In what could be shaping up as another wow-you-won’t-believe-what inspectors-found-once-they-looked – as in Peanut Corp. of America, DeCoster eggs, Tiny Green sprouts, Bravo Farms cheese – the recall of “Let’s Grow Healthy Together!” Alfalfa Sprouts last week because of a positive salmonella sample has been expanded because a separate test has found listeria in product.

Green Valley Food Corp. is recalling approximately 35,159 cases of a variety of products because they have the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. Random samples tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes.

The company is still yelling in ALL CAPS and writing in a dialect that would be foreign to a Texan: “Till this present day there has bee no related illnesses CONFIRMED because of this recall.”

A table of sprout-related outbreaks is available at http://bites.ksu.edu/sprouts-associated-outbreaks.

The items affected in the recall are as follows , which includes all items from the original press release from 12/23/2011:

• Let's Grow Healthy Together!” Alfalfa Sprouts 5 oz. plastic 2 piece containers with the UPC number 714722228818
• Let"s Grow Healthy Together!” Spicy Sprouts 5 oz. plastic 2 piece containers with the UPC number 714722229914
• Alfalfa Sprouts 4oz. plastic security sealed clamshell UPC number 815098001088
• Green Valley Food Corp.” Onion Sprouts” 4oz. plastic security sealed clamshell UPC number 815098002054
• Let's Grow Healthy Together!” Sunflower Greens 5 oz. plastic 2 piece containers with the UPC number 714722206069
• Let's Grow Healthy Together!” Clover Sprouts 5 oz. plastic 2 piece containers with the UPC number 714722225510
• Let's Grow Healthy Together!” Onion Sprouts 2 oz. plastic 2 piece containers with the UPC number 714722227712
• Let's Grow Healthy Together!” Zesty Sprouts 5 oz. plastic 2 piece containers with the UPC number 714722221116
• Let's Grow Healthy Together!” Organic Wheat Grass 6oz. plastic 2 piece containers with the UPC number 714722608122
• Let's Grow Healthy Together!” Mung Bean Sprouts 8oz. red polypropylene bag with the UPC number 815098001071
• Let's Grow Healthy Together!” Mung Bean Sprouts 16 oz. clear polypropylene bag with a green label, the UPC number 714722208162
• &Green Valley Food Corp. Spicy Sprouts 4 oz. plastic security sealed clamshell containers with the UPC number 815098002023
• Green Valley Food Corp.” Snow Pea Shoots 3 oz. plastic security sealed clamshell containers with the UPC number 714722106062
• “Green Valley Food Corp.” Organic Wheatgrass 4 oz. plastic security sealed clamshell containers with UPC number 714722608122
• Green Valley Food Corp.” Daikon Sprouts 3 oz. plastic security sealed clamshell containers with UPC number 714722206076
• Broccosprouts” Sandwich Blend 4 oz. plastic security sealed clamshell containers with UPC number 815098000289
• Broccosprouts” Salad Blend 4 oz. plastic security sealed clamshell containers with UPC number 815098000265
• Broccosprouts” Deli Blend 4 oz. plastic security sealed clamshell containers with the UPC number 815098000272
• Broccosprouts” Broccoli Sprouts 4 oz. plastic security sealed clamshell containers with UPC number 815098000258

The sprouts affected in this recall were distributed via truck deliveries to all customers in Texas. Our customers consist on grocery store distribution centers and food service customers.

Gourmet and food critic Michael Winner, 75, was hospitalized with E. coli poisoning after a meal of steak tartare at home in London.

"For some reason I fancied steak tartare and I had it four days in a row - the steak was bought from the best butcher in town," says Winner.

We have extensively documented that celebrity chefs know squat about food safety; we have extensively documented that self-proclaimed foodies and critics may know less; this goes to a new level of dumb.

Doctors spent four days getting the infection under control - with his wife of two months, Geraldine, bringing him specially prepared meals because he did not dare risk eating hospital food.

"I was in an ordinary NHS ward and they were quite marvellous - except for the hospital food, which you mustn't eat or you die."

Winner had to be flown back to Britain from Barbados in Sir Philip Green's private jet after he suffered a serious bout of food poisoning in 2007.

He nearly lost his left leg after being infected by the vibrio vulnificus bacteria from an oyster.

The Monterey County Health Department is advising people to avoid consuming raw or undercooked oysters (such as those that are lightly steamed, marinated, or prepared as Rockefeller).

Health types say several people reported illnesses associated with the naturally occurring bacterium Vibrio parahaemolyticu, which is most prevalent during summer months when water temperatures are most favorable for its growth.

But local restaurants say their oysters are safe. Salinas Valley Fish House Owner Tony Digirolamo said he expects fewer people ordering oysters from his restaurant.

"All people are going to hear is bad oysters so sure it's going to happen," says Digirolamo.

"Our oysters are from the state of Washington and from colder waters," says Digirolamo. "That way they aren't that susceptible to a gulf oyster where the water is warmer."
He also said, they keep tags on where their oysters are from, store them properly and buy them from reputable vendors. That's why Don Neilsen said he's not too concerned.

"My feeling is as long you stick to a restaurant that gets its oysters from a reliable source, you should be all right," says Neilsen. "I don't intend to change my eating habits. I love oysters."

For additional information on Vibrio parahaemolyticus:
Centers for Disease Control - http://www.cdc.gov/nczved/divisions/dfbmd/diseases/vibriop/
US Food and Drug Administration – Bad Bug Book - http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodSafety/FoodborneIllness/FoodborneIllnessFoodbornePathogensNaturalToxins/BadBugBook/ucm070452.htm

“A raw oyster can be like a petri dish.”

So says Dr. Roger Danziger, a Bradenton (that’s in Florida) allergist, and why bacterial infections are why restaurant menus typically caution people against eating raw seafood.

The Manatee County Health Department is investigating a local case of a bacterial infection contracted from eating oysters.

Until the investigation is complete, the department is disclosing little about the case, including the possible source of the tainted oysters or even the date of the report.

The department did identify the infection as stemming from the bacteria species Vibrio vulnificus.