Tag Archives: Canada

Is prosciutto making Canadians sick with listeria?

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It’s a mystery, how various health agencies decide when to issue public warnings about particular food products.

On Wednesday, Ontario health officials announced they were investigating two cases of listeriosis that appear to be linked to salami recalled from stores in Ontario and Quebec about three months ago.

The salami was sold by Siena Foods based in Toronto and was voluntarily recalled by the manufacturer on Dec. 21, 2009, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Wednesday. The best before date on the packaged meat is May 4, 2010.

Last night, CFIA and Siena Foods Ltd. warned the public not to consume certain Siena brand Prosciutto Cotto Cooked Ham below because it may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

The affected product Siena brand Prosciutto Cotto Cooked Ham, was sold to delicatessens, grocery and speciality food stores in large wholesale packages for further slicing bearing Best Before dates of March 8 and March 22, 2010.

The affected product would have been sold to consumers after January 11, 2010. However, the original brand and/or best before dates may not have been transferred at the deli counters to consumer packages. Persons who may have purchased cooked ham after January 11, 2010 and do not know original brand and code are advised to check with their retailer or supplier to determine if they have the affected product.

So much for traceability.

This recall is based on positive test results for Listeria monocytogenes in product samples and CFIA’s investigation of these findings.

The CFIA is aware of reported listeriosis illness in Ontario and is collaborating with the Province of Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care, the Public Health Agency of Canada and Health Canada to investigate these illnesses. At this time, no confirmed linkage has been made between the subject recalled products and the reported illnesses.

That’s CFIA-speak for ‘we haven’t found the same Listeria in an unopened package. But we found enough links to go public and cover ourselves.’

I hate myself for being able to interpret CFIA-speak.

Food safety: Canada is #5 or really sucks; dueling academics

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In May 2008, a couple of Canadian researchers at the University of Regina put out a report that ostensibly attempted to rank 17 industrialized countries based on their food safety performance.

And who doesn’t love a completely meaningless top-17 list, that placed Canada fifth, the U.S. seventh and the United Kingdom first. Make mine piping hot.

Dr. Richard Holley of the University of Manitoba takes a different approach in the current Canadian Medical Association Journal, asserting that Canada’s food safety system is reactive, lags behind other countries, and investment is needed to ensure it can adequately protect Canadians.

I’ll go with Holley.

Foodborne illness surveillance is needed to ensure safety from gastrointestinal infections caused by bacteria such as toxigenic E.coli, Salmonella, Campylobacter and Listeria. As there is no national foodborne illness surveillance program in Canada, the estimated 11 million cases of foodborne illness every year are based on surveys of self-reported gastrointestinal illness. More accurate data are needed to execute meaningful intervention.

European Union countries, the US and Australia have surveillance systems that allow them to collect information on food vehicles and organisms that cause foodborne illness, something Canada cannot currently do. Canada’s multi-government system with national, provincial and local governments that share responsibility for health, as well as monitor the safety and quality of food are key reasons that we have a fragmented system with poor focus. The US suffers from the same problem, yet does a better (though not perfect) job.

Steps to food safety in Canada:

1. Government must go beyond interagency memoranda of understanding to develop permanent systems that promote cooperation and sharing of information on surveillance of foodborne illness and investigations of outbreaks.

2. Investment is needed to develop a surveillance program on foodborne illness that will characterize risks related to food and food pathogens in Canada.

3. Data from surveillance must be used to develop inspection policy that is based on risk and is uniform across the coun- try. That policy’s main priority must be to validate that approved food safety systems are operated properly.
 

5 years later, Canada releases illness data; trends for Salmonella, Campylobacter, verotoxigenic E. coli and Shigella

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The Public Health Agency of Canada, which was created to streamline various public health duties like providing meaningful data on foodborne illness and provide leadership on public health issues (totally useless during the 2008 listeria in deli meats outbreak that killed 22) has gotten around to releasing so-called integrated surveillance data for selected enteric diseases in Canada.

This report focuses on the years 2000 to 2004. The pathogens described are Salmonella, Campylobacter, verotoxigenic Escherichia coli and Shigella. From 2000 to 2004, a general decline in reported rates of all four pathogens was observed in all except a few provinces. When looking at more long-term trends from 1995 to 2004, a similar decline was seen in nationally reported rates for all four pathogens. S. Typhimurium was the most frequently reported Salmonella serovar during the five-year period described, followed by S. Heidelberg and S. Enteritidis. C. jejuni remained the most prevalent Campylobacter species reported between 2000 and 2004. E. coli O157 comprised the majority of verotoxigenic E.coli isolates over these five years. Shigella sonnei was the most frequently reported Shigella species.

Hospitalizations, deaths, outbreaks and case clusters, as well as unusual isolation sites and travel-acquired infections are also explored in this report. Pathogenic E. coli was associated with the highest hospitalization rates over the five-year period, although Salmonella infections resulted in the largest number of deaths overall. Data on outbreaks and case clusters is limited to those reported to the National Enteric Surveillance Program (NESP) and the National Microbiology Laboratory (NML).

Which means, not much. The data is exceedingly limited, and why it took at least 5 years to report is baffling. Canadians can comfortably go back to sleep.

French travelers once again contract trichinosis from eating bear in Canada; were they in a canoe?

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Canada was settled by French and other European explorers by canoe – hence the Canadianism, as stated by Pierre Berton, a Canadian journalist and novelist,

"A Canadian is someone who knows how to make love in a canoe without tipping it."

The National Post reports this morning that for the second time in four years, health authorities in France have identified an outbreak of the parasitical illness trichinosis from bear meat devoured by French travelers in northern Canada.

The grizzly that ended up as steaks, stew and even "grizzly-bear Bolognese" had been threatening an Inuit camp on the Nunavut shore when it was shot by rangers, with the carcass later divided up among locals and visitors.

In 2005, 19 French travelers got sick after eating black bear in Labrador, while two others caught trichinosis from a polar bear in Greenland a few years earlier.

A Paris-based expert who investigated the outbreaks attributes the spate of bear-meat illness among his compatriots to the French culinary penchant for trying unconventional meats, and either eating them raw or cooking them very little.

One of the French adventurers — on a sailing trip across the Arctic — ended up hospitalized for 11 days after digesting the tainted food in September, though she avoided the most serious heart and brain complications of the infection.

Dr. Jean Dupouy-Camet, head of a trichinosis-tracking program, said in an interview from Paris,

"It’s quite fascinating to see that French people seem quite fond of bear meat. French people travelling abroad like to consume exotic meats … [And] they are usually fond of raw meat: steak tartare."

But the latest episode was not confined to the French sailors. Members of another North-West Passage sailing expedition, headed by a Canadian, ate some of the same meat and two of them also became ill.

Other people have had witty things to say about Canada. British novelist Douglas Adams said each country was like a particular type of person, and "Canada is like an intelligent 35 year old woman." America, on the other hand, is a "belligerent adolescent boy" and Australia is "Jack Nicholson." I may prefer Australia. 

Summer means melons

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In my current neck of the woods summer is approaching. I’ve decided only the oldies station will play in my pimpin’ ride, and I’ve been purchasing strawberries and watermelon on every trip to the grocery store. Nothing says summer like fresh melon(s).

But melons have their risk. Cantaloupe, honeydew and watermelon have been linked to outbreaks of Salmonella in the past, and currently the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has issued a health hazard alert for Melon up! brand large seedless watermelons from Mexico.

You can check out a video on how to safely prepare melon, here. Or the FDA guidance for industry document, here.
 

Canada reminds Canadians about the risks of eating raw sprouts – dos this mean there’s an outbreak?

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When Canadian bureaucrats send out a food safety press release for no apparent reason other than to remind Canadians of something it usually means there is an outbreak going on.

Once again, it’s raw sprouts, and it’s not like it’s sprout season or something (unlike the often terrible turkey food safety advice the surfaces at Thanksgiving).

Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency are reminding Canadians that raw or undercooked sprouts should not be eaten by children, the elderly, pregnant women or those with weakened immune systems.

Sprouts, such as alfalfa and mung beans, are a popular choice for Canadians as a low-calorie, healthy ingredient for many meals. Onion, radish, mustard and broccoli sprouts, which are not to be confused with the actual plant or vegetable, are also common options.

These foods, however, may carry harmful bacteria such as Salmonella and E. coli O157:H7, which can lead to serious illness.

Fresh produce can sometimes be contaminated with harmful bacteria while in the field or during storage or handling. This is particularly a concern with sprouts. Many outbreaks of Salmonella and E. coli infections have been linked to contaminated sprouts. The largest recent outbreak in Canada was in the fall of 2005, when more than 648 cases of Salmonella were reported in Ontario.
 

Wendy’s VP says E. coli salad safe – provides no evidence

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From the growing catalogue of worst things to say after an outbreak of foodborne illness, Dan Moore, the owner of the Wendy’s franchise on Prospect Street in New Brunswick said yesterday,

“The senior vice-president of Wendy’s was here (on Saturday) to inspect the restaurant."

Further, all required precautions have been taken, and customers can safely eat salads, as well as any other menu items.

The Wendy’s outlet was linked to an E. coli O157 outbreak that hit four people who ate Wendy’s salads.

What any consumer would want to know is, where did the lettuce or tomatoes come from, and what kind of on-farm food safety program is being used by the producer, including water testing, testing of soil amendments, and employee sanitation. Don’t want employees wiping their butts and picking fresh lettuce; same with the Wendy’s staff.

If it only takes a senior vp to make food safe, in the absence of any evidence, then lots more food should be safe because there are lots of senior vps.

E. coli O157:H7 linked to Western Fair in London, Canada, again, 10 years after 159 sickened

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There are more people tragically sick with E. coli O157:H7 from what looks like another petting zoo.

But this would be especially tragic – or hopelessly sad — if proven.

In 1999, 159 people, mainly children, were thought to be sickened with E. coli O157:H7 traced to goat and sheep at the 1999 Western Fair in London, Ontario. That’s in Canada.

Scott Weese, a clinical studies professor at the University of Guelph (that’s also in Canada) and colleagues reported in the July 2007 edition of Clinical Infectious Diseases that in a study of 36 petting zoos in Ontario between May and October of 2006, they observed infrequent hand washing, food sold and consumed near the animals, and children being allowed to drink bottles or suck on pacifiers in the petting area.

There’s been several outbreaks linked to petting zoos and state fairs in the U.K., Vancouver and Denver; and that’s just this year. A complete table of outbreaks is available at http://barfblog.foodsafety.ksu.edu/uploads/file/Petting%20zoo%20outbreaks%20chart%20bites(1).pdf.

Now, 10 years later, initial reports are emerging that four people who visited the Western Fair Agri-plex (that’s in London, Ontario, Canada) sometime between September 11 and 20, 2009, have been infected with the same strain of E. coli O157:H7.

The health unit is asking anyone who developed severe diarrhea after visiting the Western Fair to contact them at (519) 663-5317 ext 2330.

Gratuitous food porn shot of the day – Canadian Thanksgiving edition

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Sorenne eating dinner with mom, 7:30 p.m., Oct. 10, 2009.

The second Monday in October is Canadian Thanksgiving. In the U.S., it’s the fourth Thursday in November.

Why the difference?

Thanksgiving is a celebration of the harvest, and the harvest happens a lot earlier in cold Canada. But the annual gathering felt particularly Canadian last night, with plants being brought inside as the first frost hung in the air – ridiculously early for Manhattan, Kansas – and Don Cherry of Hockey Night in Canada on the tube as the Kansas State 66-14 football loss was too embarrassing to watch.

It especially felt like Canada because the Toronto Maple Leafs sucked – like they have for the past 42 years.

On the menu: turkey breast (overheard? Doug, how do you get it so moist? use a meat thermometer), stuffing (more vegetables than bread and used up all the sage before the frost), acorn squash stuffed with pecans, apple, lime juice and brown sugar (got the most raves); rosemary garlic mashed potatoes (thanks for the prep help, Jen) fat-free gravy via my coolio decanter, fruit salad (thanks Peter and Yasmin) and chocolate mousse (thanks, Jen).