Monthly Archives: April 2014

Evans of CFIA gets honorary degree

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Dr. Brian Evans, former chief vet at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the point-man on the first mad cow disease outbreak in 2003, is the first recipient of an honorary degree in veterinary medicine from the University of Calgary.

Evans is the retired executive vice-president of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and was the country’s chief veterinary officer for 15 years.

Brian EvansHe graduated from the University of Guelph with a bachelor of science in agriculture in 1974 and a doctor of veterinary medicine in 1978.

While at CFIA, he was also Canada’s delegate to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) for 13 years. He was elected secretary general for the OIE regional commission for the Americas and to four consecutive three-year terms as the representative of the member countries of the Americas Region on the OIE’s executive council.

Most recently, he was appointed the international body’s deputy director general responsible for animal health, veterinary public health and international standards.

He is married to Laurianne and has four children.

And is a genuinely thoughtful dude.

It was the buns, with Salmonella, in the buffet line

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In January 2014 over 30 patrons of Maple Grove MN’s Old Country Buffet fell ill with salmonellosis. Following the illnesses, health authorities investigated the pathogen source and according to the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal are pointing to contaminated dinner rolls as the most probable food. Rolls are a non-traditional foodborne illness source – but a massive norovirus outbreak was linked to Japanese bread earlier this year.old-country-buffet-300x224
The rolls were likely cross-contaminated with Salmonella Enteritidis from raw chicken used in the restaurant (or maybe an asymptomatic food handler or pooled eggs?  that’s what MDH found in their investigation -ben ), Minnesota Department of Health spokesman Doug Schultz said.
“Most outbreaks are preventable: They occur] because a food worker came in ill, or because of cross-contamination. … It’s just a question of what steps should have been taken,” Schultz said. “Contamination doesn’t just happen.”
 
South Carolina-based parent company Ovation Brands (formerly Eagan-based Buffets Inc.) could not be reached for comment.  After the outbreak became known the company said it retrained the entire Maple Grove staff and stepped up food safety inspections.
 
A final report will be issued as soon as next week.

Charlotte Papa John’s manager diagnosed with hepatitis A

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Food business owners should worry about hepatitis A. Individuals can shed the virus without showing symptoms and even an infected handwashing superstar will result in lineups outside the business or at the health department while patrons get their post-exposure shots. Even with the costs associated with turnover, I’d probably vaccinate my staff.29334616_1381404884

According to WBTV, a Charlotte, NC Papa John’s manager has been diagnosed with the virus after traveling out of the country resulting in thousands being exposed.

During a press conference on Thursday evening, officials said the employee was a manager at the Papa Johns restaurant who contracted Hep A while traveling out of the country.

The employee was diagnosed on Monday or Tuesday of this week.

“The Mecklenburg County Health Department is working with the State Health Department and our Public Information Office on coordinating messages about what residents who ate food from the restaurant should do,” the email states.

If you ate at the restaurant between March 28 and April 7, officials say you should get a hepatitis vaccination. The vaccine is effective if you were exposed within the last 14 days and could prevent you from getting sick.
 
If you ate food from this location between March 24 and March 27, officials say the vaccination would no longer be effective. In this case, you should be aware of the symptoms and notify your physician if you see them.

There will be a vaccination clinic for people at the Cabarrus County Health Department and Mecklenburg County Health Department on Friday from 4 pm to 8 pm.

 

WTF? 524 now confirmed sick with Salmonella linked to Foster Farms chicken

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This is why microbial food safety should be marketed so consumers have a choice.

As of April 7, 2014, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control reports a total of 524 people have been infected with seven outbreak strains of Salmonella Heidelberg from 25 states and Puerto Rico, since March 1, 2013.

Foster-Farms-Chicken-BreastCDC says it is working closely with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to assess interventions implemented at Foster Farms facilities to prevent future illnesses.

But people keep getting sick. And what are these interventions?

The lack of information, the lack of a recall despite continued illnesses, is sorta mind-numbing.

Just cook it doesn’t cut it.

Potential outbreak at Muskegon sports bar

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Muskegon, MI birthplace of the Detroit Red Wings’ Justin Abdelkader and punk rocker Iggy Pop is also home to what looks like a foodborne illness outbreak. According to Mlive, patrons of Bonicki’s Bistro reported illnesses to owner Norm Spyke as well as the local health authorities.395394_237923292949867_1801694089_n

Officials at Public Health – Muskegon County are asking recent patrons of a Muskegon Township sports bar to fill out a survey to gather data for a foodborne illness investigation.

Jill Montgomery Keast, the health education supervisor at Public Health – Muskegon County, said the agency is in the early stages of determining the type and cause of an outbreak that occurred at Bonicki’s Sports Bistro, 1891 East Apple Ave.
Keast said the department received at least six calls from local customers who fell ill between April 3 and April 6. 
“We were in full compliance as far as I know. They are looking into the matter,” Spyke said.

Bonicki’s achieved compliance with the Michigan Food Law on Jan. 8, according to the latest inspection data available online at www.swordsolutions.com. The records show that sanitarians cited the restaurant for priority violations related to ice and food storage that were eventually corrected.

On the Bonicki’s Sports Bistro Facebook page is a message from the ownership:

Contrary to some news organizations poor reporting skills
WE ARE STILL OPEN!
The Muskegon County Health Department has been here and has checked us on everything, they found nothing wrong with how we store, prepare, cook, or serve our food.
During this time please remember the people that work here, for many of them this is their only job, bad press effects everybody. 
#shoplocal #lovemuskegon

Getting sick from food sucks too.

WTF? New Zealand dairy cleared to sell raw milk after Campylobacter outbreak, two kids get E. coli from different NZ raw milk

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As Village Milk Timaru in New Zealand begins selling raw milk after being linked to seven Campylobacter illnesses, at least two Timaru pupils have contracted E. coli following school trips, with raw milk being a possible cause.

colbert.raw.milkWho serves raw milk to schoolkids? They don’t have the choice adults do.

South Canterbury medical officer of health Dr Daniel Williams said, “All the children that have been sick have drunk raw milk, but it has not been confirmed what caused the illnesses yet.”

The pupils did not visit the Timaru farm of Stuart and Andrea Weir, which has been at the center of an ongoing Campylobacter investigation.

“We have had a clean run of at least five consecutive days. That gives us enough confidence to resume our operations in Timaru,” chief executive Mark Houston said.

“We don’t want to speculate or point fingers. We understand South Canterbury is a bit of a haven for Campylobacter.” 

WTF? Keep food safety out of AIB, Kansas State proposal

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A former colleague at Kansas State University asked me yesterday if I would deliver my annual talk with summer public health students despite being unceremoniously dumped last year.

I said sure, I’ll always talk with students: they shouldn’t have to suffer from administration incompetence (I pre-record the talk, send a bunch of background material and then skype in for discussion; works for most of the world, just not Kansas administrators).

mr_peanut_warningBut I also had to wonder when Kansas State announced they were proposing a $60 million partnership with AIB International (that’s the American Institute of Baking, also in Manhattan, Kansas) to create a Global Center for Grain-based Foods.

What marketing geniuses come up with these names?

“We are looking at our shared expertise to help enable the grain-based food industry, both from a learning/technical application, and from a food safety perspective,” said Andre Biane, president and CEO of AIB International.

Having AIB and food safety in the same sentence should shock anyone.

AIB is the third-party auditor that approved salmonella-tainted peanut paste that killed nine and sickened 600, gave DeCoster egg operations a “superior” rating and “recognition of achievement” in June 2010, just as thousands of Americans began barfing from Salmonella in DeCoster eggs, and a big thumbs-up to Veggie Booty before Salmonella started making people sick.

As has been documented, although AIB considered the Peanut Corporation of America  plant ‘Superior,” Nestlé twice inspected PCA plants and chose not to take on PCA as a supplier because it didn’t meet Nestlé’s food-safety standards, according to Nestlé’s audit reports in 2002 and 2006.

I also wonder when KState administratium goes on about its Australian ties and clearly knows nothing about the culture here, even with two former KState profs sitting here.

Keep believing your own press releases: it’s what universities are good at.

Audits and inspections are never enough: A critique to enhance food safety

30.aug.12

Food Control

D.A. Powell, S. Erdozain, C. Dodd, R. Costa, K. Morley, B.J. Chapman

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0956713512004409?v=s5

Abstract

Internal and external food safety audits are conducted to assess the safety and quality of food including on-farm production, manufacturing practices, sanitation, and hygiene. Some auditors are direct stakeholders that are employed by food establishments to conduct internal audits, while other auditors may represent the interests of a second-party purchaser or a third-party auditing agency. Some buyers conduct their own audits or additional testing, while some buyers trust the results of third-party audits or inspections. Third-party auditors, however, use various food safety audit standards and most do not have a vested interest in the products being sold. Audits are conducted under a proprietary standard, while food safety inspections are generally conducted within a legal framework. There have been many foodborne illness outbreaks linked to food processors that have passed third-party audits and inspections, raising questions about the utility of both. Supporters argue third-party audits are a way to ensure food safety in an era of dwindling economic resources. Critics contend that while external audits and inspections can be a valuable tool to help ensure safe food, such activities represent only a snapshot in time. This paper identifies limitations of food safety inspections and audits and provides recommendations for strengthening the system, based on developing a strong food safety culture, including risk-based verification steps, throughout the food safety system.

Why did UK pool stay open 11 days after diarrhea alert?

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The Aqua Vale Swimming Pool remained open for 11 days even though environmental health chiefs raised concerns about a dangerous contamination.

Its two pools were later shut down, on April 3, after tests revealed that cryptosporidium was present in the water.

diaper.poolParents are demanding answers from Everyone Active, the firm that runs the facility.

One father, whose six-year-old daughter had to visit the hospital after swimming there, said: “My daughter has been really ill for more than a week now after going swimming and we’ve been back and forward to the doctors and even up to the hospital she has been so bad.

“None of her friends and family who don’t swim there are sick and to hear they knew about it is infuriating.

“I’m considering taking her out of her lessons there now.”

7 outbreaks of Norovirus in Vegas

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The Southern Nevada Health District Office of Epidemiology has, since March 29, 2014, identified 7 clusters and outbreaks of acute gastroenteritis illness in the Las Vegas area. Venues associated with these clusters and outbreaks include a hotel conference, several private gatherings, and long–term and memory-care facilities. Seventeen persons reported seeking medical care and 2 persons were hospitalized in association with the hotel conference.

norovirus-2Testing by the Southern Nevada Public Health Laboratory (SNPHL) confirmed NoV in multiple stool specimens obtained from ill persons.

SNHD, SNPHL, and the Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health (NDPBH), Office of Public Health Informatics and Epidemiology collaborated on the investigation and response to these outbreaks.

Strict hand hygiene is the most important method to prevent NoV infection and control transmission. Proper hand washing with soap and running water for at least 20 seconds is the most effective way to reduce NoV contamination of the hands. Hand sanitizers might serve as an adjunct in between proper hand washings, but should not be considered a substitute for frequent soap and water hand washing.

The efficacy of sodium hypochlorite (chlorine bleach) has been widely documented to disinfect human NoV from environmental surfaces. When possible, chlorine bleach solution should be applied to hard, nonporous, environmental surfaces at a concentration of 1,000–5,000 ppm (5–25 table-spoons household bleach [5.25%] per gallon of wa-ter) and leave in place for at least 4 minutes. A list of EPA-approved commercial cleaning products that are effective against feline caliciviruses (which in-clude NoV) is available at http://www.epa.gov/oppad001/list_g_NoV.pdf. Personnel performing environmental services should adhere to the manufacturer’s instructions for dilution, application, and contact time.

Additional infection control measures for healthcare and LTCFs are included in the SNHD Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of NoV in Extended Care Facilities and Nursing Homes available online at http://www.southernnevadahealthdistrict.org/health-care-providers/norovirus-guidelines.php 

No one wants their kid to get sick from animals: best practices paper published

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From North Carolina, U.S. to Brisbane, Australia, outbreaks of E. coli, Salmonella and other pathogens related to petting zoos or animal exhibits have been devastating to the families involved.

We wanted to provide a checklist for parents, and the teachers who book these events.

Two veterinarians from Kansas State University – Gonzalo Erdozain who completed his Masters of Public Heath with me and is about to graduate as a vet, and Kate KuKanich, an assistant prof with whom I’ve had the pleasure gonzalo.pic_.may13-300x300of writing several papers with – joined with me and my BFF Chapman (until we have a fight over hockey) and we tried to produce some guidelines.

The uniting factor was – we all have kids.

We’ve all seen microbiologically terrible practices, and read about them from around the world, and thought, maybe we should try and provide some guidance.

And now it’s been published.

Gonzalo did the bulk of the work for his MPH, but we all contributed our experiences.

For me, it was going to the Ekka in Brisbane, something like the Texas State Fair. The petting zoo was absolute madness, and after living in Brisbane and hanging out with micro-types who told me, don’t go to the Ekka, you’ll get sick, we didn’t go last year.

Fourty-nine people got sick from E. coli O157.

North Carolina has had repeated and terrible outbreaks.

As a father of five daughters, I’ve had many requests over 20 years to go on a school trip to see the animals. As a food safety type, I’ve been kate.jackroutinely concerned about best practices. The other parents may dislike microbiology, but I’m concerned with the health and safety of the children involved.

I am extremely proud of this paper, with the hope that maybe there will be fewer sick kids. I’m also extremely proud to be associated with my co-authors.

Best practices for planning events encouraging human-animal interactions

03.Apr.14

Zoonoses and Public Health DOI: 10.1111/zph.12117

doug.ben.familyG. Erdozain , K. KuKanich , B. Chapman  and D. Powell

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/zph.12117/abstract?deniedAccessCustomisedMessage=&userIsAuthenticated=false

03.Apr.14

Zoonoses and Public Health

G. Erdozain , K. KuKanich , B. Chapman  and D. Powell

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/zph.12117/abstract?deniedAccess

Educational events encouraging human–animal interaction include the risk of zoonotic disease transmission. ‘It is estimated that 14% of all disease in the USA caused by Campylobacter spp., Cryptosporidium spp., Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O157, non-O157 STECs, Listeria monocytogenes, nontyphoidal Salmonella enterica and Yersinia enterocolitica were attributable to animal contact. This article reviews best practices for organizing events where human–animal interactions are encouraged, with the objective of lowering the risk of zoonotic disease transmission.

(And it was Amy that noticed the thing had been published; always ahead by a century.)

petting.zoo.guidelines