Moldy Sippy Cup Lids..What About Drinking Bottles?



News reports of moldy sippy cup lids have parents concerned.  And rightly so.  High levels of mold can lead to allergic responses in children.   The issue is that liquid seeps into the areas that are hard or impossible to clean.  This can be a big issue with juices or milk that have the nutrients to be able to support mold or bacterial growth.  Additionally, juices can be sticky, making cleaning more difficult.

Sippy cups are not the only types of cups that have multi-component lids.  Many of the fancy water bottles used by adults and children have these multicomponent lids.  It would be interesting to see if anyone has torn apart these lids.
 

Maytag Cheese Recall Expanded to 35 Production Lots

 Maytag Dairy is expanding their cheese recall to a new total of 35 lots. 
Their first recall on February 14th was for 1 lot after testing found a Listeria was found during routine testing.  Then a recall announcement on February 19th, expanded the recall to 5 lots.  Then on the February 26nd, the recall was expanded to 35 lots.

 
FDA Recall Notice
http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm488124.htm
Maytag Dairy Farms Expands Voluntary Recall Of Blue Cheese Products Due To Possible Health Risk
For Immediate Release
February 26, 2016

Update - Listeria Outbreak in Packaged Salads

In January,  CDC provided an update on a Listeria outbreak associated with Dole Packaged Salad made in their Ohio facility.  A update of that case was published where there are now a total of 18 people who have been infected with one death covering 9 states.  There are also a reported 11 cases in Canada with 3 deaths.

Multistate Outbreak of Listeriosis Linked to Packaged Salads Produced at Springfield, Ohio Dole Processing Facility

Posted February 25, 2016 2:00 PM ET

What's New?

Three more ill people have been reported from Missouri (1) and Ohio (2), bringing the total to 18.
The most recent illness was diagnosed on January 31, 2016.

CDC MMWR - 2014 Botulism Outbreak Associated with Farm Stand Pesto

CDC MMWR has a report on the 2014 botulism outbreak associated with pesto purchased from a farm stand.  Two individual contracted the disease when sharing dinner of chicken with the tainted pesto.

In the report they found "Environmental assessment of company A identified improper acidification and pressurization practices and lack of licensure to sell canned products commercially, including products in hermetically-sealed jars......Health officials in California collected and analyzed an unopened jar of the pesto from this family member’s house. It was found to have a pH of 5.3 and water activity* of 0.965 (parameters insufficient to prevent growth of C. botulinum)."

The report goes on to state that "As the demand for locally made, ready-to-eat food increases, consumers and public health officials should be aware of the risk for botulism from improperly canned foods such as pesto sold in jars. Producers of canned foods for commercial use should ensure that they adhere to food safety regulations."

(More information on this outbreak in our 2014 report.)
CDC MMWR
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/65/wr/mm6507a2.htm?s_cid=mm6507a2_e
Outbreak of Foodborne Botulism Associated with Improperly Jarred Pesto — Ohio and California, 2014

FDA Reports on the Contamination of Imported Spices, but not Retail Spics...Yet

FDA published a Q and A on the safety of spices looking at the contamination rates of incoming spices.   In a nutshell, the US imports spices from 79 countries, and of these, salmonella contamination was found in spices from 37 countries.  The also found that "Spice shipments offered for entry into the U.S. had an overall prevalence for Salmonella of approximately 6.6 percent during the 2007 to 2009 fiscal years, about twice the average prevalence of all other imported, FDA-regulated foods"

But this is not really a thing because spices are generally treated once they arrive in the US and these were not yet treated.  According to the website, "However, we noted in the study an important data gap in that we were missing key information about the level of contamination of spices at retail in the U.S. When we began conducting the risk profile, we asked the public for any data but did not receive information about contamination rates at retail. Because many imported spices are treated after entry to the U.S. to reduce contamination before they are sold to consumers, we knew that the 6.6 percent contamination rate found at the import level did not reflect what was actually reaching consumers."

Did they collect retail samples? Yes, but that data was not ready to release.

 FDA Website
http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodScienceResearch/RiskSafetyAssessment/ucm487954.htm
Questions & Answers on Improving the Safety of Spices

NY Firm Recalls Chicken Salad Products Due to Listeria Positive Sample

A NY firm is recalling ready-to-eat chicken salad after they product tested positive for Listeria.  The unit size is 4 lbs which would be considered foodservice size.


FSIS Recall Notice
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/recalls-and-public-health-alerts/recall-case-archive/archive/2016/recall-021-2016-release
Sally Sherman Foods Firm Recalls Chicken Salad Products Due to Possible Listeria Contamination
Class I Recall 021-2016
Health Risk: High Feb 25, 2016

Outbreak of E. coli in MN and WI Associated with Spouts

There is a second outbreak occurring with sprouts announced within the week, but this MN / WI based outbreak is associated with E. coli STEC.

The other spout related outbreak, which is based in Kansas, is due to Salmonella.


NPR - The Salt
Eating And Health
http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/02/25/468032778/should-sprouts-come-with-a-warning-label
Should Sprouts Come With A Warning Label? 
 

Mitigating Food Safety Issues - Monitoring of Social Media

Wall Street Journal has an interesting read about mitigating food safety risks.  Some of the keys mentioned are right on target..."Companies need strong food safety policies that are enforced, extensive employee training and messaging and regular checking of their supply chains through audits, and product testing to help mitigate their risks.."  Then monitoring is discussed at length with specific attention to monitoring of social media.  The point they make is that monitoring social media may be helpful, but it is far from full proof.  Case in point was the Chipotle outbreak where social mentions months before the outbreak were not much different than that during the outbreak.

There are times monitoring social media can help, like the case earlier this year when LA County Health identified an outbreak at a restaurant.  But monitoring of social media has its drawbacks, as we pointed out last year when it was highlighted in the news media as the next best thing in the fight against foodborne illness.  Those who monitor consumer complaints will probably tell you, sometimes a complaint of illness here or there is common, and it can be difficult in telling what is real and what is either a misinterpretation of cause by the consumer (they picked the last thing they ate,  it was a seasonal illness, etc) or the consumer just wanted to complain.

As part of the company's food safety system, monitoring of complaints made formally or made through social media can all help in identifying an issue earlier, but it is far from clear cut.  Much of it will be establishing procedures for identifying key words or patterns in the data.  Best efforts however, are putting policies and procedures in place to prevent issues in the first place.

Wall Street Journal Risk Report
http://blogs.wsj.com/riskandcompliance/2016/02/25/awareness-training-oversight-keys-to-mitigating-food-safety-risks/
Awareness, Training, Oversight Keys to Mitigating Food Safety Risks
February 25, 2016
By Ben DiPietro Biography

The recent food sickness problems at Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc.—the chain suffered an E.coli outbreak that led to restaurant closures in nine states and a norovirus outbreak that sickened 140 people in Boston–placed a spotlight on risks faced by companies that sell food.

Companies need strong food safety policies that are enforced, extensive employee training and messaging and regular checking of their supply chains through audits, and product testing to help mitigate their risks, according to food safety experts. Monitoring of social media for early-warning signals of possible foodborne illness issues can be helpful and should be done but won’t always help prevent or contain outbreaks, they said.

Raw Can Be Risky When it Comes to Nuts and Sprouts - Salmonella Related Recalls

Within the last week, there have been recalls of raw nuts and raw sprouts and raw sprout products due to the potential for Salmonella after those products were tested and found to be Salmonella positive.  Surprising....not really.  Makes you feel like that infant in the e-trade commercial feigning a sense of shock at a very predictable outcome.

Raw sprouts and raw nuts are a risk for pathogenic organisms like Salmonella.  There are no significant pathogen reduction steps.  And although some may suggest testing as a control, it is hit or miss when there are low levels of contamination - so testing as verification but not as control.

Alfalfa Sprouts - http://www.thepacker.com/news/sprouts-ks-ok-linked-salmonella-illnesses

Raw Macadamia Nuts - http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm487338.htm

Spouted Chia and Flaxseed - http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm487043.htm

Raw pistachios http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm486489.htm
                        http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm487019.htm

The Packer
http://www.thepacker.com/news/sprouts-ks-ok-linked-salmonella-illnesses
UPDATED: Sprouts in KS, OK linked to salmonella illnesses
By Doug Carder February 22, 2016 | 1:11 pm EST