The CDC reports: Shigellosis is a nationally notifiable diarrheal illness caused by gram-negative bacteria. Shigella infection is spread through fecal-oral transmission and sexual contact. Although most infections are self-limited, antibiotics are indicated for severe illness or to reduce transmission in settings with high risk for spread. Since 2015, a growing proportion of cases has been caused by […]
Crack Defense Lawyer, Alan Maxwell, and I will be co-chairing again this conference on “Advanced Strategies for Tackling the Underlying Science and Defending Against Complex Food Contamination Claims.” The two-day conference will be on Wednesday, October 27 to Thursday, October 28, 2010 at the Millennium Knickerbocker Hotel Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States. On the registration […]
According to a Press Release – Fresh Express is voluntarily recalling 2,825 cases of Veggie Lovers Salad with a Product Code of I208 and Use-by Date of August 10, 2010 out of an abundance of caution due to a possible health risk from Listeria monocytogenes. No other Fresh Express salads are included in the recall. […]
Over the last months we have been following the in and out of state raw milk regulations. I thought I would share the thirteen pages as a link here – Survey of State Raw Milk Product Regulations. I would appreciate any comments or corrections.
Last week I gave a speech at IAFP – “Is Ingredient a 10-letter word for financial disaster?” At the time we had been monitoring what appeared to be a nationwide Salmonella outbreak involving two rare strains – Baildon and Hartford. We were somewhat unclear as to the source, but several of the people who contacted […]
So far since January there have been 15 recalls and/or outbreaks involving raw milk products sickening 101 people. There have also been 3 recalls and/or outbreaks involving pasteurized milk Queso fresco cheese sickening 5. Download full chart with references.
I spoke to Ms. Luna a hour or so ago about “Irvine-based Taco Bell [being] the prime suspect in a nationwide food scare that has sickened more than 150 people in 21 states.” Her story in part: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said victims were made ill with two rare strains of salmonella […]
I have the privilege to speak before the Annual Meeting of PulseNet in Chicago in a few weeks. As some may know, PulseNet is a national network of public health and food regulatory agency laboratories coordinated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The network consists of: state health departments, local health departments, […]
Reporting in the September issue of Pediatrics, researchers led by Dr. Casey Barton Behravesh of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that contact with pets and contact with the pet’s environment — their bed and where they eat and sleep, for example — can result in human infections. The authors of the […]
After nearly 3,000 blog post and over 2,500,000 visitors (most since the Fall of 2006), I decided a redesign of the blog was in order. Although we are still working out a few “bugs,” the look you see here is the near final product. Hopefully, you will find the resources helpful and the commentary, well, […]
AOL reporter Andrew Schneider reported a few moments ago in – “Attorney: Vegetables Likely Culprit in Outbreak Linked to Taco Bell:” An attorney for a nationally known food safety law firm said Saturday that the salmonella outbreak linked to Taco Bells in 21 states is likely the result of vegetables being brought into the stores. […]
Botulism is a rare, life-threatening paralytic illness caused by neurotoxins produced by an anaerobic, gram-positive, spore-forming bacterium, Clostridium botulinum. Unlike Clostridium perfringens, which requires the ingestion of large numbers of viable cells to cause symptoms, the symptoms of botulism are caused by the ingestion of highly toxic, soluble exotoxins produced by C. botulinum while growing […]
Whenever there is a food recall Public Radio reporter John Sepulvado is not far behind. I had a chance to talk to him this afternoon after he sent me a tweet. 1 million pounds of beef packaged in Modesto has been recalled due to possible E. coli contamination. Yet, over the past four years, meat […]
Customers of two Grand Lake Colorado restaurants are being urged to get either immune globulin (IG) or hepatitis A shots following the discovery that a worker employed at both eateries has a case of hepatitis A. The two restaurants were identified as Sagebrush BBQ & Grill and Max & T’s Bar and Grill by the […]
Yesterday morning I had the opportunity to speak at the National Meat Association annual “meating.” For the most part my speech was positive. From a spike in outbreaks, illnesses and recalls in 2007, the numbers have dropped – well, until this morning when 1,000,000 pounds of meat were recalled due to illnesses in California. Before […]
Valley Meat Company, a Modesto, Calif. establishment, is recalling approximately one million pounds of frozen ground beef patties and bulk ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced this morning. The products subject to recall bear the establishment number “EST. […]