11 sick; It’d be better for us if we don’t understand; multi-agency investigation into E. coli O157 cases in UK

Not again.

Public Health England are investigating cases of gastrointestinal illness after a lamb feeding event at a farm shop and outlet village in South Ribble.

petting zoo 2To date we are aware of 11 laboratory confirmed cases of E. coli O157. Four people have been hospitalised with complications arising from the infection – one of whom has now left hospital and is recovering at home.

All cases had visited a lamb feeding event at Huntley’s Country Store, near Salmesbury in South Ribble over recent weeks. There is no longer any risk to the public as all contact between animals and the public at the premises has now ceased.

From North Carolina, U.S. to Brisbane, Australia, outbreaks of E. coli, Salmonella and other pathogens related to petting zoos or animal exhibits have been devastating to the families involved.

We wanted to provide a checklist for parents, and the teachers who book these events.

Two veterinarians from Kansas State University – Gonzalo Erdozain who completed his Masters of Public Heath with me and is about to graduate as a vet, and Kate KuKanich, an assistant prof with whom I’ve had the pleasure

of writing several papers with – joined with me and my BFF Chapman (until we have a fight over hockey) and we tried to produce some guidelines.

The uniting factor was – we all have kids.

We’ve all seen microbiologically terrible practices, and read about them from around the world, and thought, maybe we should try and provide some guidance.

Fourty-nine people got sick from E. coli O157 at the EKKA last year, the equivalent of the Texas state fair in Brisbane.

There has been no follow-up report.

North Carolina has had repeated and terrible outbreaks.

As a father of five daughters, I’ve had many requests over 20 years to go on a school trip to see the animals. As a food safety type, I’ve been routinely concerned about best practices. The other parents may dislike microbiology, but I’m concerned with the health and safety of the children involved.

Best practices for planning events encouraging human-animal interactions

03.Apr.14

Zoonoses and Public Health DOI: 10.1111/zph.12117

http://www.itv.com/news/granada/update/2014-05-01/e-coli-outbreak-after-lamb-feeding-event-in-lancashire/

G. Erdozain , K. KuKanich , B. Chapman  and D. Powell

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/zph.12117/abstract?deniedAccessCustomisedMessage=&userIsAuthenticated=false

03.Apr.14

Zoonoses and Public Health

G. Erdozain , K. KuKanich , B. Chapman  and D. Powell

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/zph.12117/abstract?deniedAccess

Educational events encouraging human–animal interaction include the risk of zoonotic disease transmission. ‘It is estimated that 14% of all disease in the USA caused by Campylobacter spp., Cryptosporidium spp., Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O157, non-O157 STECs, Listeria monocytogenes, nontyphoidal Salmonella enterica and Yersinia enterocolitica were attributable to animal contact. This article reviews best practices for organizing events where human–animal interactions are encouraged, with the objective of lowering the risk of zoonotic disease transmission.

Meat pumped with pond water in south China

Food processing is all about adding water and salt and charging more. That’s what a food science prof told me a long time ago.

But usually that water is clean or potable.

Reuters reports China has held seven people in southern Guangdong province for injecting dirty pond water into lamb meat to swell its weight and raise its price, state lamb.watertelevision reported in the latest food scandal to hit the world’s second largest economy.

The suspects slaughtered up to 100 sheep per day at an illegal warehouse, pumping bacteria-ridden water into the meat before it was sold at markets, food stalls and restaurants in major cities such as Guangzhou and Foshan, China Central Television (CCTV) said in a three-minute report.

Authorities raided the illegal lamb meat abattoir in Guangdong at the end of December, finding around 30 carcasses injected with water, 335 live sheep, forged inspection stamps, and equipment to inject water into the meat, the report showed.

Each sheep was pumped with up to six kilograms of water just after being slaughtered, to add extra weight.

Mislabeled NZ mutton latest China food safety screw-up

Shanghai authorities are testing mislabeled mutton from a wholesaler that supplies a chain of hot pot restaurants run by US fast food firm Yum Brands, the latest safety scare to taint China’s food industry.

TVNZ reports that acting on a tip, Shanghai food safety inspectors and police raided a wholesale market and found packages labeled “New Zealand mutton” gongura_muttonat one supplier that had no production date or list of ingredients, according to a report on the website of the municipal food safety committee.

Invoices indicated that some of the meat had already been sold to several restaurants, including outlets of Yum-owned Little Sheep, the website said. The meat was being tested and results would be available in about a week, the report added.

The mislabeled meat crackdown follows media reports last week that police had busted a crime ring that had passed off more than $1 million in rat and small mammal meat as mutton

Food fraud: mutton isn’t lamb: abattoir convicted of large-scale lamb substitution

I was never a fan of lamb. But, different geography means embracing different cuisines, so I’ve gotten reasonably good at preparing lamb in Australia.

This puts me in good with faux Frenchy Amy, who loves lamb. So after the floods, power outages and cyclone remnants, there were some lamb.crust.febbargains to be had at the shops. I got a rack roast of lamb, and will be preparing a duck for Super Bowl lunch on Monday (do the time math).

The lamb we had tonight was marinated in a slop of lime, garlic, olive oil, pepper, and fresh mint and rosemary from my concrete back yard, roasted with tomatoes, squash and onion to a thermometer-verified temperature of 155F that rose to 160F (Amy doesn’t like it too undercooked).

I think it was lamb.

The New South Wales Food Authority reports today that following a lengthy and contested hearing, Tolsat Pty Ltd was convicted and fined $66,000 on December 19, 2012, in the NSW Chief Industrial Magistrates Court for large scale lamb substitution.

NSW Food Authority CEO, Polly Bennett welcomed the outcome of the court case for the message it sends about lamb substitution.

“Consumers rightly expect meat labels to be correct and not a substituted product,” Ms Bennett said.

“Tolsat was prosecuted for lamb substitution offences and non-compliance with the law over a period between early October 2007 and mid-January 2008. Meat substitution laws are in place in NSW for a reason; flouting them also puts other businesses at a disadvantage for doing the right thing.

“Lamb is a premium commodity and one of the most recognized brands in Australia. Consumers have a right to get what they pay for. That is why there are laws in place to distinguish young lamb meat, which is more expensive, from older hogget or mutton”

Ms Bennett said the Tolsat investigation stemmed from a state-wide audit of lamb identification procedures in 2008 in conjunction with complaints from industry and a Federal Senate inquiry into meat marketing at that time.

“During an audit of Tolsat’s operations, a NSW Food Authority inspector specifically looked at the branding of carcasses. The officer noticed problems with the dentition checks the abattoir was conducting when it classified carcasses as lamb. This prompted further investigation by the Authority.”

 

NZ girl in hospital with E. coli after feeding lamb

A 3-year-old Canterbury girl is recovering in Auckland’s Starship children’s hospital after contracting E. coli and developing hemolytic uremic syndrome after feeding a lamb.

The story says the verotoxigenic E. coli came from the raw milk she was feeding the lamb, but it also could have come from the lamb, which Canterbury medical officer of health Alistair Humphrey apparently agreed with.

“It is not clear in this case whether the child contracted VTEC E.coli as a result of drinking unpasteurised milk or by simply touching the lamb. Fortunately, in this case the little girl is recovering.”

He said the incident highlighted the need for caution around farm animals.

“Touching farm animals can be lethal. VTEC is one of several diseases carried by healthy animals,” he said.

Humphrey said Community and Public Health was investigating two more possible cases.

A table of petting zoo outbreaks is available at http://bites.ksu.edu/petting-zoos-outbreaks.

Erdozain G, Kukanich K, Chapman B, Powell D. 2012. Observation of public health risk behaviours, risk communication and hand hygiene at Kansas and Missouri petting zoos – 2010-2011. Zoonoses Public Health. 2012 Jul 30. doi: 10.1111/j.1863-2378.2012.01531.x. [Epub ahead of print]

Abstract below:

Observation of public health risk behaviors, risk communication and hand hygiene at Kansas and Missouri petting zoos – 2010-2011Outbreaks of human illness have been linked to visiting settings with animal contact throughout developed countries. This paper details an observational study of hand hygiene tool availability and recommendations; frequency of risky behavior; and, handwashing attempts by visitors in Kansas (9) and Missouri (4), U.S., petting zoos. Handwashing signs and hand hygiene stations were available at the exit of animal-contact areas in 10/13 and 8/13 petting zoos respectively. Risky behaviors were observed being performed at all petting zoos by at least one visitor. Frequently observed behaviors were: children (10/13 petting zoos) and adults (9/13 petting zoos) touching hands to face within animal-contact areas; animals licking children’s and adults’ hands (7/13 and 4/13 petting zoos, respectively); and children and adults drinking within animal-contact areas (5/13 petting zoos each). Of 574 visitors observed for hand hygiene when exiting animal-contact areas, 37% (n=214) of individuals attempted some type of hand hygiene, with male adults, female adults, and children attempting at similar rates (32%, 40%, and 37% respectively). Visitors were 4.8x more likely to wash their hands when a staff member was present within or at the exit to the animal-contact area (136/231, 59%) than when no staff member was present (78/343, 23%; p<0.001, OR=4.863, 95% C.I.=3.380-6.998). Visitors at zoos with a fence as a partial barrier to human-animal contact were 2.3x more likely to wash their hands (188/460, 40.9%) than visitors allowed to enter the animals’ yard for contact (26/114, 22.8%; p<0.001, OR= 2.339, 95% CI= 1.454-3.763). Inconsistencies existed in tool availability, signage, and supervision of animal-contact. Risk communication was poor, with few petting zoos outlining risks associated with animal-contact, or providing recommendations for precautions to be taken to reduce these risks.

Organic meat may have higher toxoplasmosis risk

Amy likes her lamb; and she likes it rare.

I’m ambivalent. But when I do cook lamb, which is abundant in Australia, I always use a tip-sensitive digital thermometer to make sure it gets to at least 140F and not overcook.

I worry about the worms.

Toxoplasmosis doesn’t grab the headlines the way salmonella or E. coli outbreaks do, but new research suggests that some organic meats may be more likely to carry this parasite, which can then be transmitted to consumers who eat these meats, if undercooked.

Cari Nierenberg of My Health News Daily reports the authors of a paper published online May 22 in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases write, "The new trend in the production of free-range, organically raised meat could increase the risk of Toxoplasma gondii contamination of meat.”

The researchers point out that eating undercooked meat — whether organic or conventionally raised — especially pork, lamb and wild game such as venison, is one of the main ways people become infected with the toxoplasma parasite. People can also contract the infection by not washing raw fruits and vegetables, which may have come in contact with soil contaminated by cat feces.

Cats can spread toxoplasmosis after eating other infected animals and then passing the parasite along in their feces. This can contaminate not only home litter boxes, but the soil or water if a cat goes outside.

Although perhaps as many as one in five Americans carry the parasite, few people have symptoms because the immune system in healthy people does a good job of preventing T. gondii from causing illness. Toxoplasmosis presents more of a threat to pregnant women and people with a weakened immune system, especially if they change cat litter boxes or touch contaminated soil when gardening.

The new research reviews the foods most likely to carry the parasite, and how people can prevent becoming sickened by it. The foods with the greatest chance of carrying toxoplasmosis parasites in the U.S. include raw ground beef or rare lamb; unpasteurized goat’s milk; locally produced cured, dried or smoked meat; and raw oysters, clams or mussels.

Growing consumer demand for "free-range" and "organically raised" meats, especially pork and poultry, will probably increase the prevalence of T. gondii when people undercook and eat these foods, according to the study’s authors, Dr. Jeffrey Jones, of the parasitic diseases branch of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and J.P. Dubey, of the USDA’s Animal Parasitic Disease Laboratory.

That’s because as more pigs or chickens are raised in less confined, more animal- friendly environments, they have greater access to grass, soil, feed or water that may be in contact with infected cat feces, or to rodents or wildlife infected with T. gondii.

Compared with chickens raised indoors, the prevalence of the parasite in free-range chickens is much higher, anywhere from 17 percent up to 100 percent, in some estimates. (But the risk is low for chicken eggs, the authors noted.)

Other research has shown that more organically raised pigs have tested positive for T. gondii than conventionally raised pigs.

Sheep also have a higher likelihood of being contaminated with toxoplasma, as do game meats such as deer, elk, moose and wild pig. Beef and dairy products have not yet played a main role in transmitting the infection, except for eating raw or undercooked ground beef.

"Toxoplasmosis in an under-recognized source of food-borne illness and attracts little public attention," said Douglas Powell, a professor of food safety at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kan. "People are not as familiar with this parasite, so we think it doesn’t happen much," he explained.

Yet, toxoplasmosis is one of five "neglected parasitic diseases" targeted by the CDC as a public health priority.

By one recent U.S. estimate, toxoplasmosis was the second-leading cause of food-borne illness deaths (salmonella is first), claiming more than 300 lives a year. The parasite was also responsible for more than 4,000 hospitalizations annually, ranking it fourth among food pathogens.

As consumers shift their eating preferences, whether it’s to organic foods or to less-processed foods, the microbial risks are altered, Powell said. "Whatever food- production system we come up with, some ‘bugs’ will find a way to adapt and flourish. So the key is continual vigilance."

Reasons to cook meat: Toxoplasma gondii associated with the consumption of lamb meat, Aveyron (France), November 2010

Thanks to our French friend, Albert Amgar, for forwarding this item.

On 15 November 2010, 3 confirmed cases of toxoplasmosis of the same family were reported to the Midi-Pyrénées Regional Health Agency. A collective outbreak of food poisoning was suspected with regard to the single common meal taken on 3 October 2010 that included undercooked lamb’s leg. Clusters of toxoplasmosis cases are rare; therefore, investigations on the episode were conducted.

Epidemiological, clinical and serological data were collected from the participants in the meal. Genotyping of the strain isolated in the suspected food was performed as well as a traceability investigation.

All five sensitive people of the seven persons exposed during the meal had a recent uncomplicated evolutionary toxoplasmosis (attack rate 100 %; mean age 21 years). DNA genotyping in the frozen half lamb’s leg revealed a type II. The farm of origin of the lamb could not be identified.

Our investigations contributed to describe a Toxoplasma food poisoning limited in size, and to determine the origin of the contamination. However, other cases may have gone unnotified, considering the infection is usually asymptomatic. Toxoplasma foodborne illnesses are poorly documented and information on the possibility of contamination due to insufficiently cooked lamb meat should be spread more widely.

Mothers-to-be: step away from the lamb about to pop

The UK Health Protection Agency is issuing a seasonal warning to pregnant women about the potential risk associated with close contact with animals that are giving birth.

Pregnant women who come into close contact with sheep during lambing, for example, may risk their own health, and that of their unborn child, from infections that can occur in some ewes.

Although the number of human pregnancies affected by contact with an infected animal is extremely small, it is important that pregnant women are aware of the potential risks and take appropriate precautions.

It is also important to note that these risks are not only confined to the spring (when the majority of lambs are born), nor are the risks only associated with sheep: cows and goats that have recently given birth can also carry similar infections.

To avoid the possible risk of infection, pregnant women are advised that they should:

• not help to lamb ewes, or to provide assistance with a cow that is calving or a nanny goat that is kidding;
• avoid contact with aborted or new-born lambs, calves or kids or with the afterbirth, birthing fluids or materials (eg bedding) contaminated by such birth products;
• avoid handling (including washing) clothing, boots or any materials that may have come into contact with animals that have recently given birth, their young or afterbirths; and,
• ensure partners attending lambing ewes or other animals giving birth take appropriate health and hygiene precautions, including the wearing of personal protective equipment and adequate washing to remove any potential contamination.

Gratuitous food porn shot of the day: lamb rack roast Frenched

I don’t buy gifts for holidays but I will cook and, in the case of Easter, share in the emergence of Spring.

We did some late shopping at the bigger Dillions in Manhattan (Kansas) because they have a better lamb selection and they often discount it as the holiday in question approaches.

Despite being told they only had lamb leg roasts, I was able to find a four rib rack of lamb, Frenched, the ideal amount of meat for the three of us.

I marinated the lamb in a mustard-rosemary-oil-garlic-lime sorta mixture for about an hour, and then roasted along with potatoes in a 450F oven. Once the internal temperature reached about 125F I removed the lamb and it rose to the preferred 140F after 10 minutes of resting.

Also on the menu was new asparagus from some southern state and green beans with scallions, garlic and almonds.

Dessert was an aged goat milk (pasteurized) cheese on slices of whole grain baguette.

Temperature is critical, not only for safety but as an objective measure of cooking. Take that digital, tip-sensitive thermometer, and stick it in.

Sorenne enjoys her lamb pops almost as much as the nose of the chocolate bunny.


 

Today with Kathie Lee and Hoda: how to spread barf bugs around kitchen

Sometimes, late in the morning, when there’s nothing else for background TV and the DVR is empty, I’ll put on the later version of Today with Kathie Lee and Hoda.

I never would have known about them except for the Saturday Night Live sketches.

It’s entertaining background – for all the wrong reasons.

Today it was, how to spread dangerous microorganisms all over the kitchen from raw lamb.

The food safety fun starts about 2:20 in the video below where Chef Michael starts touching the raw lamb and then everything else in the kitchen.

To the chef’s credit, he does say cook to an internal temperature of 140F, but doesn’t bother to use a tip-sensitive digital thermometer to show that the pieces Hoda finds too raw may be safe or not.

Color is a lousy indicator of pretty much anything.
 

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