Australia-Adelaide News-Salmonella outbreak causes gastro spate

SUSPECTED salmonella poisoning has led to a spate of gastroenteritis cases in Hobart, health authorities said.

Tasmanian public health director Dr Roscoe Taylor said there had been at least 27 cases of gastroenteritis, which had involved catered functions in Hobart’s eastern shore.

Two people were taken to hospital in recent days. One of them remains in hospital in a stable condition.

Dr Taylor said the Public and Environmental Health Service was investigating.

Those who have fallen ill suffered diarrhoea, accompanied in some cases by vomiting or fever, he said.

The preliminary cause of the outbreak was salmonella but further tests and sampling were required, which may take several weeks…more..

US-UPI-FDA issues contaminated cheese warning

WASHINGTON, Jan. 31 (UPI) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued a consumer warning and recall of possibly contaminated Grassy Meadows Dairy Co. cheeses.

Routine surveillance by the Indiana Board of Animal Health’s Dairy Division revealed high levels of staphylococcus aureus in several raw milk cheeses manufactured by the Howe, Ind., dairy.

Because of the facility’s location, the FDA said consumers in Ohio, Michigan and Indiana should also check their refrigerators for the recalled items.

Products of concern include, but are not limited to, Colby (lot no. 210317 and 19177), Jalapeno natural cheese (lot no. 2617, 21017 and 11017), “Homemade” cheese (lot no. 19267 and 19227), Monterey Jack (lot no. 18207 and 2937), and garlic pepper cheese (lot no. 19147). All were sold in wedges or blocks of various weights.

Officials advised consumers not to eat any raw milk cheese from the Grassy Meadows Dairy that was purchased before Jan. 30…more..

US-TN-WKRN News Nashville-Woman Claims She Ate Bad Peanut Butter, Files Lawsuit”

A Nashville woman is suing ConAgra Foods claiming she became sick after eating contaminated peanut butter.

Last year, ConAgra recalled certain dates of Peter Pan peanut butter because it was contaminated with salmonella.

In a lawsuit filed Friday, Mary Gill claimed she ate from a jar of contaminated peanut butter and became violently ill.

Gill is asking $20,000 in damages.

US-Reuters- FDA should be clearer on plan for food safety: GAO

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s failure to discuss clearly its strategy and the money needed to better protect the country’s food supply could make it harder for a plan to succeed, a congressional watchdog agency told lawmakers on Tuesday.Last November, the Bush administration proposed stronger rules to better protect the country’s food supply. Some of the proposals require approval from Congress.

The Government Accountability Office said while the food safety inspection plan “proposes several positive first steps,” it has failed to explain what resources and how much additional funding it will need to implement it…more..

Canada-CBC News-Chicken sandwiches pulled for listeria monocytogenes

Canada’s food watchdog is warning consumers that certain chicken sandwiches sold in Quebec, Ontario and possibly Atlantic Canada are being recalled because they may be tainted with listeria monocytogenes.

Gatineau-based Les Aliments Martel Inc. is recalling the following sandwiches:

• Martel’s chicken sandwich, 160 g, UPC 0 67585 38064 4, best before date Feb. 5, 2008.
• La Maisonnée sandwich wheat bread, white chicken salad, 160 g, UPC 0 78302 60089 1, best before date Jan. 25, 2008.
• La Maisonnée sandwich club, white chicken salad, 240 g, UPC 0 78302 51472 3, best before date Jan. 25, 2008.

No associated illnesses have been reported.

Foods contaminated with listeria monocytogenes may not appear or smell spoiled but may cause listeriosis, the agency said.

Symptoms include high fever, severe headache, neck stiffness and nausea. Pregnant women, the elderly and people with compromised immune systems are particularly vulnerable.

US-San Francisco Examiner-USDA Lab Focuses on Deadly E. Coli

CLAY CENTER, Neb. (Map, News) – Cattle wander among earth-covered bunkers that dot the landscape just west of this tiny rural town. The bunkers are remnants of a Naval ammunition depot that produced bombs during World War II. The depot is now an animal research center where government scientists are working to unlock secrets contained in the genetic makeup of the cattle.

Their focus: the E. coli 0157:H7 bacteria, which can kill if it reaches the dinner table.

“Our purpose is to save little kids’ lives,” said Mohammad Koohmaraie, director of the center.

The scientists at the Roman L. Hruska U.S. Meat Animal Research Center say they still don’t know why the number of beef recalls soared in 2007 or why E. coli contamination appeared to be rising….more..

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US-International Herald Tribune-U.S. to post food and drug inspectors overseas

WASHINGTON: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration intends to post inspectors to embassies and consulates throughout the developing world in hopes of improving the quality of the food and medicines increasingly flowing to the United States, a top official said.

The agency’s commissioner, Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach, said Thursday that he wanted to have “boots on the ground” in nations like India and China and regions like Central and South America and the Middle East.

The agency already sends inspectors to dozens of countries each year to inspect pharmaceutical plants and clinical trial sites. But von Eschenbach said in a briefing with reporters that he wanted the agency’s presence abroad to be on an “ongoing and continuous basis rather than episodic and periodic…more..

US-LA Times-Salmonella carried by pet turtles sickens 100

Most have been children. At least 24 people have been hospitalized. California has 12 reported cases.

A strain of salmonella carried by small pet turtles has sickened more than 100 people and hospitalized at least 24 nationwide in the largest recorded outbreak of its kind, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday.

Cases have been reported in 33 states, but mostly in California, Texas, Pennsylvania and Illinois. Most of the patients have been children.

No one has died in the latest outbreak, which began in August. But some patients have experienced severe symptoms, including acute kidney failure.

The most common symptoms reported to the CDC included bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramping, fever and vomiting. The median age of patients was 7 1/2 .

“With over 100 cases reported, that’s fairly substantial,” said Mark Sotir, a CDC epidemiologist in Atlanta. “For every case that’s reported to the CDC, we estimate 30 or 40 sick people that haven’t been reported.”..more..

US-WA-Center Daily.com-Marler Clark to Test Retail Hamburger for Non-O157:H7 Pathogenic Shiga Toxin Producing E. coli

SEATTLE — 2007 was a record year for hamburger-related food safety recalls — over 20 individual recalls involving over 33 million pounds of meat. Because of the failure of the beef industry and government to protect the public, the law firm of Marler and Clark has approved a project to commission a baseline study to determine the prevalence of non-O157:H7 pathogenic shiga toxin producing E. coli (STEC) in retail ground beef.

Non-O157 STEC are capable of causing the same debilitating triad of diseases as E. coli O157:H7, including hemorrhagic colitis, hemolytic uremic syndrome, and thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura. Infection with the non-O157 STEC can result in death in children, the elderly and the immunocompromised. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of reported cases of illnesses caused by this group of pathogenic E. coli has been steadily increasing over the past several years. Despite this, Non-O157:H7 STEC is not considered an adulterant under current law in the U.S.

Non-O157:H7 STEC are also known to occur in imported beef from several trading partners, yet the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has not required that imported beef be free of these pathogens. Marler Clark claims the Agency has also failed to devise steps to measure and control the presence of these pathogens in domestic beef production and the ground beef supply, at the slaughterhouse or the grocery store….more…

Canada-Canada.com-Organic sesame seeds recalled over salmonella fears

OTTAWA — The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has issued a nationwide recall of organic sesame seeds from Uganda due to the possibility of contamination with salmonella bacteria.

The recall affects both bulk and small packages of organic sesame seeds sold to consumers in every province except Manitoba, the CFIA said in a press release.

Although no one has yet reported illness from eating the organic seeds, the contamination could affect more than 20 brands and distributors across the country…more….