On Dec. 8, 2011, a biz in Las Vegas had a catered lunch.

Less than a day later, a bunch of them were barfing.

The Southern Nevada Health District (SNHD) began an investigation the next day after receiving numerous reports of barfing among attendees; excerpts from their report are below.

Approximately 150 people work at Business A. Of the 63 employees who replied to the electronic survey, 50 reported they consumed food and/or drinks at the luncheon. Of the 50 luncheon attendees, 21 (42%) people met the case definition. An additional 29 people who ate at the luncheon but did not become ill served as non-case study participants. No ill person sought medical attention from a healthcare provider.

The caterer had a health card that is issued by the SNHD to food handlers. However, the caterer did not hold a catering permit issued by the SNHD, so health types don't know if the same caterer sickened others at others meals because SNDH only tracks complaints against licensed businesses.

Both the caterer and a representative from Business A reported that the caterer
arrived at 9:00 am on December 8, and lunch service started at approximately 1230 hrs
(meal start time among ill persons ranged from 1130 to 1900 hrs) (Fig. 1). The duration
of the luncheon was unknown.

The caterer reported that all foods served were pre-cooked and ready-to-eat. The ham and turkey breasts were transported to Business A in a cooler with ice. Both meats were further sliced onsite, placed in bowls and re-heated in 5-6 batches per meat in two small non-commercial microwave ovens that were provided by Business A at the catering site. The caterer reported that food batches were stirred during heating. The caterer alleged the temperature of the meat was 170°F (76.7°C) after heating, but it was unclear where the temperature was taken in the meat. Heated ham slices were pooled in one chafing pan and canned pineapple with its juice was added.

Heated turkey meat was pooled in another pan and heated canned gravy was added. The
chafing dishes containing the ham and turkey were warmed by pans of hot water that was heated with Sterno heaters. Both meats were stored in their respective chafing dishes for about 0.5 hr prior to eating, but the duration of time foods were stored in the chafing dishes was not known.

Upon collecting foods for testing, EH staff observed that leftover foods were stored in a refrigerator that displayed the temperatures of <40°F, with the bulk of the food stored in covered consumer-grade plastic containers. All remaining food in their original containers was collected for testing and included: Mashed potatoes, ham and pineapple topping, green beans, salad with fruits, and two mixed-food plates containing 1) Ham, turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans, and 2) Stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans.

I’m getting hungry.

The EH staff sent a formal notice to the caterer requiring all food operations to immediately cease and desist. They also required that the website which advertises the catering business be modified to announce that a permitted food facility will be providing the food to future events that are planned by the catering company. Additionally, EH also issued a bill to the caterer charging for the time that EH staff had spent in investigating the outbreak.

The isolation of C. perfringens was strongly suggestive that ham was the vehicle of transmission, and an error likely occurred during its re-heating and hot holding during the luncheon service. The heat generated by a small microwave oven might be insufficient to bring all portions of the ham to above 165°F (74°C) to destroy the C. perfringens bacteria. When the heating process is not evenly accomplished, the surviving C. perfringens bacteria can multiply and undergo sporulation. During the holding period where food is kept warm in covered chafing pans for extended periods of time, the spores can germinate to produce vegetative cells and multiply rapidly to large numbers. Ingestion of the bacteria during the luncheon may have resulted in further multiplication and sporulation in the intestine. The release of enterotoxin when C. perfringens sporulates can cause acute diarrhea. To prevent the proliferation of pathogens in potential hazardous food, the US FDA Food Code 2009 recommends that food that are reheated in a microwave for hot holding shall be reheated so that all parts of the food reach a temperature of at least 74oC (165oF) and the food is rotated or stirred, covered, and allowed to stand covered for 2 minutes after reheating (Section
3-403.11.B). Also, hot holding of such foods should occur at 57oC (135oF) or above
(Section 3-501.16.A1).

The majority of C. perfringens outbreaks are often the results of improperly cooled food or food held at room temperature for extended periods. Coupled with concurring epidemiological findings that the contamination and proliferation of the bacteria may have occurred at the luncheon, no further food traceback or recall action of the ham was implemented by the FDA.

Do fish tire of eating seafood?

Do fish like seafood as long as it doesn’t taste too much like fish?

Do fish care if seafood is served at Sea World?

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Australia thinks so, and wrote to Sea World manager Jeff Hughes asking for all fish dishes to be removed from the Main Beach marine park's menu, claiming it is akin to "serving poodle burgers at a dog show."

PETA Asia Pacific campaign co-ordinator Claire Fryer said the educational marine park was hypocritical for selling flake, calamari and shrimp at the Dockside Tavern and cod burgers at the Top Terrace Food Court.

Ms Fryer said the way in which fish were caught for fish farms and confined to "cramped, filthy tanks before being violently killed," was inhumane.

Sea World refused to comment and has not replied to PETA.

Translated by Albert Amgar
 

Le département de la santé de Caroline du Nord a signalé une éclosion à norovirus ces dernières semaines, permettant aux responsables de la santé de l’État d’émettre une alerte.

Plus de 125 clients d’un restaurant de Conover, Caroline du Nord, sont tombés malades à cause de norovirus mi-janvier ; la plupart des personnes ont été malades après avoir mangé au restaurant Harbor Inn Seafood, les 13 et 14 janvier, mais quelques clients sont devenus malades très récemment après avoir y mangé le 20 janvier.

Bien que l’origine de l’aliment n’ait pas été identifiée, des victimes disent que les personnes présentes à la party qui sont tombées malades après avoir mangé chez Harbor Inn Seafood, sont celles qui ont mangé de la salade composée.

Les salades peuvent être préparées par une personne qui ne se voit pas comme étant un manipulateur d’aliments. Norovirus,

spécifiquement durant les mois d’hiver, est stable dans l’environnement et peut survivre et infecter pendant des semaines après une contamination.

Des infections à norovirus peuvent avoir lieu sans symptômes.

Les personnes infectées par norovirus peuvent libérer d’importantes quantités de particules virales lors de vomissements et de diarrhées.

L’excrétion virale (présence du virus dans les selles) peut parfois durer pendant 3 semaines après que les symptômes soient terminés.

Norovirus peut persister sur des surfaces de cuisine pendant plus de six semaines.
La plupart des désinfectants pour les mains ne sont pas efficaces pour réduire norovirus.

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Police raided a Rockbank, Australia property this week with representatives from the RSPCA, Melton Shire Council, the Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) and the regulator responsible for meat safety, PrimeSafe.

"The other agencies attended the residential address in relation to information about possible wildlife and animal cruelty offences, as well as the alleged production and selling of meat," a police spokeswoman said.

An RSPCA spokesman said 22 dogs of varying breeds were found and about 100 goats, one of which had to be euthanased on humane grounds.

PrimeSafe chief executive Brian Casey said two goat carcasses were found and about 20 kilograms of sheep or goat meat was discovered in a freezer.

There was no evidence dogs had been slaughtered, he said.

In Victoria it is illegal to slaughter non-consumable animals such as dogs, horses, cats and donkeys.

"You can slaughter consumable animals [such as goats] but they must be slaughtered at a licensed abattoir," Mr Casey told AAP.

There was an exemption in place to enable farmers to slaughter edible animals on their properties for their own consumption, but the Rockbank property was not a farm, he said.

More than 45 animals were seized by DSE including 30 frogs, four central bearded dragons, a children's python and a crucifix toad, which were being kept illegally.

"A wildlife licence is required by anyone keeping and trading protected wildlife in Victoria."

A recall involving more than 150,000 pounds of eggs sold in pails for institutional use in 34 states, has caused at least two supermarket chains to issue their own recalls of prepared foods.

Late Wednesday, Minnetonka, Minn.-based Michael Foods announced an egg recall covering 24 production lot dates, up from three announced last week. The recall involves Michael Foods’ 10- and 25-pound pails of eggs in brine — 15,000 pails all together – because of potentional contamination with listeria.

There have been no confirmed reports of illness in connection with the recall by Michael Foods, the nation’s seventh-largest egg producer as ranked by the publication Egg Industry.

The recalled eggs could be carrying Listeria monocytogenes, which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people and others with weakened immune systems. It can also cause miscarriages and stillbirths. Healthy individuals can suffer high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea.

The same listeria strain struck Michael Foods three years ago and also prompted a recall. Listeria monocytogenes was found in bags of hash browns, a discovery that cost the company $2 million.

The Michael recall was initiated after lab tests by a third party revealed that some eggs may have been contaminated. The recall was expanded after the company determined that a specific repair project in a packaging room was the likely source of the potential contamination. Michael Foods said it has corrected the problem.

Doug Powell, a food safety expert at Kansas State University, told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune listeria is a relatively common bug, and is tested for “zero tolerance. So you get a lot of recalls without illnesses.”

But when listeriosis strikes, it can be a particularly fatal foodbourne illnesses with a “kill rate” of 20 percent to 30 percent in the people who contract it, Powell said. Last year, a cantaloupe-related listeria outbreak centered on a Colorado farm killed 30 people, one of the deadliest food-related outbreaks in recent years.

I still regret cuddling up to my pet turtle, but what did I know?

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control is collaborating with the Pennsylvania State Health Department in an ongoing investigation of an outbreak of human Salmonella enterica serotype Paratyphi B var. L (+) tartrate + infections associated with pet turtle exposures (MMWR, 61(04);79).

Turtles have long been recognized as sources of human Salmonella infections and are a particular risk to young children (1). Although the sale or distribution of small turtles (those with carapace lengths <4 inches [<10.2 cm]) has been prohibited in the United States since 1975 (with exceptions for scientific or educational purposes) (2), they are still available for illegal purchase through transient vendors on the street, at flea markets, and at fairs.

During August 5, 2010–September 26, 2011, a total of 132 cases of human Salmonella Paratyphi B var. L (+) tartrate + infection were reported in 18 states. The median age of patients was 6 years (range: <1–75 years), 66% were aged <10 years, and 63% were female. No deaths were reported. Of the 56 patients interviewed, 36 (64%) reported turtle exposure. For 15 patients who could recall the type of turtle contacted, 14 identified turtles too small to be legally traded. Five samples of turtle tank water from patient homes tested positive for the outbreak strain (four from Pennsylvania and one from South Carolina). Investigation to trace the source of these turtles is difficult because the vendors are transient. These cases illustrate that small turtles remain a source of human Salmonella infections, especially for young children.

Although many reptiles carry Salmonella, small turtles pose a greater risk to young children because they are perceived as safe pets, are small enough to be placed in the mouth, and can be handled as toys. Despite a 30-year ban on small turtles, this ongoing outbreak suggests that ban enforcement efforts, as well as public education efforts, have not been fully successful and should be examined.

In 2010, in response to a 2007 lawsuit filed by the Independent Turtle Farmers of Louisiana, Inc. seeking to overturn the ban, a federal district court upheld the Food and Drug Administration's authority to enforce the ban (3). Regulating the sale of small turtles likely remains the most effective public health action to prevent turtle-associated salmonellosis (4,5).

Reported by
Andre Weltman, MD, Aaron Smee, MPH, Maria Moll, MD, Marshall Deasy, Pennsylvania Dept of Public Health. Jeshua Pringle, MPH, Ian Williams, PhD, MS, Casey Barton Behravesh, DVM, DrPH, Jennifer Wright, DVM, Div of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases; Janell Routh, MD, Allison Longenberger, PhD, EIS officers, CDC. Corresponding contributor: Janell Routh, jrouth@cdc.gov, 404-718-1153.

References
CDC. Multistate outbreak of human Salmonella Typhimurium infections associated with pet turtle exposure—United States, 2008. MMWR 2010;59:191–6.
Code of Federal Regulations. Turtles intrastate and interstate requirements, 21 C.F.R. Sect. 1240.62 (2011). Available athttp://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/cfrsearch.cfm?fr=1240.62 . Accessed January 24, 2012.
Independent Turtle Farmers of Louisiana v. United States, 703 F. Supp. 2d 604 W.D. La (March 30, 2010). Available athttp://dockets.justia.com/docket/louisiana/lawdce/1:2007cv00856/103949 . Accessed January 24, 2012.
Harris J, Neil K, Barton Behravesh C, Sotir M, Angulo F. Recent multistate outbreaks of human Salmonella infections acquired from turtles: a continuing public health challenge. Clin Infect Dis 2010;50:554–9.
Cohen ML, Potter M, Pollard R, Feldman R. Turtle-associated salmonellosis in the United States. JAMA 1980;243:1247–9.

The UK Health Protection Agency (HPA) is investigating an outbreak of a strain of Salmonella Newport infection among 30 people in England, Wales and Northern Ireland since the beginning of December 2011. Cases of illness caused by the same strain have been confirmed in Scotland, Ireland and Germany.

Dr Bob Adak, head of the gastrointestinal diseases department at the HPA said: “Although it’s too soon to say with certainty what the likely cause of infection is, early indications suggest that a number of people became unwell after eating watermelon. This has also been noted in the cases in Scotland and Germany although further investigation is ongoing.

Confirmed cases:

• England - 26
• Wales - 3
• Northern Ireland - 1
• Scotland - 4
• Republic of Ireland - 5
• Germany – 15

The newest food safety infosheet, a graphical one-page food safety-related story directed at food businesses, is now available
Food Safety Infosheet Highlights:
- Norovirus outbreaks on the increase North Carolina
- Infected people can shed large amounts of norovirus in their vomit and diarrhea.
- Norovirus can persist on common kitchen surfaces for up to 6 weeks.
- Most hand sanitizers are not effective at reducing norovirus from hands.
Food safety infosheets are created weekly and are posted in restaurants, retail stores, on farms and used in training throughout the world. If you have any infosheet topic requests, or photos, please contact Ben Chapman at benjamin_chapman@ncsu.edu.
You can follow food safety infosheets stories and barfblog on twitter @benjaminchapman and @barfblog.

Click hear to download the sheet.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is asking a federal court to prevent a New York cheese manufacturer from operating because of a history of unsanitary conditions and producing cheese in a facility contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

According to a complaint for permanent injunction filed by the U.S. Department of Justice, Mexicali Cheese of Woodhaven, N.Y., and two of its officers, Edinson Vergara and Claudia Marin, produced cheese under persistent unsanitary conditions that contributed to widespread Listeria contamination in Mexicali Cheese's facility.

In addition, the complaint, filed January 30 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, says that the New York State Department of Agriculture & Markets, Division of Milk Control and Dairy Services found similar unsanitary conditions in addition to product contamination.

Inspections over the last three years, which were set off by the finding of staphylococcal bacteria in a cheese sample in 2009, have turned up a long list of violations, including equipment that was covered in harmful bacteria; flies, maggots and mold in production areas; stagnant pools of dirty water on the floor; and rodent excrement in the supply rooms, the suit said.

Telephone calls to the company were not answered on Tuesday.

Mexicali Cheese Corporation, based at 91-52 87th Street, primarily distributes Mexican-style cheese to grocers in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

Inspectors from the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets have visited the factory more than 30 times since 2009, according to the report, and F.D.A. inspectors have also made visits. Inspectors said they found listeria on a dolly used to transport cheese throughout the plant, on the aprons of food handlers and in a pool of liquid in a storage area.

During one inspection, an employee was seen putting cheese in his mouth, then continuing to work without changing his gloves. The suit also said that “employee food handlers were observed wiping perspiration from their faces with their forearms while wearing disposable gloves that only covered the hands up to the wrists, leaving bare forearms exposed and in direct contact with the ready-to-eat cheese being processed.”

In 2010, the F.D.A. found a batch of Mexicali’s “Queso Cotija” to be contaminated with staphylococcal bacteria, and the company voluntarily recalled the product. But later that year, and again in 2011, when inspectors found there was listeria in the facilities, the company would not recall the nearly 300 pounds of cheese that had been made on the day the samples were taken.

When pressed by inspectors, Ms. Marin said on both occasions that the cheese had most likely already been consumed, and that no one had reported any illness related to the product. According to the complaint, Mr. Vergara and Ms. Marin agreed that improvements to the plant were necessary, but in follow-up visits, inspectors noted that no changes had been made.

Mexicali Cheese makes and distributes a variety of soft Mexican cheeses to grocery stores and supermarkets in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Mexicali Cheese’s products include queso fresco [fresh cheese], queso oaxaca [Oaxacan cheese] and queso para freir [cheese for frying].

If entered by the court, the injunction would stop the company and its officers from manufacturing and distributing food until they can bring their operations into full compliance with the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and FDA food safety regulations.