Clover Sprouts Linked to E. coli Outbreak

 CDC is reporting that a total of 17 people have become ill from E. coli STEC and this has been linked to raw closer sprouts.  Product was made in Idaho.  Illnesses have been identified in 5 states (ID, MI, MT, UT, and WA).

Raw seed sprouts are a high risk food.  Sprouts have been involved in a number of outbreaks of Salmonella, and in this cases as well as the massive outbreak in Germany, STEC E. coli.



CDC News Release
http://www.cdc.gov/ecoli/2014/O121-05-14/index.html
Multistate Outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O121 Infections Linked to Raw Clover Sprouts
Posted June 10, 2014 3:30 PM ET

Highlights

• As of June 9, 2014, a total of 17 persons infected with the outbreak strain of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O121 (STEC O121) have been reported from five states.
• The number of ill persons identified in each state is as follows: Idaho (3), Michigan (1), Montana (2), Utah (1), and Washington (10).
• 47% of ill persons have been hospitalized. No ill persons have developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), and no deaths have been reported.
• Epidemiology and traceback investigations conducted by local, state, and federal officials indicated that contaminated raw clover sprouts produced by Evergreen Fresh Sprouts, LLC of Idaho are the likely source of this outbreak.
• In interviews, 12 (86%) of 14 ill persons reported eating raw clover sprouts in the week before becoming ill.
• Raw clover sprouts have not been recalled from Evergreen Fresh Sprouts. Because contaminated sprouts may still be available on the market, CDC recommends that consumers do not eat any raw clover sprouts produced by Evergreen Fresh Sprouts.
• The Washington State Department of Health and the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare are also advising people not to eat raw clover sprouts produced by Evergreen Fresh Sprouts.

Eat Fish, the Benefit Outweighs the Risk

 FDA recently provided guidance that pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers and young children should be eating fish.  For many years, women have avoided eating seafood due to the potential for that seafood may contain Methylmercury. a neurotoxin that can be harmful to the brain and nervous system if a person is exposed to too much of it.  Of course, this could be a concern for child development.  FDA revised previous advise because the nutrients in seafood, namely the omega 3 fatty acids are really good for health - including brain function and cardiovascular health.

Now some fish are better than others in that some species are more likely to have higher amounts, so these fish should be avoided by high risk groups - Tilefish from the Gulf of Mexico, shark, swordfish, and king mackerel.

Eggs were once demonized because of cholesterol, but now we realize that they aren't bad.  So we see once again a balanced diet that incorporates a wide variety of foods is important.   It is important to evaluate the benefits as well as the risks, and make sure that we are not giving up a lot of food because we are afraid of a little of the bad.

 FDA News Release
http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodborneIllnessContaminants/Metals/ucm393070.htm
Fish: What Pregnant Women and Parents Should Know
Draft Updated Advice by FDA and EPA

June 2014

The FDA and the EPA are revising their joint fish consumption Advice and Questions & Answers to encourage pregnant women, those who may become pregnant, breastfeeding mothers, and young children to eat more fish and to eat a variety of fish from choices that are lower in mercury. This is a DRAFT for which you may provide comment. Once finalized, it will replace the current advice which was issued in 2004.

Lean, Finely Textured Beef (aka Pink Slime) Making a Comeback; Lawsuit Against News Media Moves Forward

As beef prices continue to rise, it looks as though people are starting to look at lean, finely texturized beef as a low cost alternative.  As USDA has said, there are no risks associated with the product.

At the same time, the lawsuit by the producer of LFTB against the ABC news moves forward.  In this case, BPI, the producer, claims the news outlet's unfair labeling of the product as unsafe caused the company to lose billions.

Fox News                                 
http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2014/05/27/pink-slime-is-having-comeback/
Pink slime is having a comeback
Published May 27, 2014
FoxNews.com
Facebook274 Twitter203 Gplus

Two years after the public backlash against pink slime, sales of processed beef byproduct are rebounding, thanks to soaring beef prices.

Execs of Egg Company Plead Guilty to Selling Contaminated Eggs

 The executives of the Iowa Egg Producer that was responsible for selling eggs that sickened thousands with Salmonella pleaded guilty.  The company will pay 6.8 million in fines and the executives face up to a year in prison and additional fines.

The Iowa Egg Salmonella Outbreak occurred back in 2010.  CDC reported in December of 2010 that 1,939 individuals became infected with Salmonella.  In addition to causing the illnesses, the company ,Quality Egg, pleaded guilty to "giving cash bribes to a U.S. Department of Agriculture inspector to approve and allow poor-quality chicken eggs to be sold to the public; introducing adulterated food into interstate commerce, according to the DOJ" and selling eggs mislabeled to hide how old they were by having its employees affix labels to egg shipments that had false expiration dates with the "intent to mislead state regulators and retail egg customers regarding the true age of the eggs,"

Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/06/03/usa-lawsuit-foodpoisoning-idUSL1N0OK13P20140603
UPDATE 1-Quality Egg admits to selling tainted eggs, bribing official

Tue Jun 3, 2014 2:54pm EDT
By P.J. Huffstutter

CHICAGO, June 3 (Reuters) - Quality Egg LLC and two top executives on Tuesday admitted to selling substandard eggs containing a "poisonous" substance and bribing a federal inspector in a food-safety scandal that sickened tens of thousands, the U.S. Department of Justice said.

The Iowa-based company, once among the United States' largest producers of shelled chicken eggs, along with owners Austin and Peter DeCoster, pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal charges in connection with the massive nationwide salmonella outbreak in 2010.

Dry Pet Food Recalled After Small Quantity of Suspect Product Is Shipped

A pet food manufacture is recalling its dry dog food for potential Salmonella contamination.  It appears from the text that the product was on hold and got released by accident.  There were only 62 bags involved.  From the release below: 

This product was accidentally released, as revealed during a routine inventory reconciliation. All 17 affected customers have been contacted by Hill’s and there have been no reported illnesses related to this product to date.

This is a good reminder for companies to ensure that 'hold' product does not inadvertently get shipped.  This company will get a lot of bad publicity and a potential FDA visit all for 62 bags of dog food.  Also, many retailers of that product line will use this as an opportunity to return slow moving product.  It has the potential to be a very costly error.


FDA Recall Notice
http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm399662.htm
Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Inc. Voluntarily Recalls 62 Bags of “Science Diet® Adult Small & Toy Breed™” Dry Dog Food in California, Hawaii and Nevada Because of Potential Health Risk
Contact Consumer: 1-800-445-5777

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - June 2, 2014 - Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Inc. of Topeka, KS is voluntarily recalling 62 bags of Science Diet® Adult Small & Toy Breed™ dry dog food as they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella. The suspect product, part of a single production run, was distributed to 17 veterinary clinic and pet store customers in California, Hawaii and Nevada between April 24 and May 13, 2014. Salmonella can affect animals eating the products and there is risk to humans from handling contaminated pet products, especially if they have not thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with the products or any surfaces exposed to these products.

Salmonella cases linked to sprouted chia seed powder

Sprouted Chia Seed Powder is being recalled after being linked to 12 cases of salmonellosis.

The company, Navitas Naturals, the Superfood Company, imports chia seed from Mexico and then sprouts the seed, dries and then grinds into a powder.   So it appears that this sprouting process could be an amplification step for Salmonella.  Salmonella, coming in on the seed, could potentially grow during the sprouting process (depending on the conditions used for sprouting).  Once present in higher numbers, this bacteria would survive in the dry powder form for long periods of time (similar to how it survived in other low moisture products such as peanut butter).   Salmonella has been an issue in other sprouted seed product , as evidenced by a number of outbreaks and recalls, because of these same reason of being present on the raw seed and being amplified/grown in the sprouting process.

Chia seed has gained in popularity for containing high levels per serving of protein, Omega 3 fatty acids and high dietary fiber.  From a functionality standpoint, it forms a gel that can be used as a thickening agent.  It imparts no real flavor, so you can add it to foods without having to worry about accounting for new flavors.  According to the company website, the nutritional benefits are increased in the sprouting process.  But so is its risk of Salmonella.


FDA Recall Notice
http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm399151.htm
Navitas Naturals Issues Voluntary Recall for Organic Sprouted Chia Seed Powder Products
Contact: 
Consumer:  Consumer Care Team  1-888-886-3879
 Media:   Media Communications Team  1-888-645-4282

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - May 28, 2014 - Navitas Naturals, the Superfood Company is voluntarily recalling products which contain Organic Sprouted Chia Powder due to possible health risks related to Salmonella contamination. “We have chosen to voluntarily recall products containing Organic Sprouted Chia Powder with the goal of utmost safety for our consumers” stated Zach Adelman, Navitas Naturals CEO.

Superbugs, Antibiotic Resistance, and Foster Farms Chickens

The term “Superbug”, a label coined by the US media, refers to those bacteria that cause serious disease in humans. Infections from these pathogens are difficult to treat in that those organisms have resistance to a number of commonly used antibiotics (multi-antibiotic resistance). Every time the discussion of superbugs comes up, people immediately identify food as the/a major issue. Primarily they identify meat and poultry as a source in the development and dissemination of superbugs. While there are antibiotic resistant bacteria associated with meat and poultry, the following facts should help clarify some of the myths associated with multi-drug resistant pathogens.

  

• According to the CDC, the most important source of antibiotic resistant organisms is in hospitals. Along with this, is the over prescribing of antibiotics to people by doctors.
• The use of antibiotics in animals is regulated - the administration of those drugs if limited to prevention and control of illness in the herd or flock, and that administration provides sufficient time so that there are no residues in the meat at the time of slaughter. The use of antibiotics for growth is not permitted.
• The classes of antibiotics used in animals are generally different than those used in people.
• Having antibiotic resistance does not necessarily mean an organism is a superbug - many organisms can have resistance to antibiotics and not cause illness, or in other cases, pathogens can have resistance to antibiotics that are not normally used to treat human illness.
• Many bacteria have naturally occurring antibiotic resistance, so to have raw meat or poultry with no antibiotic resistance microorganisms is impossible.
• If people properly handle and prepare / cook meat, they will eliminate all potential pathogens that may be present. Antibiotic resistance does not give organisms the ability to survive proper cooking or cleaning.

Now this is not to say that people can’t get ill from multi-antibiotic resistant pathogens. There has been the ongoing case of Foster Farms chicken in California that had been a source of severe illness. Some product was recalled – that was product that was cooked at a Costco store and then most likely mishandled leading to cross contamination. Foster Farms, the producer of the chicken, has what appears to be an on-going issue with consumers getting ill from the raw chicken parts that are purchased by consumers through retail stores. While USDA has worked with the facility to put in an action plan, it did not force the company to issue a recall.   

  

Much of the debate is whether Salmonella should be considered an adulterant. To this point in time, it is not considered an adulterant provided the company has safe handling instructions labeled on the product, and the company is following standard accepted practices. But will consumers properly handle and cook poultry?

  

There is a push to make those multi-antibiotic resistant strains of Salmonella an adulterant, but this is a slippery slope. Not all multi-antibiotic strains are responsible for making people ill. In fact, the Salmonella strain in the Foster Farms case have antibiotic resistance to antibiotics that are rarely used to treat people for salmonellosis. So what can the science support? What is practical, considering that Salmonella has been associated with birds much longer than modern man has been around?

 

Hemp - coming to a store near you...by the way of Canada

 Hemp, a variety of cannabis , has been highly restricted for being grown in the United States because the other varieties of cannabis, marijuana, are illegal...and it is not always obvious which form one is growing.   

But hemp, the varieties with lower THC levels, can be used for a variety of products including hemp seed foods, hemp oil, wax, resin, rope, cloth, pulp, paper, and fuel.  In fact, there is a long history of using hemp for making fiber and paper.

As for nutrition (as per Wikipedia)

Approximately 44% of the weight of hempseed is edible oils, containing about 80% essential fatty acids (EFAs); e.g., linoleic acid, omega-6 (LA, 55%), alpha-linolenic acid, omega-3 (ALA, 22%), in addition to gamma-linolenic acid, omega-6 (GLA, 1–4%) and stearidonic acid, omega-3 (SDA, 0–2%). Proteins (including edestin) are the other major component (33%). Hempseed's amino acid profile is "complete" when compared to more common sources of proteins such as meat, milk, eggs and soy.[11] Hemp protein contains all nutritionally significant amino acids, including the 9 essential ones[12] adult bodies cannot produce. Proteins are considered complete when they contain all the essential amino acids in sufficient quantities and ratios to meet the body's needs. The proportions of linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid in one tablespoon (15 ml) per day of hemp oil easily provides human daily requirements for EFAs.

A Canadian firm has taken a lead in moving the hemp hearts, a highly nutritive component into the US.  According to the Bloomberg article below, the company is looking to triple its production to meet the increasing demand. 


Bloomburg BusinessWeek
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-05-22/hemp-lands-in-supermarkets-sheds-its-stoner-stigma
Hemp Enters the Mainstream
By Matthew Boyle May 22, 2014

The sachets of hemp hearts on the shelves at Costco (COST), Safeway (SWY), and Whole Foods Market (WFM) are Mike Fata’s last laugh. The founder of Manitoba Harvest has spent the past decade working to transform hemp—a variety of cannabis—from the butt of weedy jokes into a supermarket staple. Fata’s investors are particularly happy about the mass-market breakthrough. “Our customers are bright enough to know that it does not have dope in it if Costco’s selling it,” says Jim Taylor, a founding partner of Avrio Capital, a Calgary-based venture capital company that was one of Manitoba Harvest’s early backers.

Looser cultivation restrictions and the food industry’s hunger for produce that packs a protein punch have helped distance hemp from its more notorious relative. Hemp contains less than 0.5 percent of the mind-bending compound tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, that gives marijuana its potency. Earlier this year the U.S. government finally recognized hemp as distinct from cannabis. A federal ban on commercial cultivation, however, is still in force.

Walnuts Recalled Due to Positive Listeria Test

 FDA released three recall notices for walnuts after FDA testing found a sample positive for Listeria at the supplier, Golden State Foods.  Walnuts from California, were sold in MO, KS, and IL.

 Walnuts would not be considered high risk for Listeria - walnuts are shelf stable - dry (low moisture) are stored at ambient temperatures.  It is unlikely that Listeria would support the growth of Listeria, but if walnuts were used an ingredient in a higher moisture product, such as a salad, then the walnuts could be a source of Listeria.

It is hard to tell why walnuts were tested in the first place outside the fact that it may be used as an ingredient in a moister refrigerated RTE product.

 What we don't know was the level of contamination on the walnuts to start.  Generally absence/presence testing is done.  Do the level of contamination may have been low and thus the associated risk would be low.  According the FDA Risk Assessment for Listeria , there would be very low risk, even for susceptible populations, when the contamination rate is less than 100 CFU/meal.  Certainly testing will be able to detect below this level

FDA Recall Notices

Sherman Produce Recalls Bulk and Packaged
Walnuts Due to Possible Health Risk

http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm398734.htm

Contact Consumer: 314-231-2896

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - May 21, 2014 - St. Louis-based Sherman Produce is voluntarily recalling walnuts comprising of 241 cases of bulk walnuts packaged in 25 lb bulk cardboard boxes and Schnucks brand 10 oz trays with UPC 00338390032 with best by dates 03/15 and 04/15 because the products are potentially contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. Listeria monocytogenes is an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Although healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, Listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.