The FDA has published the following warning: Consumers worldwide should not use any ByHeart brand infant formula as all ByHeart products are included in this recall. As we know, as of November 26, 2025, a total of 37 infants with suspected or confirmed infant botulism and confirmed exposure to ByHeart Whole Nutrition infant formula (various […]
AP Health reports this morning that European health experts warned Thursday there could be more E. coli cases across Europe and elsewhere after finding recent deadly outbreaks were probably linked to contaminated Egyptian fenugreek seeds. They say the fenugreek seeds are likely to blame for a massive food poisoning outbreak in Germany beginning in May […]
Our President set out the choices today: if we choose to keep those tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires, if we choose to keep a tax break for corporate jet owners, if we choose to keep tax breaks for oil and gas companies that are making hundreds of billions of dollars, then that means we’ve […]
According to the CDC, in the United States, five confirmed cases and one suspect case of STEC O104:H4 infections have been identified; one death has been reported. Of these six cases, five recently traveled to Germany, where they were likely exposed. The bacterial isolates from the three HUS cases reported in Massachusetts, Michigan and Wisconsin, […]
When I got a call last week from a Washington Post reporter that she was about to leave the food safety beat to cover education, I said congratulations until I learned than she would not be replaced. Then came the Tweet from the Dean of Ag reporters, Phil Brasher, that the Des Moines register was […]
According to CIDRAP (my second favorite source of Food Safety News) a trace-back investigations in both the German and French E. coli O104:H4 outbreaks are pointing to two lots of fenugreek seeds that were imported from Egypt (not sure what happened to the Italian connection of yesterday). Sprouts from Egyptian fenugreek seeds are suspected in […]
My flight got cancelled today to Boston where I was to spend time with one of the six United States E. coli O104:H4 cases. As I passed through airport security before I headed back to the office, I thought about how difficult national and international travel has become post 9-11. Not so for bacteria. As […]
The CDC is collaborating with public health officials in many states and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to investigate a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis infections linked to alfalfa sprouts and spicy sprouts. As of June 27, 2011, a total of 21 persons with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Enteritidis have been reported […]
According to a news release – The Alabama Department of Public Health continues its investigation of an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak in Lee County. Thirteen children and two adults who either played in the Splash Park or swam in the pool at the Opelika SportsPlex and Aquatic Center between June 4 and June 22 were […]
I was struck by the press release on the FDA website that Nestle Purina PetCare was voluntarily recalling 870 bags of potentially Salmonella positive cat food shipped only to Colorado, Idaho and Oregon even though there had been no consumer complaints and no reports of illness. Nestle also posted this: At Nestle Purina PetCare, the […]
Today the FDA is warned consumers not to eat alfalfa sprouts or spicy sprouts from plastic bags labeled “Evergreen Produce” or “Evergreen Produce Inc.,” because the sprouts are possibly linked to 20 reported cases, including one hospitalization, of Salmonella Enteritidis in Idaho, Montana, New Jersey, North Dakota and Washington State. However, AP’s Mary Clare Jalonick […]
Have you seen the new graphic ads that will be placed on cigarette packages? I get asked all the time what foods I do not eat and what recommend that others not eat. My top two are raw milk and sprouts – not necessarily in that order. With the German/French sprout E. coli O104:H4 outbreak […]
I am losing track of the outbreaks and having a hard time keeping track of the countries that the body counts are coming from. I suggested before that it was time for a warning on sprouts, now it is a time to do it on seeds as well. Here is what should be put on […]
According to EU Food Safety Authorities, 878 HUS cases, including 31 deaths, and 3,039 non-HUS cases, including 16 deaths have so far been reported in Europe. The table below shows the distribution of reported cases per country. Germany reports seven additional HUS cases and one new HUS death since the last update, as well as […]
According to a press release by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), French authorities have reported 10 cases of patients suffering from bloody diarrhea in the Bordeaux region of the country, five of them diagnosed with hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). Preliminary bacteriological tests found the E. coli strain O104:H4 to be present in two of […]
I worked in my garden today and spent time with our six chickens, but the E. coli O104:H4 that has killed at least 45 and left over 800 with acute kidney failure in Europe and the United States was not far from my mind. As of yesterday, the “German” E. coli outbreak appears to have […]