Category Archives: E. coli

Food Safety Talk 169: Panel of Plonkers

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The episode starts with a quick discussion of books the guys are planning on reading this week, and a book that arrived mysteriously at the offices of many other food safety folks (including Don and Ben). The food safety discussion goes to a story of a Chicago bus driver pooping on his bus and trying to clean it up with the contents of a coffee cup; Don and Ben chat about the pros and cons of this approach. The guys tackle the safety of storing breast milk, pickling eggs in miso, and what levels of contamination may have led the Romaine-linked E. coli O157 outbreak earlier this year. The show ends on raw flour, TTIs (not STIs) and raw chicken thingies.

You can download episode 169 here and at iTunes.

Show notes so you can follow along at home:

5 sick raw is risky: Unpasteurized cheese made on Vancouver Island recalled for E. coli concerns

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A voluntary recall has been issued for a Vancouver Island-produced cheese linked to an E. coli outbreak that infected five people.

Little Qualicum Cheeseworks’ Qualicum Spice cheese should be discarded or returned to the place of purchase, according to the BC Centre for Disease Control.

The E. coli outbreak occurred between August and October and was traced back to the unpasteurized product, which has a best before date up to and including April 24, 2019.

An investigation is ongoing “to determine the source and extent of contamination,” the BCCDC said.

Ya can’t stop what’s coming: E. coli happens in France too

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Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli serogroup O80, involved in hemolytic uremic syndrome associated with extraintestinal infections, has emerged in France. We obtained circularized sequences of the O80 strain RDEx444, responsible for hemolytic uremic syndrome with bacteremia, and noncircularized sequences of 35 O80 E. coli isolated from humans and animals in Europe with or without Shiga toxin genes.

RDEx444 harbored a mosaic plasmid, pR444_A, combining extraintestinal virulence determinants and a multidrug resistance–encoding island. All strains belonged to clonal complex 165, which is distantly related to other major enterohemorrhagic E. coli lineages. All stx-positive strains contained eae-ξ, ehxA, and genes characteristic of pR444_A.

Among stx-negative strains, 1 produced extended-spectrum β-lactamase, 1 harbored the colistin-resistance gene mcr1, and 2 possessed genes characteristic of enteropathogenic and pyelonephritis E. coli. Because O80–clonal complex 165 strains can integrate intestinal and extraintestinal virulence factors in combination with diverse drug-resistance genes, they constitute dangerous and versatile multidrug-resistant pathogens.

Emerging Multidrug-Resistant Hybrid Pathotype Shiga Toxin–Producing Escherichia coli O80 and Related Strains of Clonal Complex 165, Europe

Cointe A, Birgy A, Mariani-Kurkdjian P, Liguori S, Courroux C, Blanco J, et al. Emerging multidrug-resistant hybrid pathotype Shiga toxin–producing Escherichia coli O80 and related strains of clonal complex 165, Europe. Emerg Infect Dis. 2018 Dec [date cited]. https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2412.180272

https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/24/12/18-0272_article

Raw isn’t rad, it’s risky: Yes, pets too

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After 20 years of doing this shit – and it primarily involves shit – not much surprises, and I reach back for the classics.

When I first saw Airplane at a drive-in in the summer of 1980, I was more interested in the girl beside me than the movie.

But then I saw it again.

And again, and again, and again.

The satire the writers of Airplane came up with could be exploited by anyone who watches food porn.

Radagast Pet Food, Inc. of Portland, OR (it’s Portland, Portlandia) is recalling three lots of Rad Cat Raw Diet Free-Range Chicken Recipe because testing results indicate they have the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. The Company is also recalling one lot of Rad Cat Raw Diet Pasture-Raised Venison Recipe because testing results indicate it has the potential to be contaminated with Shiga Toxin producing E. coli O121.  This recall is being conducted out of an abundance of caution. 

Scott Weese has also written about the risks of raw.

I’m not sure how good he is at satire, but was fun to hang around.

Jello at an Australian hospital deliberately contaminated with ‘organic’ material (that means poop)

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It’s bad enough to live on Jello – like I had to before my recent colonscopy – but when someone deliberately adds shit, at a hospital, things get worse.

ABC News reports jellies and custards at one of Adelaide’s biggest hospitals, Flinders Medical Centre, were contaminated with a “solid organic” product

Police would not rule out faeces, and said the material was being analysed

Health staff are assisting police with a criminal investigation

“We are satisfied that there are no patients who have been fed the contaminated foodstuffs. No threat or claim has been made in connection with this,” Acting Assistant Commissioner Joanne Shanahan said.

Asked whether it was faeces, and what colour the substance was, Assistant Commissioner Shanahan said she could not comment beyond saying the “matter was being forensically analysed”.

The contaminated items were discovered yesterday on a refrigerator tray in a hospital kitchen, and police were notified this morning.

They have now launched a criminal investigation.

“During a routine food safety inspection yesterday a small number of desserts were identified as contaminated,” said Sue O’Neill, the CEO of the Southern Adelaide Local Health Network.

“Staff were vigilant and isolated the area and raised the alarm. Management then initiated a small assessment team who investigated all other prepared food.”

Ms O’Neill said the contaminant was a “solid, organic-looking product” and was “very obvious”.

Guelph boy In Flander’s Fields: Life of a poet surgeon

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I spent about 20 years in Guelph (that’s in Ontario, Canada) but in 2005 it was time to move on.

I still remember frequent walks by John McCrae’s homestead near the Speed River

This CBC story gives a great account of the author of In Flander’s Fields . on the 100th anniversary of the end of the war to end all wars.

Everyone’s got a camera: Toronto man complains of ‘unsanitary’ meat storage at real Canadian superstore

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Michael Pearl says he goes grocery shopping every Sunday at the Real Canadian Superstore near Dufferin Street and Steeles Avenue West.

But on Oct 5, he says he got a disturbing sneak peek behind the deli counter.

“It just seemed like it was a very unsanitary way of storing meat,” Pearl told CBC Toronto.

Pearl was planning on purchasing some steaks but changed his mind when he saw a pile of raw meat in a shopping cart behind the counter.

“Fifty or 60 steaks in there, sitting in the cart without any wrapping that I had seen,” he said. “It just seemed very, you know, very unhygienic and it looked disgusting, to be honest with you.”

Pearl says he took out his phone and snapped a picture, which he brought to a woman he says claimed to be the store manager.  

“I showed her the picture. She seemed aghast at it all,” Pearl said.

In addition to that, Pearl says he sent the photo to the Toronto Board of Health, and filed a complaint with them.  

“They got back to me and said they were going to be looking into it.”

Loblaw Companies director of public relations Karen Gumbs also saw the picture and gave a statement to CBC Toronto, saying this “absolutely should not have happened” because it does not follow the company’s food safety procedures.

“The store immediately addressed this with the colleague,” Gumbs said. “We’ve reminded all departments of our protocols to ensure nothing like this happens again.”

Pearl says he will continue to shop at the Real Canadian Superstore because it’s close and convenient.

When asked if he plans to buy meat from the deli counter again he simply said, “Yeah, why not?”

Could this be the most Canadian food safety story?

Food Safety Talk 168: Washed Up in Big Soap

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The show opens with a brief tutorial on Wi-Fi signals and how to block them. The show quickly turns to hockey, and Don’s recent appearance on another podcast, before getting in to food safety quickly with a report from Deep Albany, and effective ways to prevent cross-contamination in sandwich shops. The guys reflect on some of the food safety greats they’ve met in the past, before Ben provides his regular segment on Canadian cuisine. Don talks a little bit about a great idea for a food safety tool he was once given. In a different twist on food safety, the guys talk about copper toxicity, and the dangers of making foods with ingredients sourced from the Internet. The show wraps with some listener feedback on a variety of topics. In the After Dark the guys talk about books they are reading, Ben’s new favorite band and Don’s selection for the alphabetically listed 50 most quoted Rutgers experts in the news.

You can check out the episode on iTunes or here.

Show notes so you can follow along at home:

Pathogenic E. coli illnesses linked to visiting animal exhibits/interactions

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A couple of weeks ago the NC State Fair wrapped up. I’ve documented my home food preservation involvement, but fairs often include lots of animal/person interaction too.

And zoonoses risks comes with the territory. There are lots and lots of petting zoo, fair, animal exhibit illnesses and outbreaks. Here’s a spreadsheet with some highlights. 

Public health folks in Utah are investigating a bunch of illnesses that look like they are linked to visiting these interaction exhibits:

Utah public health officials are investigating an increase in Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) infections across the state. While the source of these infections has not been identified, several ill individuals reported visiting petting zoos, corn mazes, and farms.

Since October 1, 2018, 20 cases of STEC have been reported along the Wasatch Front and in the Central and Southwestern regions of Utah. Cases range in age from 10 months to 71 years old. Eleven cases are younger than 18. Six people were hospitalized and no deaths have been reported. “For the past five years, Utah has averaged about 13 cases of STEC during the month of October,” said Kenneth Davis, epidemiologist with the Utah Department of Health (UDOH). “An average of 113 STEC cases and 25 hospitalizations are reported each year in Utah. This increase in October is higher than normally expected,” said Davis. UDOH is working with Utah’s local health departments to investigate the illnesses and determine the source of infection.

A 2015 MMWR article showed a lot of the disease risk stuff needs to be taken care of before with good planning and procedures.  Yeah, hand washing matters, but so does not letting kids bring lunch/snacks into a contaminated environment.

Or serving food directly in the barn to a 1,000 kids.

According to Curren et al.,

During April 20–June 1, 2015, 60 cases (25 confirmed and 35 probable) were identified (Figure). Eleven (18%) patients were hospitalized, and six (10%) developed hemolytic uremic syndrome. No deaths occurred. Forty primary cases were identified in 35 first-graders, three high school students, one parent, and one teacher who attended the event. Twenty secondary cases were identified in 14 siblings, four caretakers, and two cousins of attendees.
 
Food was served inside the barn to adolescents who set up and broke down the event on April 20 and April 24. During April 21–23 approximately 1,000 first-grade students attended the event, which included various activities related to farming.
Animals, including cattle, had been exhibited in the barn during previous events. Before the dairy education event, tractors, scrapers, and leaf blowers were used to move manure to a bunker at the north end of the barn. Environmental samples collected in this area yielded E. coli O157:H7 PFGE patterns indistinguishable from the outbreak strains.
 
Although it might not be possible to completely disinfect barns and areas where animals have been kept, standard procedures for cleaning, disinfection, and facility design should be adopted to minimize the risk for exposure to pathogens (1). These environments should be considered contaminated and should not be located in areas where food and beverages are served. Hands should always be washed with soap and clean running water, and dried with clean towels immediately upon exiting areas containing animals or where animals have been kept previously, after removing soiled clothing or shoes, and before eating or drinking. Event organizers can refer to published recommendations for preventing disease associated with animals in public settings.

Here’s a set of guidelines we came up with for folks to use when choosing whether to take a trip to these animal events. (from: G. Erdozain , K. KuKanich , B. Chapman  and D. Powell. 2015. Best practices for planning events encouraging human-animal interactions. Zoonoses and Public Health 62:90-99).