Tag Archives: Botulism

Third UK child treated for botulism linked to Loyd Grossman Korma sauce

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BBC News reports a third child in central Scotland has been admitted to hospital with suspected botulism.

NHS Forth Valley said the child was a sibling of the other two being treated for the illness, which has been linked to Loyd Grossman branded korma sauce.

The child is being treated at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Glasgow and is said to be stable.

At present, health officials believe only one jar of the sauce was contaminated.

The two siblings who were admitted to hospital last week are "stable and improving", NHS Forth Valley said in a statement.

TV presenter Loyd Grossman was said to be "devastated" after the botulism poisoning cases came to light. The sauce was made by Premier Foods at its factory in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.

The Food Standards Agency has warned people not to consume jars of Loyd Grossman korma sauce in 350g jars with a best-before date of February 2013. The batch code is: 1218R.

Investigations carried out to date at the factory and on other jars from this and other batches, have not revealed any contamination.

2 sick in Scotland; recall of Loyd Grossman Korma sauces following botulism link

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Preliminary tests carried out by the U.K. Health Protection Agency (HPA) have identified the toxin that causes botulism from a used jar of Loyd Grossman Korma sauce. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is advising consumers who have purchased the particular batch of the product to dispose of it and not consume. A full recall of this product batch has been issued and the sauce is being removed from shop shelves.

This follows two cases of botulism in one family in Scotland where the contaminated jar of sauce was discovered. No further cases have been identified to date. There is no evidence to suggest that the samples taken from the jar for testing could have been separately contaminated from another source. Further tests on this and from another unused jar of the korma sauce taken from the home of the patients are underway.

The affected batch is: 350g jars of Loyd Grossman Korma sauce with a best before date of February 2013. The sauce has a batch code of: 1218R 07:21

Health professionals across the UK have been made aware of the suspected cases and advised to look out for people of all ages with possible symptoms.

When is organic ever safer? Production standard only

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National Public Radio in the U.S. – or as Colbert calls their programming, state-sponsored jazz – ran a story entitled, Organic isn’t always safer when it comes to botulism.

When is organic ever safer? It’s a production standard.

The story about Organic Italian olives is a timely reminder that if Clostridium botulinim, the bacteria that causes botulism, makes it as far as a jar packed with oil and not much oxygen, it can flourish.

"It’s the perfect environment for botulinum to grow," says Eric Johnson, a professor of microbiology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Johnson said the case reminded him of an outbreak in the 1980s, which was caused by chopped garlic packed in oil. "Garlic is from the soil, so it has spores of botulinum in it.” The oil floats on top of the jar and seals out air, leaving water to collect at the bottom, where it acts like a Petri dish for botulism.

After the outbreak in chopped garlic, the FDA told garlic processors add phosphoric acid. The higher acid level thwarts bacterial growth. Another strategy used by big commercial processors is a "bot cook," which involves cooking foods at high temperatures under pressure to wipe out spores.

Finnish woman dies of botulism after eating organic olives

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An elderly woman has died as a result of botulism poisoning, produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum, after eating some Italian olives that contained the toxin.

According to the Helsinki and Uusimaa Hospital District, she succumbed to the illness on Thursday.

Another adult member of the same family remains in hospital.

Prior to their illness, both had eaten from a jar of stuffed organic olives, which was subsequently discovered to contain the toxin, as reported by THL, the National Institute for Health and Welfare.

The olives in question were manufactured and packaged in Italy, and the jar contains the Finnish wording "Gaudiano Bio oliivi mantelitäytteellä" (Gaudiano Organic Olives Stuffed with Almonds).

The best-before dates on the product are 08/2012 or 09/2012 and the batch numbers H2510X or L1810X.

2 ill in Finland from botulism in olives

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A batch of olives produced in Italy has been withdrawn from sale in the UK after two people in Helsinki, Finland, were diagnosed with botulism.

Both people reported having eaten Gaudiano Organic Olives Stuffed with Almonds. Lab tests confirmed that the jar from which they had eaten the olives contained botulinum toxin. The tainted olives were in 314ml glass jars with a ‘best before’ date of 09/2012.

Toilet brew strikes Utah prisoners with botulism

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The Salt Lake Valley Health Department confirmed Wednesday it is investigating an illness — suspected to be foodborne botulism — in 12 inmates of the Utah State Prison.

The Salt Lake Tribune reports eight inmates, three of whom are in critical condition, are receiving treatment at a local hospital, and four are under medical observation at the prison.

All the affected inmates consumed home-made alcohol brewed inside a cell at the prison, according to a health department news release.

The inmates affected likely came in contact with the bacteria by drinking brew, alcohol made in a cell, apparently in a plastic bag. Inmates often use fruit, water and sugar to craft the brew, which they often hide in the cell’s toilet, and when those foods are in an anaerobic environment they can create a breeding ground for the bacteria.

According to confiscation reports obtained earlier this year by The Tribune, brew is made fairly frequently, with 44 confiscations of the substance occurring between October 2009 and December 2010. However, the prison has not ever had a case of botulism, according to Nicholas Rupp, public information officer for the health department.

But "there’s always a health risk any time there is inappropriate food handling," Rupp added.

Botulism toll climbs to 8 in France; company not registered, inadequate processing

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Those stricken with botulism in France has climbed to eight as investigators determined the company that produced the suspect tapenade was never registered and had never undergone inspection.

In Avignon, five people who had shared a family meal on Thursday evening were admitted over the weekend to intensive care, where they are still on life support. "Two are close to sixty and three octogenarians," said the prefecture.

At Amiens (Somme), three young women, two sisters, aged 23 to 29, were placed for "at least three weeks" and a respirator under general anesthesia. The first symptoms manifested themselves in the aftermath of Sunday dinner.

Cans of green olive tapenade with almonds produced by the establishment "hive" of Cavaillon (Vaucluse) and sold under the brand " The delights of Marie Claire" have been fingered in the outbreak.

"The material used is unsuitable for sterilization was done with a washing machine type," said the secretary general of the prefecture, Martine Clavel.

The factory, installed in 2000, had never been subject to control. The owners did not make any inspection themselves and they had not asked for technical assistance.

According to the information provided, the suspect consignment contains about 60 jars of tapenade sold in grocery stores in the Bouches-du-Rhône, Drôme, Var and Vaucluse.

5 stricken with botulism in France

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 French friend Albert Amgar passes along the unfortunate story of five people in Avignon who were hospitalized this weekend including two in serious condition after being stricken with botulism toxin during a family dinner.

"The evolution of clinical signs may suggest that this is a botulinum toxin infection," the prefecture said in a statement. Although several of the suspected foods were prepared at home, two products that were part of the meals of these people are the subject of analysis, including a green almond tapenade (180 g pot-lot No. 112005) and a sun-dried tomato spread (jar of 180g – Lot No. 112607) for optimal use by date 16/12/12. "Pending the results and as a precaution it is advisable to suspend use of the products from these two lots," according to the prefecture.

"In 2009 , 13 outbreaks of botulism totaling 29 patients were identified. All occurred in the home and the number of patients per household varies from one to six."

Deux cas de botulisme liés à de la soupe conservée à une mauvaise temperature

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En 2006, six personnes ont présenté des cas de botulisme en Géorgie, Floride et Ontario qui ont été tracés jusqu’à du jus de carotte. Une personne en est décédée. Une mauvaise température de conservation du jus a été un facteur-clé pour ces personnes.

Que pouvez-vous faire :
• si vous vendez des aliments qui nécessitent d’être réfrigérés pour maintenir la salubrité, informez vos clients clairement et de façon répétée
• savoir quels sont vos aliments qui doivent être réfrigérés ; vérifiez l’étiquetage des ingrédients présents et suivez les instructions
• surveiller la température de vos réfrigérateurs afin de s’assurer qu’elle soit en dessous de 5°C

Les consommateurs ne lisent pas toujours l’étiquetage ou ne suivent pas toujours les instructions présentes

Un homme de 29 ans de l’Ohio et une femme de 41 ans de Géorgie sont tombés malades en janvier 2011 après avoir mangé une soupe de pommes de terre produite industriellement qui contenait de la toxine de Clostridium botulinum, qui avait été achetée réfrigérée auprès de commerçants et étiquetée « A conserver réfrigérée ». Après avoir conservé la soupe à température ambiante pendant un certain temps avant de la manger, les deux personnes ont développé des symptômes du botulisme.

Chaque cas a nécessité une hospitalisation de longue durée et ils ont été placés sous assistance respiratoire après avoir connu des symptômes de vertiges, de vision floue et des difficultés à respirer.

Dans un cas, la soupe avait été achetée en décembre, chez un commerçant local dans une vitrine réfrigérée, mais elle avaient été conservée sans réfrigération au domicile de la victime pendant 42 jours.

Dans l’autre cas, la victime a conservé la soupe à température ambiante pendant 18 jours.

La toxine dangereuse entraînant le botulisme se forme lorsque les spores de Clostridium botulinum germent puis se développent dans un aliment à faible acidité, en l’absence d’oxygène et à température ambiante. Étant donné que ces soupes ne sont pas traitées pour tuer les spores de Clostridium botulinum, la seule mesure de maîtrise du botulisme est de conserver le produit
réfrigéré.
 

Nuevo Folleto Informativo: Abuso de temperatura 
en sopas causa dos 
casos de botulismo

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Traducido por Gonzalo Erdozain
Resumen del folleto informativo mas reciente:
– Como las sopas no fueron tratadas para matar las esporas de Clostridium botulinum, la única medida para prevenir botulismo es 
la refrigeración.
– Si vendes alimentos que requieren refrigeración, avise a sus consumidores en forma clara y constante.
– Sepa qué alimentos requieren refrigeración. Revise y siga las instrucciones en
las etiquetas de todos sus productos.
Los folletos informativos son creados semanalmente y puestos en restaurantes, tiendas y granjas, y son usados para entrenar y educar a través del mundo. Si usted quiere proponer un tema o mandar fotos para los folletos, contacte a Ben Chapman a benjamin_chapman@ncsu.edu.
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