June 2009

Dear Food Safety Community,

Legislation that would help FDA manage its food safety responsibilities is headed to the floor of the House. The bill has a HACCP-type system as its center piece. However, a small group, led by the Weston A. Price Foundation and other advocates of raw milk, are leading a very effective internet

69 persons infected with a strain of E. coli O157:H7 with a particular DNA fingerprint have been reported from 29 states. Of these, 46 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

The CDC has confirmed that 69 people, ages 2 to 67, are linked to an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak linked to the consumption of refrigerated Nestle Toll House Cookie Dough. The links are both the food histories as well as the discovery of the outbreak strain of the E. coli O157:H7 bacteria. Nestle has recalled

I spent time yesterday visiting with a feisty “50 something” woman and her adoring husband (they have six kids) in a Nevada hospital as she spent her 50th day hospitalized with severe complication of Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome from an E. coli O157:H7 infection linked directly to Nestlé Cookie Dough. For a woman who has lost

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

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

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

Lindsay Phillips, age 18, consumed Nestle cookie dough on several occasions in early May 2009. On May 11, 2009, Lindsay began to suffer from severe lower abdominal pain accompanied by profuse diarrhea that turned bloody. After Lindsay’s symptoms failed to subside, on May 13, 2009 her mother took her to the emergency room (“ER”). Initially