According to a Christmas Eve FDA’s/Rolf’s Press Release:
• Rolf’s Patisserie, a gourmet European style bakery located in Lincolnwood, Ill., is recalling all desserts made after Nov. 1, 2010. The products include tiramisu, cakes, cobblers, decorated cookies, tarts, pastries, and pies.
• The desserts have been connected to several outbreaks of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus)
According to a Marathon County Health Department press release, four persons have developed illness, including one hospitalization, from E. coli O45 contracted from eating smoked ready-to-eat meat products processed at Zillman Meat Market in Wausau, Wisconsin.
Persons who became ill ate ready-to-eat custom smoked meat products made from wild game processed from September 30
From November 1 to December 21, 2010, a total of 89 individuals with a matching strain of Salmonella serotype I 4,[5],12:i:- have been reported from 15 states and the District of Columbia. The number of ill people identified in each state with the outbreak strain is as follows: Connecticut (1), District of Columbia (1), Georgia
OBSERVATION 1 – Employees did not wash and sanitize hands thoroughly in an adequate hand-washing facility after each absence from the work station and at any time their hands may have become soiled or contaminated. Specifically, the owner was observed throughout the day, to alternately perform cheese making functions, such as, stirring cheese curd with bare hands and wrapping cheese in grape leaves, with outside activities, such as milking / feeding livestock, without any hand washing being observed.
OBSERVATION 2 – Failure to provide hand washing facilities at each location in the plant where needed. Specifically, the approximately 10 inch diameter, shallow bowl hand sink in the vestibule is too small for proper use, The sink drain pipe and water supply lines were disconnected. The two-compartment processing room sink was not set up for hand washing and there were no towels or soap available at either fixture.
OBSERVATION 3 – Failure to use water, which is of adequate sanitary quality in food and on food-contact surfaces. Specifically, the well water supply for the facility is not currently in microbiological compliance. The most recent water analysis was unsatisfactory for total coliform as evidenced by a test report from10/4/10 observed at the facility. The well has not been retested.Continue Reading More Bad News for Raw Milk Cheese Makers – FDA Inspection Report of Sally Jackson
In the Order, the Court also found that Hartmann was the source of the E. coli O157:H7 outbreaks that sickened eight, hospitalizing four – one with Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome.
The real question is when are raw milk producers and supporters going to police their own? The order is a shock for those who profess
It has been a very long process. It now goes to the President to sign. below is me in Spring 2008 making my pitch before the Committee that the Bill eventually came from. Here is what I said to the LA Times today after the Bills passage:
“In a bad economy, with the kind of
So, says the headline this morning. Apparently, the U.S. Homeland Security Department this year identified a terrorist plan to contaminate salad bars and buffets at restaurants and hotels with lethal materials. The strikes involving ricin and cyanide would have occurred during one weekend at a significant number of establishments. The plot was “credible,” according to an intelligence insider. Here to me is the take-away quote:
“Initially it would look very much like food poisoning,” said Susan Ford, a pharmaceutical sciences professor at St. John’s University in New York.
Go figure? This should sound familiar to readers of this blog in August 2008 – Keep reading – “Who Poisoned our Peppers?:Continue Reading Terrorists Seek to Poison Food at U.S. Restaurants, Hotels
Listed here are victims of foodborne illness who have traveled to Washington, D.C to testify or lobby for food safety:
Jeff Almer (MN) – Jeff testified in 2009 to The House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. His mother, Shirley died in 2008 from complications caused by eating a peanut
Perhaps the President will bring the Bill with him to Hawaii for Christmas – It’s a short flight from Seattle. Thanks to Republican and Democratic Staff for this great Summary of the House and Senate version of the Bill:
Noteworthy
· S. 510 is intended to respond to several food safety outbreaks in recent years by strengthening the authority of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and redoubling its efforts to prevent and respond to food safety concerns.
· The legislation expands current registration and inspection authority for FDA, and re-focuses FDA’s inspection regime based on risk assessments, such that high-risk facilities will be inspected more frequently. The bill also requires food processors to conduct a hazard analysis of their facilities and implement a plan to minimize those hazards.
· The bill requires FDA to recognize bodies that accredit food safety laboratories domestically and third-party auditors overseas. The bill enhances partnerships with state and local officials regarding food safety outbreaks, and establishes a framework to allow FDA to inspect foreign facilities.
· The bill does NOT change the existing jurisdictional boundaries between FDA and the Department of Agriculture, and includes protections for farms and small businesses.
· The bill gives the FDA the power to order mandatory food recalls, in the event that a food company cannot or does not comply with a request to recall its products voluntarily.Continue Reading Food Safety Bill Leaves Senate with Unanimous Consent, House Vote Tuesday
According to William Keene, Oregon State Epidemiologist, last week initial lab test results of a Sally Jackson cheese sample taken from a wedding were PCR (polymerase chain reaction) positive, indicating DNA likely linked to the outbreak strain. Today, those results have also been culture confirmed, and are indistinguishable by pulse-field gel electrophoreses (PFGE) to the
