Cardiff kebab house closed after E. coliO157 leaves 1 in hospital, 4 others sick

A city kebab house has been closed following an outbreak of E.coli in Cardiff, affecting five people, one of who has been hospitalised.

Two further cases are under investigation but the person taken to hospital was said to be recovering.

Dr Gwen Lowe, Consultant in Communicable Disease Control, Public Health Wales and chairwoman of the Multi-agency Outbreak Control Team, said the Adonis Kebab House, City Road, Cardiff, had been closed by Cardiff Council on August 11, while investigations were carried out. Dr Lowe said letters have been sent to GPs and out of hours services across South East Wales to alert them to the situation.

New Food Safety Infosheet: One death and over 100 ill with salmonellosis linked to ground turkey

Yesterday, U.S. CDC provided updated information concerning a Salmonella Heidelberg outbreak that has been linked to Cargill Meat Solution Corporation’s ground turkey products. Below is a food safety infosheet that discusses recall actions and risk reduction strategies for food service operators.

Food Safety Infosheet Highlights:
– Cargill Meat Solutions Corporation has recalled over 36 million lbs of ground turkey products
– Over 30 products have been recalled; All bear the number P-963 inside USDA inspection mark
– Ask suppliers about pathogen control measures.
– Cook all poultry to 165°F, measured with a digital tip-sensitive thermometer.

You can download the infosheet here.

Lobster feast sickens over 220 in China

More than 220 people were hospitalized after eating lobsters in east Jiangxi Province, a local hospital reported on Friday.

Ruichang city residents who unsuspectingly indulged in a Thursday night lobster feast later suffered from diarrhea, vomiting, and some contracted a fever, said Gong Jinwen, a doctor who treated the sick at Renmin Hospital. Doctors speculate that E. coli could be the cause.

More than 4,000 people attended the lobster shindig, which was part of the city’s government-sponsored lobster festival.

Blame Bambi: E. coli found in deer droppings in Oregon strawberry patch linked to outbreak; 14 sick, 1 dead

William Keene, senior epidemiologist with Oregon Public Health, told Lynne Terry of The Oregonian that 10 percent of the samples collected over the weekend from Jaquith Strawberry Farm tested positive for E. coli O157:H7.

Those samples included deer feces, which he initially suspected caused the outbreak. Now it seems certain they were the culprit.

"We’re increasingly confident that we will be able to prove beyond any reasonable doubt that deer were the source of contamination of the strawberries," Keene said.

"It could be there but in such low quantities that you have to collect thousands of samples," he said. "We don’t have the resources to pay for that kind of testing."
Now the lab has to confirm whether the specific strain of the bacteria in the samples matches the strain that sickened the 15 people. Two suffered kidney failure, including an elderly woman in Washington County who died. Two patients are still in the hospital.

That study, published in 1997, marked a big breakthrough. Until then the bacteria had been found in other animals, including horses, dogs and sheep, but scientists had always thought that cattle were responsible for poisoning food with E. coli O157:H7. Keene’s study showed that three samples of deer pellets out of 32 were positive for the bacteria.

Lidl breaks contract with supplier of ground beef in France after E. coli outbreak

Kroger, you may want to revisit Cargill as a supplier of ground turkey after the Salmonella Heidelberg outbreak which has now sickened 107 including one death.

German-owned French retailer Lidl has just terminated a 20-year relationship with its primary hamburger supplier, SEB, after those burgers were implicated in an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak in the Lille region of France earlier this year.
 

Human tooth found in hamburger in France

A human tooth was found in a burger made by Bigard in Quimperlé, sold by a supermarket in Angers, France.

Nathalie Dayiot discovered the tooth crown was in a burger prepared by a friend at his home in Angers. He bought it in trays guaranteed "100% muscle" in the Grand Carrefour Maine Angers. "I felt something hard, says the young woman. I spit. It was a tooth on a pivot."

Romuald Gross, who made the purchase, has every intention to complain to the Directorate General for Competition, Consumption and Fraud.

The hamburgers were manufactured at Bigard in Quimperlé. The consumer advocate, Mr. Julien Roulleau, said two of the four who had attended the lunch were victims of food poisoning recorded this morning by their doctor, following the consumption of hamburgers. "The remaining burgers were seized by the DGCCRF. Beyond the problem of the tooth, it is important to know if the lot was consumed," said Me Roulleau.

Carrefour’s management promised an internal investigation and states that "the traceability of the product was traced back to the supplier concerned and to the manufacturing site."
 

Sending ill kids and staff home is a tough decision for childcare providers; but can limit outbreaks

Almost every night before he goes to bed, my almost 3-year-old son Jack gets his iguana backpack on and says he’s going to school. In a couple of weeks he will be: he starts preschool will regularly be under someone else’s care for a few hours a week.

And exposed to a bunch of new pathogens.

I’m still a paranoid new parent and a self-proclaimed food safety nerd; I worry about how the preschool will handle his lunch and whether handwashing (for kids and staff) will be valued. I’m also worried about the staff’s awareness of risky situations, their relationship with the health department and what folks will do if something goes wrong.

An April 2010 E. coli O157:H7 outbreak at a Vancouver, Washington child care facility, Fletch Family Daycare led to the death of a 4-year-old boy. Ronan Wilson tragically lost his life after a short battle with the pathogen. Four other children were also hospitalized. In total, thirteen cases were confirmed, including a couple of individuals who were asymptomatic (but shedding). At the time, investigators reported that illnesses began in early March with children displaying minor foodborne illness symptoms, and the children continued to attend the facility.
According to The Columbian, Ronan Wilson’s parents have filed a claim against the Clark County Health Department stating that health officials were negligent in their handling of the case.

County officials reviewed a report Clark County Public Health staff prepared in September regarding the department’s response and conducted additional research before deciding to deny the claim, county spokeswoman Mary Keltz said. “The prosecuting attorney’s office has reviewed the situation with both the risk management office and the health department, and jointly they came to the conclusion spelled out in that letter,” Keltz said.

In the July 28 letter, County Risk Manager Mark Wilson expressed condolences on behalf of the county, but wrote “with all due respect, we must deny this claim.” Filing a claim is the first step in pursuing a case against a public agency. From here, the family can ask to settle with the county, drop the claim or file a lawsuit, Wilson said.

In the claim, Anthony and Bonnie Wilson argue the county health department was negligent and didn’t “reasonably alert the medical community, the general public or the public schools of the E. coli outbreak in a timely manner.” The claim also says the county failed to prevent or control the outbreak from spreading, supervise the health and sanitation conditions of the Fletch Family Daycare, institute appropriate control measures after learning of the outbreak and close the day care center.

I recognize the tough situation that the center is in, especially when parents may not have an alternative for care (and in poor economic times may not be able to take time away from work obligations). Childcare folks, with or without the help of the health department need to be able to recognize an outbreak and do everything they can to reduce the likelihood of spreading the illnesses throughout their facility – and make tough decisions about sending ill kids and staff home.
 

Canada-wide outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 linked to veal liver; feds won’t say how many are sick

Once again, the communication geniuses at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) have buried the lede, announcing halfway through a recall of veal liver that “there have been reported illnesses associated with the consumption of this product.

“This is an ongoing food safety investigation. The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) is investigating a multi-provincial outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 illnesses in collaboration with provincial health authorities as well as federal health partners including CFIA and Health Canada.”

That’s a lot of agencies. I wonder how many people are sick and where?

CFIA and White Veal Meat Packers Ltd. (Est. 412) of Toronto are warning the public not to consume the grain fed veal liver described below because the product may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7.

The following White Valley brand Grain Fed Veal Liver products, sold in boxes weighing approximately 5 kg or approximately 25 kg are affected by this alert:

Format UPC Lot Distributed to:
1 individually vacuum packaged or 5 individually poly packed pieces per box 90059441201142 110601 British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec
1 individually vacuum packaged or 5 individually poly packed pieces per box 90059441201142 110603 British Columbia
5 individually poly packed, 1 pieces per box 90059441101145 110601 Quebec **

Retailers are advised to check the lot code on the packaging or with their supplier to determine if they have the affected product. Retailers may have sliced and sold the veal liver prepackaged or through the store’s meat counter.

Consumers who have purchased grain fed veal liver in British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec or beef liver at the one identified Quebec retail location, between June 1st and June 14, 2011 inclusive, are advised to contact their retailer to determine if they have the affected product. Consumers who may have purchased this product and still have it in their freezers are advised not to consume it.

Just cook it doesn’t cut it

Nine Michigan residents were sickened by E. coli O157:H7 of which six were hospitalized, linked to ground beef from McNees Meats and Wholesale LLC.

Jennifer Holton, Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development public information officer, told those residents it was their fault.

“Even if you think it’s been cooked thoroughly, using a meat thermometer is the only true test. You don’t want any cross contamination. You don’t want to have raw meat or poultry products next to your vegetables. … Just following some of those safety tips can go a long way.”

E. coli O157:H7 and other shiga-toxin producing E. coli are difficult to control once inside a foodservice or home kitchen environment. Consumers are not the only critical control point for meat safety.
 

Dozens sick from possibly contaminated mussels

In another case of government-types burying the lede, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Sunday warned consumers not to eat certain B.C. mussels.

Half-way through the press release, CFIA stated, “There have been reported illnesses associated with the consumption of these mussels.”

Yesterday, News1130 reported the number of people sick from a bad batch of mussels from Salt Spring Island is now up to 50.

Doctor Eleni Galanis with the BC Centre for Disease Control says they may be contaminated with Diarrhetic Shellfish Poisoning biotoxin or DSP.

"Unfortunately, it’s not a toxin that can be denatured or killed by cooking so even though the mussels have been well cooked, people can still become ill."

The affected mussels were harvested by Island Sea Farms Inc. from the harvest location “Area: BC 13, Sub Area: 15”or “BC 13-15” between July 19 and August 2, 2011.

The following mussels are affected by this alert:

Saltspring Island Mussels
Aquacultured Edulis Mussels
5 lbs (2.27 kg)
All lots up to and including Lot # 289; all harvest dates up to and including August 2, 2011 (2011AU02)
Albion Fisheries Ltd
Mussel N/Shell Saltspring Isl
5 lbs
All harvest dates up to and including August 4, 2011 (8/04/2011)
Pacific Rim Shellfish Corp.
Mussels or Gallo Mussels
Various weights
All harvest dates up to and including July 31, 2011
Albion
SSI Mussels
Various weights
Ship dates of July 20 to August 4, 2011 inclusive
B & C Food
Mussels
Various weights
Processing dates of July 20 to August 4, 2011 inclusive

Retailers and restaurants are advised to check the tags or labels on mussel packages or with their supplier to determine if they have the affected product.