mixer.

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FDA held a call Saturday, April 25 to inform industry (but not consumers) of a forthcoming FDA press release (today or tomorrow?) related to an outbreak of Salmonella SaintPaul linked to alfalfa sprouts - AGAIN. The multi-state outbreak began mid-March and is ongoing. Currently 31 cases in Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Utah and West Virginia are linked to this outbreak. The serotype and PFGE pattern are considered to be rare, and the PFGE pattern is a match to that of the strain causing illnesses from sprouts in Nebraska in February/March that was linked to CW Sprouts and Jimmy Johns. The outbreak involves multiple sprouters in multiple states and multiple lots of seeds that went to at least 20 states. Some seeds went to primary sprouters and others to distributors; FDA does not have all the data on where these distributors send seeds, so other states may be involved. It appears that a single seed supplier is involved. Many of the cases are linked to restaurants.

FDA will be warning consumers (when?) not to eat raw alfalfa sprouts, reminding the sprouting industry of the importance of following FDA’s guidance on sprouts safety, and reminding restaurants/retailers to obtain sprouts from sprouters following the guidance. As part of this investigation FDA will be reviewing how closely sprouters are complying with the FDA guidance to assess whether changes in the guidance are needed. Information to date suggests a number of sprouters have not been following the recommended control measures.

FDA’s Guidance Document for the safe production of sprouts gives clear direction to seed producers, seed conditioners, distributors, and sprout producers on important steps that must be taken to ensure the safety of sprouts.

In 2003, FDA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the California Department of Health Services and others jointly developed a video to assist the industry in producing the safest possible products. The video may also be useful for retailers, regulators, and anyone working with the industry that wants to better understand the product and current recommendations for best production practices.

Both of these resources provide guidance regarding the sources of contamination, ways to eliminate potential contamination and methods to detect contamination when it happens. FDA believes strongly in these recommendations and “will consider enforcement actions against any party who does not have effective preventive controls in place, in particular, microbial testing.”

Some of the basic controls directed by FDA include:

§ Seeds for sprout production must be grown under good agricultural practices. Purchasers of seed should request verification from their supplier that appropriate practices were followed.

§ Seeds for sprouting should be treated with one or more treatments (such as 20,000 ppm calcium hypochlorite) that have been approved for reduction of pathogens in seeds or sprouts. Some treatments can be applied at the sprouting facility while others will have to be applied earlier in the seed production process. However, at least one approved antimicrobial treatment should be applied immediately before sprouting.

§ Microbiological testing of spent irrigation water from each production lot for Salmonella, E. coli O157:H7 (or EHEC), and Listeria monocytogenes. There is a potential that pathogens may survive antimicrobial treatments, even if used properly, so testing becomes the last chance to detect contaminated lots. Because testing for pathogens can be done with irrigation water as early as 48 hours into what is generally a 3 to 10 day growing period, producers who plan accordingly can obtain test results before shipping product without losing product shelf-life. Testing, whether done by the producer or contracted out, should be done by trained personnel, in a qualified laboratory, using validated methods.

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I talked with Katharhynn Heidelberg of the Montrose Daily Press about yet another raw milk outbreak:

Seattle attorney Bill Marler said that doesn’t mean raw milk is safe. Marler has represented several clients, or their survivors, in food-borne illness cases, even taking on Con-Agra.

“The amount of raw milk that is sold commercially is actually quite small and is unfortunately growing,” he said. “The number of illnesses and the frequency of illnesses, in my opinion, certainly indicates that it is a growing problem, not a shrinking one you can ignore.”

Colorado does not allow the commercial sale of raw milk. But a recent law allows for cow-shares, which Marler, speaking generally, said is being used to sidestep commercial-sale bans.

One of Marler’s clients, a formerly healthy 39-year-old Californian, developed a rare and progressively paralytic illness after drinking raw milk. Marler said she’s been rendered quadrupalegic and claims raw milk is to blame.

“A lot of times, raw milk groups have a tendency to say the health department is out for them, rather than that the health department is doing its job. That’s part of their marketing scheme, to feel like they’re being put upon,” Marler said.

“It’s not like I had a particular jag against raw milk, it’s just frankly another food that poisons people and the producers have to be as responsible as the corporations.”

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FDA announced that Union International Food Co. is expanding a spice recall to include all Lian How brand and Uncle Chen brand sauces, oil and oil blends in various size packages because the products may be contaminated with salmonella, an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections, especially in young children, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems. The company had previously recalled Lian How brand and Uncle Chen brand dry spices.

California state health department officials say the salmonella outbreak has sickened 33 people throughout northern and central California, and nine others in Nevada, Oregon and Washington. No deaths have been reported. Officials say most of the people sickened appeared to have been exposed to salmonella while eating at Asian restaurants that used the company's spices.The company said salmonella was isolated from an open container of Lian How white pepper.

The Uncle Chen and Lian How brand products were distributed to retailers, wholesalers, distributors, restaurant suppliers and restaurants. Details: By phone at 510-471-6799; on the Web at http://www.ufunionfood.com.

The recall includes the following Lian How brand items:

Continue Reading...

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The FDA announced additional and expanded items that are being recalled.  The following recalls have been announced because the products may be contaminated with salmonella, an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections, especially in young children, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems:

Continue Reading...

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Two people died while four others are in critical condition in Cebu after eating a fried sea cucumber delicacy on Saturday, a report said. The sea cucumber, a herbivore, is not known for being poisonous but it secretes blue ink from its skin which is potentially lethal to any predators.

According to one official - "Something must have gone wrong when [the victims] prepared the food."

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So, between reading my emails, I read the 1984 JAMA Article by G. A. Merrill, S. B. Werner, R. G. Bryant, D. Fredson and K. Kelly

Staphylococcal food poisoning associated with an Easter egg hunt

Staphylococcal contamination of intact, hard-boiled eggs resulted in the food poisoning of an estimated 300 children out of 850 who had participated in an Easter egg hunt. Enterotoxigenic staphylococci that were isolated from the Easter eggs matched that obtained from an infected cook who prepared the eggs three to five days before the hunt and which he left unrefrigerated. Experimental studies demonstrated that heated eggs can absorb 2 mL of contaminated cool water through intact eggshells. When water was inoculated with pathogenic staphylococci at even low contamination levels, rapid growth and enterotoxin production within cooked eggs could be easily duplicated. This is the first large outbreak of its type; safeguards can and should be employed to prevent future ones.

Damn, is nothing sacred?

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Surveillance Results

In 2008, a total of 18,499 laboratory-confirmed cases of infection in FoodNet surveillance areas were identified. The number of infections and incidence per 100,000 population were reported as follows: Salmonella (7,444; 16.20), Campylobacter (5,825; 12.68), Shigella (3,029; 6.59), Cryptosporidium (1,036; 2.25), STEC O157 (513; 1.12), STEC non-O157 (205; 0.45), Yersinia (164; 0.36), Listeria (135; 0.29), Vibrio (131; 0.29), and Cyclospora (17; 0.04). Substantial variation in incidence rates occurred among surveillance areas (Table 1). Among all age groups (<4 years, 4--11 years, 12--19 years, 20--49 years, and >50 years)†, the highest incidence occurred among children aged <4 years for all infections except those caused by Cyclospora and Vibrio.

Among age groups of persons infected with the following pathogens, the percentage of persons hospitalized was highest in persons aged >50 years: Listeria (86.2%), STEC O157 (53.3%), Vibrio (45.6%), Salmonella (40.0%), Yersinia (37.5%), Shigella (27.9%), Cryptosporidium (24.5%), and Campylobacter (20.5%). Among age groups of persons infected with the following pathogens, the case fatality rate (CFR) was highest in persons aged >50 years: Listeria (19.5%), Vibrio (7.4%), Salmonella (1.3%), Shigella (0.4%), and Campylobacter (0.4%). For infection with STEC O157, the CFR was highest among children aged <4 years (2.8%); for infection with Cryptosporidium and Yersinia, the CFR was highest in persons aged 20--49 years (1.3% and 3.0%, respectively).

Among 6,750 (91%) Salmonella isolates serotyped, 10 serotypes accounted for 73% of infections: Enteritidis, 1,356 (20.1%); Typhimurium, 1,077 (16.0%); Newport, 681 (10.1%); Javiana, 423 (6.3%); Saintpaul, 403 (6.0%); I 4,[5],12:i:-, 269 (4.0%); Muenchen, 213 (3.2%); Heidelberg, 198 (2.9%); Montevideo, 194 (2.9%); and Braenderup, 108 (1.6%). Among 131 (92%) Vibrio isolates for which the species was identified, 72 (55.0%) were parahaemolyticus, 19 (14.5%) were vulnificus, and eight (6.1%) were alginolyticus. Among 205 STEC non-O157 isolates tested for O antigen determination, 185 (90%) had an identifiable O antigen, most commonly O26 (28.1%), O103 (27.0%), or O111 (19.5%).

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Sprouts processed by Bridgeport-based Amalgamated Produce Inc. have been recalled after a sample collected from a supermarket in New York tested positive for an organism that can cause serious infections.  The sprouts also were sold at Stop & Shop, ShopRite and Price Chopper stores in Connecticut.

Consumer Protection Commissioner Jerry Farrell Jr. said Thursday that the recalled sprouts tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes, an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children or in frail or elderly people.  No illnesses had been reported in Connecticut as of Thursday, but Amalgamated Produce is recalling its sprouts. Sprouts under various brand names with a "sell by" date of March 31 through April 27, weighing 4 ounces and packaged in plastic containers, have been recalled.

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The Rhode Island Department of Health advises consumers of sprout products that may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. Listeria is an organism that can cause serious or fatal infections in young children, elderly or anyone with a weak immune system. Distribution of these sprouts included Shaws, Stop & Shop, Whole Foods and IGA in Rhode Island.

All items being recalled have a sell-by date code from 03/21/09 through 04/27/09 and are in four ounce plastic containers, with the exception of the 8-ounce Nature’s Promise Organic Alfalfa and the five-pound bag of bulk alfalfa sprouts. There have been no cases of Listeria in Rhode Island in 2009. Anyone who bought an item on the recall list should throw away the product right away or return it to the place of purchase for a refund. The following items have been recalled:

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According to News West Nine - This Easter Season it's not just about the colorful eggs, but the colorful chicks as well. The chicks are painted with dyes for nothing more but looks.

Many wonder if the chicks are safe to handle especially for young children? Dr. Medina of Midland Health Care Services says it could lead to salmonella disease through fecal and oral contact. "They put them in their mouth and they could be contaminated and get diseases from it. I would not recommend giving them as gifts," Dr. Medina said. For just $2 each you can get them in every color you can think of, but keep in mind when handling the chicks to wash your hands; it's the only way to keep you and your family safe.

Or, just don't buy them.

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The CDC reported today:

The Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet) of CDC's Emerging Infections Program collects data from 10 U.S. states regarding diseases caused by pathogens commonly transmitted through food. FoodNet quantifies and monitors the incidence of these infections by conducting active, population-based surveillance for laboratory-confirmed infections. This report describes preliminary surveillance data for 2007 and compares them with data for previous years. In 2007, the estimated incidence of infections caused by Campylobacter, Listeria, Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O157 (STEC O157), Salmonella, Shigella, Vibrio, and Yersinia did not change significantly, and Cryptosporidium infections increased compared with 2004--2006. Progress toward the targets for Healthy People 2010 national health objectives and targets regarding the incidence of foodborne infections occurred before 2004; however, none of the targets were reached in 2007. Salmonella incidence was the furthest from its national health target, suggesting that reaching this target will require new approaches.

Surveillance Methods

In 1996, FoodNet began active, population-based surveillance for laboratory-confirmed cases of infection caused by Campylobacter, Listeria, Salmonella, STEC O157, Shigella, Vibrio, and Yersinia. FoodNet added surveillance for cases of Cryptosporidium and Cyclospora infection in 1997 and STEC non-O157 infection in 2000. In 2004, FoodNet began collecting data regarding which laboratory-confirmed infections were associated with outbreaks.

Infection with STEC O157 can cause hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a complication in which the kidneys fail. HUS surveillance, which began in 2000, is conducted in nine states through a network of pediatric nephrologists and infection-control practitioners and validated through review of hospital discharge data. Because of the time required for review of hospital records, this report contains preliminary HUS data for 2006.

During 1996--2007, the FoodNet surveillance population increased from 14.3 million persons (5% of the U.S. population) in five states to 45.5 million persons (15% of the U.S. population) in 10 states. The preliminary incidence for 2007 was calculated by dividing the number of laboratory-confirmed infections by population estimates for 2006. Final incidence will be reported when population estimates for 2007 are available from the U.S. Census Bureau. In previous years, final incidence has been comparable to preliminary incidence.

Surveillance Data

In 2007, a total of 17,883 laboratory-confirmed cases of infection in FoodNet surveillance areas were identified. The number of cases and incidence per 100,000 population were reported as follows: Salmonella (6,790; 14.92), Campylobacter (5,818; 12.79), Shigella (2,848; 6.26), Cryptosporidium (1,216; 2.67), STEC O157 (545; 1.20), STEC non-O157 (260; 0.57), Yersinia (163; 0.36), Listeria (122; 0.27), Vibrio (108; 0.24), and Cyclospora (13; 0.03). Substantial variation occurred across surveillance sites (Table). The highest incidence per 100,000 population for Salmonella (62.11), Shigella (27.77), Campylobacter (24.01), and STEC O157 (3.66) infections was among children aged <5 years. In 2006, FoodNet identified 82 cases of postdiarrheal HUS in persons aged <18 years (0.78 cases per 100,000 children); 58 (0.7%) cases occurred in children aged <5 years (2.01 cases per 100,000 children).

Of the 6,299 (92.8%) Salmonella isolates serotyped, seven serotypes accounted for 61.6% of infections: Enteritidis, 1,062 (16.9%); Typhimurium, 1,006 (16.0%); Newport, 656 (10.4%); I 4,[5],12:i:-, 358 (5.7%); Javiana, 347 (5.5%); Heidelberg, 243 (3.9%); and Montevideo, 211 (3.4%). Among 102 (94.4%) Vibrio isolates for which the species was identified, 59 (57.8%) were parahaemolyticus, 18 (17.7%) were alginolyticus, and 13 (12.8%) were vulnificus. Among 260 STEC non-O157 isolates tested for O antigen determination, 228 (87.7%) had an identifiable O antigen, primarily O26 (21.5%), O103 (20.6%), or O121 (19.3%).

Comparison with Previous Years

A main-effects, log-linear Poisson regression model (negative binomial) was used to estimate statistically significant changes in incidence of infections in 2007 compared with previous years. This model accounts for the increase in the surveillance population and for variations in incidence among sites. The average annual incidence for 2004--2006 and for 1996--1998 (1997--1998 for Cryptosporidium), the first years of surveillance, were used for comparison. The estimated change in incidence (relative rate) between 2007 and the comparison periods was calculated, along with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). For HUS surveillance, 2000--2001, the first years of surveillance, was used as the comparison period. Changes over time have not been analyzed for non-O157 STEC, partly because changes in clinical laboratory practices might have affected incidence reporting.

The estimated incidence of Campylobacter, Listeria, Salmonella, Shigella, STEC O157, Vibrio, and Yersinia infections (Figure 1) did not change significantly in 2007 compared with 2004--2006, but the estimated incidence of Cryptosporidium infections increased 44% (CI = 8%--91%). Among the seven most common Salmonella serotypes, the incidence of Typhimurium and Heidelberg decreased, I 4,[5],12:i- and Newport increased, and the others did not change significantly.

In comparison with 1996--1998, relative rates of Yersinia decreased 49% (CI = 36%--59%), Listeria decreased 42% (CI = 28%--54%), Shigella decreased 36% (CI = 9%--55%), Campylobacter decreased 31% (CI = 25%--36%), STEC O157 decreased 25% (CI = 9%--38%), and Salmonella decreased 8% (CI = 1%--14%) in 2007. The estimated incidence of infection with Cryptosporidium and Vibrio did not change significantly. The incidence of postdiarrheal HUS has paralleled that of STEC O157, declining in 2003 and 2004, followed by increases the next 2 years. The estimated incidence of postdiarrheal HUS in children aged <5 years in 2006 did not change significantly compared with 2000--2001.

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The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is warning the public not to eat certain lean ground beef sold at Canada Safeway because it may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7.

The lean ground beef affected was sold in packages of approximately 450 grams with the first part of the UPC being 201670 and a Canada establishment number of 573.  The meat was prepared for certain Canada Safeway stores in northwestern Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.  The affected packages bear a Best Before or a Freeze By date of March 19 and were sold from March 13 to March 19 and are no longer available for sale.  The manufacturer, Vantage Foods, Winnipeg, is voluntarily recalling the affected product from stores.

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The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment says raw milk traced to Kinikin Corner Dairy sickened at least eight people with campylobacter.  There have been 11 confirmed cases of the food-borne bacteria since March 30; the state health department says 10 of those sickened reported drinking raw milk and eight of these people reported getting the milk from Kinikin Dairy.

The dairy was issued a public health order late yesterday afternoon.

Campylobacter can be passed through cow feces and if contaminated fecal matter gets into water or milk, humans can be infected.  The infection's symptoms include diarrhea, sometimes bloody, fever, abdominal cramping, nausea and vomiting. It is only rarely fatal. 

Campylobacter infections have to be reported by healthcare providers to the state, and when several cases were reported recently, the state knew almost immediately something was wrong.

Interestingly, today we received several additional documents stemming from a 2006 E. coli O157:H7 outbreak involving Organic Pastures Dairy in California.  The below document and attached pictures (click to download) of the Organic Pastures milking facility were produced in the litigation between Organic Pastures and the State of California.

Organic Pastures too has had recalls due to Campylobacter contamination in its products – See recall in September 2008 and recall with illnesses in March 2008 - And an E. coli outbreak with illnesses in 2006 - And a Listeria recall in 2007.  Right, and then there was that criminal thing.

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The FDA and the California Department of Public Health continue to investigate the Salmonella contamination in pistachios and pistachio products. Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella Inc., Terra Bella, Calif., is voluntarily expanding its recall of roasted pistachios to include all lots of roasted in-shell pistachios and roasted shelled pistachios that were produced from nuts harvested in 2008. The firm is also recalling those raw shelled pistachios from the 2008 crop that are not subsequently roasted prior to retail sale. The pistachios may be contaminated with Salmonella.

FDA Product Recall List

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AP reports that Federal officials confirm they have found traces of salmonella in a central California pistachio processing plant that sparked a nationwide recall of the nut.  The Food and Drug Administration said Monday state and federal inspectors found the bacteria in "critical areas" at Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella.  FDA officials also say they found areas at the facility where raw and roasted nuts could become cross-contaminated with salmonella.  The plant temporarily shut down after recalling more than 2 million pounds of nuts last week.  The company has now expanded its recall to include all raw and roasted pistachios from its 2008 crop.

Salmonella is a bacterium that causes one of the most common enteric (intestinal) infections in the United States – Salmonellosis. In some states (e.g. Georgia, Maryland), salmonellosis is the most commonly reported cause of enteric disease, and overall it is the second most common bacterial foodborne illness reported (usually slightly less frequent than Campylobacter infection).

The reported incidence of Salmonella illnesses is about 14 cases per each 100,000 persons (MMWR Weekly, 2006), amounting to approximately 30,000 confirmed cases of salmonellosis yearly in the U.S. (CDC, 2005, October 13). In 2005, just over 36,000 cases were reported from public health laboratories across the nation, representing a 12 percent decrease compared with the previous decade, but a 1.5 percent increase over 2004 (CDC, 2007).

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According to the AP reports of a CDC study, a chemical used in rocket fuel was found in samples of powdered baby formula, and could exceed what is considered a safe dose for adults if mixed with water also contaminated with the ingredient, a government study has found. The study by scientists looked for the chemical, perchlorate, in different brands of powdered baby formula. The chemical has turned up in several cities' drinking water supplies. It can occur naturally, but most perchlorate contamination has been tied to defense and aerospace sites.

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More than six tons of egg rolls stuffed with chicken are being recalled by EDS Wrap and Roll Foods LLC of Hayward. The egg rolls were sold to restaurants throughout California, the government says. Meanwhile, the company at the center of a recall of the pepper used in the egg rolls has expanded its recall of still more spices. The egg rolls contain black pepper spice products that may be linked to a multi-state outbreak of salmonellosis, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service says Saturday. The following products are subject to recall:

• 9.38 lb. packages of EDS Wrap and Roll Foods LLC "Chicken Egg Roll" which contains 100 pieces of 1.5 ounce chicken egg rolls

• 18.75 lb. packages of EDS Wrap and Roll Foods LLC "Chicken Egg Roll" which contains 100 pieces of 3.0 ounce chicken egg rolls

The frozen chicken egg rolls were produced between July 28, 2008 and March 27, 2009 and bear case codes "80210 through 80365" or "90001 through 90089."

The packages bear the establishment number "P-20350" within the USDA Mark of Inspection printed on the side of the packages.

FSIS says it learned of the problem from the California Department of Public Health as a result of an ongoing investigation into the dry spice recall announced by FDA. FSIS has received no reports of illnesses associated with the consumption of these frozen chicken egg rolls. The chicken egg roll products were distributed to restaurants and institutions in California.

Union International Food Co. of Union City is recalling 15-pound and smaller size packages of its Lian How brand dry spices, 30-pound boxes and smaller size packages of Lian How crushed chili, Uncle Chen brand black pepper (whole and ground) in 5-oz. retail containers, Uncle Chen white pepper (whole and ground) in 5-oz. retail containers and 5 pound plastic bags and the Uncle Chen brand Wasabi powder in 2.2 pound foil bags, because it has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella.

But there’s more. Also recalled by Union as of Saturday evening are the following:

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Public health officials in the Oregon Department of Human Services are reminding Oregonians that baby fowl may carry Salmonella.

Chicks, ducklings and other young fowl may not be appropriate pets for children younger than 5 years or for persons with a weakened immune system, said Emilio DeBess, D.V.M., public health veterinarian in DHS.

“They are fuzzy, cute, and irresistible to pick-up and hold," he said, "but they can also be loaded with Salmonella.”

Salmonella poisoning from baby poultry purchased as pets or for backyard flocks represents an ongoing public health concern and causes multiple hospitalizations each year.

Two cases have been identified in Oregon over the past few weeks; both had contact with young poultry. Both patients are recovering.

Though chicks, ducklings and goslings may not appear dirty, they could carry feces on their feet, feathers and beaks.

Poultry should always be housed outside because of the risk of tracking the infection into the household environment.

To reduce the risk of Salmonella infection, the Oregon Public Health Division recommends thorough hand washing with soap and warm water for anyone who enters an area that houses poultry or who handles any baby chicks, ducks or other fowl.

Children should be supervised so they do not nuzzle or kiss the animals.

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According to AP reports today, “Nutgate” has turned into a “finger-pointing” match of “he said, she said.” The spokeswoman from Setton, the pistachio maker, said today “that Kraft Foods Inc. detected salmonella in its pistachios more than six months ago but did not inform [Setton] until last week [March24]” when Kraft also informed the FDA.

The Kraft spokeswoman said today that it did “not know until recently that pistachios were the cause of salmonella contamination in a trail mix and promptly informed their nut supplier, Setton…. [The] spokeswoman said their manufacturer Georgia Nut Co. first found the bacteria in its Kraft Back to Nature Nantucket Blend trail mix in September, but it took more than six months of careful ingredient testing to determine what caused the contamination.”

Really? Six months? Something just does not smell right.