South Carolina fundraiser linked to foodborne illness outbreak
The Sunnews.co reports from South Carolina that at least seven people who ate food sold Friday at a fundraiser at a Conway church have been hospitalized, officials with the state Department of Health and 
Environmental Control said Tuesday.
DHEC officials are asking that anyone who purchased any of the roughly 1,450 plates of food sold at the fundraiser to throw leftovers away and to contact their private healthcare physician if they are experiencing any symptoms.
Food safety in schools sorta sucks
Today’s USA Today has a great feature about food safety and school lunches in the U.S.
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Students at Starbuck Middle School stumbled through the halls just after lunch on Oct. 31, 2007, holding their bellies and moaning. When the vomiting began, teachers knew that it wasn't a Halloween prank.
By midafternoon, almost 70 children waited outside the nurse's office at the school near Milwaukee. "There were so many kids there, it was like, 'Holy cow!' " recalls Michael Hannes, then a seventh-grader who felt "like someone kept punching me in the stomach."
During the Racine outbreak, the scene at Starbuck was so striking that photos of a hallway full of sick kids memorialize the day in the school yearbook. In the foreground sit trash barrels; the school ran out of bags to catch the vomit.
Much about the following days typifies what happens after such outbreaks. Worried that a virus might be to blame, officials closed the school and custodians disinfected every surface; meanwhile, health and school officials tried to learn all they could about what the children ate.
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Days would pass before local health officials determined that the tortillas served at Starbuck and four other schools in Racine were to blame for 101 illnesses. An Internet search showed them the stunning particulars: The company that supplied the tortillas had a long history of making children sick.
The feature has lots more details. And is why I always helped pack the kids a lunch.
Canada reminds Canadians about the risks of eating raw sprouts - dos this mean there's an outbreak?
When Canadian bureaucrats send out a food safety press release for no apparent reason other than to remind Canadians of something it usually means there is an outbreak going on.
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Once again, it’s raw sprouts, and it’s not like it’s sprout season or something (unlike the often terrible turkey food safety advice the surfaces at Thanksgiving).
Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency are reminding Canadians that raw or undercooked sprouts should not be eaten by children, the elderly, pregnant women or those with weakened immune systems.
Sprouts, such as alfalfa and mung beans, are a popular choice for Canadians as a low-calorie, healthy ingredient for many meals. Onion, radish, mustard and broccoli sprouts, which are not to be confused with the actual plant or vegetable, are also common options.
These foods, however, may carry harmful bacteria such as Salmonella and E. coli O157:H7, which can lead to serious illness.
Fresh produce can sometimes be contaminated with harmful bacteria while in the field or during storage or handling. This is particularly a concern with sprouts. Many outbreaks of Salmonella and E. coli infections have been linked to contaminated sprouts. The largest recent outbreak in Canada was in the fall of 2005, when more than 648 cases of Salmonella were reported in Ontario.
Camp and cheeseburgers shouldn't kill - mother and son describe effects of E. coli O157 illness linked to Rhode Island camp; 'I want it to be Ponderosa night again'
Stephen Smith of the Boston Globe writes this morning,
The signs of trouble arrived deep in the night: first, bloody diarrhea, then nausea
Austin Richmond nor his mother knew it at the time, but he had been infected with a potentially lethal germ known as E. coli O157:H7. And, according to a lawsuit filed yesterday, the 11-year-old from Lincoln, R.I., caught it doing what many children do when they are away at camp, by eating a cheeseburger.
There were trips to the emergency room, trips to the doctor’s office, and initial confusion over what was causing him to be so sick. For more than two weeks, Austin, a sixth-grader, has been banished from school and not just because of his own illness. There is also concern that, because his immune system has been so ravaged battling the E. coli infection, he might prove especially susceptible to swine flu, which killed another student at Lincoln Middle School over the weekend.
Austin’s mother, Jaimee Richmond, said,
“He just wants to go back to being him. He wants to be able to play soccer. He wants to go to Boy Scouts. He wants to go back to church, which are words I never thought I would hear coming out of his mouth. … “I’m angry, I’m sad, I’m confused, I’m overwhelmed. I just want to go back to normal life. Tuesday night, it used to be Ponderosa night because it’s cheap, it’s family, the kids loved it. I just want it to be Ponderosa night again.’’
Wendy's VP says E. coli salad safe - provides no evidence
From the growing catalogue of worst things to say after an outbreak of foodborne illness, Dan Moore, the owner of the Wendy's franchise on Prospect Street in New Brunswick said yesterday,
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“The senior vice-president of Wendy's was here (on Saturday) to inspect the restaurant."
Further, all required precautions have been taken, and customers can safely eat salads, as well as any other menu items.
The Wendy’s outlet was linked to an E. coli O157 outbreak that hit four people who ate Wendy’s salads.
What any consumer would want to know is, where did the lettuce or tomatoes come from, and what kind of on-farm food safety program is being used by the producer, including water testing, testing of soil amendments, and employee sanitation. Don’t want employees wiping their butts and picking fresh lettuce; same with the Wendy’s staff.
If it only takes a senior vp to make food safe, in the absence of any evidence, then lots more food should be safe because there are lots of senior vps.
9 outbreaks, 2 dead, 130 ill from same Salmonella across UK
The Telegraph reports this morning that around 130 people have fallen ill with the same strain of Salmonella linked to poultry and eggs since August across England and Wales
Five outbreaks have been linked to oriental restaurants, three to other restaurants and one was in a care home.
Two people with the infection died in the care home, which has not been named by officials, but post mortem results have proved inconclusive about the cause of death.
Three other people have been treated in hospital, a report from the Health Protection Agency said.
But we've never had E. coli - petting zoo visitor freefall
Staff at the Stonebridge City Farm want to reassure potential visitors that the farm has never been affected by E. coli as the number of visitors continues to decline in the wake of a petting zoo outbreak that sickened 93 children.
Mark Barry, funding development worker at the farm in St Ann's, said,
"We've been quite severely affected by E.coli scare stories, but luckily, the last week has been excellent. We're E.coli free, like most city farms, and that message needs getting across."
Does that mean no illness or death has ever been connected to the farm? Does that mean the owners are routinely screening the animals for dangerous E. coli and have test results they can share with the public to bolster confidence?
The story also says that only one in 50 of all E. coli cases are linked to petting farms.
Such statistics may be factually correct but get sorta lost when 93 kids become unnecessarily sick from a leisure activity. People need to eat – they don’t need to kiss turtles and they don’t need to visit petting zoos.
All UK E. coli petting zoo kids released from hospital - illness toll remains 93
The final two children who remained in hospital following the E.coli outbreak at a Surrey farm have finally been allowed home, more than a month after the site was shut down by health officials.
The Health Protection Agency (HPA) said on Tuesday that the total number of E.coli cases linked to Godstone Farm still stood at 93, adding that "all children have been discharged from hospital."
Twin brothers Aaron and Todd Furnell, from Paddock Wood in Kent (right) underwent dialysis at St Thomas's Hospital in London after falling ill with the O157 strain of the infection following a visit to Godstone Farm.
Two-year old Aaron Furnell spent six weeks in hospital; he still has to be fed food through a tube.
The site closed on September 12, two weeks after the first case of E.coli was reported there.
A third out of 102 samples taken from animals were found to contain E.coli 0157, and the chief executive of the HPA, Justin McCracken, admitted the agency should have acted quicker in shutting the farm.
An independent investigation has been commissioned and will be led by George Griffin, professor of infectious diseases and medicine at St George’s, University of London, and chair of the advisory committee on dangerous pathogens.
Families affected will be asked if they want to have their say during the probe, which will look at how Godstone Farm was being operated, according to the standards and guidance set for open farms, and the response to the outbreak from all relevant parties.
Legal action is also being planned by some parents of children who were left seriously ill.
A spokesman for Godstone Farm said a decision on when the site will re-open could be made later this week.
He said, she said: USA Today on E. coli in ground beef
Today’s USA Today offered up its point-counter-point editorial space this morning to the persistent problem of dangerous E. coli in ground beef.
From the newspaper:
Too many Americans get sick and too many die from eating that most all-American of foods, the hamburger. …
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which has seemed confused as to whether its job is to protect consumers or producers, urges testing by hamburger makers and could require it. But it has not done so, apparently because of industry resistance. It should.
A second problem is that it's physically impossible and economically unrealistic to test every bit of meat. … Though numerous studies have shown that irradiation is safe and effective, public suspicion has helped prevent its spread. USDA, which has approved irradiation, needs to counter the myths and campaign for its wider use.
Because producers and the USDA admit that they can't guarantee germ-free meat, they urge consumers to handle ground beef carefully and cook it to 160 degrees, which kills most bacteria. That should be a last line of defense, not a primary one. You shouldn't be taking your life in your hands if the bun holds an undercooked burger.
From the government, U.S. secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack:
The following are just a few key steps USDA has taken recently:
— Launched an initiative to cut down E. coli contamination, including stepped up meat facility inspections to involve greater use of sampling to monitor the productsgoing into ground beef.
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— Appointed a chief medical officer within USDA's Food Safety Inspection Service to coordinate human health issues within USDA and build bridges with the public health community and senior leaders throughout the federal, state and local sectors to establish a consistent approach and heighten food safety awareness.
— Issued consolidated, more effective field instructions on how to inspect for E. coli O157:H7 contamination.
— Started testing additional components of ground beef, including bench trim, and issued new instructions to our employees asking that they verify that plants follow sanitary practices in processing beef carcasses.
Protecting public health is the sole mission of USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service, and we will not rest until we have eliminated food-borne illnesses, hospitalizations and deaths.
If only foodborne illness was as cute as a Kevin Bacon and Elizabeth Perkins movie.
Sick kids from petting zoo climbs to 79; parent vows never to visit farm again
Gemma Weaver, 24, of Bramley Close, has vowed to "never forgive the farm" after her three-year-old son, Alfie (right), suffered kidney failure following a visit to Godstone Farm.
“We are taking legal advice at the moment. I will never, ever be setting foot in a farm with my children again. Not just Godstone Farm but any farm."
Mrs Weaver said she still hadn't heard from (farm manager) Mr Oatway, who added,
“We will definitely be opening again. There are still ongoing investigations but we are sure we will open again."
Three more cases of E.coli linked to a children's petting farm have been confirmed - taking the number of people affected to 79.
5 sick, 1 dead in new listeria outbreak in Canada
Canadian health types can’t seem to decide whether to go public with bad health news or whether to do it just enough to cover their asses afterwards.
A press release showed up on the Public Health Agency of Canada web site dated 21.sep.09 but it didn’t show up in any of the other notification systems like e-mail or RSS feeds. No media has picked it up. Phyllis Entis of e-food alert noticed it, so good.
The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) is working with provincial and local health authorities, Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) to investigate cases of Listeria monocytogenes in Canada.
Currently, there are six cases under investigation. The six cases were caused by the same strain of Listeria monocytogenes. This strain is relatively common and it is unknown whether or not these cases are connected to the same source.
Investigation is ongoing to determine the possible cause of illness in each individual case, and to determine if there is a common source for the infections.
One of the cases has died, and listeriosis contributed to this death. … However, most healthy people exposed to Listeria are at very low risk of being affected by the bacteria.
Why do bureaucrats insist on saying listeria is low risk? I’m sure it doesn’t feel low-risk to the sick people and dead person. Just report what is being done.
Animals test positive for E. coli O157 on Godstone Farm in Surrey, now linked to illness in 67 kids
The BBC is reporting that lambs, pigs, goats, cattle, ponies and rabbit droppings at a Surrey farm at the centre of an E.coli outbreak have tested positive , with a whopping 33 of 102 samples likely to contain the O157 strain of the infection.
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The Health Protection Agency (HPA) said the total number of E.coli cases linked to Godstone Farm had risen to 67.
Eight children remain in hospital in a "stable or improving condition."
Celebrity chef dumbass: Fat Duck felled by norovirus in raw oysters; 'weaknesses in procedures - delayed response to incident'
Chapman occasionally comes up with a good line. Usually, I do all the work on a piece (at least in my mind), and he’ll put in one sentence, but it will be the one that is remembered.
Why didn’t I think of that?
Chapman described celebrity chef and molecular gastrologest Heston Blumenthal (below, right) as the love child of Alton Brown and longtime Toronto Maple Leaf hockey player Mats Sundin (right).
Why didn’t I think of that.
Blumenthal’s Fat Duck restaurant – which is consistently rated as the best in the U.K. – was the source of over 500 illnesses in early 2009. At the time, Blumenthal said, “tests for viral infections and food poisoning have proved negative and there is speculation that the winter outbreak of norovirus could be the real reason why they became sick.”
Way to blame the consumer, those paying hundreds of pounds for the privilege of barfing.
The U.K. Health Protection Agency published a report on the outbreak today that concluded:
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* There was a large outbreak of food poisoning among diners at the Fat Duck Restaurant in January and February 2009, with more than 500 reporting illness - over 15% of those dining there during this period
* The organism responsible was norovirus which was probably introduced via shellfish (more diners who ate shellfish dishes reported illness). Oysters were served raw; razor clams may not have been appropriately handled or cooked; tracing of shellfish to source showed evidence of contamination and there have been reports of illness in other establishments associated with oysters from the same source
* The outbreak continued for at least six weeks (between January 6 and February 22) because of ongoing transmission at the restaurant - which may have occurred through continuous contamination of foods prepared in the restaurant or by person-to-person spread between staff and diners or a mixture of both
* Several weaknesses in procedures at the restaurant may have contributed to ongoing transmission including: delayed response to the incident; staff working when they should have been off sick and using the wrong environmental cleaning products
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* Delays in notification of illness may have affected the ability of the investigation to identify the exact reason for the norovirus contamination
It’s the chef’s responsibility to source food from safe sources. And if the chef thinks raw shellfish is a smart thing to serve, and to have sick workers working, then, customers get what they pay for.
Evan Henke: For the Jucy Lucy and stuffed burgers, the food safety jury is still out
Evan Henke, a student at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health (right, sorta as shown), writes in this guest barfblog.com post:
During a recent trip to a Minneapolis restaurant, I ordered what is perhaps Minneapolis’s most significant contribution to the culinary world: the “Jucy Lucy.”
Legend has it that the Lucy, a hamburger with cheese stuffed inside of the beef patty before cooking (right, not exactly as shown), was invented in Minneapolis, although debate still rages as to which burger joint was the first to offer the Lucy to its customers. As I bit into the Lucy, I noticed that the center of the burger was quite undercooked, and I did not notice the use of a thermometer on the nearby grill. I immediately wondered what effect stuffing the cheese inside of the patty had on the survival of foodborne pathogens during the cooking process.
Maybe the added weight of the cheese would better insulate the side of the burger exposed to the surface grill compared to cooking a normal patty of equal thickness without flipping. Maybe any added moisture in the cheese would help kill any pathogen present in the beef, as long as the moisture was present.
But the true food safety implications of stuffing a ground beef patty with cheese or other ingredients are not well documented (left, not exactly as shown). The amounts of fat and water that escape from the cheese during cooking are not documented, and how those amounts affect the survival of foodborne pathogens present in the patty is unclear. It has been documented that E. coli O157:H7 shows increased resistance to heat in patties with higher fat and lower moisture contents[1]. It is possible that the composition of a stuffed burger, depending on the stuffing and fat and moisture content of the ground beef, could favor the survival of foodborne pathogens relative to a burger with no stuffing.
In a world of foods that taste delicious but can be deleterious to your health, the Jucy Lucy and stuffed burgers sizzle in mystery. How the addition of cheese to the center of the patty affects the survival of foodborne pathogens ought to be documented, not just for the health of my fellow Minneapolitans, but for the health of burger eaters everywhere. And of course, thermometer use is recommended whenever preparing ground beef.
The Make Your Own Jucy Lucy video is included below http://heavytable.com/make-your-own-jucy-lucy/. Warning: Conventional safe cooking technique not displayed in video.
Evan Henke is a student at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health pursuing a Master’s degree in Environmental Health. An avid fan of foodborne disease epidemiology and food safety, he spends most of his free time angering his friends with his knowledge of the food chain and careful scrutiny of food safety practices.
1. Ahmed, Nahed M., Donald E. Conner, and Dale L. Huffman. "Heat-Resistance of Escherichia Coli O157:H7 in Meat and Poultry as Affected by Product Composition." Journal of Food Science 60.3 (1995): 606-10.
11 sick in Japan with E. coli O157; steakhouse chain closes all 187 outlets
Pepper Food Service Co said Monday it has closed all of its 187 Pepper Lunch steakhouses in Japan the same day after at least 11 customers developed food poisoning to clean each outlet and ensure hygiene controls are in place.
At least 11 customers have been stricken with E. coli O157 in seven prefectures including Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto, according to the restaurant chain operator and local governments.
Kunio Ichinose, the company president, apologized, saying,
‘‘We will reopen the restaurants as soon as we are fully prepared to do so.’’
Maple Leaf listeria vp sucks as comedian
The best Canadian comedians move to the U.S. The worst apparently stay and become Minister of Agriculture or a vp at some $5.5 billion a year corporation that discovers food safety after killing 22 people.
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First it was Canadian Agriculture Minister Gerry-isn’t-my-moustache-awesome Ritz joking that he was dying by a thousand cold cuts.
Now, a Maple Leaf Foods vp is shown on YouTube, yucking it up for Canadian policy wonks in Ontario cottage country on August 8, 2009.
Every year, the witty and urbane of Canada put on their best Berkenstocks and retreat to the Couchiching conference. A barfblog.com fan e-mailed me at the time, and said via a redirected twitter post, Rory McAlpine of Maple Leaf Foods “suggests an approach to food safety that takes in the accountability of the consumer.”
At the time I thought, what an asshole. Are consumers supposed to be deep-frying their deli meats? But I had no further information, no verification, so didn’t bother blogging the story.
The video has surfaced.
I first heard this joke about the Toronto Maple Leafs, listeria and the Leafs inability to win hockey’s coveted Stanley Cup, a futility streak going back to 1967, last year.
I thought it was tasteless and said so at the time.
Guess Rory stayed in Canada, where he still may be considered funny.
So here’s Rory McAlpine, vice-president, Government and Industry Relations, Maple Leaf Foods, and former British Columbia deputy minister of Agriculture, with his rendition of, hey, my own kid got listeria from my products, what’s the big deal?
Where does foodborne illness happen--in the home, at foodservice, or elsewhere--and does it matter?
Casey Jacob did a nice job on this brief paper, responding to the suggestions of reviewers and, dare I say, developing as a writer.
Foodborne Pathogens and Disease published the abstract this evening, but not the full paper, by Jacob and Powell.
So here’s the abstract as a teaser.
Foodservice professionals, politicians, and the media are often cited making claims as to which locations most often expose consumers to foodborne pathogens. Many times, it is implied that most foodborne illnesses originate from food consumed where dishes are prepared to order, such as restaurants or in private homes. The manner in which the question is posed and answered frequently reveals a speculative bias that either favors homemade or foodservice meals as the most common source of foodborne pathogens. Many answers have little or no scientific grounding, while others use data compiled by passive surveillance systems. Current surveillance systems focus on the place where food is consumed rather than the point where food is contaminated. Rather than focusing on the location of consumption—and blaming consumers and others—analysis of the steps leading to foodborne illness should center on the causes of contamination in a complex farm-to-fork food safety system.
Salmonella and shigella: trying times for British tourists
This isn’t a Chevy Chase-John Candy (right) kind of vacation.
The widow of an elderly British tourist who died after falling ill with salmonella poisoning at a luxury Italian hotel has called for better safety standards at holiday resorts.
The Birmingham Post reports that Jean Appleyard and her husband, Geoffrey, aged 71, were staying at the four-star Grand Hotel in the Gardone resort on the shores of Lake Garda last year when both began to suffer from fever and stomach pains.
An inquest at South Worcestershire Coroners’ Court yesterday recorded a verdict of misadventure after hearing evidence that the salmonella poisoning Mr Appleyard contracted contributed to his death.
Coroner Geraint Williams said:
“Although the hotel seemed very picturesque, there was a very dark side in the kitchen and cellars where there was a virulent contamination of salmonella in the foodstuffs. This was served to the guests and, as a consequence, a large number became ill. Mr Appleyard died because he was not able to withstand this infection.”
The Italian authorities confirmed that salmonella was detected at the hotel.
Mrs Appleyard said,
“We went to the Grand Hotel for a luxury holiday. It is simply appalling that we fell ill and Geoffrey contracted something as serious as salmonella at a hotel like that. Tour operators have to ensure they are doing everything they possibly can to make sure holidaymakers are protected from outbreaks like this.”
Meanwhile, The Independent reports that 50-year-old Julian Hurley from South Yorkshire, U.K., said he was delighted today after being awarded nearly £300,000 compensation from tour operator First Choice following his diagnosis of shigella after eating "poor-standard" food at an all-inclusive hotel in Venezuela in August 2004.
Mr Hurley said.
"When we went to the hotel restaurant I tried a variety of different dishes, which included cooked meats. The food was of an extremely poor standard, a lot of the dishes were undercooked and some of them were almost cold. The impact that this hellish holiday has had on our lives has been devastating. I now struggle to walk long distances and find myself getting tired easily. I am still suffering from symptoms to this day and will do for the rest of my life, which has been very difficult to come to terms with.”
Canada: Salmonella in sprouts, people are probably sick
The last time the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said in a press release, “There are no confirmed illnesses associated with the consumption of these products,” 22 Canadians died and 53 were sickened with listeria. A cursory glance at CFIA press releases shows that when there are no sick people, CFIA will say, “there are no reported illnesses.”
So when CFIA announced a few minutes ago that it and Sunsprout Natural Foods are warning the public not to consume certain varieties of Sprouts Alive and Sun Sprout brands that contain onion sprouts because they may be contaminated with Salmonella and that, “There are no confirmed illnesses associated with the consumption of these products,” expect the sick to surface.
As best as I can tell, “no confirmed illnesses” means there is epidemiological evidence linking these sprouts and sick people, but CFIA doesn’t really believe in epidemiology, so they wait for the stagecoaches to go to the lab in Winnipeg and back with test results, before worrying people about some silly Salmonella. Or at least that’s what came out of the various listeria outbreak reports.
The Sunsprout Natural Foods involved in this recall is based in my hometown of Brantford, Ontario. I wonder if they have any relationship with SunSprout Enterprises Inc., of Omaha, Nebraska, that recalled Salmonella-contaminated sprouts in the U.S. Midwest in March 2009 after the sprouts made about 80 people barf.
The products in the current recall were distributed in Ontario and the Maritimes, and may have been sold in Quebec.
All Best Before codes up to and including August 27, 2009 of the following products are affected:
Brand
Product
Size
UPC
Sprouts Alive
Baby Onion Sprouts
70 g (2.5 oz)
0 69022 00032 0
sun sprout
Alfalfa & Onion Sprouts
135g (4.76 oz)
0 57621 13506 2f
UK E. coli fish bar scored zero for hygiene
The BBC reports that Llay Fish Bar in Wrexham, suspected as the source of an E. coli O157 outbreak that has left a new mother on life-support and a 3-year-old with renal failure, received zero out of five in a 2008 hygiene inspection.
The Llay Fish Bar has been closed by local council -- but only since the severe illnesses emerged.
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Blowing (food) chunks on vacation
Amy, Sorenne and I are hanging out in Venice, Florida, and I do most of the cooking. Lots of fresh fruits and veggies from the neighborly Publix supermarket, and I even bought a digital, tip-sensitive meat thermometer from Target because I just feel naked cooking without one.
Others aren’t so fortunate, I guess.
A group called HolidayTravelWatch, somewhere in the European Union, has just published its top-20 appalling holiday complaints and problems. Included in this year’s list:
1. Family holiday to Egypt where a child was struck down by severe food poisoning, hospitalization and subsequent scalding in the hotel restaurant.
2. Family holiday to Turkey found that most of their group were ill, they were diagnosed as suffering with Salmonella and Cryptosporidium.
12. One family reported that they had returned from Turkey and their daughter had been diagnosed with Salmonella - they report that many people were ill at the hotel.
15. Holidaymakers to one hotel in Egypt reported sewage smells on the complex, gardens irrigated by stagnant water, food lukewarm, drinks served through a hatch and not via sealed bottles - they suffered severe gastric illness which still continues.
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17. One family to Egypt suffered with food undercooked, poor chef hygiene practices (one chef was seen to handle bloody meat then touch other food), flies on the food in the pool bar, sewage smells in bathroom, cracks on the balcony and they are suspected as suffering with Cryptosporidium.
20, One couple’s trip to Egypt was marred by building work, diarrhoea on the public toilet walls, diarrhoea in the restaurant. They both suffered severe illness and weight loss - they are still ill.
Six children infected with E. coli in Colorado
The Mountain Mail reports that local and state medical officials Tuesday confirmed six children in Chaffee County have been infected with Escherichia coli in the incident that began earlier in July.
With the incubation period for the bacteria nearing its end, Chaffee County Public Health Nurse Susan Ellis said Tuesday no new cases have been reported since about July 14.
She said 30 people will have been tested by Friday as investigators continue to seek the source of contamination.
Ellis said DNA from stool samples is being examined at the state laboratory in Denver. DNA samples from two of the children, she said, were identified as matching.
MarlerBlog: Dave Theno had it right - Secretaries Vilsack and Sebelius should pay attention
Bill Marler writes:
Lauren Beth Rudolph (below, right) died on December 28, 1992 in her mother’s arms due to complications of an E. coli O157:H7 infection - Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome. She was only 6 years, 10 months, and 10 days old when she died. Her death, the deaths of three other children, and the sicknesses of 600 others, were eventually linked to E. coli O157:H7 tainted hamburger produced by Von’s and served at Jack in the Box restaurants on the West Coast during late 1992 and January 1993. Roni Rudolph, Lauren’s mom, I have known for 16 years.
Dave Theno became head of Jack in the Box’s food safety shortly after the outbreak. I too have known Dave for 16 years. However, I only learned recently a significant fact about Dave – one that made me admire him even more – one that I think, not only that all leaders in corporate food safety should emulate, but one that both Secretaries Vilsack and Sebelius should pay attention too.
Dave and I shared the stage at the Nation Meat Association annual convention a few months ago. The NMA is an association representing meat processors, suppliers, and exporters. Dave, spoke just before I did and was rightly lauded as someone who takes food safety to heart. However, it was his story about Lauren Rudolph and his relationship with Roni that struck me. Dave told the quiet audience about Lauren’s death. Dave also told us that the death of Lauren and his friendship with Roni had changed him. He told us all that he had carried a picture of Lauren in his brief case everyday since he had taken the job at Jack in the Box. He told us that every time he needed to make a food safety decision – who to pick as a supplier, what certain specifications should be – he took out Lauren’s picture and asked, “What would Lauren want me to do?”
I thought how powerful that image was. The thought of a senior executive holding the picture of a dead child seeking guidance to avoid the next possible illness or death is stunning, but completely appropriate. I wonder if Secretaries Vilsack and Sebelius do anything similar when they do their work on President Obama’s Food Safety Working Group? If they do not, perhaps they should?
Secretaries Vilsack and Sebelius right now there are hundreds of families struggling right now due to illnesses and death related to food that you oversee that has been tainted with E. coli O157:H7.
Yesterday, I spent time with a family in South Carolina whose 4 year old ate cookie dough and suffered months of hospitalizations, weeks of dialysis and seizures. She faces a lifetime of complications. And, there is a woman in Nevada who is still hospitalized, who has lost a portion of her large intestine, was on dialysis until a few days ago. She faces months if not years of rehabilitation.
Both ate cookie dough that was watch over by Secretary Sebelius’s FDA.
Today I sat across the kitchen table with a family who lost their only daughter because she died from an E. coli O157:H7 infection from meat inspected by Secretary Vilsack’s USDA/FSIS. I then visited families in a Cleveland hospital whose children are struggling in their battle against Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome – again E. coli O157:H7 tainted hamburger is to blame.
Secretaries Vilsack and Sebelius you should be like Dave Theno. Run your departments like Dave ran food safety at Jack in the Box. Go meet these families. Sit across their kitchen tables. Go to their child’s hospital room and see more tubes and wires than you can count. Understand what these people have lived though. Take their stories into your heart. It is hard, very hard, but it will give you a real reason to do your jobs.
Guidelines for foodborne disease outbreak response
Proving there is a Council for everything, the Council to Improve Foodborne Outbreak Response released its Guidelines for Foodborne Disease Outbreak Response today.
The guidelines in this document are targeted to local, state and federal agencies and provide model practices used in foodborne disease outbreaks, including planning, detection, investigation, control and prevention. Local and state agencies vary in their approach to, experience with, and capacity to respond to foodborne disease outbreaks. The guidelines are intended to give all agencies a common foundation from which to work and to provide examples of the key activities that should occur during the response to outbreaks of foodborne disease. The guidelines were developed by a broad range of contributors from local, state and federal agencies with expertise in epidemiology, environmental health, laboratory science and communications. The document has gone through a public review and comment process.
The Guidelines document is not intended to replace current procedure manuals for responding to outbreaks. Instead, it is designed to be used as a reference document for comparison with existing procedures; to fill in gaps and update site-specific procedures; to provide models for new procedures where they do not exist; and to provide training to program staff. The document is available in electronic and hard-copy formats for state and local health departments.
18 sick with E. coli O157:H7 linked to Swift Beef
Sigh. Another E. coli O157:H7 outbreak, with at least 18 suspected cases in the U.S. linked to beef produced by JBS Swift Beef Company, a Greeley, Colo., establishment that is voluntarily expanding its June 24 recall to include approximately 380,000 pounds of assorted beef primal products.
The beef products were produced on April 21, 2009 and were distributed both nationally and internationally.
Each box bears the establishment number "EST. 969" inside the USDA mark of inspection as well as the identifying package date of "042109" and a time stamp ranging from "0618" to "1130." However, these products were sent to establishments and retail stores nationwide for further processing and will likely not bear the establishment number "EST. 969" on products available for direct consumer purchase. Customers with concerns should contact their point of purchase.
The recalled products include intact cuts of beef, such as primals, sub-primals, or boxed beef typically used for steaks and roasts rather than ground beef. FSIS is aware that some of these products may have been further processed into ground products by other companies. The highest risk products for consumers are raw ground product, trim or other non-intact product made from the products subject to the recall.
Travel agents: if people are barfing at a resort, don't keep sending more tourists
A 48-year-old teaching assistant from Crayford, and a family from Broadstairs are among more than 500 British tourists who won compensation for a nightmare Caribbean holiday at the Bahia Principe Hotel in the Dominican Republic (below, left) in 2007.
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According to media accounts, the holiday companies continued sending guests to the hotel despite a major outbreak of Shigella and Salmonella which lasted for months.
"My husband couldn't reach the toilet when we were there. I went down to reception to tell them to call a doctor and they said put a nappy on him to take him to the medical centre. … Some people had to have new mattresses because they hadn't made it to the toilet in time. There were children screaming all over the place and pregnant women."
Tracey Chambers, 43, said,
“People were being sick in the swimming pool and the toilets were all blocked up. Lots of people were being sick. We were told to watch what we ate because there was bug going round. … My dad had to be put on a drip because he was dehydrated and couldn’t take on enough water. They were charging 40 dollars for a trip to the hospital.”
Other guests were diagnosed with shigella, giardia, salmonella and E coli, thought to have come from food dressings.
A spokesperson for Thomas Cook said,
"We are pleased that the majority of legal cases have now been settled and we want to be able to reassure all our customers that we work with our hotel partners to continually monitor the hygiene standards in their properties."
CDC speaks: Surveillance for U.S. foodborne disease outbreaks, 2006
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control reports in tomorrow’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report that foodborne illnesses are a major health burden in the United States . Most of these illnesses are preventable, and analysis of outbreaks helps identify control measures. Although most cases are sporadic, investigation of the portion that occur as part of recognized outbreaks can provide insights into the pathogens, food vehicles, and food-handling practices associated with foodborne infections.
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In 2006, CDC reported 1,270 foodborne disease outbreaks (FBDOs) from all states and territories through the Foodborne Disease Outbreak Surveillance System (FBDSS), resulting in 27,634 cases of foodborne illness and 11 deaths. Among the 624 FBDOs with a confirmed etiology, norovirus was the most common cause, accounting for 54% of outbreaks and 11,879 cases, followed by Salmonella (18% of outbreaks and 3,252 cases). Among the 11 reported deaths, 10 were attributed to bacterial etiologies (six Escherichia coli O157:H7, two Listeria monocytogenes, one Salmonella serotype Enteritidis, and one Clostridium botulinum), and one was attributed to a chemical (mushroom toxin).
Among outbreaks caused by a single food vehicle, the most common food commodities to which outbreak-related cases were attributed were poultry (21%), leafy vegetables (17%), and fruits/nuts (16%). Public health professionals can use this information to 1) target control strategies for specific pathogens in particular foods along the farm-to-table continuum and 2) support good food-handling practices among restaurant workers and the public.
From France to Kansas City: foodborne illness in schools
Several headmasters from the Haute-Garonne and Tarn primary schools in France simultaneously informed the health authorities of the occurrence of digestive disorders of low severity among students.
A retrospective cohort study, conducted through self-administered questionnaires among approximately 3,000 students and teachers who had participated in two meals in 36 schools concerned, was initiated to confirm the existence of a foodborne outbreak and its origin. …
This large-scale foodborne outbreak illustrates the main factors that encourage the occurrence of foodborne outbreaks (multiple malfunctions in the preparation of meals), and stresses the importance of associating the epidemiological, veterinary and microbiological investigations in the early management of the alert, as well as the first management measures (eviction of sick personal) to avoid major consequences in collective catering.
Meanwhile in Missouri, two Lee's Summit kindergarten students have been hospitalized with salmonella.
The kids, a boy and a girl, have been enrolled in Richardson Kids Country during the school year. The Health Department has not determined if their illness is related to the school.
Grocers claim audits reduce foodborne illness; no evidence provided
Two weeks ago, the U.S. Grocery Manufacturers Association came out with a whopper that no one seems to have noticed.
In a press release intended to highlight private sector initiatives to bolster food safety – which I’m all for, they make the profit, they should shoulder the burden when they make their customers barf – GMA said,
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“Ultimately, wider use of third party certification/audits will reduce the risk of food-borne illnesses.”
There is absolutely no evidence to support that statement.
In case there is some confusion, here is the statement in full:
Third party audits are an important part of America’s food safety net. To ensure rigor and integrity in third party certification, policymakers and industry leaders should encourage the engagement of auditors employed by certification bodies accredited to international standards by recognized organizations such as the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). … By increasing the number of well-qualified auditors and developing universal food safety auditing criteria, industry leaders and policymakers will ensure that auditors are competent to review a particular facility, discourage duplicative audits, reduce auditing costs, and encourage wider use of third party certification/audits throughout the food industry. Ultimately, wider use of third party certification/audits will reduce the risk of food-borne illnesses.
I’ve been hearing such statements for 15 years, and while it sounds good, I’ve seen little evidence to back such proclamations. As I’ve written before,
The third-party food safety audit scheme that processors and retailers insisted upon is no better than a financial Ponzi scheme. The vast number of facilities and suppliers means audits are required, but people have been replaced by paper. Audits, inspections, training and systems are no substitute for developing a strong food safety culture, farm-to-fork, and marketing food safety directly to consumers.
If someone barfs, they’re going to go after the biggest name they can find, whether it’s a retailer or a processor. So protect that brand. Have your own people and some institutional expertise to assess food safety risks. And avoid unsubstantiated statements.
Ajax shouldn't go in DQ shakes; windshield wiper fluid is not Kool-Aid for kids
An employee of a Ferndale, Washington, Dairy Queen says she “accidentally” poured Ajax into the malt dispenser, sickening two customers, according to court documents.
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Detectives obtained surveillance video and saw the employee, Dale, pouring the Ajax into the malt dispenser, documents said.
Meanwhile, officials at an Arkansas hospital reported Friday that 10 children drank windshield wiper fluid after a staffer at an Arkansas day care mistakenly put the liquid in a refrigerator and served it.
A hospital toxicologist said,
"All we know was that the individual at the day care had recently shopped and had come back to the day care with a lot of different products. This product was mistakenly grabbed and thought to be Kool-Aid and put in the refrigerator."
Hamburgers in France, steak tartare in the Netherlands linked to shiga-toxin E. coli
Epidemiological studies conducted in France show that beef burger consumption is the main risk factor of a serious disease caused by Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli bacteria or STEC.
A quantitative risk assessment for the consumption of beef burgers containing STEC by the Agence Francaise De Securite Sanitaire Des Aliments concluded that almost 50% of children under the age of 5 eat well-done beef burgers (as well as 29% and 24% of 5-10 year olds and 10-15 year olds respectively). The proportion of beef burgers consumed rare increases with the children’s age: 10%, 17% then 20% for each of the age groups defined (under 5, 5-10 year olds and 10-15 year olds). Regarding the effectiveness of cooking (a frozen beef burger being pan-fried and turned over once), it should be noted that cooking “rare” is associated with a percentage of STEC destruction of 0% to 87% ; “medium” 37% to 96% and “well done” 94% to 99.8%. Concerning the consumption habits that prevail in French households today, these results highlight the importance of the length of cooking on STEC destruction (currently not enough), and the hygiene of beef burger production.
A place to start might be to accurately define what rare, medium and well-done actually mean, as quantified by time and temperature
Eurosurveillance reports that the Netherlands experienced a nationwide outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O157 with onset of symptoms from the end of December 2008 until the end of January 2009. A total of 20 laboratory-confirmed cases were linked to the outbreak strain, serotype O157: H-, stx1, stx2, eae and e-hly positive. The investigation into the source of this outbreak is still ongoing, but evidence so far suggests that infection occurred as a result of consuming contaminated raw meat (steak tartare).
Metal man taken down by bad oyster
Metal Underground – it’s my favorite source for news of all things Metal -- reports Metallica frontman James Hetfield was recently taken to hospital after suffering from a stomach bug.
"James here, alive, at about 80% but getting better. I want to say sorry for missing the second Stockholm gig on Sunday due to illness. The cause/diagnosis at the hospital was narrowed down to either a 24 hr virus or a bad oyster...yes, hate to admit, an oyster could have taken me down.
"I acknowledge and apologize for any inconvenience this has caused fans who had travelled near and far for the show. I had done everything possible to make it, and was at the point of falling if I stood up. On a lighter note since my illness, the support band 'Swedish Oyster Cult' will be thrown off the tour. More Cowbell?...More barf bagz!!”
C.C. Sabathia returns after missing time with virus
What is going on in the baseball spring training facilities? MLB.com and ESPN.com reported yesterday that the Yankees Pitcher and big-time free agent signee, C.C. Sabathia missed time over the weekend with an intestinal virus.
Yankee's Manager Joe Girardi was quoted as saying: "He said he wanted to throw his BP and he ended up throwing up again"
C.C. came back on Sunday and reportedly looked pretty decent against Yankee sluggers Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira.
Sabathia had been scheduled to pitch Saturday, but he was unable to make it to the mound, fighting a virus that he acquired from his children, who had been ill earlier in the week.
Probably a good idea for the Yankees (and maybe all MLB staff) to take a look at our cleaning up vomit/norovirus food safety infosheet.
Update: Sounds like the Astros and Giants also have some virus control issues.
67 sick from raw milk cheese in Kansas
For all the fawning media coverage and energy expended, I figured there would be millions of Americans drinking raw milk.
A story in the Dayton Daily News pegs the number at 500,000.
That’s nothing when it comes to food dollars. And there are reasons why the numbers are so low. As the U.S. Centers for Disease Control reported in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report today,
“On October 26, 2007, a family health clinic nurse informed the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) that Campylobacter jejuni had been isolated from two ill persons from different families who were members of a closed community in a rural Kansas county. By October 29, 17 additional members of the community had reported gastrointestinal illness and visited the clinic within a week. All 19 persons reported consuming fresh cheese on October 20 that was made the same day at a community fair from unpasteurized milk obtained from a local dairy.
"This report summarizes the findings of an investigation by KDHE and the local health department to determine the source and extent of the outbreak. Eating fresh cheese at the fair was the only exposure associated with illness (relative risk [RR] = 13.9). Of 101 persons who ate the cheese, 67 (66%) became ill. C. jejuni isolates from two ill persons had indistinguishable pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) patterns, and the isolate from a third ill person was nearly identical to the other two. Although all samples of cheese tested negative for Campylobacter, results of the epidemiologic investigation found an association between illness and consumption of fresh cheese made from unpasteurized milk. To minimize the risk for illness associated with milkborne pathogens, unpasteurized milk and milk products should not be consumed."
Dog treats continue to sicken in U.S., Australia
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) continues to caution consumers of a potential association between the development of illness in dogs and the consumption of chicken jerky products also described as chicken tenders, strips or treats.
FDA continues to receive complaints of dogs experiencing illness that their owners or veterinarians associate with consumption of chicken jerky products. The chicken jerky products are imported to the U.S. from China. FDA issued a cautionary warning to consumers in September 2007.
Australian news organizations report the University of Sydney is also investigating an association between illness in dogs and the consumption of chicken jerky in Australia. At least one firm in Australia has recalled their chicken jerky product and the recall notification stated the chicken jerky product was manufactured in China.
FDA believes the continued trend of consumer complaints coupled with the information obtained from Australia warrants an additional reminder and animal health notification.
Chicken jerky products should not be substituted for a balanced diet and are intended to be used occasionally and in small quantities. Owners of small dogs must be especially careful to limit the amount of these products. … FDA has conducted extensive chemical and microbial testing but has not identified any contaminant.
Dry pet food sickening humans with Salmonella
Kansas State University president Jon Wefald likes my dogs.
Four times a week, I walk Amy to her office, and we pass by the admin types in Anderson Hall, which is next door to Amy’s building.
Yesterday was typical. President Wefald was standing in his corner office and gave a big wave to Amy and me and the dogs as we walked by.
President Wefald is great. Despite insisting the K-State will never have a hockey arena, he is always interested in the latest food safety news. He even subscribes to our food safety infosheets.
A few weeks ago as I was walking the dogs, Pres and I got to talking about human cases of Salmonella linked to dry dog food. The Pres kept asking how humans got the Salmonella and I sensed my explanation wasn’t sufficient.
Maybe this will help.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control yesterday said that Salmonella-contaminated dry pet food sickened at least 79 people, including many young children, and could still be dangerous.
Dry pet food has a 1-year shelf life. Contaminated products identified in recalls might still be in the homes of purchasers and could cause illness. Persons who have these products should not use them to feed their pets but should discard them or return them to the store," the CDC said in its weekly report on death and disease.
The brands, made by Mars Petcare U.S., include Special Kitty, Pedigree and Member's Mark, among others. The full list of brands affected was available on www.petcare.mars.com.
The CDC report says,
"Consumers and health departments should be aware that all dry pet food, pet treats, and pet supplements might be contaminated with pathogens such as Salmonella, and consumers should use precautions with all brands of dry pet food, treats, and supplements.”
The CDC recommends that anyone handling dry pet food wash the hands and keep infants away from it.
Raw milk crusader Michael Schmidt: A thoroughly modern Marie Antoinette
Amy and I went to Versailles last summer while touring around France, and I’ve seen that Marie Antoinette movie so I consider myself well-versed in the French aristocracy of the late 18th century.
Toronto Globe and Mail columnist John Doyle explored the same themes this morning in a review of a documentary about Ontario raw milk crusader Michael Schmidt which is being broadcast tonight on Wallyworld – sorry, Newsworld, Canada’s cable news program.
It's a fascinating documentary with many passionate declarations on whether farmers should be allowed to sell raw milk and the public should be allowed to consume it. It's rich in irony.
It's also an enraging program, largely because the real issue is the existence of the urban bourgeoisie's delusion of invincibility, ignorance about science and tendency to posture in order to justify selfishness.
Schmidt himself is a fascinating character, self-mythologizing relentlessly and shrewdly. He's always in a hat or cap and presents himself as an artist. No doubt his little farm is clean and well-run, but when Schmidt and his cabal of celebrity-chef supporters appear together and prattle on about taste and claim to be against "big business," they're just nitwits. …
The vulnerability of children is a key issue. Sure, adults are entitled to choice - but allowed the choice of giving unpasteurized milk to children, who have no choice? Call me peculiar, but the safety of children has nothing to do with the "nanny state" interfering in some alleged gourmand's taste for dangerous foods. One reason the nanny state exists is to protect the young, the elderly and the vulnerable. …
Watching Schmidt and his supporters, I was reminded of the one of the phenomena of the Romantic period in Europe - all those pastoral elegies of the 1700s, in which the poet idealizes rustic life, especially the shepherd, for the enjoyment of aristocrats.
That phenomenon peaked, I suppose, in France, in the late 18th century, when it was a fad at the French court to play at being part of the pastoral world. Marie Antoinette liked nothing better than to pretend she was a shepherdess (that's her Versailles farmhouse, right and below). It was an indulgent fantasy, very far removed from the reality of rustic life. Then came the Revolution. And little wonder. The raw-milk issue is about today's Marie Antoinettes.
Food workers: If you're sick, stay at home
The Delaware County Health Department and others in Indiana are starting to crack down on food establishments that lack a policy of excluding employees from work if they have one of five illnesses.
The Star Press reports that during recent inspections, the county health department instructed the following establishments to have an employee illness/infection control policy in place by January: Gene's Lounge, Pilot/Subway in Daleville, McDonald's in Daleville, Byrd's Landing Bar and Grill, Cowan Elementary and High schools, Central High School, Daleville Elementary and High schools and Papa John's on Madison Street.
Robert Murphy, manager of the Fazoli's in Muncie, said,
"We have posted something in back that lets all employees know what the new policy is. It's really a good idea to post it so everybody knows about it. The flu season will be coming up before you know it."
Keith Ramsey, manager of MCL Cafeteria at Muncie Mall, said,
"We are in business to serve good, wholesome-cooked food to nourish bodies. If people are sick, they need to stay home."
The state health department says food service operators might not be comfortable discussing "private" matters like diarrhea, vomiting and boils, but for the spread of disease to be prevented, illnesses and symptoms must be discussed.
Someone says they're sorry; Harvey's president apologizes
Harvey's Canada president Rick McNabb said Tuesday at a North Bay, Ontario, hotel that he’s sorry for the E. coli O157:H7 outbreak that has now stricken 190 people, of which 36 are laboratory confirmed.
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". . . On behalf of our company, I just want to say how sorry we are that something happened here, despite the fact that we don't know what it is, but it's clear we were associated with it."
McNabb said the local franchise operator, Cindy Gibb, is distraught and this is overwhelming for her.
I speak to her daily," he said. She's hurt, sorry and scared. The best-case scenario for everyone is to find the source."
The human face of foodborne illness - Maple Leaf listeria edition
Robert Cribb of the Toronto Star writes this morning that,
“In the end, Frances Clark's unfocused gaze never moved as she desperately gasped for air.
“The listeria-tainted meat served to her in a Belleville-area hospital and again in a nursing home this summer was ravaging her 89-year-old body. She began losing breath altogether. Seizures came. And then, on Aug. 25, days after she allegedly ate Maple Leaf cold cuts from a Toronto plant, she died.
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“Details of Clark's death and the deaths of two others are documented in affidavits filed in court this week as part of a planned class-action lawsuit against the food giant in six provinces, including Ontario. The graphic accounts written by family members of the deceased describe gradual deterioration from flu-like symptoms to fading consciousness and struggles for air.” …
"It was the most disturbing sight," recalls Clark's daughter, Karen, who was at her bedside. "She was ... gasping, like a fish out of water ... Maple Leaf has to understand this is not acceptable. It hurts real families." …
"A second affidavit focuses on the case of Jeaninne Jacques, 69, who died July 28 after eating Maple Leaf ham. Her daughter, Linda Gosselin, said blood test results confirmed listeriosis was the cause of death. Tests filed in court confirm this.
"It is frustrating to think my mother passed away due to the negligence of Maple Leaf. ... I believe (Maple Leaf) should be held accountable and their behaviour should change so that no one will suffer like this again."
Maple Leaf was given the OK to start selling deli meats from its Toronto plant yesterday.
'Razors in my stomach' The human face of Harvey's E. coli outbreak
Steve Carleton dubbed himself "Number 6" because when he was overcome with fierce stomach cramps last week and admitted to a northern Ontario hospital, health-care workers started numbering the beds.
While he jokes now that he "beat the rush," the 22-year-old North Bay police constable turns serious when recalling his bout with E. coli during an outbreak that, as of Sunday, may have sickened upwards of 159 people, mostly in his home town.
"It was like I had razor blades rolling around in my stomach, it was so excruciating," Carleton said.
"The pains were enough (that) you couldn't stay in bed or sit down, because you'd sit down and it'd hit you again and you'd be up and it'd give you that urge and you'd have to run to the washroom again."
Carleton spent four, IV-drip-fuelled days recovering in hospital. He said he had earlier eaten a bacon cheeseburger at one of the busiest Harvey's restaurants in the area.
"I consider myself pretty fit, and a healthy all around person," said Carleton, who exercises several times a week. "I couldn't imagine an elderly person, or even a young child, being able to fight their way through it."
Harvey's restaurant in North Bay, Ontario, focus of E. coli outbreak
The North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit in Ontario, Canada, is investigating a number of possible food sources related to seven laboratory confirmed cases of E. coli O157:H7 and an additional 20 illnesses.
Dr. Catherine Whiting, Medical Officer of Health, North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit, said that many cases were traced back to Harvey’s restaurant located at 1899 Algonquin Avenue in North Bay, adding,
“To protect the health of the public, and based on initial analysis, I ordered the closure of the Harvey’s restaurant on Algonquin on Sunday evening at 9 pm as a precautionary measure. At that time, our health inspectors conducted a thorough inspection of the premises and collected food samples for testing. Until we receive the lab results, we cannot confirm the source of the E. coli contamination. At this point in the investigation, it appears to have been limited to this North Bay location.”
The Health Unit continues to investigate all possible food sources and Harvey’s is cooperating fully with the investigation.
Harvey’s President Rick McNabb said,
“The health and safety of our guests is our most important priority. We are cooperating fully with the Health Unit to determine the cause, and we take this matter very seriously.”
For more information, visit the Health Unit’s web site at www.healthunit.biz or call (705) 474-1400, or 1-800-563-3808.
E. coli O111 can kill
Reporter Julie Schmit says in today’s USA Today that 20-month-old Braylee Beaver, was one of 314 people sickened in August by E. coli O111 in Locust Grove, Oklahoma. A 26-year-old died in the outbreak.
Braylee’s father, Jake Beaver, said after her 12-day hospital stay (family hoto from USA Today, right),
"I didn't know E. coli could do this. I just thought people got a little sick."
Dana and Rick Boner of Monroe, Iowa, also thought their daughter, Kayla, had a regular bug last year when she fell ill on her 14th birthday. Kayla died 11 days later because of an E. coli O111 infection — the cause of which was never determined — her mother says.
"I didn't even know there were any other strains but O157. … I want people to know there are other strains. How could my child be the only person who got this?"
From 1990 to 2007, O111 was linked to 10 reported illness outbreaks in the U.S., the CDC says. Four of the 10 were linked to food. Before the Oklahoma outbreak, in which one person died, the biggest O111 outbreak happened in New York in 2004. Unpasteurized apple cider was blamed for 212 illnesses.
E. coli O111 is a Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, or STEC. It is one of a handful of non-O157 STECs that have caused 22 reported illness outbreaks in the U.S. from 1990 to 2007, the CDC says. Food caused 10 of the outbreaks. …
The CDC estimates that more than 25,000 non-O157 STEC infections occur each year in the U.S. — about a third the number of O157:H7 infections.
In 1995, E. coli O111 sickened 173 people and killed a four-year-old girl in Australia, after eating contaminated mettwurst, an uncooked, semi-dry fermented sausage.
Quebec cheese linked to two deaths, one miscarriage, 120 illnesses -- gets government bailout
I was a fan of Quebec agriculture minister Laurent Lessard.
After two separate outbreaks -- one listeria, one salmonella – in Quebec-made cheese that killed two, caused one miscarriage, sickened six other pregnant women and their newborn babies, and sickened a total of about 120 people, Lessard ordered a crackdown.
When asked about compensation for cheese retailers who had to discard potentially contaminated product, Lessard said on Sept. 17,
"The province is not there to compensate. We aren't an insurance company."
Retailers have a responsibility to market safe products, and if there's a risk associated to what they're selling they have to absorb the losses, he said.
But being astute about Quebec politics and the role of dairy producers, Lessard didn't rule out possible compensation for cheese producers, even though provincial food inspectors found traces listeria in 16 different establishments, either on cheese or processing equipment.
Three weeks later, and it appears that politics has caught up with the public health overtures of Monsieur Lessard as he announced Friday that Quebec's small cheese producers and retailers will receive a three-year, $8.4-million provincial aid package, along with $11.3-million in interest-free loans.
"I want to reassure Quebec consumers. All of Quebec's cheese producers are presently offering safe and secure products.”
Approximately half of the aid package will be spent on improving quality control. Government inspections will be conducted monthly, the minister said, and retailers will receive guidelines on improving the handling of cheeses.
Producers and retailers reported a significant drop in sales of Quebec cheeses, which last year alone totaled $2.6-billion.
Where’s the compensation for the sick people? Where’s the effort to accurately present the risks of soft cheeses (oh, and deli meats) to certain populations, like pregnant women and the elderly.
I’m not such a fan anymore.
E. coli continues to kill and maim
There’s a lot of E. coli, the kind that sickens and kills, circulating around the U.S. In addition to the Locust Grove, OK, outbreak of E. coli O111 which has killed one and sickened 314, E. coli O157:H7 continues its rampage.
A three-year-old in Colorado died last Friday; another child who attended the same day-care has also tested positive but is expected to recover. The daycare is closed.
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In Ohio, a three-year-old girl died Sept. 13 of kidney failure at Akron Children’s Hospital after suffering from diarrhea, blood in her stool and vomiting, the hallmarks of shiga-toxin E. coli infection.
A Redmond family is praying for their 19-month-old son's recovery after he was diagnosed with E. coli and flown to a children's hospital in Portland.
A benefit was held for a three-year-old and his family after he spent a month in a Minneapolis Children's Hospital, again with E. coli.
A fundraising BBQ for the Forest Ranch, California, volunteer firefighters has sickened at least 24, with two remaining in hospital, including a 6-year-old girl.
In Michigan, health officials have confirmed 24 cases of E. coli O157:H7 throughout the state, broadening their investigation from an initial cluster at Michigan State University.
The child pictured is five-year-old Mason Jones who died after eating a school lunch in Wales in Oct. 2005. These are the faces and stories of foodborne illness. And that’s just one week in the U.S.
Reasons to avoid raw shellfish
Me, I love a bowl of mussels with a white wine and tomato sauce (go figure) and a thick bread for dipping. That’s me (right) indulging while in New Zealand. Kansas isn’t exactly the seafood capital of the U.S., and I chuckle when I see mussels from Prince Edward Island (that’s in Canada) advertized in Manhattan (Kansas).
But I also take my seafood cooked. Here’s why:
Hinerwadel's in North Syracuse, New York served up some raw clams earlier in September that is responsible for at least 160 illnesses. The clams apparently originated in Maine.
And at least 40 people the Valencia region of Spain have contracted Hepatitis A after eating frozen shellfish from Peru. They were probably thawed and either served raw or undercooked.
Don’t’ eat poop. Or at least cook it out.
Doug Powell appears on National Public Radio
Yesterday Doug appeared on NPR Science Friday. The topic was the recent outbreak of Salmonella that has now officially sickened 228 persons in 23 states.
A podcast of the episode is now available online, and can be heard at this location.
Flat pop does not help sick kids: study
Not intentionally, of course. But twice a year, on average while growing up, I'd spend a couple of days on the couch, passing liquid out of both ends, while mom comforted me with flat ginger ale, crushed ice (we even had one of those kitchen necessities -- an ice crusher, in groovy pink, suitable for early 1970s suburbia) and soothing words like, "It's just the flu honey, you'll feel better soon." Now, British researchers who searched the scientific data for evidence that flat soda pop -- a home remedy for diarrhea and vomiting passed down from generation to generation -- prevents dehydration in children with gastroenteritis have reached a conclusion: No.
According to their report in this month's issue of Archives of Disease in Childhood, biochemical analyses "clearly show" various carbonated drinks contain low levels of sodium and potassium, and far more sugar than oral rehydration solutions. Cola contained up to seven times the amount of glucose the World Health Organization recommends for oral rehydration.
"Carbonated drinks, flat or otherwise, including cola, provide inadequate fluid and electrolyte replacement and cannot be recommended."
Train quarantined south of Timmins, Ontario
Ontario Provincial Police emergency workers with full protective gear were called to the train and about 10 people have been taken to hospital in Timmins. The rest of the passengers on the train have been quarantined.The train originated in Jasper, Alberta.
And in a good use of technology, the Toronto Star says,
Are you on the train or know someone who is? Call us a 1-800-268-9756.
From the celebrity illness file: R2D2 actor Kenny Baker falls ill on flight
Woman says chicken foot from parade made her child sick
Mom Tracy Bamburg told 9NEWS that among all the beads, cups, and doubloons was a real chicken foot, which also happened to be raw. "We were all touching it, squeezing it, and playing with it." Then, the next morning, reality hit. "My stomach was hurting very, very, very, very bad," the little boy says. "He woke up with 103 fever and vomiting," his mother says.
Spanish Town parade organizer Bruce Childers said throwing raw chicken parts from the floats in this parade is not acceptable and that if the crew members who did this are caught, they will be banned indefinitely from riding in the parade.
Turtles still make people sick -- 103 since last May
At least 103 cases have been reported since May 2007, and many of those infected were children under the age of 10, the CDC said.In October 2007, the North Carolina Division of Public Health (NCDPH) notified CDC of human infections caused by Salmonella serotype Paratyphi B L (+) tartrate (+) (Salmonella Paratyphi B var. Java) in several states. Salmonella Paratyphi B var. Java is a nontyphoidal strain of Salmonella that causes gastroenteritis.
This report describes the results of the epidemiologic and laboratory investigation conducted by CDC and state and local health departments during October 2007--January 2008. The findings document an ongoing, multistate outbreak of Salmonella Paratyphi B var. Java infections, with the first reported illness onset occurring on May 4, 2007. Many of these infections have occurred in young children and have been associated with exposure to small turtles. Prohibiting the sale and distribution of small turtles likely remains the most effective public health action to prevent turtle-associated salmonellosis.
You never know what kids will do with turtles.
Maureen Dowd gets food poisoning; thanks White House
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Nevertheless, White House aides and medical staff leaped to help Dowd when she fell ill during Bush's eight-day swing through the Middle East.Once she arrived in Jerusalem Jan. 8, Dowd fell sick — and started second-guessing her decision to leave the campaign trail for the presidential bubble abroad. She was suffering some kind of stomach bug that left her nauseated, weak and feeling feverish.
Dowd was quoted as saying, "I'm not sure it was a New Hampshire fever or Jerusalem food poisoning." The story notes that Presidential aides, including press secretary Dana Perino, made clear early on that Dowd could see Richard Tubb, the Air Force brigadier general who oversees the White House medical office and takes care of the president at home and abroad.
But Dowd declined. With no medication, she tried to soldier on by grabbing whatever rest she could in her hotel room. Dowd finally decided to take up the White House on its offer.
A young press aide, Carlton Carroll, helped arrange for Dowd to visit Tubb at the Emirates Palace, the $3 billion luxury hotel where the president and his aides were staying. The hotel is so vast that Dowd and her escorts got lost twice in the marble and gold hallways.
Tubb gave her a few tablets of Cipro and some Pepto-Bismol and told her to check back with him the next day. She turned down Tubb's offer of an IV (so there was no chance of an "accidental" poisoning, she joked).
On Sunday, when the entourage flew from Bahrain to the United Arab Emirates, Dowd was supposed to be flying on the press charter, without access to Tubb. But the White House made room for her aboard Air Force One, where she visited the doctor once again in his office near the president's.
What to do if food has made you poop or barf
She wasnt sickened by the food, but if you think a specific food has made you sick, here's what to do:
• go to the doctor if necessary;
• keep the food, in the fridge or freezer if necessary; and,
• contact your local health department.
Bill Marler's got some more specific guidelines here.
Raw milk sickens the unsuspecting -- again
Medical authorities, however, decreed that Ford died of undulant fever, apparently brought on by drinking unpasteurized milk from the Ford dairy herd, at the behest of his father's mistaken belief that all things natural must be good.
It seems like every week in the U.S. there is a report of unpasteurized milk testing positive for listeria or salmonella or E. coli or campylobacter or some other dangerous bug; every month there is a report of people, largely children, sickened after consuming unpasteurized milk.This month it's Kansas, where at least 87 people have been poisoned with campylobacter in two separate outbreaks -- one linked to consumption of raw milk, and the other to cheese made from raw milk.
Raw milk drinkers believe the pasteurized milk found on grocery store shelves lack the essential enzymes and nutrients necessary to absorb calcium -- yet research shows this is simply not the case. The only things lacking in pasteurized milk are the bacteria that make people -- especially kids -- seriously ill.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control reports that in 1938, before widespread adoption of milk pasteurization, an estimated 25 per cent of all foodborne and waterborne outbreaks of disease were associated with milk.
By 2001, the percentage of such outbreaks associated with milk was estimated at less than 1 per cent. From 1998 to 2005, a total of 45 outbreaks of foodborne illness were reported to CDC in which unpasteurized milk (or cheese suspected to have been made from unpasteurized milk) was implicated. These outbreaks accounted for 1,007 illnesses, 104 hospitalizations, and two deaths.
Because not all cases of foodborne illness are recognized and reported, the actual number of illnesses associated with unpasteurized milk likely is greater.
A table of the outbreaks is available at http://www.foodsafety.ksu.edu/articles/384/RawMilkOutbreakTable.pdf
Yes, lots of foods make people sick. And people should be free to choose what they ingest.
The 19th century English utilitarian philosopher, John Stuart Mill, noted that choice has limits, stating, "if it [in this case the consumption of raw unpasteurized milk] only directly affects the person undertaking the action, then society has no right to intervene, even if it feels the actor is harming himself."
Excused from Mill’s libertarian principle are those people who are incapable of self-government – children.
Science can be used to enhance what nature provided. Further, society has a responsibility to the many -- philosopher Mill also articulated how the needs of the many outweighed the needs of the one — to use knowledge to minimize harm.
Adults, do whatever you think works to ensure a natural and healthy lifestyle, but please, don't impose your dietary regimes on those incapable of protecting themselves: your kids.
Dr. Douglas Powell is scientific director of the International Food Safety Network at Kansas State University
Raw milk: Live free or die
But this is coming from the "vitriolic barfblog" as labeled by one advocate of all things raw.
Sure, we may be vitriolic but always point back to the microbial food safety issue and we can always cite the best available evidence.
Sally Squires of the Washington Post writes this morning that,
"From 1998 to 2005, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tied 45 outbreaks of food-borne disease to raw milk or to cheese made with unpasteurized milk. More than 1,000 people became ill, 104 were hospitalized and two died, according to the CDC."
In July, scientists from the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported test results for raw milk collected from 861 farms in 21 states. Nearly a quarter contained bacteria linked to human illness, including 5 percent with listeria, 3 percent with salmonella and 4 percent with types of E. coli that can cause diarrhea and other gastrointestinal illnesses. Less than 1 percent of samples had the most dangerous form of E. coli, 0157:H7.
"There are definitely measurable levels [of unhealthy bacteria] and they are probably more prevalent than what we are seeing," said Jeffrey Karns, a microbiologist at the USDA's Environmental Microbial Safety Laboratory in Beltsville, who led the study."
That doesn't bother Sally Fallon, president of the Weston A. Price Foundation, a District-based organization that has been leading the charge to make raw milk available to consumers.
"We're not talking about raw milk from a typical conventional dairy," she says. "That milk could pose a danger. But milk from cows fed on pastures actually have their own antimicrobial components that keep it safe."
"People say that small farms have happy cows that don't have pathogens," Karns says, but he adds that there is no evidence to support that contention.
To concur. Sally Fallon and the foundation she represents engage in scientific cherry picking, selectively citing science and ignoring the outbreak side of the equation. E. coli O157:H7 is a natural resident of approximately 10 per cent of all ruminants -- the spinach outbreak of 2006 should have put that notion that natural is by default, better, to rest.
Back in New Hampshire, raw milk advocates are vying for looser regulations on its sale to keep up with growing demand.
But as Brae Surgeoner and I have written,
"Raw milk producers want to afford consumers more options and choice is good. But as the 19th-century English utilitarian philosopher John Stuart Mill noted, absolute choice has limits, stating, "If it (in this case the consumption of raw unpasteurized milk) only directly affects the person undertaking the action, then society has no right to intervene, even if it feels the actor is harming himself." Excused from Mill's libertarian principle are those people who are incapable of self-government — children.
Science can be used to enhance what nature provided. Further, society has a responsibility to the many — philosopher Mill also articulated how the needs of the many outweighed the needs of the one — to use knowledge to minimize harm. Adults, do whatever you think works to ensure a natural and healthy lifestyle, but please don't impose your dietary regimes on those incapable of protecting themselves: your kids."
