The U.S. Government Accountability Office writes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 1 in 6 people in the U.S. get food poisoning each year—leading to 128,000 hospital stays and 3,000 deaths. CDC has seen an increase in foodborne illness outbreaks that span multiple states in recent years.
CDC has developed tools to identify possible multistate outbreaks, investigate their cause, and communicate about them to the public. But it needs to balance the need to communicate quickly against the need to provide accurate and specific information.
Our recommendations include that CDC publicize its decision-making process for communicating about multistate outbreaks.
Chris Koger of The Packer writes the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has added 16 more people to an E. coli outbreak investigation of unknown origin, bringing the total to 39. Cases have been reported in 18 states; there have been no deaths.
According to the CDC’s Nov. 23 update, “Of the 22 ill people interviewed to date, all reported eating a variety of leafy greens, like spinach (16), romaine lettuce (15), iceberg lettuce (12), and mixed bag lettuce (8). No single type or brand of leafy greens or other food item has been identified as the source of this outbreak. CDC is not advising people avoid any particular food at this time.
Dole Fresh Vegetables, Inc. is voluntarily recalling a limited number of cases of organic romaine hearts. The products being recalled are Dole™ Organic Romaine Hearts 3pk (UPC 0-71430-90061-1), combined English/French packaging, with Harvested-On dates of 10-23-20 and 10-26-20, and Wild Harvest Organic Romaine Hearts (UPC 7-11535-50201-2), with Harvested-On dates of 10-23-20 and 10-26-20. The recall is being conducted due to a possible health risk from E. coli in the two products. Dole Fresh Vegetables is coordinating closely with regulatory officials. No illnesses have been reported to date in association with the recall.
Pathogenic E. coli can cause diarrhea, severe stomach cramps and vomiting. Most people recover within a week, but some illnesses can last longer and can be more severe.
This precautionary recall notification is being issued due to an isolated instance in which a package of Dole™ Organic Romaine Hearts – 3pk yielded a positive result for pathogenic non-O157 E.coli STEC in a routine sample collected at a retail store by the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. There is no indication at this time that this positive result is related to any illnesses nor consumer complaints and it is not associated with the strains connected to the ongoing outbreaks currently under regulatory investigation.
This is over two months old, but should get it out there, because onions are an infrequent source of foodborne illness, despite being grown in the ground.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control reported that onions supplied by Thomson International, Inc., or any foods made with recalled onions, should not be eaten.
As of August 31, 2020, a total of 1,012 people infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Newport have beenreported from 47 states. A list of the states and the number of cases in each can be found on the Map of Reported Cases page.
Illnesses started on dates ranging from June 19, 2020, to August 11, 2020. Ill people range in age from less than 1 to 102 years, with a median age of 40. Fifty-seven percent of ill people are female. Of 581 ill people with information available, 136 hospitalizations have been reported. No deaths have been reported.
Illnesses might not yet be reported due to the time it takes between when a person becomes ill and when the illness is reported. This takes an average of 2 to 4 weeks. Please see the Timeline for Reporting Cases of Salmonella Infection for more details.
Whole genome sequencing analysis of 732 bacterial isolates from ill people did not predict any antibiotic resistance in 730 isolates; one isolate had predicted resistance to ampicillin, and one isolate had predicted resistance to tetracycline. Standard antibiotic susceptibility testing of seven clinical isolates by CDC’s National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS) laboratory showed no resistance. This resistance does not affect the choice of antibiotic used to treat most people.
Whole genome sequencing analysis shows that an outbreak of Salmonella Newport infections in Canada is related genetically to this outbreak in the United States. This means that people in both of these outbreaks are likely to share a common source of infection.
Recalled onion types include red, white, yellow, and sweet yellow varieties.
Foods made with recalled onions, such as cheese dips and spreads, salsas, and chicken salads, have also been recalled. These foods were sold at multiple grocery store chains. View the list of recalled onions and foods
Check your home for onions and other foods recalled by Thomson International, Inc. and several other companies, including Food Lion, Giant Eagle, Kroger, Publix, Ralph’s, Trader Joe’s, and Walmart.
If you can’t tell where your onions are from, don’t eat them or any food made with them. Throw them away.
If you used recalled onions to make any other food, don’t eat the food. Throw it away, even if some of it was eaten and no one got sick.
Wash and sanitize any surfaces that may have come in contact with onions or their packaging, such as countertops, storage bins, refrigerator drawers, knives, and cutting boards.
When you order food from a restaurant or shop for food, check to make sure they are not serving or selling any recalled onions, foods prepared with recalled onions, or any recalled foods such as salads, sandwiches, tacos, salsas, and dips.
If they don’t know where their onions are from, don’t buy the product or order the food.
A total of 1,012 people infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Newport have been reported from 47 states.
136 hospitalizations have been reported. No deaths have been reported.
Epidemiologic and traceback information showed that red onions are a likely source of this outbreak. Due to the way onions are grown and harvested, other onion types, such as white, yellow, or sweet yellow, are also likely to be contaminated.
On August 19, 2020, Hello Fresh recalledexternal icon onions received by customers from May 8 through July 31, 2020.
In Aug. 2020, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control warned consumers not to eat, serve, or sell loose or bagged peaches packed or supplied by Prima Wawona or Wawona Packing Company LLC.
Peaches were sold in bags and individually (bulk/loose peaches).
If you can’t tell where the peaches are from, don’t eat them. Throw them out.
Don’t eat food made with these peaches.
Check your kitchen and refrigerator for recalled peaches. If you freeze fresh peaches to use later, check your freezer, too.
Retailers that sold these peaches include Aldi, Food Lion, Hannaford, Kroger, Target, Walmartand Wegmans.
The recalled bulk/loose peaches were sold in grocery stores through August 3, 2020 in various ways, typically loose in bins for shoppers to select.
The peaches may have the following stickers with Price Look Up (PLU) numbers on them: 4037, 4038, 4044, 4401, 94037, 94038, 94044, 94401. However, not all peaches with these PLU codes are supplied by Prima Wawona. If you are unsure of the brand or variety of your loose peaches, you can contact your retailer or supplier, or throw them out.
Brands and product codes for recalled peaches sold in bags include:
Wawona Peaches – 033383322001
Wawona Organic Peaches – 849315000400
Prima® Peaches – 766342325903
Organic Marketside Peaches – 849315000400
Kroger Peaches – 011110181749
Wegmans Peaches – 077890490488
Wash and sanitize places where peaches were stored, including countertops and refrigerator drawers or shelves.
Restaurants and retailers, as well as suppliers, distributors, and others in the supply chain, should clean and sanitize any surfaces that may have come in contact with recalled peaches, including cutting boards, countertops, refrigerators, and storage bins. If peaches from other sources were mixed with recalled peaches, all peaches should be discarded.Prior to the CDC announcement, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) warned warned the public not to consume and retailers, distributors, manufacturers, and food service establishments such as hotels, restaurants, cafeterias, hospitals, and nursing homes not to serve, use, or sell the products described below.
Prima Wawona, located in Fresno, California, has recalled fresh peaches with various brand names due to possible Salmonella contamination. Various importers in Canada are conducting a recall of the affected products.
Martin Wiedmann, a professor of food safety at Cornell University, told the New York Times, “The challenge with salmonella is salmonella can really enter or contaminate food almost anywhere in the whole chain. It could start from a field or an orchard, where salmonella could be introduced. It could be in a facility where the product is packaged. It could be from a human who carries salmonella.”
Customers who have the peaches at home, even if they are frozen, should not eat them and should toss them out immediately, the F.D.A. said. They should also throw away any items that were made with the peaches. Health officials also recommend cleaning and sanitizing the area where the fruit was kept, because it may have come into contact with and contaminated surfaces or containers.
This is important because, according to Dr. Wiedmann, salmonella is incredibly resilient.
“Salmonella is very good at surviving in the environment,” he said, “so there are examples where salmonella lived in an environment, a built environment — a processing plant or a building — for years.”
Food and Drug Administration official Mark Moorman told The Packer the “smarter” era of food safety has not yet arrived.
Moorman, director of FDA’s Office of Food Safety, spoke about the agency’s food safety goals on Aug. 20 at the U.S. Apple Association’s online 125th Annual Crop and Outlook Marketing Conference.
Recall of onions from Thomson International Inc., Bakersfield, Calif., were still occurring as of Aug. 20, Moorman said.
Smarter tools and approaches for prevention and outbreak rsponse;
New business models and retail modernization; and
Food safety culture.
He said the vision for the future is for a much more responsive food safety system, with end-to-end traceability.
“I want to be very clear with this group looking very hard and in our own culture and we are asking ourselves how do we influence consumer behavior,” he said.
Asked whether apples are low risk because they don’t come in contact with the ground, Moorman noted the current recall of peaches, which are linked to an outbreak of salmonella.
“I would agree in general that apples are a lower-risk (food), but all of us should remain humble, and recognize that the world of
Chicks and ducklings kept in backyards are the likely source of a nationwide Salmonella outbreak that has sickened nearly 1,000 people and killed one person, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in late July. The outbreak nearly doubled in size since the CDC’s last report on June 24. Sick people range in age from 1 to 94-years-old, and more than 150 people have been hospitalized.
“Don’t kiss backyard poultry or snuggle them and then touch your face or mouth,” the CDC says. “Don’t let backyard poultry inside the house, especially in areas where food or drink is prepared, served, or stored.”
Since the last case count update on July 9, 2020, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control reported 132 new laboratory-confirmed Cyclospora infections have been reported, including 16 from three new states: Georgia, Pennsylvania, and South Dakota.
As of July 22, 2020, a total of 641 people with laboratory-confirmed Cyclospora infections associated with this outbreak have been reported from 11 states: Georgia (1), Illinois (198), Iowa (195), Kansas (5), Minnesota (73), Missouri (57) Nebraska (55), North Dakota (6), Pennsylvania (2), South Dakota (13) and Wisconsin (36). The ill person from Georgia purchased and ate a bagged salad product while traveling in Missouri.
Illnesses started on dates ranging from May 11, 2020 to July 5, 2020. Ill people range in age from 10 to 92 years with a median age of 59 and 52% are female. Of 636 people with available information, 37 people (6%) have been hospitalized. No deaths have been reported.
Illnesses might not yet be reported due to the time it takes between when a person becomes ill and when the illness is reported. This takes an average of 4 to 6 weeks. If the number of cases reported by CDC is different from the number reported by state or local health officials, data reported by local jurisdictions should be considered the most up to date. Any differences may be due to the timing of reporting and website updates.
This investigation is ongoing.
The CDC says that it is specifically examining salad ingredients (iceberg lettuce, carrots, red cabbage) for the purposes of its investigation. The affected products include salad mixes made by Fresh Express, Hy-Vee Inc., Little Salad Bar, Signature Farms, Marketside and Hy-Vee. The products were sold at ALDI, Giant Eagle, Hy-Vee, Jewel-Osco, ShopRite, and Walmart locations.
The products were manufactured in Streamwood, Illinois at a Fresh Express production facility.
“Cyclosporiasis is an intestinal infection caused by the Cyclospora parasite,” the CDC says. “A person may become infected after ingesting contaminated food or water. Common symptoms include severe abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting, body aches and fatigue. The infection is treated with antibiotics and most people respond quickly to treatment.”
Specifically, the CDC says the products with a Z178 code or lower and “Best by” date that runs through July 14, 2020 are the ones potentially affected by the contamination.
However, only Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Dakota and Wisconsin have reported cases of Cyclospora related to eating the salad mix. According to the CDC, the dates of the illness range from May 11, 2020 to July 5, 2020, with 37 people hospitalized as of Friday. Patients are ages 10 to 92 years with a median age of 59 years as of Friday’s data. No related deaths have been reported. People can go 4 to 6 weeks before noticing any symptoms of Cyclospora, the CDC says.
Write down what you ate in the two weeks before you started to get sick.
Report your illness to the health department.
Assist public health investigators by answering questions about your illness.
On June 27, 2020, Fresh Express Fresh Express brand and private label brand salad products produced at its Streamwood, IL facility that contain iceberg lettuce, red cabbage, and/or carrots due to possible Cyclospora contamination.
The Public Health Agency of Canada is investigating an outbreak of Cyclospora infections occurring in three Canadian provinces. Exposure to certain Fresh Express brand salad products containing iceberg lettuce, carrots, and red cabbage, has been identified as a likely source of the outbreak.
Epidemiologic and traceback evidence indicates that bagged salad mix containing iceberg lettuce, carrots, and red cabbage produced by Fresh Express is a likely source of this outbreak.
CDC and FDA continue to investigate to determine which ingredient or ingredients in the salad mix was contaminated and whether other products are a source of illnesses.
CDC will provide updates when more information is available.
Chris Koger of The Packer reports that cases of Cyclospora infection linked to Fresh Express salads continue to rise, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Canada is reporting its first cases.
Lab-confirmed cases thought to be linked to iceberg lettuce, carrots or red cabbage in garden salads were 509 in the U.S, as of July 9, according to the CDC. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on July 8 reported 37 cases in Ontario, Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador.
The salads, including private-label bagged garden salads, were processed at Fresh Express’ Streamwood, Ill., facility, according to the FDA.
Fresh Express has recalled salads from the plant containing the three ingredients under investigation, along with Aldi, Giant Eagle, Hy-Vee, Jewel-Osco, ShopRite and Walmart issuing recalls of private label salads.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency reported on June 28 Fresh Express had recalled products in Canada. They were distributed nationwide by Crescent Multi-Foods, Federated Co-Operatives Ltd., Fresh Express and Walmart Canada Corp., according to the Canadian Agency.
An edited version of the latest CDC update is below:
On June 27, 2020, Fresh Express recalled Fresh Express brand and private label brand salad products produced at its Streamwood, IL facility that contain iceberg lettuce, red cabbage, and/or carrots due to possible Cyclospora contamination.
509 people with laboratory-confirmed Cyclospora infections and who reported eating bagged salad mix before getting sick have been reported from 8 Midwestern states (Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and Wisconsin).
Illnesses started on dates ranging from May 11, 2020 to July 1, 2020.
33 people have been hospitalized. No deaths have been reported.
The Public Health Agency of Canada is investigating an outbreak of Cyclospora infections occurring in three Canadian provinces. Exposure to certain Fresh Express brand salad products containing iceberg lettuce, carrots and red cabbage, has been identified as a likely source of the outbreak.
Epidemiologic and traceback evidence indicates that bagged salad mix containing iceberg lettuce, carrots, and red cabbage produced by Fresh Express is a likely source of this outbreak.
CDC and FDA continue to investigate to determine which ingredient or ingredients in the salad mix was contaminated and whether other products are a source of illnesses. CDC will provide updates when more information is available.
Since the last case count update on June 26, 2020, 303 new laboratory-confirmed Cyclospora infections have been reported.
As of July 8, 2020, a total of 509 people with laboratory-confirmed Cyclospora infections associated with this outbreak have been reported from 8 states: Illinois (151), Iowa (160), Kansas (5), Minnesota (63), Missouri (46) Nebraska (48), North Dakota (6), and Wisconsin (30).
Illnesses started on dates ranging from May 11, 2020 to July 1, 2020. Ill people range in age from 11 to 92 years with a median age of 60 and 53% are female. Of 506 people with available information, 33 people (7%) have been hospitalized. No deaths have been reported.
Illnesses might not yet be reported due to the time it takes between when a person becomes ill and when the illness is reported. This takes an average of 4 to 6 weeks. If the number of cases reported by CDC is different from the number reported by state or local health officials, data reported by local jurisdictions should be considered the most up to date. Any differences may be due to the timing of reporting and website updates.
Additionally, the Public Health Agency of Canada is investigating an outbreak of Cyclospora infections occurring in three Canadian provinces where exposure to certain Fresh Express brand salad products containing iceberg lettuce, carrots and red cabbage, has been identified as a likely source of the outbreak.
As coronavirus increases, many have taken to old timey ways of raising food.
Careful with that.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control reports the outbreak strain of Salmonella Hadar has een reported from 28 states.
17 people (34% of those with information available) have been hospitalized and no deaths have been reported.
30% of ill people are children younger than 5 years of age.
Epidemiologic evidence shows that contact with backyard poultry (such as chicks and ducklings) is the likely source of this outbreak.
In interviews, 38 (86%) of 44 ill people reported contact with chicks and ducklings.
People reported obtaining chicks and ducklings from several sources, including agricultural stores, websites, and hatcheries.
Advice to Backyard Flock Owners
You can get sick with a Salmonella infection from touching backyard poultry or their environment. These birds can carry Salmonella bacteria even if they look healthy and clean and show no signs of illness. Follow these tips to stay healthy with your backyard flock:
Wash your hands.
Always wash your hands with soap and water right after touching backyard poultry, their eggs, or anything in the area where they live and roam.
Adults should supervise handwashing by young children.
Use hand sanitizer if soap and water are not readily available.
Be safe around poultry.
Don’t kiss backyard poultry or snuggle them and then touch your face or mouth.
Don’t let backyard poultry inside the house, especially in areas where food or drink is prepared, served, or stored.
Set aside a pair of shoes to wear while taking care of poultry and keep those shoes outside of the house.
Don’t eat or drink where poultry live or roam.
Stay outdoors when cleaning any equipment or materials used to raise or care for poultry, such as cages and containers for feed or water.
Supervise kids around poultry.
Always supervise children around poultry and while they wash their hands afterward.
Children younger than 5 years of age shouldn’t handle or touch chicks, ducklings, or other poultry. Young children are more likely to get sick from germs like Salmonella.
Handle eggs safely.
Collect eggs often. Eggs that sit in the nest can become dirty or break.
Throw away cracked eggs. Germs on the shell can more easily enter the egg though a cracked shell.
Eggs with dirt and debris can be cleaned carefully with fine sandpaper, a brush, or a cloth.
Don’t wash warm, fresh eggs because colder water can pull germs into the egg.
Refrigerate eggs after collection to maintain freshness and slow germ growth.
Cook eggs until both the yolk and white are firm. Egg dishes should be cooked to an internal temperature of 160°F (71°C) or hotter. Raw and undercooked eggs may contain Salmonella bacteria that can make you sick.
My friend, veterinarian, University of Guelph prot and OK hockey player writes in his Worms and Germs blog, Scott Weese I’m not anti-backyard chickens. I’m anti-“spending the weekend on the toilet” and anti-“seeing people hospitalized unnecessarily” and, I guess, just anti-Salmonella and anti-Campylobacter in general. I can’t see any redeeming qualities of those bacteria, at least in people.
Is unconditional love a real thing? Is it possible to maximize an individual’s goals and relationships at the same time? Is microbial foodborne illness still a thing?
Unconditional is a subjective word that means different things to different people.
Rather than going for the safe middle in conflict resolution, I have a therapist who says, go for the jugular: have a great relationship and go after great goals (note: it helps if you tell your partner what you want in terms of the relationship and goals).
Microbial foodborne illness rates in the U.S. have been stagnant for 15 years. It’s a thing, but it’s not clear who cares.
The Washington Post stated back in the day, “Between 1998 and 2004, illnesses reported by CDC that were caused by E. Coli, listeria, campylobacter and a few other bacteria decreased by 25 to 30 percent, perhaps because of improvements in the handling of meat and eggs. Since about 2004, however, the rate of these illnesses has basically remained steady.”
There’s lots of new media toys out there, but it’s the high-tech version of signs that say, “Employees Must Wash Hands.” Reposting press releases – especially in the absence of critical analysis — is a waste of bandwidth and resources. And there is no evidence it results in fewer sick people.
Last week, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control reiterated the incidence of most infections transmitted commonly through food has not declined for many years.
Incidence of infections caused by Listeria, Salmonella, and Shigella remained unchanged, and those caused by all other pathogens reported to FoodNet increased during 2019. Infections caused by Salmonella serotype Enteritidis, did not decline; however, serotype Typhimurium infections continued to decline.
New strategies that target particular serotypes and more widespread implementation of known prevention measures are needed to reduce Salmonella illnesses. Reductions in Salmonella serotype Typhimurium suggest that targeted interventions (e.g., vaccinating chickens and other food animals) might decrease human infections. Isolates are needed to subtype bacteria so that sources of illnesses can be determined.
I’ve been harping about the need for new messages and new media for 15 years – even did a road trip in 2009 with a number of talks stressing this point – with apparently little effect.
So maybe I’ll focus on relationships and being the best partner, father and person I can be.
Peace and love.
Preliminary incidence and trends of infections with pathogens transmitted commonly through food—foodborne diseases active surveillance network, 10 US sites, 2016-2019, 01 May 2020
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report pp.509-514
Danielle M. Tack, DVM1; Logan Ray, MPH1; Patricia M. Griffin, MD1; Paul R. Cieslak, MD2; John Dunn, DVM3; Tamara Rissman, MPH4; Rachel Jervis, MPH5; Sarah Lathrop, PhD6; Alison Muse, MPH7; Monique Duwell, MD8; Kirk Smith, DVM9; Melissa Tobin-D’Angelo, MD10; Duc J. Vugia, MD11; Joanna Zablotsky Kufel, PhD12; Beverly J. Wolpert, PhD13; Robert Tauxe, MD1; Daniel C. Payne, PhD1
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control reports that from July to September 2019, cruise line X experienced sudden, unexplained outbreaks (>3% of the passenger population) of acute gastroenteritis (AGE) among passengers on 10 cruise ships sailing in Europe. The rapid onset of vomiting and diarrhea followed by recovery within 24 hours were consistent with norovirus infection. Investigations by the cruise line throughout the summer yielded no clear source of the outbreaks even after extensive food testing.
On September 18, 2019, CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) was notified of an outbreak of AGE on cruise ship A of cruise line X, sailing into U.S. jurisdiction (defined as passenger vessels carrying ≥13 passengers sailing to the United States from a foreign port) from Germany to New York City (1). By the end of the 19-day voyage on September 23, a total of 117 of 2,046 (5.7%) passengers and eight of 610 (1.3%) crew members met the case definition for AGE (three or more loose stools within a 24-hour period or more than normal for the patient, or vomiting plus one other sign or symptom including fever, diarrhea, bloody stool, myalgia, abdominal cramps, or headache).
Four stool specimens were collected and tested for norovirus at CDC’s National Calicivirus Laboratory; three tested positive for norovirus by quantitative reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). No outbreak source was determined after a field investigation by a VSP team on September 22.
The following month, on October 7, CDC’s VSP was notified of two more outbreaks in U.S. jurisdiction. The first outbreak occurred on another ship (ship B) of cruise line X sailing to and from New York City along the eastern seaboard and affected 85 (3.9%) of 2,166 passengers and 10 (1.6%) of 612 crew members; the second outbreak occurred on ship A sailing from Montreal to New York City and affected 83 (3.7%) of 2,251 passengers and 10 (1.6%) of 610 crew members. VSP again conducted outbreak investigations on October 12 (ship B) and October 13 (ship A). Five stool specimens from ship B and two from ship A were collected for laboratory testing. During the field investigations, cruise line X’s public health officials reported to VSP that after reviewing food questionnaires completed by ill passengers on ship B, nearly 80% of completed questionnaires implicated a smoothie made from frozen fruits and berries. Because of the epidemiologic link and because berries have been implicated in past outbreaks (2,3), CDC requested assistance from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to collect frozen fruit and berry items from ship B for norovirus testing. Food item lot numbers from ship B matched those from the same frozen fruit and berry items on ship A.
Overall, nine of 11 stool samples from the three outbreak voyages on ships A and B tested positive for norovirus by quantitative RT-PCR at CDC; these included three of four from ship A’s first voyage, four of five from ship B, and two of two from ship A’s second voyage. The samples were typed as GII.2[P16]. FDA tested 16 frozen fruit and berry items, and three items tested positive for norovirus: raspberries (norovirus genogroup II), tropical fruit cocktail (norovirus genogroup I), and berry mix (norovirus genogroup I). Norovirus sequences from the stool samples and from raspberries were 97.5% similar. After removal of the fruit items, no further outbreaks were reported on cruise line X.
Upon further review of food provisioning, cruise line X determined that its food vendor had purchased several containers (nearly 22,000 pounds) of frozen raspberries of the same lot from a supplier in China beginning the end of June 2019. These raspberries had been supplied to the entire fleet of cruise line X. Both the epidemiologic and laboratory data implicated the raspberries as the cause of the outbreaks. As a result of these findings, on November 11, the World Health Organization issued a recall notice* for frozen raspberries traced back to China. This investigation highlights the importance of AGE surveillance at sea to prevent transmission of AGE illness through U.S. ports and to identify contaminated foods at sea that had not yet been implicated on land.
Notes from the field: Multiple cruise ship outbreaks of norovirus associated with frozen fruits and berries—United States, 2019, 24 April 2020
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report pg. 501-502
Jared R. Rispens, MD1,2; Amy Freeland, PhD2; Beth Wittry, MPH2; Adam Kramer, ScD2; Leslie Barclay, MPH3; Jan Vinjé, PhD3; Aimee Treffiletti, MPH2; Keisha Houston, DrPH2
