Going public: Restaurant inspection disclosure makes Birmingham politician ‘sad’

Birmingham’s food safety chief has attacked the Birmingham Mail for highlighting takeaways which could be at risk of giving customers food poisoning.

barbara.dring.birminghamChairman of the council’s licensing and public protection committee Barbara Dring told colleagues she was ‘saddened’ that the list of 127 takeaways and restaurants with zero-ratings for food hygiene on October 28, 2015 was published by the Birmingham Mail.

The food hygiene ratings are given by council inspectors so that customers are aware which kitchens are clean and well run and which have been found to be dirty, selling out of date food, have cockroaches or rats or other problems.

The council then publishes the results online via the Food Standards Agency website after an undetermined period for any appeals to be lodged.

The principle is that bad takeaways and restaurants are named and shamed.

But Coun Dring (Oscott) said: “I find it sad that the newspaper wants to knock Birmingham in this fashion.

She said that a prosecution followed and the club was fined £1,200 and made to pay £800 costs.

Conservative councillor Gary Sambrook (Kingstanding) said: “Birmingham residents deserve to know what the outcome of food hygiene inspections are.

“It’s shocking to think that the city council wants to try and muzzle the press, so that residents aren’t clear on the hygiene ratings of their local takeaway.

FSIS releases new guide to help food processors control potential allergens, other hazards

The  U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has released new guidelines to assist meat, poultry, and processed egg product producers in properly managing ingredients that could trigger adverse reactions among consumers with allergies or other sensitivities.

food.allergies“Our mission as a public health agency is to protect America’s most vulnerable populations, including children, from harm, and these new guidelines do just that,” said USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety Al Almanza. “Beyond keeping our families safe, these guidelines also provide a useful tool to help food companies avoid preventable, costly recalls.”

Food allergens are a public health issue impacting millions of Americans. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that two percent of adults, and four to eight percent of children, in the United States have food allergies. Food allergens can cause serious symptoms and can result in anaphylaxis, a potentially life threatening reaction.

Over the last several years, in part due to new actions by FSIS, there has been an increase in recalls of FSIS regulated products due to undeclared allergens. These problems often are caught by FSIS inspectors during labeling checks and are the result of changes to ingredient suppliers, products being placed in the wrong package, or changes to product or ingredient formulations.

By following these new guidelines, establishments are more likely to ensure that product labels declare all ingredients, as required by law, and that products do not contain undeclared allergens or other undeclared ingredients.  The guidance covers prevention and control measures of potentially allergic ingredients, packaging, labeling, storage, checklists, and allergen training, among others.

The finalized guidelines are part of FSIS’ comprehensive and ongoing efforts to reduce the number of allergen-related recalls. In April 2015, FSIS inspectors met with management at every FSIS-regulated establishment in the country to discuss whether the establishment produces items containing allergens, and, if so, whether the establishment had a process in place to ensure proper labeling. FSIS inspectors then increased the number of allergen labeling-related inspection checks they conduct in these establishments in order to ensure products are properly labeled. The Agency believes that this action has made plants more conscious of properly labeling their products and prevented additional recalls this year.

The guidelines can be found online at: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/AllergenGuide

Over the past six years, USDA has collaborated extensively with other federal partners to safeguard America’s food supply, prevent foodborne illnesses and improve consumers’ knowledge about the food they eat. USDA’s FSIS is working to strengthen federal food safety efforts and develop strategies that emphasize a three-dimensional approach to prevent foodborne illness: prioritizing prevention; strengthening surveillance and enforcement; and improving response and recovery.

Dirt possible source of botulism in California infant

Botulism is so rare the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention note only approximately 145 cases are reported yearly – 65% of those are infant botulism.

Here in San Diego, the county’s latest stats show 3 cases from 2009-2013. While people are familiar with honey containing the bacteria for infant botulism, Bri Escobar was surprised to find her daughter may have contracted the bacteria when her father unknowingly brought dirt home from his construction job.

“Spores grow in the ground and when a baby under 6 months inhales or ingest it their intestines are like a good area for that botulism toxin to grow,” Escobar explained.

She’s not a doctor, but after a week at Rady Children’s Hospital, she’s had to learn a lot about what’s ailing her daughter.

She said her daughter is slowly starting to regain the movement she lost a week ago and getting her personality back.

From the Salmonella-in-low-moisture-foods files: contaminated flax leads to recall

Your organic steel cut oats & chia with flax and rye flakes might have Salmonella in it, if it’s from Homestat Farms.

Homestat Farm of Dublin, OH is recalling some of its 42-ounce packages only of “Organic Steel Cut Oats & Chia with Flax And Rye Flakes” because the flax seed ingredient has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella.

The recalled “Organic Steel Cut Oats & Chia with Flax And Rye Flakes” was distributed on a limited basis in Sams Club retail stores located in AK, CA, FL, GA, IL, IN, KS, MD, MI, MN, MS, NC, NH, OH, PA & TX.

The product comes in a 42 ounce carton UPC 8 35882 00620 4 marked with Best Buy: 03/16/17-1, 03/16/18-1, 03/19/17-1, 03/19/17-2, 03/23/17-1, 03/23/17-2, 03/24/17-1, 03/26/17-1, 03/26/17-2, 04/08/17-2. The best buy date can be found embossed on the bottom flap of box next to the bar code.

A supplier informed Homestat Farm of this after a contamination was found in flax seed provided to another customer.

That product sounds like something that Drunk Uncle might say. It probably goes well with some swiss chard on a Roku or an Amazon Prime pumpkin spice.

No apology, no refund after 61 sickened with noro, California journos say bye-bye to Bali Hai

Failing to apologize or make a refund, the Shelter Island restaurant hit with a major norovirus outbreak has been served notice: It won’t host a local journalism banquet again.

vomit.toiletThe San Diego Society of Professional Journalists, which saw more than 60 people sickened in late July, has decided to find a new venue after a decade at the Bali Hai.

“As county health inspectors determined this was a foodborne illness, I spoke with Bali Hai co-owner Larry Baumann by phone and sent him a letter, asking for a full refund,” chapter president Matt Hall said Wednesday in a blog post and email to members.

Hall, of The San Diego Union-Tribune and one of the illness victims, said he stressed that the requested refund of $7,122 “would not satisfy any individual’s claim against the venue should any attendee who became sick file such a claim.”

But the club didn’t hear back by phone, email or letter, and Baumann didn’t return Hall’s followup phone call, he said in Wednesday’s note.

Baumann didn’t return a voice mail message Wednesday from Times of San Diego.

However, Hall said he received a voice message from the insurance carrier for Shelter Island Inc., representing the Bali Hai, “asking for a list of people who needed medical attention and had out-of-pocket medical expenses.”

Dirty dining in Vegas

A double dose of Dirty Dining, Las Vegas-style.

 Darcy Spears has a tie for us tonight, with two restaurants just two blocks apart.
Darcy: Hi… Oh!  Don’t turn around and walk away!

vegasIt’s a common reaction when Contact 13 shows up, health inspection in hand and full of questions.

Bund Shanghai restaurant on Decatur and Spring Mountain was hit with 36 demerits and a C grade.

Inspectors found visibly dirty food contact surfaces, old food debris on the can opener and meat slicer and a dirty ice machine. 

There was also heavy debris on the floor under kitchen equipment, a badly stained cutting board, and no hair restraints for food handlers.

“A lot of things I didn’t know,” said temporary manager Angela Liu. 

She says she’s not used to overseeing the kitchen staff and admits she didn’t check everything the night before their unannounced inspection.

Darcy: That’s a lot of stuff that was wrong.
Angela: Yeah, lot of stuff wrong, yeah, so, I tell them, you know.  I tell them and we now fix it–everything.

Inspectors also found a full handsink leaking dirty water.  And food in the prep table not protected from contamination. 

Angela takes us back to show us what is now a much cleaner kitchen.
She says the owner made it clear that he never wants to see another “C” grade.

Angela: If C again, they all lose their job.
Darcy: That’s it.  Everyone’s job’s on the line.

She shows us how everything is now labeled and double-covered to keep inspectors happy and customers healthy.

Darcy: It’s about food safety.
Angela: Yeah, food safety.  Right.  It’s very serious. Oh, my god. (she pauses to swat away a fly buzzing around her face.)
Darcy: You don’t want a fly in here, do you?

Thai Original BBQ on Jones and Flamingo was shut down with 36 demerits due to an imminent health hazard.  Inspectors found them operating without hot water. 

Employees called the boss and handed the phone to Darcy Spears.  The boss tries to say the only problem was a broken water heater.

Darcy on phone: Serena, it wasn’t just that.  That was definitely the reason that you got shut down as opposed to just getting a C grade, but the health inspection is four pages long.

For starters, the grease trap was leaking onto the floor and an uncovered drain pan was about to overflow. 

There was heavy grease build-up.  Most of the equipment was dirty.  And the knobs on the stove were caked with old food debris.

Floors and ceilings were dirty. 

Raw beef and chicken were stored over cooked noodles. 

And there was a fly infestation in the storage room.  You can see a whole bunch of them on a box of foam cups and crawling all over the ceiling.

It looked like a bunch of flies had hatched.

The boss says they weren’t having the pest control company visit often enough. 

She allowed employees to show us around that storage room and the kitchen, which appears to be all cleaned up.

Buffett from hell: 31 sickened with Staph at a horsey event in Luxembourg

In June 2014, a staphylococcal food poisoning outbreak occurred at an international equine sports event in Luxembourg requiring the hospitalization of 31 persons.

horseWe conducted a microbiological investigation of patients and buffet items, a case–control study and a carriage study of catering staff. Isolates of Staphylococcus aureus from patients, food and catering staff were characterized and compared using traditional typing methods and whole genome sequencing.

Identical strains (sequence type ST8, spa-type t024, MLVA-type 4698, enterotoxin A FRI100) were isolated in 10 patients, shiitake mushrooms, cured ham, and in three members of staff. The case–control study strongly suggested pasta salad with pesto as the vehicle of infection (p<0.001), but this food item could not be tested, because there were no leftovers. Additional enterotoxigenic strains genetically unrelated to the outbreak strain were found in four members of staff. Non-enterotoxigenic strains with livestock-associated sequence type ST398 were isolated from three food items and two members of staff.

The main cause of the outbreak is likely to have been not maintaining the cold chain after food preparation. Whole genome sequencing resulted in phylogenetic clustering which concurred with traditional typing while simultaneously characterizing virulence and resistance traits.

 Investigation of a Staphylococcal food poisoning outbreak combining case control, traditional typing, and whole genome sequencing methods

Eurosurveillance, Volume 20, Issue 45, November 2015

  1. Mossong, F. Decruyenaere, G. Moris, C. Ragimbeau, C.M. Olinger, S. Johler, M. Perrin, P. Hau, P. Weicherding

http://www.eurosurveillance.org/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleId=21301

Hope for future drugs? Exploring vulnerabilities of Cryptosporidium

Cryptosporidium parvum is a gastrointestinal parasite that can cause moderate to severe diarrhea in children and adults, and deadly opportunistic infection in AIDS patients.

crypto.glcolysisBecause C. parvum is resistant to chlorine disinfectant treatment, it frequently causes water-borne outbreaks around the world. A study published on Nov. 12th in PLOS Pathogens provides a detailed analysis of a C. parvum protein that is central to glycolysis — the only pathway by which the parasite can generate energy — and identifies it as a potential drug target.

Guan Zhu and colleagues, from Texas A&M University in College Station, USA, study the parasite’s metabolism during its complicated life-cycle. C. parvum exists both in free stages (where parasites are in the environment or in the host’s digestive tract) and intracellular stages following host cell invasion, during which the parasite occupies a specialized compartment — the parasitophorous vacuole — which is delineated by a host-cell derived border called the parasitophorous vacuole membrane (PVM).

For this study, the researchers focused on lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), an enzyme central to glycolysis. Glycolysis is the only metabolic process by which organisms like C. parvum — that lack functional mitochondria to derive energy from oxygen — can generate ATP, the universal biological energy storage molecule. They found that the C. parvum LDH (CpLDH) protein is found inside the parasite’s cells during the free stages, but is then transferred to the PVM during intracellular development, indicating involvement of the PVM in parasite energy metabolism, and specifically, in lactate fermentation. They also demonstrate that two known LDH inhibitors, gossypol and FX11, can inhibit both CpLDH activity and parasite growth.

The researchers summarize that their observations “not only reveal a new function for the poorly understood PVM structure in hosting the intracellular development of C. parvum, but also suggest LDH as a potential target for developing therapeutics against this opportunistic pathogen, for which fully effective treatments are not yet available”. Acknowledging that the ultimate validation of CpLDH as a drug target requires tools for knockout or knockdown of genes of interest in Cryptosporidium, they say recent advances towards this goal raise hope that such validation will be possible in the near future.

Overall, they conclude that “the present data, together with the fact that C. parvum relies on glycolysis for producing ATP, support the notion that CpLDH is worth exploring as a potential target for the development of anti-cryptosporidial therapeutics.”

Good managers help keep food safe

A good food safety culture (a term as ubiquitous as Drake’s Hotline Bling) is really about having all the staff in an organization know what hazards are associated with the food they make/handle from the owner, to management, to the front line staff. And when someone is sick, or gets fired, whoever steps into the role as a replacement. Managers have to know what’s needed to keep food safe – and ensure their staff are actually doing it.

KTNV has a great video of a poor inspection that tells the story of a poor food safety culture.

Inspectors found visibly dirty food contact surfaces, old food debris on the can opener and meat slicer and a dirty ice machine. There was also heavy debris on the floor under kitchen equipment, a badly stained cutting board, and no hair restraints for food handlers.

“A lot of things I didn’t know,” said temporary manager Angela Liu. She says she’s not used to overseeing the kitchen staff and admits she didn’t check everything the night before their unannounced inspection.

Inspectors also found a full handsink leaking dirty water. And food in the prep table not protected from contamination. Angela takes us back to show us what is now a much cleaner kitchen.

She says the owner made it clear that he never wants to see another “C” grade.

And then this excellent dialogue happens.

Angela: If C again, they all lose their job.

Darcy: That’s it. Everyone’s job’s on the line.

She shows us how everything is now labeled and double-covered to keep inspectors happy and customers healthy.

Darcy: It’s about food safety.

Angela: Yeah, food safety. Right. It’s very serious. Oh, my god. (she pauses to swat away a fly buzzing around her face.)

Darcy: You don’t want a fly in here, do you?