Tag Archives: Egg

Singapore: 1 dead, 72 sick from Spize restaurant

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The Sats officer who fell sick after consuming food from popular restaurant Spize has died on Wednesday (Nov 14).

Mr Fadli Salleh, who was married with two young children, had been in critical condition in the intensive care unit (ICU) of Sengkang General Hospital (SKH) after he was one of 72 people who suffered gastroenteritis, allegedly after eating bento boxes prepared by Spize’s River Valley outlet for an event last Tuesday. (the raw egg looks like a Salmonella factory).

 

The party was for a Deepavali celebration organised by security company Brink’s Singapore and held on its premises at Kaki Bukit.

Mr Fadli attended the gathering as he was deployed to Brink’s Singapore, though the event itself did not involve Sats.

A Sats spokesman said: “We are providing support to the family during this sad and difficult time. Please approach Brinks if you have further questions.”

 

Brinks offered its condolences to Mr Fadli’s family and said it it was “deeply saddened” that an employee of its business partner died.

 

A joint statement by the National Environment Agency (NEA), MOH and Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority last Friday said the authorities were notified of the cases last Wednesday and they conducted a joint investigation that day.

Spize’s 409 River Valley Road branch’s licence was suspended at 7pm that evening.

 

The statement added that they were investigating several cases of gastroenteritis traced to the consumption of food prepared at the restaurant.

 

“Several hygiene lapses were observed, including leaving ready-to-eat food uncovered in a chiller, not providing soap for hand washing (soap dispenser was faulty) and slotting knives for preparing ready-to-eat food in the gap between the food preparation tables,” said the statement.

Spize had supplied 88 bento sets to Brink’s Singapore and Spize’s co-owner Mr Haresh Sabnani had told The Straits Times on Wednesday before news of Mr Fadli’s death was confirmed that “on that day, 221 bento sets were sent to six different locations, but only that one location was affected”.

44 sick from Salmonella Enteritidis linked to shell eggs from Gravel Ridge Farms

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Amy and I helped make breakfast for 120 grade 4 and 5 school kids this morning.

The kids had their annual sleepover Friday night at the school, in tents, with activities and endless gossip until late night or early morning (that’s Hubbell being busy in the background).

We arrived about 5:50 a.m., ready to make breakfast.

The menu was bacon and egg sandwiches on rolls, brown beans, and juice, along with vegan and halal alternatives, reflecting the multi-cultural nature of our neighbourhood and Sorenne’s school.

Amy worked in the kitchen, prepping rolls and keeping things rolling, while me and another dude worked the grill.

We cooked the bacon we had, then cleaned the grill thoroughly out of respect for others, and then the eggs.

There were no runny eggs.

There was no cross-contamination.

There wasn’t going to be some sorta Salmonella outbreak on my watch.

And Australia still has an egg problem.

What you do at home is your own business, but when cooking for 120 children, risk management is a little different.

For example, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and state and local partners, investigated a multi-state outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis illnesses linked to shell eggs.

As of October 25, 2018, there were 44 illnesses associated with shell eggs from Gravel Ridge Farms, in Cullman Alabama. The CDC has announced that this outbreak appears to be over.

The FDA advises consumers not to eat recalled shell eggs produced by Gravel Ridge Farms. Consumers who have purchased these products should discard the eggs or return them to the store for a refund. For a complete list of stores, visit the recall notice.

Consumers should always practice safe food handling and preparation measures. Wash hands, utensils, and surfaces with hot, soapy water before and after handling raw eggs and raw egg-containing foods. Dishes containing eggs should be cooked to 160° F. For recipes that call for eggs that are raw or undercooked when the dish is use either eggs that have been treated to destroy Salmonella, by pasteurization or another approved method, or pasteurized egg products.

On September 5, 2018, the FDA and Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industry began an inspection at Gravel Ridge Farms and collected environmental and egg samples for laboratory testing. The results were used to confirm that Salmonella Enteritidis isolates collected from environmental and egg samples taken at the farm were genetically related to isolates obtained from ill persons.

As a result of the outbreak, Gravel Ridge Farms voluntarily recalled cage-free, large eggs and removed the eggs from the shelves at grocery stores, restaurants, and other retail locations.

Twenty-six of 32 (81%) people interviewed reported eating restaurant dishes made with eggs. These restaurants reported using shell eggs in the dishes eaten by ill people.

The whole restaurant dishes-made-with-raw-eggs-thing, such as mayo and aioli is problematic. My 9-year-old knows to ask how the aioli is made if she gets fish, and the server always comes back and says, chef makes it only with raw eggs, and she knows enough to say no.

But we are the poop family (it’s on the front door).

I had a couple of thermometers in my back pack but were not necessary.

Australia still has an egg problem: 23 sick but Salmonella egg farm says ‘not my fault bro’

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This story is a month old, but I thought I’d wait and see if there was any follow-up communication with the mere egg-consuming mortals of the public.

There was none.

On Sept. 8, 2018, the New South Wales Food Authority issued a statement saying it was advising that ‘Eggz on the Run’ is undertaking a voluntary recall of Glendenning Farms eggs as part of an investigation into human illness.

A cluster of human cases of Salmonella Enteritidis, have been detected in the Sydney area. To date there have been 23 confirmed cases.

Eggz On the Run lawyer Raed Rahal the Sunday Telegraph the family which ran the company was “not even certain that the outbreak is in the eggs

“The strain is from overseas.

“There was only a certain batch that was supposed to be removed but the company has voluntarily decided to remove all batches of eggs.”

He said the family was “shell-shocked by the news as it is their livelihood”.

“They would certainly not do anything to risk anyone’s safety,” Mr Rahal said.

Customers who purchased the eggs can return the product for a full cash refund.

The egg farmer linked to the latest Salmonella poisoning outbreak has said “it’s not my fault bro” and blamed foreign birds flying in and defecating on his poultry sheds.

In an epidemiologically outrageous claim following the 23 illnesses, the Glendenning Farms worker at Cobbitty in southwestern Sydney has denied any blame.

The farmer, who has been producing eggs for 20 years, told The Sunday Telegraph the salmonella outbreak came from “something to do with the birds.

“Some birds have been flying in from overseas, landed on the shed and chucked a s**t,” he said.

“Even the Food Authority said it wasn’t my fault,” the man said from the farm run by EggzOn the Run.

Back to you, defenders of public health.

A table of Australian egg-related outbreaks is available at https://barfblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/raw-egg-related-outbreaks-australia-5-1-17.xlsx.

Salmonella in German eggs

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According to information on a German Government-run site, a batch of organic eggs has been found to have been infected with Salmonella enteritidis.

The recall affects 11 German states and comes after thousands of Dutch eggs were recalled in Germany because of renewed fipronil contamination.

Some 73,000 Dutch eggs were withdrawn from sale in Germany after more fipronil contamination was found in eggs from the Netherlands – a year after the original scandal.

Fipronil has been found on two Dutch farms in the latest scare and the authorities expect that it will be confirmed on a third.

According to the German Government site, the salmonella contamination has affected the states of Baden-Wurttemburg, Bavaria, Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Hesse, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein. The infections were reportedly discovered during a routine testing procedure.

The infected organic eggs were stocked by several major German retailers, including Penny, Kaufland, Aldi Nord, Aldi Sued, Real, Lidl and Netto.

45 sick from Salmonella in eggs linked to Rose Acre Farms

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The U.S. Centers for Disease Control reports this outbreak appears to be over. Consumers and restaurants should always handle and cook eggs safely to avoid foodborne illness from raw eggs. Wash hands and items that came into contact with raw eggs with soap and water.

CDC, public health and regulatory officials in several states, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) investigated a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Braenderup infections linked to Rose Acre Farms shell eggs.

Forty-five people infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Braenderup were reported from 10 states.

Eleven people were hospitalized, and no deaths were reported.

Epidemiologic, laboratory, and traceback evidence indicated that shell eggs produced by Rose Acre Farms’ Hyde County, North Carolina farm were the likely source of this multistate outbreak.

On April 13, 2018, Rose Acre Farms of Seymour, Indiana, voluntarily recalled 206,749,248 shell eggs because they could have been contaminated with Salmonella bacteria. Visit the FDA website for a list of recalled products.

On April 16, 2018, Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. voluntarily recalled 23,400 dozen eggs purchased from Rose Acre Farms.

Consumers and restaurants should handle and cook eggs safely to avoid foodborne illness from raw eggs. It is important to handle and prepare all fresh eggs and egg products carefully.

Eggs should be cooked until both the yolk and white are firm. Scrambled eggs should not be runny.

Wash hands and items that came into contact with raw eggs—including countertops, utensils, dishes, and cutting boards—with soap and water.

Wash and sanitize drawers or shelves in refrigerators where recalled eggs were stored. Follow these five steps to clean your refrigerator.

Why quarterbacks should stick to football: New Oregon QB commit Cale Millen celebrates by chugging raw eggs with head coach Mario Cristobal

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There’s nothing worse than athletes trying to speak.

Bull Durham captured it (below).

This ain’t Rocky, this is Salmonella.

Apparently, it was representative of Cale Millen’s dedication to the University of Oregon. The newest Ducks commit, a Mount Si (Wash.) three-star junior, announced his college decision on Sunday and celebrated by chugging a glass of three raw eggs with his future head coach, Mario Cristobal, as captured by The Oregonian Oregon beat writer Andrew Nemec.

If that sounds unhealthy, well, it is. Sure, raw eggs pack plenty of protein, but they also pack a risk of salmonella. Not a huge risk of salmonella, mind you (there’s actually a greater risk of salmonella on contaminated egg shells than eggs), but the risk is there.

Egg perfect protein (except when they have Salmonella) and inspections suck

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Emily Hopkins of the Indy Star writes that at Indiana-based Rose Acre’s North Carolina farm, 3 million chickens produce about 2.3 million eggs every day, apparently under the watchful eye of a U.S. Department of Agriculture grader.

That grader is supposed to be at the farm every day. Which raises a question: Why did it take an outbreak of Salmonella, one that sickened 23 people in nine states, to alert officials to problems at the farm?

A USDA spokeswoman acknowledged to IndyStar that a typical day for a grader involves checking a facility’s equipment prior to that day’s operation. It’s at this point that any observed issues are addressed. After that, the grader will enter the grading booth to inspect eggs during the processing day.

“In this instance, our grader(s) did not observe issues that would have triggered a report to FDA inspectors,” the spokeswoman said via email.

But the USDA didn’t specifically address IndyStar’s question about whether a grader should have observed those issues.

According to an egg grading manual published by the USDA, graders must “continually monitor product handling and general condition of equipment, and housekeeping throughout the (egg processing) facility” and ‘identify sanitation problems requiring corrective action.”

That might have applied to the Rose Acre Farm, where many of the FDA violations were made in the egg processing building.

For example, FDA inspectors who visited the farm after the Salmonella outbreak foundthat the procedure for cleaning the egg “orientor” was not being implemented, and employees were observed cutting corners while washing the eggs. Water from the “ceilings, pipes and down walls” was found dripping onto production equipment, and dried egg and shells were seen to have accumulated on the same areas over multiple days.

There were other violations, including excessive rodent activity, that were noted, but those were observed in the farm’s hen houses, which graders typically do not have access to.

After eggs are washed in the processing facility, graders check the eggs for cracks or other outside imperfections. They’ll also take a look inside the egg using a process called candling. Once the eggs are deemed up to USDA standards of quality, they receive a USDA seal.

The value of the program, which is voluntary, is that it communicates to consumers that they are buying a product held to higher standards, according to Darrin Karcher, an extension poultry specialist at Purdue University. 

“It gives another layer of credibility to the consumer,” Karcher said.

Karcher, however, could not say whether in this particular case the USDA grader missed an opporutnity. 

A grader’s day starts with a visual check of the processing plant before work begins, the USDA spokeswoman told IndyStar. If issues are observed, the grader is supposed to work with facility management to correct them before operations start. 

“This is not a substitute for FDA’s more in-depth food safety regulatory examinations of an entire operation,” the spokeswoman said. “We take our responsibility very seriously and any time a significant issue is identified, USDA graders flag it for FDA through a formal process to ensure their regulatory inspectors are informed in a timely manner.”

This is one of the largest egg recalls since 2010, when 500 million eggs from an Iowa producer were recalled, and nearly 2,000 illnesses caused by Salmonella were reported. That outbreak spurred the FDA and USDA to issue a memorandum of understanding outlining information sharing priorities. The MOU authorizes USDA graders to withhold the seal if they believe that a facility is in violation of food safety rules or if the product poses a risk. 

After the FDA linked the pathogen back to Rose Acres’s North Carolina farm, the company issued a voluntary recall of more than 206 million eggs, out of “an abundance of caution.”

Audits and inspections are never enough: A critique to enhance food safety

30.aug.12

Food Control

D.A. Powell, S. Erdozain, C. Dodd, R. Costa, K. Morley, B.J. Chapman

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0956713512004409?v=s5

Internal and external food safety audits are conducted to assess the safety and quality of food including on-farm production, manufacturing practices, sanitation, and hygiene. Some auditors are direct stakeholders that are employed by food establishments to conduct internal audits, while other auditors may represent the interests of a second-party purchaser or a third-party auditing agency. Some buyers conduct their own audits or additional testing, while some buyers trust the results of third-party audits or inspections. Third-party auditors, however, use various food safety audit standards and most do not have a vested interest in the products being sold. Audits are conducted under a proprietary standard, while food safety inspections are generally conducted within a legal framework. There have been many foodborne illness outbreaks linked to food processors that have passed third-party audits and inspections, raising questions about the utility of both. Supporters argue third-party audits are a way to ensure food safety in an era of dwindling economic resources. Critics contend that while external audits and inspections can be a valuable tool to help ensure safe food, such activities represent only a snapshot in time. This paper identifies limitations of food safety inspections and audits and provides recommendations for strengthening the system, based on developing a strong food safety culture, including risk-based verification steps, throughout the food safety system.

 

What will I do with those tossed salads and scrambled eggs? Ditch them

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Amy and I agree on this: If we need to fall asleep, put on an episode of Frasier.

Five minutes later we’re in la-la land.

Inspectors with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration say they found dozens of rodents and poor worker hygiene at a North Carolina chicken farm operated by an Indiana egg producer that last week recalled more than 200 million eggs.

Vic Ryckaert and Holly Hays of the Indy Star report that according to a FDA report, inspectors spent March 26 to April 11 at the Rose Acre Farms egg operation in Pantego, North Carolina, and found “unacceptable rodent activity” and dirty equipment. They also noted employees touching dirty floors, equipment and their bodies without washing their hands.

The unsafe conditions allow “for the harborage, proliferation and spread of filth and pathogens,” inspectors said.

In an emailed statement, Seymour-based Rose Acre Farms said the inspection report “is based on raw observations and in some cases lack proper context.”

“It’s unfair to be judged on the farm’s operation without proper perspective or a chance to formally respond to an incomplete representation of a massive facility that houses more than three million hens,” the company said. 

Context this.

The company said it will make public its response to the inspection, which is due on April 26.

“Until then, we would urge everyone to wait until all the facts are presented before rushing to judgment,” the company said.

The FDA said at least 23 illnesses have been reported. The eggs were distributed to consumers in Colorado, Florida, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia.

FDA spokesman Peter Cassell declined to comment specifically about the Rose Acre Farms inspections but said the facility must correct the issues before the next inspection or face repercussions. Consequences could include product seizures or, in a more serious step, shutting down the facility. 

Cassell encouraged shoppers not to assume that they are not exposed to the recall because they are not geographically near the states where cases have been reported.

“Consumers should look for the brands and the lot numbers we provided,” he said. “We want to make sure that people are getting the right information.”

The recall involved eggs sold under the brand names Country Daybreak, Crystal Farms, Coburn Farms, Sunshine Farms, Glenview and Great Value. Also included were eggs sold at Walmart and Food Lion stores.

The cartons were stamped with plant number P-1065 and the Julian date range of 011 through 102.

The company’s Hyde County Egg facility in North Carolina produces 2.3 million eggs a day.

Inspectors found “insanitary conditions and poor employee practices” throughout the farm, according to the FDA report.

The inspectors’ observations in the report included:

Dozens of live and dead rodents, including baby mice, in chicken houses and manure pits.

Employees skipping steps in the cleaning process by wiping off detergent before allowing it to soak in the eggs.

Condensation dripping onto crack detectors, egg graders and other production equipment.

Water pooling on floors and forklift pathways.

Grimy, dirty floors, pallets and equipment. 

Farm workers touching dirty equipment and trash cans as well as their face, hair and “intergluteal cleft” before touching eggs or handling equipment that touches eggs without washing hands or changing gloves.

22 sick: Over 200M eggs recalled by Rose Acre Farms

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Rose Acre Farms of Seymour, Indiana, the second largest egg producer in the United States, is voluntarily recalling 206,749,248 eggs because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella Braenderup.

The eggs were distributed from the farm in Hyde County, North Carolina and reached consumers in: Colorado, Florida, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia through retail stores and restaurants via direct delivery.

22 illnesses have been reported to date. 

The affected eggs, from plant number P-1065 with the Julian date range of 011 through date of 102 printed on either the side portion or the principal side of the carton or package.

The voluntary recall was a result of some illnesses reported on the U.S. East Coast, which led to extensive interviews and eventually a thorough FDA inspection of the Hyde County farm, which produces 2.3 million eggs a day. The facility includes 3 million laying hens with a USDA inspector on-site daily. 

Their own PR says 22 sick people, and then, “some illnesses.” Outpouring of corporate empathy there. And the USDA inspector on site means …?

Understanding egg nanostructure to enhance food safety

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Fertilized chicken eggs manage to resist fracture from the outside, yet are weak enough to break from the inside during chick hatching. It’s all in the eggshell’s nanostructure, according to a new study led by McGill University scientists.

The findings, reported in Science Advances, could have important implications for food safety in the agro-industry.

Birds have benefited from millions of years of evolution to make the perfect eggshell, a thin, protective biomineralized chamber for embryonic growth that contains all the nutrients required for the growth of a baby chick. The shell, being not too strong, but also not too weak, is resistant to fracture until it’s time for hatching.

But what exactly gives bird eggshells these unique features?

To find out, Marc McKee’s research team in McGill’s Faculty of Dentistry, together with Richard Chromik’s group in Engineering and other colleagues, used new sample-preparation techniques to expose the interior of the eggshells to study their molecular nanostructure and mechanical properties.

“Eggshells are notoriously difficult to study by traditional means, because they easily break when we try to make a thin slice for imaging by electron microscopy,” says McKee, who is also a professor in McGill’s Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology.

“Thanks to a new focused-ion beam sectioning system recently obtained by McGill’s Facility for Electron Microscopy Research, we were able to accurately and thinly cut the sample and image the interior of the shell.”

Eggshells are made of both inorganic and organic matter, this being calcium-containing mineral and abundant proteins. Graduate student Dimitra Athanasiadou, the study’s first author, found that a factor determining shell strength is the presence of nanostructured mineral associated with osteopontin, an eggshell protein also found in composite biological materials such as bone.

The results also provide insight into the biology and development of chicken embryos in fertilized and incubated eggs. Eggs are sufficiently hard when laid and during brooding to protect them from breaking. As the chick grows inside the eggshell, it needs calcium to form its bones. During egg incubation, the inner portion of the shell dissolves to provide this mineral ion supply, while at the same time weakening the shell enough to be broken by the hatching chick. Using atomic force microscopy, and electron and X-ray imaging methods, Professor McKee’s team of collaborators found that this dual-function relationship is possible thanks to minute changes in the shell’s nanostructure that occurs during egg incubation.

In parallel experiments, the researchers were also able to re-create a nanostructure similar to that which they discovered in the shell by adding osteopontin to mineral crystals grown in the lab. Professor McKee believes that a better understanding of the role of proteins in the calcification events that drive eggshell hardening and strength through biomineralization could have important implications for food safety.

“About 10-20% of chicken eggs break or crack, which increases the risk of Salmonella poisoning,” says McKee. “Understanding how mineral nanostructure contributes to shell strength will allow for selection of genetic traits in laying hens to produce consistently stronger eggs for enhanced food safety.”