160 sickened: Australian restaurant to face criminal charges for using raw egg mayo

Posted on October 9, 2014 by Douglas Powell

Over a year after 160 people were sickened from Salmonella linked to raw egg mayonnaise, owners of the former Copa Brazilian restaurant have been charged with criminal offences over the largest salmonella outbreak in Canberra’s history.

Many diners who ate at the newly-opened all-you-can-eat Brazilian barbecue were left with salmonella poisoning, and the Canberra Hospital’s emergency department reportedly had one of its busiest days on record.

Some victims are understood to still be suffering long-term health problems.

A major ACT Health investigation found an egg supplier in Victoria to be responsible for the bad eggs.

The restaurant, which had only recently opened before the incident, issued an apology to those affected and removed all products containing raw egg from its menu to ensure the poisoning was not repeated.

It closed voluntarily, before reopening under the close watch of ACT Health authorities.

But the restaurant eventually closed its doors and left Dickson in June this year.

A criminal case has now been launched against Copa’s owners, listed on court papers as Zeffirelli Pizza Restaurant Pty Ltd.

Two charges have been laid for selling unsafe food likely to cause physical harm.

Under ACT food safety law, those who either knowingly or negligently sell unsafe food can face criminal prosecution.

The criminal charges come after the majority of the food poisoning victims settled civil claims against the restaurant.

Copa has paid out an estimated $1 million, including costs, to many of those struck down by salmonella.

Australia has a raw egg problem. A table of raw egg related outbreaks in Australia is available at https://barfblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/raw-egg-related-outbreaks-australia-3-3-14.xlsx

CDC: Antibiotic resistance in foodborne germs is an ongoing threat

Posted on July 3, 2014 by Douglas Powell

In a report that is sure to be interpreted by the political lenses of various groups, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that in 2012 that multi-drug resistant Salmonella decreased during the past 10 years and resistance to two important groups of drugs – cephalosporins and fluoroquinolones – remained low in 2012. However, in Salmonella typhi, the germ that causes typhoid fever, resistance to quinolone drugs increased to 68 percent in 2012, raising concerns that one of the common treatments for typhoid fever may not work in many cases.

About 1 in 5 Salmonella Heidelberg infections was resistant to ceftriaxone, a cephalapsorin drug. This is the same Salmonella serotype that has been linked to recent outbreaks associated with poultry. Ceftriaxone resistance is a problem because it makes severe Salmonella infections harder to treat, especially in children.

The data are part of the latest report of the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS), a tri-agency surveillance system that has tracked antibiotic resistance in humans (CDC), retail meats (Food and Drug Administration), and food animals (U.S. Department of Agriculture) since 1996. The report from CDC NARMS compares resistance levels in human samples in 2012 to a baseline period of 2003-2007.

“Our latest data show some progress in reducing resistance among some germs that make people sick but unfortunately we’re also seeing greater resistance in some pathogens, like certain types of Salmonella,” said Robert Tauxe, M.D., M.P.H, deputy director of CDC’s Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases. “Infections with antibiotic-resistant germs are often more severe. These data will help doctors prescribe treatments that work and to help CDC and our public health partners identify and stop outbreaks caused by resistant germs faster and protect people’s health.”

Among the other findings in the 2012 report:

*Campylobacter resistance to ciprofloxacin remained at 25 percent, despite FDA’s 2005 withdrawal of its approval for the use of enrofloxacin in poultry. Ciprofloxacin and enrofloxacin are both in the fluoroquinolone class of drugs.

*Shigella resistance to ciprofloxacin (2 percent) and azithromycin (4 percent) is growing. However, no Shigella strains were resistant to both drugs.

*Although fluoroquinolone resistance remained low in 2012, Salmonella enteritidis – the most common Salmonella type – accounted for 50 percent of infections resistant to the fluoroquinolone drug nalidixic acid, which is used in laboratory testing for resistance. Resistance to nalidixic acid relates to decreased susceptibility to ciprofloxacin, a widely used fluoroquinolone drug. Other work shows that many of the nalidixic acid resistant Salmonella enteritidis infections are acquired during travel abroad.

The full 2012 NARMS report is available on the CDC website at www.cdc.gov/narms/reports/annual-human-isolates-report-2012.html. For more information about NARMS, visit www.cdc.gov/narms.

In Australia, researchers from the Australian National University’s Research School of Biology tested more than 90 packages of chicken bought from several Canberra retailers for the presence of E. coli.

Professor of microbial population biology and evolution, David Gordon, said almost 200 samples were found to contain E. coli and of those, about two-thirds were discovered to be antibiotic-resistant.

Just four strains of E. coli were found to be resistant to antibiotics known as fluoroquinolone, which were not used by Australia’s poultry industry, he said.

Professor Gordon said the E. coli strains researchers found were rare in the samples.

He said it was unlikely the strains of fluoroquinolone-resistent E. coli were in the chicken before slaughtering, and the “most logical, although not necessarily true, explanation for their presence in poultry is post-processing contamination.”

An ACT Health spokeswoman said although the directorate had not seen the study, the presence of resistant bacteria in chicken meat highlighted the importance of good food handling and preparation when eating chicken, including thorough cooking and cleaning of food-preparation surfaces.

“This is important to prevent bacterial food-borne illness regardless of whether bacteria are resistant to an antibiotic,” she said.

An Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority spokeswoman said the authority was responsible for the assessment and registration of veterinary medicines, including antibiotics, in Australia.

She said fluoroquinolones have never been registered for use in food-producing animals in Australia.

“State and territory governments are responsible for controlling the use of pesticides and veterinary medicines beyond the point of retail sale,” she said.

162 sickened: Salmonella kiss of death for Canberra restaurant

Posted on June 30, 2014 by Douglas Powell

When we go out to eat, which is increasingly rare, I always ask, does your chef use raw eggs in the aioli or mayo or something else that is not cooked.

In Australia the answer is usually a convincing yes.

I try not to be an arse about these things, but what I do say is, look at all the raw-egg related outbreaks in Australia (see https://barfblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/raw-egg-related-outbreaks-australia-3-3-14.xlsx).

) and then say something like, we’re fans of your food, that’s why we come here. Do you really want to lose this business you worked so had for because of a dip?

In May, 2013, at least 162 people who went out for a Mother’s Day meal at the Copa Brazilian in Canberra were sickened with Salmonella.

The Copa has, according to media reports, has quietly closed and sold.

After a final dinner service on a Saturday night in mid-June, the site of Canberra’s largest salmonella outbreak now has its lights turned off and had its furniture boxed up.

One story says the victims were sickened after being “served mayonnaise in a potato salad made with bad eggs.”

This is a line often heard in Australia and elsewhere: the eggs were bad.

Maybe there’s some Salmonella-night-vision goggles I don’t know about. But do restaurant owners really want to make people sick, and do they really want to lose their business?

Australia still has an egg problem: report shows Salmonella surge in Australia in 2012

Posted on June 20, 2014 by Douglas Powell

The ACT – that’s the Australian Capital Territory, similar to Washington, D.C. –recorded its highest ever number of salmonella cases in 2012, with a report revealing there were eight outbreaks between 2011 and 2012.

The ACT Chief Health Officer’s report, released on Friday, reveals there were 233 cases reported in 2012, a 47 per cent increase on the number of cases in 2011. The report is based on data collected between July 2010 and June 2012.

There were eight outbreaks of foodborne salmonellosis in the ACT during 2011 and 2012. More than 125 people fell ill and 17 were hospitalised.

Eggs were identified as the “probably food vehicle” in five of the outbreaks.

Salmonellosis, an infection caused by the bacterium Salmonella, can cause patients to become seriously ill with symptoms including abdominal pain, diarrhea, fever, nausea and vomiting. In serious cases the bacteria enter the blood stream and can cause pneumonia, septic arthritis and meningitis.

The report indicated there was a higher than expected number of cases, especially between January to May 2012 and a spike in December 2012.

“Increases in notifications are not unexpected at these times, reflecting both the seasonality associated with salmonellosis in Australia and its potential as an outbreak agent,” the report said.

Acting Chief Health Officer Andrew Pengilley said salmonella cases had generally increased around Australia.

“Most salmonella cases are not related to outbreaks and are individual, where people don’t have a clear idea where they might have contracted the bacteria,” he said.

“It can reflect food preparation at home or food transport issues such as food getting warm before it’s eaten. It’s important that people be aware of those risks in their own kitchen because that’s certainly another place you can get salmonella.”

The report also revealed there were 16 food-poisoning outbreaks between July 2010 and June 2012. Two were caused by food eaten at private residences, one each from a catered event and a festival, while the rest were traced to registered food businesses.

Maybe it’s the ridiculous desire of Australian food joints to use raw eggs. That kind of clear speaking ain’t going to come from Dr. Bureaucrat, and more people will get sick.

The figures in the report do not include salmonella cases for last year when Canberra had its biggest salmonella outbreak. About 140 diners fell ill and 15 were admitted to hospital after eating home-made mayonnaise – made using raw eggs later found to contain salmonella – at Copa Brazilian Churrasco restaurant in May last year.

A table of raw egg related outbreaks in Australia is available at https://barfblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/raw-egg-related-outbreaks-australia-3-3-14.xlsx.

Another ‘death cap’ poisoning in Australia

Posted on April 30, 2014 by Douglas Powell

Another Canberra resident has fallen ill from death cap mushroom poisoning.

An ACT Health spokeswoman confirmed the fourth case which is unrelated to three others reported last week.

Three members of the same household consumed the fungi last week and were recovering in hospitals in Canberra and Sydney.

ACT Health urged people not to pick and eat wild mushrooms.

Does epidemiology count? Canberra says no evidence of food poisoning at club

Posted on February 28, 2014 by Douglas Powell

”We can’t have 29 people who have come from interstate just for a funeral and a wake all have the same symptoms [by chance],” says Cheryle Parkes.

”I’m sorry, it just doesn’t work that way, and the family members who weren’t there didn’t get sick.”

Health authorities investigating a suspected food poisoning outbreak have found no trace of pathogens or contaminants in food samples taken from the Raiders Belconnen Club in Kippax.

However, ACT Health is unable to rule out the club as the source of the outbreak, which resulted in 29 of 40 guests at a wake becoming sick.

Testing of sandwiches, potato salad and pasta salad comes after most guests at the February 12 wake were left bedridden, with some interstate travellers having to delay trips home due to vomiting.

Cheryle Parkes said she believed egg and chicken sandwiches served at her mother’s wake were the cause.

Food samples collected from the club on February 14, two days after the wake, tested negative for dangerous bacteria, E. coli and salmonella.

An ACT Health spokeswoman said the results did not rule out food-borne illness affecting the people.

”A failure to detect pathogens in food analysed from suspect sources means that there was no causative organism detected,” she said.

”It does not mean that an outbreak of food-borne illness did not occur and it does not mean that a particular business did not cause the problem.”

ACT Health said it did not comment on individual businesses involved in suspected outbreaks.

Raiders Club manager Craig Potts said the frozen sandwiches tested had been from the same batch as those served at the wake. They included ham, cheese and pickle; chicken, cheese and mayonnaise; and egg and chive sandwiches.

”Quality control is something we take very seriously and we were always very confident that the analysis report from the ACT Health would reflect this,” he said.

Last year home-made mayonnaise was found to be at fault when 140 diners fell ill after eating at a Dickson restaurant.

29 sick after Australian wake; again with the eggs?

Posted on February 20, 2014 by Douglas Powell

Suspected food poisoning left most guests at a Canberra wake last week bedridden, with some interstate travellers having to delay trips home because of vomiting, a Canberra woman says.

Cheryle Parkes said 29 of the 40 guests had become sick after eating at her mother’s wake at the Raiders Belconnen club in Kippax last Wednesday.

The 61-year-old Ngunnawal resident suspects chicken and egg sandwiches were the cause.

”My brother-in-law had such severe diarrhoea, my sister had shocking vomiting,” Mrs Parkes said.

”Another lady, my sister’s sister-in-law, said she’d never been so sick in her life.

Raiders club manager Craig Potts said staff were working with ACT Health. ”If there is an issue we need to deal with it, but currently they haven’t given us any findings and therefore we are unable to deal further with this in this instance,” he said.

”As soon as the findings are made available we will be in contact with the client we dealt with and will take any needed action as such.”

An ACT Health spokeswoman would not comment on the specific complaint on Wednesday.

”ACT Health can confirm we are currently investigating a number of possible food poisoning outbreaks,” the spokeswoman said in a statement. ”We are unable to comment on the source or cause of any alleged outbreaks.”

While the $627 spread for the noon wake included a cake platter, hot foods and a cheese and dry fruit offering, Mrs Parkes said the sandwiches were the common denominator in those who had later become ill.

”I had a quarter of a quarter of a chicken and mayo sandwich,” she said.

”I’d say [mayonnaise] is in the egg too.”

Mrs Parkes said she was disappointed by the lack of detail.

”What did they find? I need to know what has made us sick,” she said.

Mrs Parkes said she wanted a refund from the Raiders club for the aftermath of the important day.

”You go to celebrate your mother’s life and everyone’s ill, and you’re apologizing to them for being so sick,” she said.

Home-made mayonnaise was to blame last year when 140 diners fell ill and 15 were admitted to hospital after eating at the Copa Brazilian Churrasco restaurant on May 12.

Australia still has an egg problem. And there’s nothing like a grandmother who has catering experience and just lost her mother to lay plain the lumbering attitude towards Australian consumers from both government and industry.

14K fine; Australian noodle bar fined for ‘putrid’ conditions

Posted on January 30, 2014 by Douglas Powell

A cockroach-infested noodle bar operating in Tuggeranong Hyperdome has been fined almost $14,000 for potentially dangerous food safety breaches.

Health inspectors showed up at the BNL Noodle Bar, owned by Taku and Mars Monkey Pty Ltd, about 2pm in April 2011, just after the lunch rush.

What they found at the eatery had the potential to cause a public health emergency, a court heard on Thursday.

Prosecutor Anthony Williamson described the scene as “putrid”, with inspectors finding significant volumes of cockroaches, alive and dead.

They found dirt, grime, food debris, inadequate washing facilities, and the walls and floor had not been cleaned for “a considerable amount of time”.

No action had been taken to control the entry of the pests, the court heard.

The noodle bar was shut down temporarily by the health inspectors, and its parent company, consisting only of one individual, was taken to court for multiple breaches of food safety laws.

The company was sentenced in the ACT Magistrates Court on Thursday by Magistrate Bernadette Boss.

The company’s lawyer said the owner of the business was struggling financially, having bought the company for $130,000 in 2010, and now finding it difficult to make a profit.

The owner has since taken action to fix the problems, completing a $100,000 renovation, which now made it fully compliant with food safety laws.

Australia has a food safety problem; eateries in Capital ignoring hygiene standards

Posted on January 22, 2014 by Douglas Powell

Maybe it’s payback to the federal politicians in Australia who are utterly clueless about basic food safety and steps to improve public accountability, but Canberra food businesses are flouting food safety laws such as installing a wash basin and cleaning the kitchen, according to the territory’s chief health officer.

The number of improvement notices issued to restaurants, cafes and food stalls in the second half of last year was more than double the number for the same period in 2012.

While some of the 163 notices were for minor infringements, chief health officer Dr Paul Kelly said “we’re still finding significant problems” with general hygiene standards in some premises.

Among the problems were business owners failing to install a basin for hand washing in food-preparation areas.

Others did not maintain clean kitchens or had been caught out

not storing food at correct temperatures.

“It’s pretty standard infrastructure that you’d think would just be second nature,” Dr Kelly said.

“We’re trying … to work with industry to get them to fix their act by themselves.”

“I think we’ve got a way to go still.’’ he said.

‘‘People who don’t have somewhere to wash their hands in a food-preparation area, with running water and soap – that sort of thing is still there,” he said.

Egg denial? 140 sick from Salmonella at Mother’s Day brunch in Canberra; scrutiny for egg supplier

Posted on June 8, 2013 by Douglas Powell

A Victorian egg supplier is, according to The Age, under investigation and one person has ongoing health issues following Canberra’s largest salmonella outbreak, which has left health professionals ”struck by the severity” of the symptoms and high infection rate.

The outbreak, which affected 140 people and hospitalized 15 in mid-May, was traced back to raw egg mayonnaise served at the Copa Brazilian restaurant in Dickson. But ACT Chief Health Officer Dr Paul Kelly confirmed on Wednesday that the focus had turned to an egg producer in Victoria who supplied eggs to the Copa.

”We have actually sourced the eggs back to a supplier in Victoria, and our colleagues in Victoria have commenced an investigation of that particular place,” Dr Kelly said.

He also said so far results were pointing towards typhimurium phage type 170 as the specific bacterium, and clinicians at the territory’s hospitals had told ACT Health they’d never seen an outbreak with such strong symptoms.

”We were really struck by the severity of the symptoms and also the high attack rate – almost everyone that ate there got sick,” Dr Kelly said.

”Really, it was just the raw eggs. I really wish people would just stop using them.”

Dr Kelly said of 10 food poisoning outbreaks last year, half were salmonella-related, and four of those were traced back to raw egg products. He would like to see a national approach to combating the issue. ”At the moment there’s no law against using raw eggs. There is a law under the Food Act in the ACT and in other jurisdictions about … supplying unhealthy food to people. That is a breach of the law. I would argue that supplying food that has salmonella in it is pretty unhealthy,” he said.

Why any restaurant would serve raw egg mayo and incur the risk is beyond comprehension.

But, this is Australia, and Australia has an egg problem; or an egg denial problem.

A table of raw-egg related outbreaks in Australia is available at http://bites.ksu.edu/raw-egg-related-outbreaks-australia.

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