‘One of the worst cases I have seen; the proprietor failed in every way to provide a safe working environment and to protect the public’ A win for food safety in Yarra

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Yarra is a suburb of Melbourne (that’s in Australia).

Pastry Art Design Pty Ltd is the proprietor company of a registered food business at 280 – 282 Smith Street, Collingwood called Milk Jamm, previously known as Pastry Art Design. Emmanuel Ploumidis was the sole director of the company.

The charges against Pastry Art Design Pty Ltd and Emmanuel Ploumidis relate to contraventions on 6 dates, between 30 May 2014 and 9 July 2015. 

They include inadequate pest control, inadequate cleaning, contaminated food products, inadequate and inaccessible hand washing facilities and intimidation of an authorised officer.
The case was heard on 13 September at Melbourne Magistrates Court by Judicial Registrar Samantha Dixon.

In her summation, Dixon said ‘This is one of the worst cases I have seen. The proprietor failed in every way to provide a safe working environment and to protect the public, it is very serious. The defence concocted (that the premises was not operating at the time of initial charges) has caused delay and is aggravating. The threats also are an aggravating feature when the intent was to assist.’ 

This proprietor and director have been prosecuted twice previously (in 2009 and 2012) for very similar offences. Premises visits this year have revealed a marked improvement in cleanliness and pest control.
We have an important role in food safety and education for our community, through food sampling and safety checks at businesses, responding to food complaints and food product recalls and registration and inspections of nearly 1,500 food premises across Yarra.

150 sick: C. perfringens also found in Louisiana jambalaya

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Health Officials in Caldwell parish have now identified a second bacteria in a batch of Salmonella tainted chicken and sausage jambalaya that was sold at a fundraiser earlier this month.

Health officials say that the second bacteria, identified as Clostridium perfringens , also played a role in the severe illness that sent 150 people to area hospitals and may have contributed to one death.

Health officials are currently waiting an autopsy to see if the tainted food was a contributing factor in the death of a man who did go to the hospital with gastrointestinal issues.

In all state health officials say that as many as 300 people ate the tainted jambalaya and 149 have tested positive for Salmonella and the second bacteria.

Testing is underway to see which ingredient or ingredients were contaminated.

The results could be back in a couple of weeks.

Hockey player diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome

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For some reason, Chapman doesn’t try hard, but he gets the best soundbites

If there was any band to be the lab house band back in the day, it was the Hip.

Hockey, rock ‘n roll, Canada.

Anaheim Ducks forward Patrick Eaves has been diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome, and his hockey career is on hold while he recovers.

The Ducks announced Eaves’ diagnosis Monday, and the club disclosed that the veteran goal-scorer was in intensive care last week.

Eaves is still hospitalized in Newport Beach, California, but his condition has stabilized.

“I’m on the road to recovery,” Eaves said in a statement issued by the Ducks. “I’ve received tremendous amount of support over the last few days, most importantly from my family, friends and teammates. I’m determined to fully overcome this and return to the ice as soon as possible.”

It was probably foodbore Campylobacter.

Guillain-Barre syndrome is a rare disorder in which a patient’s immune system attacks the nervous system, sometimes resulting in death. Eaves’ condition was diagnosed early, an important factor in successful treatment.

Eaves thanked two specialists — Dr. Robert Watkins Sr. and Dr. Danny Benmoshe — for quickly discovering the disorder last week. Ducks general manager Bob Murray also praised the doctors.

“Our sole focus at this time is on Patrick’s general health and well-being,” Murray said. “What defines Patrick Eaves is his strength of character, and that will serve him well in his recovery.”

The 33-year-old Eaves joined the Ducks from Dallas as a late-season trade rental in late February. He played a key role in their push for a fifth straight Pacific Division title, excelling on the power play and racking up 11 goals in 20 games.

Despite missing the final 10 games of the regular season due to injury, he finished with a career-high 32 goals between the Ducks and Stars. He played seven games in the post-season, but sat out the final 10 games with a sprained right ankle while Anaheim reached the Western Conference finals.

Instead of seeking bigger offers in free agency, he re-signed with the Ducks in June, agreeing to a three-year, $9.45 million deal. He was expected to be a key top-six forward for the Ducks this season.

Eaves also has suited up for Ottawa, Carolina, Detroit and Nashville during his 12-year NHL career.


 

Food Safety Talk 137: Grandma makes the best pickles

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Don and Ben talk High Sierra and bricking a MacBook Air, Gord Downie of the Tragically Hip, State Fair judging, pH test strips, mail order food safety and cold brewed canned coffee. They also do some listener feedback on food safe issues related to brewing beer.

Episode 137 can be found here and on iTunes.

Show notes so you can follow along at home:

The kid comes to Aus

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I did a live radio interview in Coff’s Harbour at a hockey tournament, and actually stumbled because I knew Australians are not fond of the word kid.

My youngest of 4 Canadian kids is now boarding a plane in Dallas for the 17-hour flight to Sydney, then Brisbane, with her boyfriend.

It’ll be an adventure.

Qantas, if you screw up the meals, i’ll be after you.

 

10 men ‘violently’ ill after wild venison meal

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Deer meat, or venison, was a staple at Amy’s dinner table.

Me, never liked it, preferred grain-fed beef.

Guess I’m just a suburban kid.

A Brookfield, Wisconsin,  man says he and 10 of his friends all became violently ill after sharing a meal of home-cooked wild venison, but what made them sick remains a mystery.

Scott Mathison said the symptoms didn’t appear for five days after his church retreat to Black River Falls October 1st.

“I could feel the life leaving my body. I knew something was something really serious,” Mathison said Friday. “I was violently shaking, had a 104 (degree) fever when my wife took me in to urgent care. If I wouldn’t have been treated, I’m not sure I would’ve came through that.”

While the symptoms included night sweats and high fevers, the lack of gastro-intestinal issues convinced Mathison that he didn’t have food poisoning. And he later learned that he wasn’t alone in feeling ill.

“I found out one of the other guys was sick, and then I found another one was sick and so we started calling and checking and we were all having the exact same symptoms, and we realized we didn’t have the flu,” he said.

Mathison said their doctors still don’t know what ailed the men, but antibiotics seem to help.

100 sickened: Why I hate text and always told students to check e-mail: Missed e-mail leads to Norovirus outbreak

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Back around 2002, when my lab and responsibilities were growing exponentially, the hardest thing to teach any new student was this: check your e-mail.

Every 5 minutes.

(It would have been every minute, but the IT nerds at the university said no one needs that, it can wait. Which is why they’re on university timelines.)

We were on-call for grocery stores, ran the national food safety hotline, and whether I was golfing or hanging with the kids, I was always accessible.

I hate text.

I hate Facebook.

Hate is a strong word, but apt in this situation.

Chapman says now, there’s a whole generation that missed e-mail.

But since I had it from the late 1980s, it was always crucial.

And still is.

Radio-Canada reports that an email miscommunication led to an outbreak of norovirus that affected more than 100 people at a long-term care facility in Rouyn-Noranda in early August.

Patients and staff at the home were served peach and raspberry compote on Aug. 2 and 4.

A few hours later, 26 people showed symptoms of gastroenteritis.

Over the next 10 days, between Aug. 4 and 14, 61 patients and 48 employees at the facility fell ill.

The Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux (CISSS) in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region had been notified that the raspberries were subject to a recall because they were suspected of being contaminated with norovirus.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency emailed the facility about the recall on July 20, according to access to information requests obtained by Radio-Canada.

But that email was only sent to one person and that person didn’t relay the information to the kitchen staff.

The facility wouldn’t say why the message didn’t get to the kitchen.

The interim head of IT services for the facility, Stéphane Lachapelle, says more people have been added to its mailing list.

 

Stop kissing chicks: CDC gets tired of counting, 1 dead, 1120 sick from backyard poultry

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1120 Cases

48 States

249 Hospitalizations

1 Death

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

This year saw the largest number of illnesses linked to contact with backyard poultry ever recorded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. Contact with live poultry or their environment can make people sick with Salmonella infections. Live poultry such as chickens and ducks can be carrying Salmonella bacteria but appear healthy and clean, with no sign of illness.

As raising backyard flocks becomes more popular, more people are having contact with chickens and ducks – and may not know about the risk of Salmonella infection.

These outbreaks are a reminder to follow steps to keep your family healthy while enjoying your backyard flock.

Always wash hands thoroughly with soap and water right after touching live poultry or anything in the area where the birds live and roam.

Adults should supervise handwashing for children.

Do not let live poultry inside the house.

Do not let children younger than 5 years handle or touch chicks, ducklings, or other live poultry without adult supervision.

In 2017, CDC and multiple states investigated 10 separate multistate outbreaks of Salmonella infections in people who had contact with live poultry in backyard flocks.

The outbreak strains of Salmonella infected a reported 1120 people in 48 states and the District of Columbia

Illnesses started on dates ranging from January 4, 2017 to September 22, 2017.

249 ill people were hospitalized. One death was reported from North Carolina.

Epidemiologic, traceback, and laboratory findings linked the 10 outbreaks to contact with live poultry, such as chicks and ducklings, from multiple hatcheries.

In interviews, 542 (70%) of 774 ill people reported contact with live poultry in the week before illness started.

The outbreaks were caused by Salmonella bacteria with several DNA fingerprints : Salmonella Braenderup, Salmonella Enteritidis, Salmonella Hadar, Salmonella I 4,[5],12:i-, Salmonella Indiana, Salmonella Infantis, Salmonella Litchfield, Salmonella Mbandaka, Salmonella Muenchen, and Salmonella Typhimurium.

Multistate outbreaks of human Salmonella infections linked to live poultry in backyard flocks, 2017 (final update)

19.oct.17

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

https://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/live-poultry-06-17/index.html

Vaccines work: Fancy food ain’t safe food, Australia hep A edition

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Get vaccinated.

The NSW Food Authority has issued an alert for diners of a top Sydney restaurant after a food handler employed there contracted Hepatitis A.

Any diners who ate at Sokyo restaurant in the Star Casino complex during September and October are being advised to contact their GP if they have any concerns.

The food handler, who works in the ‘hot food area’ in the restaurant’s kitchen, contracted the virus whilst travelling overseas. After being admitted to hospital with symptoms, hospital staff contacted the NSW Food Authority to advise of the issue after learning where the food handler worked.

NSW Food Authority performed a review the next day and concluded that processes and hygiene at the Sokyo restaurant are robust and that there there was a low risk of anyone being infected with no ongoing risk to other diners.

This Hepatitis A warning is unrelated to the current Hepatitis A outbreak occurring throughout Sydney.