Ground Tuna Linked to Salmonella Paratyphi Outbreak

An investigation of an outbreak of Salmonella Paratyphi B has been linked to ground tuna used in sushi type products.  In this outbreak, 53 people from nine states have become ill.

In 2012, ground tuna used in sushi was the source of Salmonella that infected 150 people.

Is there a difference in ground tuna?  Certainly the grinding step can be a point of proliferation and dissemination through product.  Another issue may be that for the ground product, they are using small scraps that may not have been handled in a sanitary manner.

While I like sushi, I will be adding ground tuna products to the 'avoid' list.

CDC Notice

http://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/paratyphi-b-05-15/index.html

Multistate Outbreak of Salmonella Paratyphi B variant L(+) tartrate(+) Infections

 

Highlights

Read the Advice to Restaurants, Retailers, and Consumers »(http://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/paratyphi-b-05-15/advice.html)

As of June 4, 2015, a total of 53 people infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Paratyphi B variant L(+) tartrate(+) have been reported from nine states. Ten ill people have been hospitalized. No deaths have been reported.

• This outbreak is caused by Salmonella Paratyphi B variant L(+) tartrate(+) bacteria, formally known as Salmonella Java.
• The illness caused by this bacteria typically includes diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps 12-72 hours after an exposure. Salmonella Paratyphi B variant L(+) tartrate(+) does not cause paratyphoid fever, enteric fever, or typhoid fever.
• Most ill people in the outbreak reported eating sushi made with raw tuna in the week before becoming ill.

FDA Researches Relationship Between Pets, Foodborne Pathogens, and Human Health

In 2006 / 2007, an outbreak of salmonellosis occurred because of contaminated pet food (CDC report below).  In this outbreak, close to 80 people became ill, most of them children.  This is not the only case of contaminated pets or pet food (2015, 2014a, 2014b, 2014c, 2013, 2012, etc).  Salmonella is often the hazard of concern, but Listeria has been an issue in raw pet foods as well.

FDA has been researching on the relationship between pets, owners, and foodborne pathogens.  So far, a few things that can be said:

•  Overall, a very small percentage of pets (about 3%) were found to carry pathogens
• In most of the cases when the pets were positive, they had been fed raw pet food.
• About half of the dogs found to be positive, did not show any signs of being ill.

So if little Champ is going to sleep in your bed...or lick your face,  no raw pet food.

FDA News Release
http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm450115.htm
FDA Research Helps Keep Pets and Humans Safe
You may not be aware that pet foods and treats, when contaminated with harmful bacteria, can make your pet sick. These bacteria also can spread from an animal to its owner, and you can get sick simply from handling contaminated pet food.
But how often does pet food make a cat or dog sick? Does your pet carry the harmful bacteria without showing any symptoms and, if so, for how long? And what precautions can you take to keep you and your family safe?

Decreases in the Rates of Foodborne Illness....States Reporting Less?

A decrease in the number of reported foodborne illnesses cases....could that mean our food safety systems are improving.....not according to CSPI....they suggest  that states are reporting less.  Certainly there are differences in state-to-state variability, but one would probably think that variation would exist year-to-year.  However, taking that variation into account, decreases or increases year-to-year across all the states should say something about overall trends.



Center for Science in the Public Interest
http://cspinet.org/new/201506081.html
States Vary Widely at Reporting Foodborne Illness Outbreaks to CDC

June 8, 2015

States vary widely in how well they detect, investigate, and report outbreaks of foodborne illness, according to a new 50-state analysis from the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest. And states are reporting fewer outbreaks to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. From 2009 to 2012, the average number of reported foodborne outbreaks decreased by about one-third compared to the six preceding years, according to the report, All Over the Map: A 10-Year Review of State Outbreak Reporting.

CSPI found widely different outbreak reporting rates even among adjacent states with similar populations. Florida, for instance, reported five times the number of outbreaks as Alabama when controlled for population, and Maryland reported four times the number of outbreaks as West Virginia. A high outbreak reporting rate actually can prevent illnesses, as it indicates state and local public health officials are looking for outbreaks and are more likely to identify contaminated foods or offending restaurants.

California Company Recalls Meat Products Because They Illegally Added USDA Mark of Inspection

LQNN of Garden Grove, CA has expanded a recall of meat products  because they were producing meat products without USDA inspection, and worse yet, illegally applied the mark of inspection (the USDA seal) to the product.  The retail arm of the business, Lee's Sandwiches, has an expanding business in the western states.  The founder, Chieu Le, started his business as a food truck and now has over 50 locations. 

 So while the company stands by the wholesomeness of their food, it is awful to think that they jeopardized their business to skirt around USDA regulations.

USDA Recall Notice

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/recalls-and-public-health-alerts/recall-case-archive/archive/2015/recall-081-2015-release

LQNN, Inc. Recalls Poultry, Beef and Pork Products Produced Without the Benefit of Inspection and Misbranded With Unauthorized Use of the USDA Mark of Inspection

Class I Recall 081-2015

Health Risk: High May 20, 2015

En Español

Congressional and Public Affairs   Gabrielle N. Johnston  (202) 720-9113 

EDITORS NOTE: Details of this recall were updated on June 3, 2015 to reflect a change in pounds, products and production dates of recalled products.

WASHINGTON, May 20, 2015 – LQNN, Inc., a Garden Grove, Calif. firm, added additional items to the recalled products list, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today. The added products should have been part of the original 213,192 pounds of chicken, beef and pork products that were recalled on May 20, 2015. The new total recalled poundage is 465,483 pounds. The products which were moved and sold in commerce, included the unapproved use of another facility’s mark of inspection, which has been identified as Establishment number 18995. LQNN, Inc., operating as Lee’s Sandwiches, has been processing products from federally-inspected establishments and re-packaging them without the benefit of inspection. Products produced without inspection present potential of increased human health risk.

Veggie Burgers Recalled Because Labeling Missing Soy Ingredient

A NJ company is recalling veggie burgers because of an allergen labeling issue.  The product label did not list soy in the ingredient listing even though the product had always been made with soy in it.  I thought that this was odd that they could miss soy on the label.  Looking at the company website, they have a number of different products with varying ingredients.  Label review at receipt of the packaging is probably one of the critical steps that was missed.  That, and review of the label when it was developed and whenever modified.  When the label hits the floor, it should be right, but label review at that point would have helped as well.  

A little more label paranoia could have prevented this.  We see too often that companies do not put in sufficient controls for labeling - in development of labels and when modifying labels, at label receipt, and when applying labels.  Why?  Perhaps label review is not viewed as that important so we allocate insufficient resources to the task?  Or we count on our purchasing people to get it right (or even marketing / sales people...yikes)?


FDA Recall Notice
http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm449691.htm
Dr. Praeger’s Sensible Foods Issues Allergy Alert for Gluten Free California Veggie Burger Due to Undeclared Soy

Contact: Consumer: 201-703-1300
Media: Austin Blythe, Maxwell PR 503-231-3086
Email: austin@maxwellpr.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — June 3, 2015 — ELMWOOD PARK, NJ. — Dr. Praeger’s Sensible Foods is recalling 950 retail cases of the Gluten Free California Veggie Burger because it may contain undeclared soy. People who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to soy run the risk of serious or life threatening allergic reactions if they consume this product. Dr. Praeger’s Gluten Free California Veggie Burger has contained soybeans since its introduction in 2007 and is safe for consumption by those who do not have soy allergies.

Food Safety Quick Hits - Hyperlinks for June 5, 2015

A Colorado meat company is recalling ground elk meat after analysis conducted by the company showed the product was positive for E. coli O157:H7.   The product was packed in 205 eight pound cases containing 8 one pound packages and was shipped to NC, SC, and VA.

A Michigan company is recalling close to 50,000 lbs of pork sausage due to potential contamination of foreign material.  The notice said the issue was discovered during verification testing. 

CDC Release 2013 Foodborne Illness Report

CDC released 2013 Report – Surveillance for Foodborne Disease Outbreaks United States. 2013: Annual Report.  http://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/pdfs/foodborne-disease-outbreaks-annual-report-2013-508c.pdf

 

The main findings as listed in the report:

• In 2013, 818 foodborne disease outbreaks were reported, resulting in 13,360 illnesses, 1,062 hospitalizations, 16 deaths, and 14 food recalls. 
• Outbreaks caused by Salmonella increased 39% from 2012 (113) to 2013 (157). Outbreak-associated hospitalizations caused by Salmonella increased 38% from 2012 (454) to 2013 (628). 
• Fish (50 outbreaks), mollusks (23), chicken (21), and dairy (21, with 17 due to unpasteurized products) were the most common single food categories implicated in outbreaks.
• As reported in previous years, restaurants (433 outbreaks, 60% of outbreaks reporting a single location of preparation), specifically restaurants with sit-down dining 351, 49%), were the most commonly reported locations of food preparation. 

 

818 foodborne outbreaks impacting 13360 people. Not too bad when you consider there are 320 million people in the US eating hopefully 3 meals a day, 365 days/year...not bad unless you are one of those poor souls who happens to get ill, then really bad is what you are feeling.  And if you take the 48,000,000 as the real number for number of cases, then the vast majority of cases must not be reported. 

 

Salmonella is tops among bacteria, but Norovirus is still the leading etiological agent. I know we like to blame those commercially processed foods, but in the end, a restaurant or a banquet hall is a more likely place for contracting illness. For foods, seafood and mollusks…and there are a lot of cases due to mollusks especially if we could see the rate (number of cases/number of people eating). So if you can combinine a few of these…how about eating fish or mollusks (ie raw oysters) in a restaurant?  

 

As far as rates of foodborne illness per state, the average was 3.3 outbreaks per million people. Nice to see that our fair state of PA rates below this average. Ohio and Minnesota, not so good.

Food Safety Quick Hits - Hyperlinking the News for May 29th, 2015

An Ohio firm is recalling jars of salsa after discovering jars were not properly sealed. The titles of the various news articles call it a potential botulism concern, unsealed jars are more likely to be a spoilage issue.

The FDA issued a recall notice for a Colorado company that is recalling raw Macadamia nuts due to the presence of Salmonella.  The Salmonella was found by FDA through routine product testing.  No illnesses have been reported.

A California company is recalling candy - coconut chews because of the potential to contain small stainless steel wire.  It looks to be that a screen within the manufacturing process is the source.  Perhaps a screen broke or was fraying?

In California, patrons filed a lawsuit against a Mexican restaurant that reportedly made them ill.   The LA County Health Department investigated after seeing a number of complaints on Yelp, the social media site for restaurant reviews.

The CDC is investigating a multistate outbreak of Salmonella paratyphi B that may be linked to raw tuna used for sushi.  The epicenter for the cases is in the Southeast US.  As of May 21, 2015, a total of 53 people from 9 states have reported being ill.    CDC is still investigating the source.
Interesting, this variant does not cause parahyphoid fever, which would be characterized by high fever, but is more similar to the symptoms of normal Salmonella  which includes diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps 12-72 hours after being exposed.

In Wisconsin, 60 people report becoming ill from a Salmonella infection after eating pork carnitas served by a local market.  According to Wikipedia, "Carnitas, literally "little meats," is a dish of Mexican cuisine originating from the state of Michoacán. Carnitas are made by braising or simmering pork in oil or preferably lard until tender. The process takes three or four hours and the result is very tender and juicy meat, which is then typically served with chopped coriander leaves (cilantro) and diced onion, salsa, guacamole, tortillas, and refried beans (frijoles refritos)."  Sounds delicious except for the Salmonella part.

Finally, some reasons why not to take a cruise.  In a report issued by some group that supports journalism in the public interest, they call attention to all the bad stuff that can happen on a cruise ship.  From the report: "Last year over 1,700 passengers and crew members fell sick from gastrointestinal illnesses like norovirus. Since 2012 at least seven children have drowned or nearly drowned in cruise ship pools that rarely have full-time lifeguards. This year, a 21-year-old college student fell overboard and was never found -- one of at least two dozen incidents in the last two years in which cruise passengers or crew have gone overboard, according to media reports." 
Stay home and make your own pork carnitas.

FDA's Inspection Report for Apple Facility Involved in Caramel Apple Listeria Outbreak

FDA had issued a 483 Report on the Bidart Apple operation in light of the Caramel Apple Listeria outbreak.   This 483 Report made available through the Marler Blog  indicated the following:

• Of the 110 environmental samples taken, 7 were confirmed positive for Listeria monocytogenes with 6 of these being direct food contact surfaces.  These included the polishing brushes and the wooden bins.
• FDA observed food contact surfaces on packing equipment that were not maintained in a way that could be easily cleaned and sanitized.
• Exposed foam padding material on a packaging line (again, something that is not only difficult to clean, but can be a collection point for contamination).
• A bucket conveyor system made of a canvas material that had frayed ends (another material not easily cleaned).
• Torn / cracked flaps for controlling apple flow.

In summary, this is a facility that had a number of design /maintenance issues that made cleaning the microbiological level difficult.  Listeria was found on the line  immediately before final packing (the brushes) but were also found in a bin.  These items indicate the contamination was present, but offer little information on the initial source of contamination and conditions that lead proliferation on/in the apple.