Saturday Night Live is like The Who – a greatest hits group (I always preferred Townsend’s solo stuff).
So while the 40th anniversary of SNL provided a lot of laughs, it took 40 years to get to those gems.
And a lot of people had to be deemed not worthy, like running a lab.
But at least they got hand sanitizers.
Thanks to one of our Jersey food safety friends for the link.
Kyle Iboshi, Senior Investigative Reporter at KGW TV reports that USDA inspection reports that were acquired through a Freedom of Information Act request (below, exactly as shown) detail multiple violations at a Kelso, WA Foster Farms processing plant in 2014. Foster Farms’ chicken was linked to over 630 cases of salmonellosis between 2011 and 2014.
The reports, dated from March to September 2014, show 40 separate violations of food safety rules at the Kelso plant during the six month period.
“There were multiple times when food safety problems were identified and then not addressed,” said Christopher Waldrop, director of the Food Policy Institute at the Consumer Federation of America in Washington D.C.
Reports show on July 9, 2014 an inspector found fecal material on a raw chicken.
“The fecal material was found on the inside left hip/thigh area consisting of dark green creamy material,” wrote the government inspector.
“You shouldn’t have fecal matter on chickens,” said Waldrop. “That presents a risk to consumers because they could get sick if they consume that chicken or other chickens that were processed at the same time.”
“Foster Farms is committed to the highest levels of food safety and regrets any illness that may have previously been associated with any of its products,” wrote the company in a statement to KGW. The company declined requests for an on-camera interview.
“We really need to know what is happening in these plants,” said Waldrop.
When I was a PhD student I volunteered as a dishwasher in a restaurant as part of my food safety-related research. I saw lots of things, but the two things I remember most is that I was often asked to work with a server to do some salad plating; and I had to listen to a lot of Pink Floyd.
There was some Tom Petty, and The Clash, but a lot of Pink Floyd.
Servers, while not traditionally thought as food handlers, are often involved with scooping beverage ice, putting silverware together and sometimes, as I experienced, salad preparation.
And when a server is confirmed ill with hepatitis A, even if they are superstars at handwashing, a whole lot of business hurt happens. Stuff like public health clinics and loss of confidence.
According to WCNC, a server at a Charlotte-area restaurant, Dogwood Southern Table and Bar, has the virus and may have exposed patrons in early February.
Health officials say the worker did not prepare food, but was responsible for polishing silverware and severing food. Monday afternoon, the Health Department offered a walk-in clinic for free vaccination.
“I’m very concerned because I have small kids at home and so I worry about not just myself, but my family, and so it’s unfortunate.”
So far about 20 people have been vaccinated.
Coaching hockey or skating.
Or coaching swimming (which I have no idea how to do, but someone was needed)
Or coaching cooking (thanks for the thermometers, Chapman, and our students thank you for not barfing).
Hepatitis A is a pretty nasty foodborne virus, often leading to long term liver issues. According to the Daily Mail, one of the folks in a cluster of hep A illnesses linked Chinese-grown berries in Australia is speaking out.
Trudie Sims, from Ballarat in Victoria, had been using Nanna’s frozen berries in smoothies until Sunday evening, when she was alerted to the health warning which had been issued.
‘I’m really angry … (and) it’s absolutely terrified me’, Ms Sims told Daily Mail Australia.
So far four cases of hepatitis A have been confirmed in Queensland, three in Victoria, and two in New South Wales. Ms Sims’ case could take the national toll to ten.
‘Over the last two to three weeks I’ve been getting quite sick and I just thought it was a flu,’ Ms Sims revealed.
‘Last night I just couldn’t really swallow anymore and I was going to make a frozen drink like I have been for the last four to six weeks,’ she added added.
After her partner Trevor alerted her to the health warning which had been issued when he saw Ms Sims with a packet of Nanna’s berries – he rushed her to hospital.
Since her admission her eyelids have turned yellow and she is exhibiting signs of jaundice.
‘I’m massively jaundice and my liver’s pretty crappy and these are the first signs of hep A from the berries,’ Ms Sims revealed.
Though still awaiting the definitive results of her blood tests, Ms Sims said her doctor was almost certain she had hepatitis A, news which left her in tears.
The Ballarat woman said she feels betrayed by the food company, and claims she was misled over the origin of the product which she thought were Australian made.
‘I’m really angry’, Ms Sims said before adding ‘It’s disgusting. We’re in Australia – we have our own resources.’
She now faces at least a week of unpaid leave from her casual job, is on heavy antibiotics and can’t even kiss her partner.
Ms Sims said she was beside herself when she found out, especially since she and partner Trevor visited his sick mother in hospital just last week. She hopes that she did not pass on any virus.
And the import blame game has started.
Victorian Farmers Federation president Peter Tuohey said not all imported food adhered to Australia’s strict guidelines which were some of the best health and safety standards in the world.
Mr Tuohey urged consumers to always buy Australian made products but conceded identifying those products could be quite challenging.
‘I can only assume that this company is using Chinese berries because they are offering a lower market price,’ he told The Herald Sun. ‘Berries are certainly in season in Australia.’
He said that it was likely the berries were contaminated when they were first picked.
‘They may have been placed on the ground where rats and other vermin could have caused the problem,’ he said.
‘Unfortunately, Australian Customs don’t test every batch, they only check a certain percentage of shipments.’
The folks who run food safety at big companies often talk about the challenges they face when it comes to asking for resources. It’s all about return on investment.
I don’t know much about ROI, an 18% drop in stock isn’t good. According to Reuters that’s what the firm who sells Nanna’s berry mixes are experiencing. 
Shares in Australia’s Patties Foods Ltd fell as much as 18 percent on Monday after it recalled its frozen berry products following a hepatitis A outbreak that has been linked to poor hygiene and water supplies in a Chinese packaging plant.
Shares were down 12.4 percent at A$1.20 in early trade, after falling as low as A$1.14.
Rob Cribb of the Toronto Star points out failings in transparency at Health Canada, and repeats a phrase I’ve often used, that there is no way the U.S would tolerate the amount of public service hidings that go on in Canada and Australia.
Thank you, Britain.
Yet even the U.S. is becoming more, uh, secretive.
A state legislator told the NBC Connecticut Troubleshooters it might be time for a change after seeing our reports on what some call a lack of information shared about foodborne illness outbreaks at restaurants.
Imagine stopping by a restaurant you frequent and seeing a sign in the window saying it’s closed by order of the health department, with no explanation, and nowhere to get one.
Several people have reached out to the NBC Connecticut Troubleshooters with similar complaints and said the flow of information has to improve.
The Troubleshooters spoke with residents connected to two different foodborne illness cases in Connecticut, none of whom is satisfied with the way public health officials handled the incidents.
Kamran Niazi said he could not get answers from public health investigators last year when Yale-New Haven Hospital diagnosed him with salmonella hours after he ate at Oregano Joe’s in Orange and became violently ill.
Niazi was hospitalized for almost a week, and health inspectors had the restaurant temporarily closed.
“What’s the point of having a public health department that’s not protecting the public’s health and is actually hiding and withholding information from the public?” Niazi wondered.
Steve and Susan Herzog reached out after watching our reports on Niazi and said they came down with E. coli in the Willimantic area in late 2013.
The Herzogs learned the illness was most likely tied to salad they ate at a local restaurant, but the investigation was inconclusive.
“If you are going to get a foodborne illness, this is the worst state it could happen in,” said Steve Herzog. “What my lawyer was looking for was their produce invoices from the month of December.”
State epidemiologist Dr. Matthew Cartter points out most foodborne illness investigations are confidential by state law, and added that investigators learn about most outbreaks a week or two after they happen, so a news release would come too late.
The goal is often to learn from outbreaks and prevent them in the future.
“It’s not until we receive reports from multiple people that we are able to identify an outbreak,” Cartter said. “And there’s a delay between the time that someone eats a contaminated food item, gets sick, sees a doctor, gets a lab test and we hear about it.”
The Taichung Health Bureau yesterday stated that an investigation into several manufacturers of duck blood confirmed to be contaminated with metallic biotoxins indicated that major chain restaurants such as Tripod King, Wulao and Spicy Fans are supplied by these manufacturers. The health bureau explained that the duck blood has been confirmed to contain metallic bio-toxins that are not suitable for consumption.
Duck blood and chicken blood are common ingredients used in Taiwanese hot pot soups and are often condensed with rice into a cake or jelly-like consistency.
The Taichung District Prosecutors Office along with the Taichung Health Bureau conducted an investigation into New Taipei City-based Shuang Peng Foods’ facilities in Taichung’s Wu Jih District and discovered a large drum containing chicken blood and duck blood meant for human consumption. Inspectors found approximately nine metric tons of pre-sealed chicken blood, 36,780 kilograms of partly sealed containers and 746 bags of spicy-flavor blood soup. All of the blood identified as contaminated was seized by officials.
Shuang Peng Foods manufacturers chicken, duck and pig blood products and currently has a 70-per cent national market share.
Taichung Health Bureau Deputy Director Tsai Shu-feng stated that inspectors from the Taichung District Prosecutors Office identified four firms in the Taichung area as having used contaminated blood products. In addition to the supplier in Taichung’s Wu Jih District, a Spicy Fans location had 5 kilograms of blood in storage, while the other two were out of stock.
Indian food safety systems are challenged by the rapidly growing population, hygiene related problems, incidences of residues of antibiotics and heavy metals, foodborne pathogens, incidence of infectious diseases in food producing animals and anti- microbial resistance.
These observations were made by experts addressing the recently-held National Symposium on Food Safety of Animal Origin, arranged during the XIII Annual Conference of Indian Association of Veterinary and Public Health.
Expressing his views at the symposium, Prof. Suresh S Honnappagol,animal husbandry commissioner, Government of India, stated, “The traditional production, processing and waste handling systems coupled with unhygienic practices in particular have tainted and tarnished the image of the Indian meat industry.”
Further, a panel of experts pointed out that population and income growth were driving enormous increases in demand for foods of animal origin. Livestock production systems are facing increasing demands for livestock feeds relative to availabilities. Accurate assessments of current and future supplies and demands for livestock feed are needed for national food and feed security policy and planning. The development of National Feed Assessment Systems (NFASs) is suggested to support sustainable livestock sector growth.
Dr C Renukaprasad, vice-chancellor, KVAFSU, Bidar,stated,“There is need to have extensive knowledge about the main health hazards associated with consumption of meat, poultry and eggs and their epidemiology in animals and humans. In addition, the risk analysis and HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points). There must be an awareness of international regulation concerning the safety of meat, poultry and eggs and related trade issues.There is also need to put in risk-based inspection procedures.”
Diarrhea downed 200 employees of an export processing company in Danao City on Thursday, with investigators looking at contaminated food or water as among the possible causes.
Of the 200 affected employees of Mitsumi, two were confined at the Danao City Hospital where personnel from the Provincial Health Office examined them, GMA Cebu’s Alan Domingo reported Friday.
The other patients were brought to other hospitals in Cebu City, the report added.