No one wants to be the next Chipotle, including Chipotle: Outlet closes because of Norovirus

In keeping with the theme coined by the Huffington Post — all the ‘next Chipotles’ want to make sure they’re not the next Chipotle — a Chipotle restaurant in Billerica, Mass. has temporarily closed after one of its workers was diagnosed with Norovirus.

south.park.dead.celebrities.chipotleWHDH reports that one of the store’s workers has a confirmed case of Norovirus, according to the town’s health department. The remaining two workers are suspected of having the virus.

The are no reports of any customers becoming ill. The city’s health department says the restaurant voluntarily shut down on Tuesday.

The closing comes after the company’s Brighton store closed for several days after more than 150 people who ate there were diagnosed with the same virus.
7News Boston WHDH-TV

Raw is risky: Taiwan regulators warn of food poisoning from shellfish

The Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday urged people not to eat raw shellfish to avoid food poisoning, such as norovirus infection, as several recently reported cases of food poisoning were all caused by eating raw shellfish.

raw.clamsRaw shellfish, including raw clams and oysters, can easily be contaminated by norovirus or Vibrio parahaemolyticus in their growing environment, the agency said, adding that norovirus is one of the most common viruses that cause viral gastroenteritis.

The transmission of norovirus is primarily fecal-oral, and as few as 10 or less viral particles can cause an infection, Division of Food Safety official Hsu Chao-kai (許朝凱) said, adding that norovirus infection can cause an infected person to exhibit symptoms such as vomiting, stomach pain, watery diarrhea and, in some cases, a fever.

The agency said people should not risk their health to enjoy the taste of raw shellfish and urged the public to wash and cook shellfish thoroughly before eating.

‘It was chaos’ Norovirus outbreak led to £140,000 deep clean at Lincoln County

When Lincoln County Hospital was hit with one of its worst outbreaks of norovirus at the end of last year, cleaning staff were roped in from all corners of the county’s hospitals to carry out the deep clean operation and rid the wards of the virus.

norovirus.elderly womanTwelve wards had to be closed at the peak of the norovirus epidemic and a major cleaning operation was undertaken throughout the five week period.

United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust paid out £140,000 on drafting in contract staff and paying regular staff overtime – and bosses say they do not yet know how much income was lost on top of that as a result of the outbreak.

Staff who pulled out all the stops to manage the “chaotic” situation were praised this week for their hard work in controlling the outbreak.

Pam Mason is a housekeeper whose day job is cleaning the offices and educational areas of the hospital.

But during the epidemic of the highly contagious winter vomiting bug, which struck on December 9, Pam was called upon to help carry out the deep clean on the wards.

She said: “It was a case of all hands on deck. It was hectic. It was chaos.

Food Safety Talk 93: Does your dog poop outside

Food Safety Talk, a bi-weekly podcast for food safety nerds, by food safety nerds. The podcast is hosted by Ben Chapman and barfblog contributor Don Schaffner, Extension Specialist in Food Science and Professor at Rutgers University. Every two weeks or so, Ben and Don get together virtually and talk for about an hour.

Show notes so you can follow along at home:

International Association for Food Protection

Reconcilable Differences #16: Ancient Bird – Relay FM

Tom Jones (@mmbagelz) | Twitter

Conference for Food Protection

Chipotle may be safer than ever. Seriously!

Health department inspection criteria more likely to be associated with outbreak restaurants in Minnesota. – PubMed – NCBI

Chipotle will close Feb. 8 for company wide meeting on food safety | OregonLive.com

Chipotle Sabotaged by GMO Activists? : snopes.com

‎www.cdc.gov/phlp/docs/forensic_epidemiology/Additional%20Materials/Articles/Torok%20et%20al.pdf

Winter’s the Time for Norovirus | North Carolina Health News

Farmers Markets and Food-Borne Illness – The New York Times

‎marcfbellemare.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/BellemareKingNguyenFarmersMarketsJuly2015.pdf

farmers markets microbiology – Google Scholar

Air driers suck; just ask local graffiti artists | barfblog

Evaluation of bacterial contaminants found on unused paper towels and possible postcontamination after handwashing: A pilot study – American Journal of Infection Control

Food Dehydrator

R.E.M. – What’s The Frequency, Kenneth? (Official Video) – YouTube

Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lemmy | Documentary Film – Cosmos Documentaries | Watch Documentary Films Online

Motörhead – Ace Of Spades – YouTube

MC5 – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

R.E.M. LYRICS – It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)

UK parents angry school stayed opened after Norovirus outbreak

Some 56 pupils at Clober Primary in Kirk Street, Milngavie, started showing symptoms of of Norovirus on Wednesday this week.

clober.school.uk.mar.16Text alerts were sent to parents and carers urging them to take precautions. It is advised any child who appears to have the illness, which causes severe vomiting and diarrhea, should be kept at home for at least 48 hours after their last symptoms.

A deep clean of the school was carried out on Wednesday night to prevent the spread of infection.

This involved a comprehensive cleaning program of all areas, with specific attention to common areas where bacteria and pathogens will spread quickly. For example on doorknobs, taps, toilets, chairs, tables, light switches etc.

Director of Education and Children’s Services, Gordon Currie, said: “For an outbreak such as norovirus, it is important to use the correct cleaning fluid – a bactericidal disinfectant agent. Steam cleaning was also utilized to sanitize floors and walls.”

Seventy children attended the school on Thursday, out of 256.

However Vicki Roger, a parent, said: “The school and nursery should be closed today (Thursday)! It’s all well and good cleaning it, but what if kids go in today unaware they have the bug? It’s just going to spread.

“My youngest is at Clober nursery and he’ll be staying off today. It’s not worth the risk of catching it.”

Gordon Currie added: “Many parents kept their children off as a precautionary measure. To the best of our knowledge over a hundred were absent due to the norovirus.”

Food Safety Talk 91: Chipotle: The Musical

Food Safety Talk, a bi-weekly podcast for food safety nerds, by food safety nerds. The podcast is hosted by Ben Chapman and barfblog contributor Don Schaffner, Extension Specialist in Food Science and Professor at Rutgers University. Every two weeks or so, Ben and Don get together virtually and talk for about an hour.cultivate_blog_31

They talk about what’s on their minds or in the news regarding food safety, and popular culture. They strive to be relevant, funny and informative — sometimes they succeed. You can download the audio recordings right from the website, or subscribe using iTunes.

Show notes and links so you can follow along at home:

Show notes so you can follow along at home:

Prisencolinensinainciusol (with lyrics) – YouTube

Watch Nespresso From Saturday Night Live – NBC.com

Glengarry Glen Christmas | Saturday Night Live – Yahoo Screen

Episodes – Here’s The Thing

Prisencolinensinainciusol – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Adriano Celetano – Prisencolinensinainciusol – YouTube

Food Safety Talk 9: Two monitors and a microphone — Food Safety Talk Paul’s Boutique – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Conversations with the Dead: The Grateful Dead Interview Book – David Gans – Google Books

RTP180° – Food 2.0 – YouTube

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Official Site

Chipotle makes a lot of promises | barfblog

Randy Wagstaff – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Meal Service Requirements

The Big Waste : Food Network Specials : Food Network

Fancy food ain’t safe food, Hong Kong edition: 6 sick with noro from raw oysters

The Excelsior has taken oysters off the menu due to several diners falling sick at the luxury hotel’s rooftop restaurant last week.

The Centre for Food Safety is investigating after at least six diners who ate imported Penn Cove oysters at the Causeway Bay hotel’s Tott’s and Roof Terrace restaurant on February 23 showed symptoms of food poisoning.

The CFS has also banned the import and sale of raw oysters from the same area.

A spokesman said the CFS had linked a case of food poisoning to the consumption of raw oysters.

“The stool specimen of one of the affected persons tested positive for norovirus upon laboratory testing,” the statement said.

“For the sake of prudence, the CFS has immediately banned the import into and sale within Hong Kong of all raw oysters harvested from the area,” it added.

The ban will affect Tott’s and Roof Terrace and one other restaurant that obtained the same rogue oysters. According to food safety inspectors, no remaining stock from the affected batch was found on their premises.

A spokeswoman for the Excelsior said: “As soon as we knew of these cases, we stopped all the supply of oysters throughout the hotel.

“We will ensure we maintain our due diligence and, keeping the high standards of our food supplies, maintain very high hygiene standards. We’ll continue to select the best possible suppliers.”

Uh-huh.

Bollywood Berkeley dance linked to noro outbreak

University of California at Berkeley, home of all things hipster, is ground zero in the latest Norovirus outbreak at a college after several dozen students became extremely ill with symptoms.

bollywood.berkeley.noroOfficials said UC students from all over the country got sick after they attended a dance competition at the Paramount Theatre in Oakland.

Some were participating in the Bollywood Berkeley dance competition at the venue where Prince performed last weekend.

Since February 20, officials received 29 reports of students with norovirus-like symptoms, with three confirmed cases of the highly contagious bug.

A handful, but certainly not all of those who became ill attended the dance competition on February 20.

A South Asian student group called Indus puts on the Bollywood Berkeley event every year. “Yeah, it was pretty bad. Pretty severe Sunday, pretty severe Monday, but after that I just completely went away. So, it was very abrupt and then it went away,” Ronak Ahir said.

Of the 200 dancers who came from all over the country, about three dozen got sick on the way home. They all recovered within a couple of days.

375 now sick, noro confirmed at Kellogg Center outbreak

The outbreak that started at the Kellogg Center last week, has now been confirmed as Norovirus, which has affected close to 400 people.

T_c_boyle_road_to_wellvilleLinda Vail with the Ingham County Health Dept. told 6 News, “There are a lot of questions about what they ate, where they were, that could eventually help us narrow down potentially how the whole thing got started.”

With numbers climbing daily, Vail expects to see those numbers continue to grow, especially with secondary cases now being reported.