February 2013

Months ago the CDC reported a total of 127 persons infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Braenderup from 15 states.

33 ill persons were hospitalized. No deaths were reported.

Collaborative investigation efforts of state, local, and federal public health and regulatory agencies indicated that mangoes were the source of this outbreak.

On September 13,

Taylor Farms Retail, Inc. is recalling select Organic Baby Spinach products over concerns they may be contaminated with (EHEC) Enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli.

The Taylor Farms spinach is sold under several brand names, including Central Market Organics, Full Circle Organic, Marketside Organic, Simple Truth Organic and Taylor Farms Organic, all with a best by date of

This is another it what will be a long – too long – series of outbreak investigations where we have represented consumers in what I hope will be a cautionary tale, and a learning experience, for manufacturers of food.

Although certainly not the first pathogen outbreak linked to leafy greens, it was one that got

Well, 32 years ago.  Here is the story – straight from the “horses mouth:”

During 1981, an incident involving the importation of mislabeled and adulterated meat from Australia resulted in FSIS detaining and sampling nearly 66 million pounds of boneless beef from that country. Shipments labeled as beef were found to contain horsemeat and kangaroo

And, we thought it was just about mislabeling (a.k.a. “Food Fraud”)

The Guardian reports that contaminated horsemeat could prove “injurious” to people’s health, the environment secretary Owen Paterson said on Sunday as he served notice on the public to expect “further bad news” this week.

Patersons’s remarks were the first government acknowledgment of a possible