August 2010

Screen shot 2010-08-14 at 6.33.05 PM.pngVeron Foods, LLC of Prairieville, La. is recalling approximately 500,000 pounds of “ready to eat” sausage and hog head cheese products that may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry’s Office of Animal Health and Food Safety announced today.

The following products are subject to recall:

All packages of Veron Hot Smoked Sausage, Veron Mild Smoked Sausage, Martin Hot Smoked Sausage, Martin Mild Smoked Sausage, Veron Andouille Sausage, Martin Andouille Sausage and Veron Hog Head Cheese. Continue Reading Veron Foods of Louisiana Recalls 500,000 pounds of Sausage due to Listeria

Listeria-monocytogenes(2).jpg Listeria monocytogenes (Listeria) is a foodborne disease-causing bacterium; the disease is called listeriosis. Listeria can invade the body through a normal and intact gastrointestinal tract. Once in the body, Listeria can travel through the blood stream but Listeria bacteria are often found inside cells. Listeria also produces toxins that damage cells.…

Maine Health.jpgThe Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Maine CDC) is investigating a third case of acute hepatitis A. All three are residents of Waldo County and at least one attended a number of social functions in different areas of Maine while infective which included attendees from across the state. We therefore believe other people may be at risk for contracting the illness and may be showing signs and symptoms of it in the coming days and weeks.Continue Reading Hepatitis A Cluster in Waldo County, Maine

What is Hepatitis A?

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.…

No Change in Agency for Regulated Foods

Only foods already regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will be subject to S. 510. Section 403 maintains the existing firewall between FDA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture regulated foods and agricultural products.

No Change in Definition of FacilityContinue Reading S. 510 – FDA Food Safety Modernization Act Small Farm and Small Business Guide

E. coli O157:H7.jpgE. coli O157:H7 was identified for the first time at the CDC in 1975, but it was not until seven years later, in 1982, that E. coli O157:H7 was conclusively determined to be a cause of enteric disease. Following outbreaks of foodborne illness that involved several cases of bloody diarrhea, E. coli O157:H7 was firmly associated with hemorrhagic colitis.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated in 1999 that 73,000 cases of E. coli O157:H7 occur each year in the United States. Approximately 2,000 people are hospitalized, and 60 people die as a direct result of E. coli O157:H7 infections and complications. The majority of infections are thought to be foodborne-related, although E.coli O157:H7 accounts for less than 1% of all foodborne illness.

E. coli O157:H7 bacteria are believed to mostly live in the intestines of cattle but have also been found in the intestines of chickens, deer, sheep, goats, and pigs. E. coli O157:H7 does not make the animals that carry it ill; the animals are merely the reservoir for the bacteria.

While the majority of foodborne illness outbreaks associated with E. coli O157:H7 have involved ground beef, such outbreaks have also involved unpasteurized apple and orange juice, unpasteurized milk, alfalfa sprouts, and water. An outbreak can also be caused by person-to-person transmission of the bacteria in homes and in settings like daycare centers, hospitals, and nursing homes.

Continue Reading E. coli O157:H7

The following is a comprehensive description of the hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), its symptoms, and the complications and long-term risks associated with HUS.  (A glossary of terms can be found at the bottom of this entry).

Hemolytic uremic syndrome is a severe, life-threatening complication of an E. coli bacterial infection that was first described in 1955, and is now recognized as the most common cause of acute kidney failure in childhood. E. coli O157:H7 is responsible for over 90% of the cases of HUS that develop in North America. In fact, some researchers now believe that E. coli O157:H7 is the only cause of HUS in children. HUS develops when the toxin from E. coli bacteria, known as Shiga-like toxin (SLT) [1,2], enters cells lining the large intestine. The Shiga-toxin triggers a complex cascade of changes in the blood. Cellular debris accumulates within the body’s tiny blood vessels and there is a disruption of the inherent clot-breaking mechanisms. The formation of micro-clots in the blood vessel-rich kidneys leads to impaired kidney function and can cause damage to other major organs.Continue Reading Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS)

Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, today issued the following statement on the manager’s package for The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act. Harkin has been working on a bipartisan basis with HELP Committee Ranking Member Mike Enzi (R-WY), authors of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act Dick…

Mamey Salmonella.jpgInvestigators linked traces of salmonella typhi, the bacterium that causes typhoid fever, to a Goya brand frozen fruit product containing mamey fruit pulp. The fruit, also known as zapote and sapote is grown in Central and South America and often used in shakes and smoothies.

Typhoid fever has infected four southern Nevadans and five others in California. Typhoid fever is rare in the U.S., with an estimated 400 cases reported annually, health officials said.

Symptoms of typhoid fever include a sustained fever, stomach pains, headaches, anorexia, a slow heart rate, malaise, constipation or diarrhea or a nonproductive cough.

According to the CDC:Continue Reading Salmonella Outbreak linked to Goya Frozen Mamey Fruit