The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said today that it is allowing ionizing radiation on crustaceans like crab, shrimp, lobster, and crayfish to control foodborne pathogens and extend shelf life.

The agency said it based its decision on a “rigorous safety assessment” that considered potential toxicity, the effect of irradiation on nutrients, and the potential microbiological risk. It also factored in previous evaluations of the safety of irradiating other foods, including poultry, meat, mollusks, lettuce, and spinach.

The rule covers raw, frozen, cooked, partially cooked, shelled, and dried crustaceans, as well as cooked or ready-to-cook crustaceans processed with spices or small amounts of other food ingredients.

“At the maximum permitted dose of 6.0 kiloGray, this new use of ionizing radiation will reduce, but not entirely eliminate, the number of pathogenic (illness causing) microorganisms in or on crustaceans,” the FDA said in a constituent update. “The maximum dosage of irradiation approved is capable of reducing a number of pathogens that may be found in crustaceans, including Listeria, Vibrio,and E coli.”

The agency said the technique is not a substitute for proper food handling. All foods that undergo ionizing irradiation must be labeled with the international symbol for irradiation (called the radura) and the statement “Treated with radiation” or “Treated by irradiation.”

According to a notice that will be published in the Federal Register on Apr 14, the FDA is taking comments on the rule till May 15.

Jim Hammerand of the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal reports that Health officials have identified dinner rolls as the food that likely sickened Old Country Buffet diners in Maple Grove earlier this year.

The rolls were likely cross-contaminated with Salmonella Enteritidis from raw chicken used in the restaurant, Minnesota Department of Health spokesman Doug Schultz said.

The health agency’s joint investigation with Hennepin County found 36 people who were likely sickened by the bacteria after eating at the restaurant between Jan. 11 and Feb. 11. Most of the diners who fell ill ate there Jan. 25.

At least one person was hospitalized.

“Most outbreaks are preventable: They occur] because a food worker came in ill, or because of cross-contamination. … It’s just a question of what steps should have been taken,” Schultz said. “Contamination doesn’t just happen.”

Politico covered my short talk at the Food Safety Summit:

Every step of the food chain — from manufacturers to auditors (Retailers too) — should be on its toes because who ultimately bears responsibility in foodborne illness outbreaks is a moving target, Bill Marler, a plaintiff’s attorney specializing in foodborne illness cases, warned yesterday.

Being responsible for an outbreak is already expensive for manufacturers targeted with injury-related lawsuits, but the legal landscape is changing to include more criminal prosecutions as well as increased liability for retailers and auditors, Marler told an audience of 150 food safety professionals at the Food Safety Summit, in Baltimore, Md.

The presentation resonated in the wake of the recent prosecution of Eric and Ryan Jensen, the owners of a Colorado cantaloupe farm tied to a massive Listeria outbreak in 2011. The two brothers, in January, were each sentenced to five years of probation and ordered to pay $150,000 to a fund for victims of the outbreak.

“Remember it doesn’t require intent,” Marler warned the audience, explaining that, under federal law, misdemeanor charges can technically be sought even if a food company doesn’t make anyone sick. “The Jensens could have gone to jail…even if they had just shipped contaminated food into the marketplace.”

In other words, the crime was not injuring consumers, but simply unknowingly sending contaminated food into commerce.

Here is the PowerPoint.

Food Safety News reports that a Charlotte, NC, Papa John’s outlet is to blame for a Hepatitis A scare, according to the Mecklenburg County Health Department.

Anyone who ate food from the location on March 28 and 29 should get the Hepatitis A vaccine immediately.

Officials are looking into a potential Hepatitis A outbreak from the Papa John’s location in the 8000 block of Cambridge Commons in Charlotte, near Harrisburg Road and I-485.

According to the health department, a manager at that restaurant, who recently traveled out of the country, contracted Hepatitis A and may have infected Papa John’s patrons.

Anyone who ate food from that location between March 24 and April 7 may have been exposed. About 2,400 people could have been exposed.

Clinics have been established at the Cabarrus County Health Department and Mecklenburg County Health Department on Beatties Ford Road. They will be open from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. About 5,000 vaccines have been ordered. The vaccine will work within 14 days of exposure and is free.

Hepatitis A is a liver disease that results from infection with the Hepatitis A virus. It is spread by close personal contact or from consuming contaminated food or water.  Symptoms are flu-like and may show up as gastrointestinal issues, dark urine, diarrhea, severe stomach pains and jaundice.

Sounds all too familiar:

http://www.marlerclark.com/practice_areas/view/hepatitis-a-outbreak-litigation

The CDC reported today that the investigation continues into Salmonella Heidelberg infections likely related to Foster Farms chicken.

Ongoing surveillance identified in February that infections from some of the previously rare outbreak strains again exceeded the number of infections expected to be reported to PulseNet during this time of year.

As of April 7, 2014, a total of 524 persons infected with seven outbreak strains of Salmonella Heidelberg have been reported from 25 states and Puerto Rico, since March 1, 2013.

37% of ill persons have been hospitalized, and no deaths have been reported.

Most ill persons (76%) have been reported from California.

Epidemiologic, laboratory, and traceback investigations conducted by local, state, and federal officials indicate that consumption of Foster Farms brand chicken is the likely source of this outbreak of Salmonella Heidelberg infections.

The outbreak strains of Salmonella Heidelberg are resistant to several commonly prescribed antibiotics. Although these antibiotics are not typically used to treat Salmonella bloodstream infections or other severe Salmonella infections, antibiotic resistance can be associated with increased risk of hospitalization in infected individuals.

CDC reported:

  • The number of ill persons identified in each state was as follows: Illinois (1), Indiana (1), Minnesota (2), Ohio (1), and Texas (1).
  • All six ill persons were hospitalized. One death was reported in Minnesota. In addition, one illness in a pregnant woman resulted in a miscarriage.

MMWR weighs in:  On June 27, 2013, the Minnesota Department of Health notified CDC of two patients with invasive Listeria monocytogenes infections (listeriosis) whose clinical isolates had indistinguishable pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) patterns. A query of PulseNet, the national molecular subtyping network for foodborne disease surveillance, identified clinical and environmental isolates from other states. On June 28, CDC learned from the Food and Drug Administration’s Coordinated Outbreak Response and Evaluation Network that environmental isolates indistinguishable from those of the two patients had been collected from Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese during 2010–2011. An outbreak-related case was defined as isolation of L. monocytogenes with the outbreak PFGE pattern from an anatomic site that is normally sterile (e.g., blood or cerebrospinal fluid), or from a product of conception, with an isolate upload date during May 20–June 28, 2013. As of June 28, five cases were identified in four states (Minnesota, two cases; Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, one each). Median age of the five patients was 58 years (range: 31–67 years). Four patients were female, including one who was pregnant at the time of infection. All five were hospitalized. One death and one miscarriage were reported.

Case–case analysis of Listeria Initiative* data (1) was conducted, comparing food exposure frequencies among the five outbreak-related cases identified by June 28 with food exposure frequencies in 1,735 sporadic listeriosis cases reported to CDC during 2004–2013. The analysis indicated that any soft cheese consumption during the month before illness onset was associated with outbreak-related listeriosis: five of five (100%) in the outbreak-related cases versus 569 of 1,735 (33%) in the sporadic cases (odds ratio = 10.8; 95% confidence interval = 1.8–∞).

The five patients were reinterviewed to assess their cheese exposures. All five patients had definitely or probably eaten one of three varieties of Crave Brothers soft-ripened cheese (Les Frères, Petit Frère, or Petit Frère with truffles). Three patients had purchased the cheese at three different restaurants, and two had purchased the cheese at two different grocery stores. The cheeses were shipped as intact wheels to the three restaurants and two grocery stores, where they had been cut and served or repackaged and sold to customers.

Testing at the Minnesota Department of Agriculture identified the outbreak pattern of L. monocytogenes in two cheese wedges (Les Frères and Petit Frère with truffles) collected from two different grocery stores in Minnesota. Inspection of the cheese-making facility revealed that substantial sanitation deficiencies during the cheese-making process itself, after the milk was pasteurized, likely led to contamination. On July 1, Crave Brothers halted production of Les Frères, Petit Frère, and Petit Frère with truffles. On July 3, Crave Brothers issued a voluntary recall of these products with a production date of July 1, 2013, or earlier. On July 11, the company voluntarily halted production of all cheese products manufactured at the facility. After product recall, one additional case was identified in Texas through whole genome sequencing, bringing the total case count for the outbreak to six.

This outbreak was linked to soft cheeses that were likely contaminated during the cheese-making process (2,3). Pasteurization eliminates Listeria in milk. However, contamination can occur after pasteurization. Cheese-making facilities should use strict sanitation and microbiologic monitoring, regardless of whether they use pasteurized milk.

Persons at greater risk for listeriosis, including older adults, pregnant women, and those with immunocompromising conditions, should be aware that certain soft cheeses made with unpasteurized milk, or made under unsanitary conditions, regardless of whether the milk was pasteurized, have been shown to cause severe illness. These soft cheeses include fresh (unripened) cheeses, such as queso fresco (4), and soft-ripened cheeses, such as the cheeses implicated in this outbreak.

First off, good for Tyson Foods for recalling plastic-tainted chicken nuggets.

Second, why does “extraneous materials” in a Tyson product prompt a recall, but Salmonella in a Foster Farms product does not?

FSIS posted a recall notice from Tyson Foods after it recalled 75,320 pounds of frozen, fully cooked chicken nugget products that may be contaminated with extraneous materials. The following products are subject to USDA recall:

  • 5-lb. bags of “Tyson Fully Cooked White Meat Chicken Nuggets – 16142-928” with a “Best if Used By” date of “Jan 26 2015” or Feb 16 2015.” The manufacturer codes “0264SDL0315 through 19” and “0474SDL0311 through 14” can also be found on the bags. These products were produced Jan. 26, 2014, or Feb. 16, 2014, and shipped nationwide to one retail warehouse club chain.
  • 20-lb. bulk packs of “Spare Time Fully Cooked Nugget-Shaped Chicken Breast Pattie Fritters w/Rib Meat – 16142-861” with identifying case codes of “0264SDL0315 through 19” and “0474SDL0311 through 14.” These products were produced Jan. 26 and Feb. 16, 2014, and were shipped for institutional use in Indiana and Arkansas.

The product bags bear the establishment number “P-13556.”

The problem was discovered after the firm received consumer complaints that small pieces of plastic were found in the products. The problem was traced to a product scraper inside a blending machine. Tyson has received reports of minor oral injury associated with consumption of these products.

Over the past year, CDC reported a total of 481 persons infected with seven outbreak strains of Salmonella Heidelberg in 25 states and Puerto Rico, and an earlier total of 134 persons infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Heidelberg in 13 states. Although FSIS issued a Public Health Alert following the second outbreak announcement, no recall was issued despite the chicken products being linked to Foster Farms.

Chicken with plastic = Recall

Chicken with Salmonella = NO Recall

What the hell?!

On March 26, 2014 the FDA Enforcement Report – Purely Pomegranate Recall of Pomegranate Arils dropped into my inbox.  At first I thought it was another recall, but it appears to be just FDA updating its paperwork following the recall of Townsend Farms Antioxidant Mixed Berries that included Pomegranate Arils sourced from Purely Pomegranate who sourced it from Fallon Trading who sourced it from United Juice/Goknur which became the source of the 2013 Hepatitis A Outbreak announced by the CDC.  Then I got caught up into the FDA’s website of past Goknur issues:

1.  May 26, 2004 – FDA Refusal of Concentrated Apple Juice – Mycotoxin

2.  March 4, 2010 – FDA Refusal of Apple Juice Concentrate – Adulteration

3.  March 10, 2011 – FDA Refusal of Pomegranate Concentrate – Adulteration

4.  July 13, 2011 – FDA Refusal of Organic Pomegranate Juice – Adulteration

5.  April 28, 2011 – FDA Refusal of Organic Pomegranate Juice Concentrate – Adulteration

6.  April 2, 2013 – FDA Refusal of Pomegranate Concentrate – Adulteration and Misbranding

7.  April 26, 2013 – FDA Refusal of Pomegranate Concentrate – Misbranding

8.  August 21, 2013 – FDA Refusal of Pomegranate Arils – Adulteration and Insanitary Manufacturing

It begs the questions about why Goknur seemed unable to supply the U.S. with unadulterated products and why the FDA seemed to allow the imports?  It also begs the question (given the above problems over a decade) why Fallon Trading, Purely Pomegranate and Townsend Farms continued to purchase United Juice/Goknur Pomegranate Arils?

Sprouts Farmers Market Inc. (SFM) on Friday issued a recall of store-branded organic black peppercorns, saying the product could potentially be contaminated with salmonella.

The grocery chain said the product was being recalled from all stores. No illnesses have been reported.

Sprouts said the recall was enacted after a sample taken during routine testing by the Food and Drug Administration revealed the presence of salmonella in one lot of the product.

The product is sold in a 2.12-ounce, clear glass jar and with an expiration date of October 2016, Sprouts said. Each container is identified with a label showing the Sprouts company logo and the description “Organic Black Peppercorns.”

As a precaution, Sprouts is also recalling Frontier-branded organic whole black peppercorns sold in a 16-ounce container and Simply Organic-branded whole black peppercorns sold in a 2.65-ounce jar.

KFOR News reports that several Oklahoma families have been hospitalized with E. coli infections after attending the same Oklahoma Youth Expo event at the State Fairgrounds.  While some cases are minor, some are more severe, putting one 8-year-old in ICU.

One child, Connor Sneary, has developed hemolytic uremic syndrome and is on dialysis and has received several blood transfusions and is breathing with the help of a ventilator.

See www.fair-safety.com for information on past outbreaks.