Monthly Archives: December 2010

Leslie Nielsen, food safety and lame ducks

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Leslie Nielsen is still dead, but the food safety wonks in Washington are keeping the fans in stiches.

The U.S. Senate’s slapstick effort to pass food safety legislation is not going to result in fewer sick people. But it does set a tone, like restaurant inspection grades, that food safety is important, that elected officials may, sorta, be paying attention. And if it gets food safety on The Daily Show, then great.

For those who need reminding, food safety is not at the top of the legislative agenda.

“A food safety bill that has burned up precious days of the Senate’s lame-duck session appears headed back to the chamber because Democrats violated a constitutional provision requiring that tax provisions originate in the House. … The debacle could prove to be a major embarrassment for Senate Democrats, who sought Tuesday to make the relatively unknown bill a major political issue by sending out numerous news releases trumpeting its passage.”
John Stanton, Roll Call

"The bipartisan bill, which would overhaul the nation’s food safety system, still has to go back to the House, so there’s plenty of time to screw it up. … staff members for the leading Democratic and Republican senators on the health committee actually got together and worked things out the way they used to do in olden days. Most of the negotiators were women, and while I am certainly not saying that made a difference, I am, sort of, just saying.
“Oh, my gosh! It’s so important,” said Senator Scott Brown of Massachusetts, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “I’m glad I rushed back from our break to work on food safety.”
Gail Collins, The New York Times

“Food Safety Bill will save the lives of thousands”
Environmental Working Group

And to Jon Stewart last night.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c
The Food, the Bad and the Ugly
www.thedailyshow.com
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Basil, nutmeg, recalled cause of salmonella

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Recalls of basil in Canada and nutmeg in the U.S. again highlight the food safety risks associated with spices and fresh herbs.

Country Herbs is warning the public not to consume the Country Herbs brand and Longo’s brand Thai Basil because the products may be contaminated with salmonella. These products have been distributed in Ontario.

And in response to a recall commenced by its supplier (Mincing Overseas Spice Company, Dayton, New Jersey), Frontier Natural Products Co-op, is voluntarily recalling two products manufactured with non-organic nutmeg that were sold under the Frontier brand and under the Whole Foods Market brand that contain nutmeg supplied by Mincing Overseas Spice Company.

No one is known to be barfing from either of these recalls.
 

Carrefour recalls cheese cause of E. coli

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France-based Carrefour is recalling a batch of cheese type "Fourme d’Ambert," due to the presence of harmful bacteria, according to a statement released Wednesday.

Carrefour has conducted self-checks on these cheeses sold under the brand cutting Carrefour Selection, and discovered E. coli.

These products were sold between October 29 and November 30, 2010, and to date, no consumer complaints have been reported.

This bacterium can cause in the week following its consumption, severe gastroenteritis, which may be followed by severe renal complications in young children.

That makes it sound like it’s E. coli O157:H7 or some other shiga-toxin producing E. coli.
 

Do you like Jerry’s Deli in LA? Employee found with hepatitis A

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An employee at Jerry’s Deli in Westwood, part of Los Angeles, has been diagnosed with hepatitis A.

Customers who ate sandwiches at the popular eatery near UCLA on Nov. 18, 21, 23 or 24 are urged to receive an immune globulin shot or a hepatitis A vaccine shot no later than 14 days from the date they visited the deli, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health said in an alert issued Wednesday evening.
 

5,700 sick as Swedish city traces source of cryptosporidium in water supply

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The water system in Östersund, in northern Sweden, has been found to contain an area with high levels of cryptosporidium which has left thousands of people ill and the city’s water undrinkable.

Östersund municipality is now considering how the area can be sealed off so that the parasite does not continue to reach the water treatment plant, it was revealed at the press conference (photo from The Local).

Those responsible at the municipality would not reveal if the area was found in water or on land.

The details of the tests were passed on to police and prosecutors this morning.

Nearly one in ten residents of Östersund has now been hit by a stomach bug caused by the parasite in the municipal water supply.

Two operating rooms at Östersund Hospital are today closed due to the rampaging stomache flu.

The infection has hit hospital staff – with almost 200 workers at home from work on Thursday, according to Sveriges Television (SVT). Hospital management expects an increasing number of sick staff over the next few days.

The hospital has 3000 liters of clean water driven in every day in order to secure water supplies.

Maple Leaf listerosis victims haven’t been paid; delay linked to medical evidence from claimants

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The Toronto Star reports in tomorrow’s paper that while a March 2009 announcement by Maple Leaf Foods describing a "fair and early settlement" of an estimated $27 million to victims following their 2008 Listeria outbreak, no money has been paid out.

They have not paid out one penny to anyone,” said Walter Muller, who was awarded a small amount after he got sick from what he thinks was salami that was later part of a nationwide recall of cold cuts contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes in the summer of 2008. 

The deadline for victims or their family members to submit a claim was in November 2009. The timeline for actually putting the cheque in the mail, on the other hand, keeps getting extended.

The Star reports that no money will be paid to any claimants until all claims are settled or arbitrated and detailed medical evidence can be collected and verified.  

 Laura Bruneau,  president of the Bruneau Group who is handling the claims cites delays in scheduling doctor’s appointments as the problem “People are reporting to us that it can take anywhere from six to eight months to get an appointment to see their physicians.” Wow.

Lawsuits and settlements can take a while to resolve but unfortunately those affected by the pathogen are the big losers in the delays. Revisiting this outbreak over two years after it occured also demonstrates the need for food businesses to have a long-term recovery and crisis management strategy — it’s so much more than being open, transparent and available during the early days of the incident.

Slash foodborne illness, US government objective

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There will probably be more, uh, details when the government’s new 10-year blueprint to improve Americans’ health comes out tomorrow, but for now, it’s “slash food poisonings from E. coli, salmonella and other microbes.”

Guns N’ Roses was a terrible and terribly overrated band. But if the guitar antics of Slash can reduce rates of foodborne illness, why not; not much else seems to work.