Gonzalo already blogged about the last episode of the Real Housewives of New Jersey in which the ladies were preparing for Thanksgiving. I, however, am a bit behind on my television viewing and just got to the episode today on the DVR.

Caroline’s family went to visit their daughter Lauren’s boyfriend’s family at their Italian food store, Little Italy Deli. One of the men behind the counter handed Caroline a bowl of soup with a gloved hand, and then Marco (or Vito Jr’s brother) struck this pose (right, exactly as pictured). What’s the point of wearing sanitary gloves if you’re going to rub them on your unprotected hand? Apparently there is some cultural confusion about whom the gloves protect, the food handler or the client. In food safety language this is referred to as magic glove syndrome.

A deli worker in a Duncan, B.C. Walmart (that’s in Canada) has tested positive for hepatitis A so the local health types are offering hepatitis A immunizations “to eligible members of the general public who have consumed certain deli products from the delicatessen in the Duncan Walmart.

The Vancouver Island Health Authority recommends members of the public who consumed ready-to-eat food, including sliced meat and cheese, from the delicatessen at the store between December 30, 2010 and January 4, 2011, or consumed meat or cheese sliced at the deli counter from January 5 to January 10, 2011 should receive hepatitis A vaccine as a precaution. Individuals who ate or purchased deli items after this time period are not at risk of contracting the disease.

This alert DOES NOT (sic) apply to produce or other foods purchased from the grocery department or to foods from the McDonalds restaurant located in the Walmart.

I don’t know why the press release writers think putting words in all caps will make readers pay double super-secret attention to the warning.
 

Erin Stadler was at her baby shower in North Carolina in 1997 when she at a piece of brie cheese that was contaminated with listeria. The disease made Stadler and her unborn child deathly ill.

"You don't think about eating one piece of cheese and almost dying. That's basically, what happened for both of us," said Stadler.

When Stadler went to the hospital, doctors immediately delivered baby Allison. She was premature at 33 weeks. Allison was in the hospital for two more weeks for additional tests when doctors realized how ill both Erin and Allison were.

Two pregnant women on Virgin Blue Australian flights last year gave birth prematurely after being served listeria-laden chicken wraps.

In the fall of 2008, along with the Maple Leaf listeria-in-deli-meat mess, an outbreak of listeria in cheese in Quebec led to 38 hospitalizations, of which 13 were pregnant and gave birth prematurely. Two adults died and there were 13 perinatal deaths.

A Sept. 2008 report showed that of the 78 residents of the Canadian province of British Columbia who contracted listeriosis in the past six years, 10 per cent were pregnant women whose infections put them at high risk of miscarriage or stillbirth.

The majority -- nearly 60 per cent -- of pregnant women diagnosed with listeriosis either miscarry or have stillbirths.

The authors wrote,

"Health care providers [want] better information for themselves and resources they could share with pregnant women. … The information provided to pregnant women by health care providers needs to be targeted and clear," and that as a result of the spring survey, BCCDC will start a project to better inform health care providers and their patients about food safety risks during pregnancy.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has estimated approximately 2,500 cases of liisteriosis occur annually in the United States, with about 500 cases resulting in death. In 2000, listeria exposure resulted in a higher rate of hospitalization than any other foodborne pathogen and more than one-third of reported deaths from food pathogens.

CDC has a list of foods to avoid while pregnant: deli meats or cold-cuts top the list. Health Canada has similar advice.

Which makes a report in the April 2010 edition of the journal, Canadian Family Physician, absolutely baffling.

Worse, the report was authored by the Motherisk team at the previously reputable Toronto Hospital for Sick Children.

The authors state, correctly, that the incidence of listeria “among pregnant women remains about 20 times higher compared with the general population,” but go on to state, without any references, that “pregnant women need not avoid soft-ripened cheeses or deli meats, so long as they are consumed in moderation and obtained from reputable stores.”

Here is the actual Q&A as printed in the article:

QUESTION After hearing about outbreaks of illness resulting from Listeria and Salmonella, many of my patients are wondering about the risks of food-borne illnesses during pregnancy and what they can do to reduce their chances of contracting them.

ANSWER Although heating or cooking food is the best way to inactivate food-borne pathogens, improved standards and surveillance have reduced the prevalence of contaminated foods at grocery stores. Therefore, it is no longer necessary for pregnant women to avoid foods like deli meats and soft cheeses (associated with Listeria); soft-cooked eggs (associated with Salmonella); or sushi and sashimi. Regardless of whether seafood is raw or cooked, pregnant women should choose low mercury seafood (eg, salmon and shrimp) over higher mercury varieties (eg, fresh tuna). Pregnant women should ensure that their food is obtained from reputable establishments; stored, handled, and cooked properly; and consumed within a couple of days of purchasing.

I have no idea what the authors mean by a reputable source. I have no idea how this advice got approved and published. How is it that the authors, Carolyn Tam, a graduate student in clinical pharmacology at the University of Toronto, Aida Erebara MD, and Adrienne Einarson RN, assistant director of the Motherisk Program could come up with such terrible food safety advice from the 25-year-old Motherisk program which is designed “to ensure the well-being of mothers and babies, worldwide.”

And they want donations.

Someone has already sent the editor a letter of protest.

Thanks to the barfblog.com reader who sent me the link.

Where is the unintentionally funny and still, inexplicably, Minister of Agriculture in Canada, Gerry-death-by-a-1,000-cold-cuts-and-isn’t-my-moustache-awesome Ritz as the latest listeria outbreak unfolds in Canada. He was front and center last time. How about the Canadian Food Inspection Agency? What about the Public Health Agency of Canada or Health Canada?

The Public Health Agency of Canada could not immediately say whether any listeriosis cases in other jurisdictions are under investigation for a link to Siena meats.

Can’t say or won’t say? It’s OK, you can tell me, I’m a doctor.

Canwest News Service reports that the Canadian province of Ontario is left to poke around the latest listeria mess and will now be investigating five listeria deaths for connections to Siena Meats.

Spokesman Andrew Morrison said the deaths are not linked to two previously recalled meat products from Siena Foods Ltd. which were matched, through a genetic fingerprint, to two non-fatal listeriosis cases in the province, adding,

“It’s important to note that those new products they recalled have a different genetic fingerprint than the first two. Regarding these newly recalled products, Ontario’s investigation is underway to determine any linkages to that.”

A string of reviews into the Maple Leaf listeriosis outbreak showed major gaps in the oversight of Canada’s food system and co-ordination problems with public health officials, including a report by independent investigatory Sheila Weatherill.

In her final report released last July, Weatherill — appointed by the federal government — zeroed in on a “vacuum in senior leadership” among government officials at the Public Health Agency of Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency that caused “confusion and weak decision-making.”

She also called on PHAC to take the communications lead during foodborne illness outbreaks.

Which is why it is notable the apparently poorly named Public Health Agency of Canada has once again zoned out during an outbreak.