Author Archives: Douglas Powell

About Douglas Powell

A former professor of food safety and the publisher of barfblog.com, Powell is passionate about food, has five daughters, and is an OK goaltender in pickup hockey. Download Doug’s CV here. Dr. Douglas Powell editor, barfblog.com retired professor, food safety 3/289 Annerley Rd Annerley, Queensland 4103 dpowell29@gmail.com 61478222221 I am based in Brisbane, Australia, 15 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time

Dozens of U.S. national guard troops get poisoned with cold, undercooked chicken and sharp metal shavings hidden in rice

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On March 1, ABC7 Detroit reported on what has, according to Red Pilled, been a well-hidden secret in Washington: that National Guard troops stationed in DC have been forced to eat chicken so undercooked and raw it is pink on the inside, with a side of sharp metal shavings hidden inside the rice. Color is a lousy indicator of safety, metal shavings are a good indicator of failure.

The meals have been so poorly cooked that dozens of Michigan’s National Guard troops had to be rushed to the hospital after falling severely ill from eating the clearly undercooked food. At least 74 meals had to be thrown out this Sunday alone after troops were dropping like flies at dinnertime.

To eat for breakfast, all they get to eat is a single ‘Fruit & Nut’ bar, an apple, and a bun.

According to a news report that aired last night on ABC7 Detroit, the source who provided the story to the network said: “Yesterday for instance, there were 74 different meals found with raw beef in them. Just yesterday, the lunches were, soldiers had found metal shavings in their food.”

Speaking on the unreasonably tiny and downright disrespectful breakfast provided to the troops, paid for by Michigan taxpayers, the source commented: “You were getting maybe a danish and some sort of juice. And then we had certain days where it was clearly a dinner roll and Sunny D.”

Melissa Burke of The Detriot News wrote on Mar. 4, the caterer contracted to feed thousands of National Guard troops providing security at the U.S. Capitol defended its food service Thursday, claiming that none of the cases of reported gastrointestinal illness among soldiers have been linked to the company.

“No cases of foodborne illness can be directly tied to this vendor,” said Maria Stagliano, a spokeswoman for Sardi’s Catering in College Park, Maryland. 

The response follows a Wednesday announcement by the National Guard that at least 50 service members have been sickened with gastrointestinal issues after complaints that they were served bad food while on duty guarding the Capitol.

A guard spokesman said none of those sickened have been hospitalized due to illness from the food since the Capitol security mission began Jan. 6; however, some have been treated at hospitals. 

The Michigan National Guard has nearly 1,000 troops serving in Washington as part of the security mission, the largest state contingent, lawmakers say. Michigan soldiers and airmen have complained since mid-February about bad food they were served, ranging from undercooked meat to poor food quality to a lack of vegetarian options. 

“We are proud to serve our food to the National Guard troops who have deployed to Washington from around the U.S., and we stand by the quality and safety of the food we deliver to the National Guard troops,” Sardi’s said in a statement released Thursday.

“As a trusted provider of nutritious and safe meals for the National Guard, Sardi’s Catering adheres to our own rigorous standards for food safety and quality, and we are in full compliance with all standards and requirements in our National Guard Bureau contract as well as state and District requirements.”

Sardi’s in its statement suggested that the Michigan guard had sent up a lopsided number of complaints about the food, compared with other states’ guardsmen. 

“It is not clear why or how one particular state unit has recorded so many complaints, while there have been comparatively few complaints from other state units, according to the National Guard,” Sardi’s statement said.

“We are committed to providing exceptional service to all our meal recipients, and we will continue to work closely with the National Guard to address these concerns.”

But Michigan troops aren’t the only ones complaining, with soldiers from New Jersey and Illinois also reporting bad food, according to news reports.

Republican Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey on Thursday asked Speaker Nancy Pelosi to investigate the reports of “tainted” food that sickened at least 30 guard members from his state.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is headed to Washington to visit the troops Friday. She raised concerns about the undercooked food starting in mid-February with the Acting Secretary of the Army John E. Whitley.

National Guard officials said this week they are working with the contractor to fix the issues but stressed the matter is limited to a small number of incidents and is not systemic. 

The guard also said it had not pinpointed the problem to a particular food source, so it could not say whether the issues are the fault of one caterer or an outside food source.

Michigan lawmakers in Washington and Lansing have called on the National Guard to fire the contractor, which was awarded an $11.4 million contract on Jan. 25 to provide meals to troops activated to help with security following the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.

Pelosi, who has registered her concerns three times with the National Guard about the issue, also agrees with ending the contract, spokesman Drew Hammill said.

“Obviously, this vendor should be discontinued. This is unacceptable,” Hammill said. “There is no room for this sort of behavior from a vendor of any federally contracted agency.”

Hammill noted that the Capitol police have offered their assistance to the National Guard by using their vendors for providing hot meals to the troops, but the guard declined that offer. 

Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Flint Township, called the situation “indefensible.” “There is no excuse for treating these brave people who are putting their lives aside and their lives at risk to protect us, treating them like this is completely inexcusable,” Kildee told Fox News. 

Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Holland, and 38 other lawmakers wrote to military leaders Thursday asking the guard to provide the service members with per diem for meals for the rest of their mission and retroactively. 

“Although these conditions have been widely reported and acknowledged by leadership at the National Guard, the situation does not appear to have been rectified and immediate action must be taken,” the lawmakers wrote.

Once the troops are home, Huizenga said he hopes the National Guard’s inspector general will investigate the matter.

Media analytics to measure effectiveness of food safety recall notices

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Recall announcements by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Food Safety Inspection and Service (FSIS) are important communication tools. Nonetheless, previous studies found that effects of recalls on consumer demand are small.

Social media analytics can provide insights into public awareness about food safety related incidents. Using the social listening data this study analyzes how the public, in social and online media space, responds to, interacts with, and references food safety recalls and/or initial announcements of foodborne illness outbreaks as reported by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Analysis suggests that mentions quantified in the social and online media searches conducted moved closer in-step with the CDC’s initial reports of foodborne illness outbreaks than FDA and FSIS recall announcements. Issuance of recalls may not necessarily be a popular source of food risk information in social media space when compared with reactions to the CDC’s initial illness reports. This relative popularity reflects people more often sharing/posting about illness risk regardless of whether a recall occurs. This suggests that recall announcements by FDA and FSIS may not induce wanted changes in consumers’ behavior, while initial illness reports by CDC may. Although recalls by FDA and FSIS may not generate social media posts, their primary role is to take potentially unsafe food items off grocery shelves.

Online media analytics provides policy makers with implications for effective food risk communication planning; initial CDC reports drive immediate attention more than FDA and FSIS recalls.

Initial reports of foodborne illness drive more public attention than food recall announcements

Journal of Food Protection

Jinho Jung ; Courtney Bir ; Nicole Olynk Widmar ; Peter Sayal

https://doi.org/10.4315/JFP-20-383

https://meridian.allenpress.com/jfp/article-abstract/doi/10.4315/JFP-20-383/462095

Uncooked, frozen chicken thingies can support Listeria growth while refrigerated

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Battered poultry products may be wrongly regarded and treated by consumers as ready-to-eat and, as such, be implicated in foodborne disease outbreaks. This study aimed at the quantitative description of the growth behavior of Listeria monocytogenes in fresh, partially cooked (non-ready-to-eat) battered chicken nuggets as function of temperature.

Commercially prepared chicken breast nuggets were inoculated with L. monocytogenes and stored at different isothermal conditions (4, 8, 12, and 16 ◦C). The pathogen’s growth behavior was characterized via a two-step predictive modelling approach: estimation of growth kinetic parameters using a primary model, and description of the effect of temperature on the estimated maximum specific growth rate (µmax) using a secondary model. Model evaluation was undertaken using independent growth data under both constant and dynamic temperature conditions.

According to the findings of this study, L. monocytogenes may proliferate in battered chicken nuggets in the course of their shelf life to levels potentially hazardous for susceptible population groups, even under well-controlled refrigerated storage conditions. Model evaluation demonstrated a satisfactory performance, where the estimated bias factor (Bf ) was 0.92 and 1.08 under constant and dynamic temperature conditions, respectively, while the accuracy factor (Af ) value was 1.08, in both cases. The collected data should be useful in model development and quantitative microbiological risk assessment in battered poultry products.

Growth of listeria monocytogenes in partially cooked battered chicken nuggets as a function of storage temperature

Foods

Alexandra Lianou 1,2,* , Ourania Raftopoulou 1,3, Evgenia Spyrelli 1 and George-John E. Nychas

https://www.google.com/url?rct=j&sa=t&url=https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/10/3/533/pdf&ct=ga&cd=CAEYAioUMTU3Mzc2NTg4ODIwOTE2MzgzNjUyGmJjNzcwZjA5NzVmNGIyOGU6Y29tOmVuOlVT&usg=AFQjCNGHUZ4Vg4Z1TEbxdVmoTgOmDqUPkQ

Humans and animals both at risk from contaminated pet food

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Some time about 2009, I was walking the dogs on a Sunday morning on the Kansas State University campus with a Canadian graduate student who was getting her MS degree at K-State, and we ran into University president, Jon Wefald.

We exchanged pleasantries, he was enamored by the dogs, and soon the conversation turned a pet food recall that had sickened dozens of humans with some bad bug.

Jon asked me, how are people getting sick from pet food and I explained the sometimes lack of process validation in pet food, the wonderful world of cross-contamination, of and that sometimes people ate pet food directly.

Jon was aghast.

I was, meh.

So that’ why these pet food recalls s are important, because the product can all to easily sicken humans along with their pets.

Bravo Packing, Inc. has recalled all Ground Beef and Performance Dog frozen raw pet food because it may be contaminated with bacteria like Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes.

No illnesses have been reported, but pets who eat the food and people who handle it can become sick with Salmonella and/or Listeria infections.

The recall involves Performance Dog and Ground Beef Raw Pet Food, which are both sold frozen in 2-pound and 5-pound plastic sleeves.

Bravo Packing issued the recall voluntarily after product samples of Performance Dog and a sample of Ground Beef tested positive for Salmonella and Listeria after an FDA inspection.

The FDA warns that pets with Salmonella infections may be lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever, vomiting, decreased appetite, abdominal pain, or show no symptoms at all.

Beaver fever, er, giardiasis in the US

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That’s what we call it in Ontario. Beaver poop in water consumed by thirsty hikers

Great source of Giardi. The Centers for Disease Control writes:

What is already known about this topic?

Giardiasis is a diarrheal disease caused by the parasite Giardia duodenalis, the most common cause of intestinal parasite infections in the United States.

Reported giardiasis outbreaks (N = 111), by mode of transmission* and year of earliest illness onset date — United States, 2012–2017

What is added by this report?

During 2012–2017, public health officials from 26 states reported 111 giardiasis outbreaks involving 760 cases. Leading causes of outbreaks were waterborne and person-to-person exposures. Private residences and child care facilities were the most common settings of giardiasis outbreaks across all transmission modes.

What are the implications for public health practice?

To prevent and control giardiasis outbreaks, CDC recommends prompt diagnosis, maintaining good hand hygiene, cleaning and disinfecting home environments and child care facilities, and monitoring water quality in private wells.

Giardiasis Outbreaks—United States, 2012-2017

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report

Erin E. Conners, PhD1,2; Allison D. Miller, MPH1; Neha Balachandran, MPH3; Brittany M. Robinson, MPH1; Katharine M. Benedict, DVM, PhD1

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7009a2.htm?s_cid=mm7009a2_e&ACSTrackingID=USCDC_921-DM51192&ACSTrackingLabel=This%20Week%20in%20MMWR%20-%20Vol.%2070%2C%20March%205%2C%202021&deliveryName=USCDC_921-DM51192

Vaccines still work: Estimated Medicaid costs associated with hepatitis A outbreak

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What is already known about this topic?

Widespread outbreaks of hepatitis A among persons who use illicit drugs (injection and noninjection) have increased in recent years. Hepatitis A is a vaccine-preventable disease.

What is added by this report?

During January 1, 2018–July 31, 2019, hepatitis A–related clinical costs among West Virginia Medicaid beneficiaries ranged from $1.4 million to $5.6 million. Among those with a substance use disorder diagnosis, costs ranged from $1.0 million to $4.4 million.

What are the implications for public health practice?

In addition to insight on preventing illness, hospitalization, and death, the results from this study highlight the potential financial cost jurisdictions might incur when Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommendations for hepatitis A vaccination, especially among persons who use illicit drugs, are not followed.

Estimated Medicaid costs associated with hepatitis A outbreak—West Virginia, 2018-2019

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report

Samantha J. Batdorf, MPH1; Megan G. Hofmeister, MD2; Tamara C. Surtees, MPH3; Erica D. Thomasson, PhD1,4; Shannon M. McBee, MPH1; Nathan J. Pauly, PhD5

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7008a2.htm?s_cid=mm7008a2_e&ACSTrackingID=USCDC_921-DM50427&ACSTrackingLabel=This%20Week%20in%20MMWR%20-%20Vol.%2070,%20February%2026,%202021&deliveryName=USCDC_921-DM50427

(Viruses are not cells, but they need to cells to reproduce.)

Avocados as a source of Listeria

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Outbreaks of Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes) infections have historically been associated with contaminated deli meats, but recent outbreaks have been linked to produce. To date, avocados have not been identified as the source of any outbreaks of L. monocytogenes infections in the United States, but avocado samples have yielded strains that were closely related genetically to clinical L. monocytogenes isolates.

To determine whether avocados have been a source of listeriosis, we conducted a retrospective review of epidemiological data for clinical isolates that were genetically related to isolates from avocados. Using a national database, we identified clusters containing clinical and at least one avocado isolate. We then selected clusters based upon isolation dates, cluster and composition size, and available food history data. For each cluster, we assessed whether (1) avocado consumption was higher among case-patients in the cluster than among those with sporadic illnesses, and (2) whether the only food isolates within the cluster were from avocados. If both conditions were met, the link was considered “likely,” if one condition was met the link was considered “possible,” and if neither condition was met evidence was “limited.”

Five of fifteen clusters met criteria for assessment. Of these, two were classified as having “limited” evidence for a link to avocados, two as “possible,” and one as “likely.” For the cluster considered “likely”, avocado consumption was significantly higher among case-patients in the cluster compared to sporadic illnesses (Odds ratio: 8.5, 95% CI 1.5-86.5). We identified three clusters that were likely or possibly linked to avocados, suggesting avocados could be a source of listeriosis in the United States.

Messaging on safe handling might be warranted for groups at higher risk, but further research is first needed to better characterize the ecology of pathogens on avocados and likelihood of internalization of L. monocytogenes.

 

Evaluation of avocados as a possible source of listeria monocytogenes infections, United States, 2016-2019, 16 February 2021

Journal of Food Protection

Mary Pomeroy ; Amanda Conrad ; James B. Pettengill ; Monica McClure ; Allison A. Wellman ; Jessie Marus ; Jasmine Huffman ; Matthew Wise

https://doi.org/10.4315/JFP-20-419

https://meridian.allenpress.com/jfp/article-abstract/doi/10.4315/JFP-20-419/461503/Evaluation-of-avocados-as-a-possible-source-of?redirectedFrom=fulltext

Listeria outbreak linked to queso fresco made by El Abuelito Cheese Inc.

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Fast Facts

Illnesses: 11

Hospitalizations: 10

Deaths: 1

States: 4

Recall: Yes

Investigation status: Active

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control reports that on February 28, El Abuelito Cheese Inc. recalled quesillo and requeson cheesesexternal icon, in addition to the previously recalled queso fresco cheesesexternal icon. These cheeses were made or packed at the same facility as the contaminated queso fresco.

Queso Fresco with sell-buy dates through 03/28/21

Brand names: El Abuelito, Rio Grande, Rio Lindo

The El Abuelito brand 5-lb product may be repacked by stores and sold without a brand label or labeled with a different brand.

Quesillo (Oaxaca, string cheese) with sell-buy dates through 04/16/21

Brand names: El Abuelito, El Viejito, El Paisano, El Sabrosito, La Cima, Quesos Finos, San Carlos, Ideal

Many of the quesillo products were sold in bulk (5-14 lb bags). These products may be repacked by stores and sold without a brand label or labeled with a different brand.

Requeson (ricotta) with sell-buy dates through 03/14/21

Brand names: El Abuelito, El Viejito

These products were sold in 12-oz clamshell containers.

What You Should Do

Do not eat recalled queso fresco, quesillo, or requeson cheeses. Throw them away or return them to where you bought them.

Origins of CWD in Europe

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Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a relentless epidemic disorder caused by infectious prions that threatens the survival of cervid populations and raises increasing public health concerns in North America. In Europe, CWD was detected for the first time in wild Norwegian reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) and moose (Alces alces) in 2016. In this study, we aimed at comparing the strain properties of CWD prions derived from different cervid species in Norway and North America.

Using a classical strain typing approach involving transmission and adaptation to bank voles (Myodes glareolus), we found that prions causing CWD in Norway induced incubation times, neuropathology, regional deposition of misfolded prion protein aggregates in the brain, and size of their protease-resistant core, different from those that characterize North American CWD. These findings show that CWD prion strains affecting Norwegian cervids are distinct from those found in North America, implying that the highly contagious North American CWD prions are not the proximate cause of the newly discovered Norwegian CWD cases.

In addition, Norwegian CWD isolates showed an unexpected strain variability, with reindeer and moose being caused by different CWD strains. Our findings shed light on the origin of emergent European CWD, have significant implications for understanding the nature and the ecology of CWD in Europe, and highlight the need to assess the zoonotic potential of the new CWD strains detected in Europe.

Studies in bank voles reveal strain differences between chronic wasting disease prions from Norway and North America

PNAS

Romolo Nonno, Michele A. Di Bari, Laura Pirisinu, Claudia D’Agostino, Ilaria Vanni, Barbara Chiappini, Stefano Marcon, Geraldina Riccardi, Linh Tran, Turid Vikøren, Jørn Våge, Knut Madslien, Gordon Mitchell, Glenn C. Telling, Sylvie L. Benestad, and Umberto Agrimi

https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2013237117

https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2020/11/18/2013237117.abstract

Vaccines work: Hep A in frozen strawberries, Germany

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Following outbreaks linked to frozen strawberries in Sweden and Austria in 2018, 65 cases linked to the same hepatitis A virus strain were detected in Germany between October 2018 and January 2020, presenting in two waves.

Two case–control studies and a comparison of cases’ consumption frequencies with purchase data from a large consumer panel provided strong evidence for frozen strawberry cake as the main vehicle of transmission. Of 46 cases interviewed, 27 reported consuming frozen strawberry cake and 25 of these identified cake(s) from brand A spontaneously or in product picture-assisted recall.

Trace back investigations revealed that the Polish producer involved in the previous outbreaks in Sweden and Austria had received frozen strawberries from Egypt via a wholesaler that also delivered frozen strawberries to manufacturer of brand A. Phylogenetic analyses linked the outbreak strain to similar strains formerly isolated from sewage, stool and strawberries in Egypt. Complete trace back and timely recall of products with strong evidence of contamination is important to control an outbreak and prevent later resurgence, particularly for food items with a long shelf life.

Continued molecular surveillance of hepatitis A is needed to identify outbreaks and monitor the success of food safety interventions.

Resurgence of an international hepatitis A outbreak linked to imported frozen strawberries, Germany, 2018 to 2020

Eurosurveillance

Claudia Ruscher1 , Mirko Faber2 , Dirk Werber1 , Klaus Stark2 , Julia Bitzegeio1 , Kai Michaelis2 , Daniel Sagebiel1 , Jürgen J Wenzel3 , Julia Enkelmann2

https://www.eurosurveillance.org/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2020.25.37.1900670?emailalert=true