1012 sick in US: Salmonella infections linked to onions

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 been reported 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.

Check the list of recalled products.

If you don’t know where your onions are from, don’t serve or sell them.

View the list of recalled onions and foods

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.

See the full list ofrecalled onions and foods

This investigation is ongoing. CDC will provide more information as it becomes available.

‘Remain humble’ Salmonella infections linked to peaches

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.

He reviewed the four pillars of the New Era of Smarter Food Safety:

Tech-enabled traceability;

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

Salmonella in cucumbers and cross-contamination during waxing

Cucumbers found in retail markets are often waxed to improve visual appeal and retard moisture loss. This waxing may affect bacterial survival and the waxing process may facilitate cross-contamination between cucumbers. This study assessed survival of Salmonella on waxed and un-waxed cucumbers and the potential for Salmonella cross-contamination during the waxing process.

Fresh waxed or un-waxed cucumbers were spot-inoculated with a Salmonella enterica cocktail. Three different wax coatings (mineral oil, vegetable oil, or petroleum wax) were manually applied to un-waxed cucumbers using polyethylene brushes. Salmonella transfer from inoculated cucumbers to brush or to un-inoculated cucumbers was quantified.

Higher Salmonella concentrations were observed on waxed cucumbers during the first 3 days of storage but the final concentration on un-waxed cucumbers was higher than on waxed cucumbers at the end of storage, regardless of storage temperature. Wax formulation did affect survival of Salmonella inoculated directly into waxes, with the significant decline in Salmonella populations observed in vegetable-based wax coating, but with populations unchanged over 7 days at 7 or 21 °C in mineral oil-based and petroleum-based waxes. Salmonella cells could transfer from inoculated un-waxed cucumbers to brushes used for waxing and then to un-inoculated cucumbers during waxing. Significantly higher log percent transfer to brushes was observed when cucumbers were waxed with vegetable oil (0.71 log percent, P = 0.00441) vs. mineral oil (0.06 log percent) or petroleum (0.05 log percent).

Transfer to un-inoculated cucumbers via brushes was also quantified (0.18 to 0.35 log percent transfer). Salmonella remaining on contaminated cucumbers after waxing could be detected for up to 7 days, and Salmonella survived better on cucumbers treated with a petroleum-based wax. These findings should be useful in managing risk of Salmonella contamination in cucumbers during post-harvest handling.

Quantification of survival and transfer of salmonella on fresh cucumbers during waxingJournal of Food Protection

30 October 2020

Jiin Jung and Donald Schaffner

https://doi.org/10.4315/JFP-20-375

https://meridian.allenpress.com/jfp/article-abstract/doi/10.4315/JFP-20-375/446920/Quantification-of-survival-and-transfer-of?redirectedFrom=fulltext

Don’t kiss: Hundreds sick, 1 dead in nationwide salmonella outbreak linked to chicks, ducklings

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.”

Reported Cases: 938

States: 48

Hospitalizations: 151

Death: 1

Since the last update on June 24, 2020, 473 more ill people were added to this investigation.

That’s a lot of sick people, but Keith is the master of groove.

 

1 dead 7 sick: Salmonella outbreak linked to pig ear dog treats in Canada

11-year-old daughter Sorenne is training our pup, George. She knows how to use bits of dog treats as an incentive, and she knows to wash her hands after handing any dog or cat treat or food.

Why?

Because the heat treatment in many cases has not been scientifically verified to remove all pathogens. Cross-contamination with something else is also a possibility.

As of September 29, 2020, there were, according to Outbreak News Today and the Public Health Agency of Canada, eight confirmed cases of Salmonella Typhimurium illness in the following provinces: British Columbia (5), Alberta (2), and Yukon (1). Individuals became sick between late February and early August 2020. Three individuals have been hospitalized. In addition, one individual has died.

Based on the investigation findings to date, exposure to pig ear dog treats has been identified as a likely source of the outbreak. Some of the individuals who became sick reported feeding their dog Paws Up! and Western Family brands of pig ear dog treats before their illnesses occurred. These brands are sold at Canadian Tire and Save-On-Foods. The outbreak investigation is on-going and it is possible that additional products may be identified.

On September 29, 2020, the supplying company, Masters Best Friend, voluntarily issued a Notice of Stop Sale for Paws Up! and Western Family brands of pig ear dog treats. These products were sold nationally.

Although products are no longer available for purchase in stores, they may still be in consumer homes. Given this, do not feed your dog any Paws Up! or Western Family brand pig ear dog treats. Always wash your hands right after handling dog treats, and ensure that all areas the treats have come in contact with are properly cleaned and sanitized.

Stick it in: Kevin McHale accidentally gives boyfriend Austin McKenzie Salmonella

My partner and American/Australian daughter have taken to watching reruns of the television show, Glee, during or after dinner.

Who knew there would ever be a food safety connection?

Turns out 32-year-old Glee alum Kevin McHale amusingly shared a series of tweets on Saturday night (August 1) in which he revealed that he accidentally gave his boyfriend Austin McKenzie salmonella due to his cooking.

“But have you undercooked chicken sausage (unintentionally) and then served it to your bf and then he got superrrrr sick and you thought it was covid and you got tested twice but nah you just fed him salmonella? He should break up with me. I would,” he tweeted.

When told that Austin needs to take his phone away, Kevin then added: “He’s asleep because I poisoned him!”

He then tweeted “Omg” when he realized that Austin hilariously changed his profile bio to: “I left Twitter many years ago. I’m back on now to monitor my thirsty boyfriend, Kevin Mchale, who ‘accidentally’ gave me salmonella 5 days ago.”

Use a tip-sensitive digital thermometer. Any fans of McHale should mail him one (if the U.S. Postal Service still exists).

Over 500 sick from Salmonella in onions in Canada and US

I got weepy just thinking about Salmonella Newport in raw onions.

The initial public fingering of red onions from Thomson International Inc.of Bakersfield, California, was done by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).

Subsequently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), along with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC)  announced they were investigating an outbreak of Salmonella Newport illnesses that had a similar genetic fingerprint to illnesses reported in this outbreak.

In Canada, as of August 2, 2020, there have been 120 confirmed cases of Salmonella Newport illness linked to this outbreak in the following provinces: British Columbia (43), Alberta (56), Saskatchewan (4), Manitoba (13), Ontario (2), Quebec (1) and Prince Edward Island (1).

Individuals became sick between mid-June and mid-July 2020. Seventeen individuals have been hospitalized. No deaths have been reported. Individuals who became ill are between 3 and 100 years of age. The majority of cases (56%) are female.

CFIA’s advice is do not eat, use, sell or serve any red, white, yellow, and sweet yellow onions from Thomson International Inc., Bakersfield, California, USA, or any products made with these onions. This advice applies to all individuals across Canada, as well as retailers, distributors, manufacturers and food service establishments such as hotels, restaurants, cafeterias, hospitals and nursing homes.

Onions grown in Canada are not affected by this advice.

On August 1, 2020, in the U.S., Thomson International, Inc. recalled all varieties of onions that could have come in contact with potentially contaminated red onions, due to the risk of cross-contamination. Recalled products include red, yellow, white, and sweet yellow onions shipped from May 1, 2020 to present.

Onions were distributed to wholesalers, restaurants, and retail stores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Canada.

As of Aug. 3, FDA reported 396 illnesses in the U.S.

The onions were distributed in 5 lbs. carton. 10 lbs. carton. 25 lbs. carton. 40 lbs. carton, 50 lbs. carton. bulk, 2 lb. mesh sacks, and 3 lb. mesh sacks, 5 lb. mesh sacks, 10 lb. mesh sacks 25 lbs. mesh sacks, 50 lbs. mesh sacks under the brand names Thomson Premium, TLC Thomson International, Tender Loving Care, El Competitor, Hartley’s Best, Onions 52, Majestic, Imperial Fresh, Kroger, Utah Onions and Food Lion.

The investigation is ongoing to determine the source of contamination and if additional products are linked to illness. Additional information will be provided as it becomes available.

Salmonella and poultry food safety

Salmonella is a leading cause of foodborne illness (i.e., salmonellosis) outbreaks, which on occasion are attributed to ground turkey. The poultry industry uses Salmonella prevalence as an indicator of food safety. However, Salmonella prevalence is only one of several factors that determine risk of salmonellosis. Consequently, a model for predicting risk of salmonellosis from individual lots of ground turkey as a function of Salmonella prevalence and other risk factors was developed.

Data for Salmonella contamination (prevalence, number, and serotype) of ground turkey were collected at meal preparation. Scenario analysis was used to evaluate effects of model variables on risk of salmonellosis. Epidemiological data were used to simulate Salmonella serotype virulence in a dose‐response model that was based on human outbreak and feeding trial data. Salmonella prevalence was 26% (n = 100) per 25 g of ground turkey, whereas Salmonella number ranged from 0 to 1.603 with a median of 0.185 log per 25 g. Risk of salmonellosis (total arbitrary units (AU) per lot) was affected (p ≤ 0.05) by Salmonella prevalence, number, and virulence, by incidence and extent of undercooking, and by food consumption behavior and host resistance but was not (p > 0.05) affected by serving size, serving size distribution, or total bacterial load of ground turkey when all other risk factors were held constant. When other risk factors were not held constant, Salmonella prevalence was not correlated (r = −0.39; p = 0.21) with risk of salmonellosis. Thus, Salmonella prevalence alone was not a good indicator of poultry food safety because other factors were found to alter risk of salmonellosis. In conclusion, a more holistic approach to poultry food safety, such as the process risk model developed in the present study, is needed to better protect public health from foodborne pathogens like Salmonella .

Salmonella prevalence alone is not a good indicator of poultry food safety, 20 July 2020

Risk Analysis

Thomas Oscar

https://doi.org/10.1111/risa.13563

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/risa.13563?af=R

A way to get rid of Salmonella off peppercorns

A nonthermal process that applies ultraviolet (UV)–C and helium cold plasma (CP) simultaneously (UV-CP) has been investigated as an intervention technology to inactivate Salmonella on black peppercorns.

The optimum CP treatment voltage and UV-CP treatment time for inactivating Salmonella on black peppercorns were predicted using a model equation as 9.7 kV and 22.1 min, respectively, which non-thermally inactivated Salmonella by 3.7 log CFU/g. UV-CP treatment yielded a stronger bactericidal activity than UV treatment alone, without inducing photoreactivation. In addition, UV-CP-induced reactive species similar to those found in individual UV and CP treatments. Furthermore, UV-CP treatment caused a profound deformation of Salmonella morphology and a greater extent of DNA damage than UV or CP treatment did alone. UV-CP treatment did not alter the color or 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) radical scavenging activity; however, it lowered the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity and piperine concentration in the peppercorns. The findings of this study demonstrate the potential application of UV-CP treatment for decontamination of black peppercorns.

Inactivation of salmonella on black peppercorns using an integrated ultraviolet-C and cold plasma intervention, 23 July 2020

Food Control

In Hee Bang1, Jiwon In1, Sea C.Min

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2020.107498

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S095671352030414X

How much fun is John Fogarty having with his kids?

Salmonella and pigs

Salmonella is one of the most important foodborne pathogens worldwide. Its main reservoirs are poultry and pigs, in which infection is endemic in many countries. Spain has one of the largest pig populations in the world. Even though Salmonella infection is commonly detected in pig farms, its spatial distribution at the national level is poorly understood.

Here we aimed to report the spatial distribution of Salmonella-positive pig farms in Spain and investigate the presence of potential spatial trends over a 17-year period. For this, data on samples from pigs tested for Salmonella in 2002–2013, 2015, 2017, and 2019 as part of the Spanish Veterinary Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance program, representing 3,730 farms were analyzed. The spatial distribution and clustering of Salmonella-positive pig farms at the province level were explored using spatial empirical Bayesian smoothing and global Moran’s I, local Moran’s I, and the Poisson model of the spatial scan statistics. Bayesian spatial regression using a reparameterized Besag-York-Mollié Poisson model (BYM2 model) was then performed to quantify the presence of spatially structured and unstructured effects while accounting for the effect of potential risk factors for Salmonella infection at the province level. The overall proportion of Salmonella-positive farms was 37.8% (95% confidence interval: 36.2–39.4). Clusters of positive farms were detected in the East and Northeast of Spain. The Bayesian spatial regression revealed a West-to-East increase in the risk of Salmonella infection at the province level, with 65.2% (50% highest density interval: 70–100.0%) of this spatial pattern being explained by the spatially structured component. Our results demonstrate the existence of a spatial variation in the risk of Salmonella infection in pig farms at the province level in Spain.

This information can help to optimize risk-based Salmonella surveillance programs in Spain, although further research to identify farm-level factors explaining this pattern are needed.

Spatial trends in salmonella infection in pigs in Spain, 23 June 2020

Frontiers in Veterinary Science

Kendy Tzu-yun Teng1*Marta Martinez Avilés2, Maria Ugarte-Ruiz1Carmen Barcena1Ana de la Torre2, Gema Lopez3Miguel A. Moreno1,4Lucas Dominguez1,4 and Julio Alvarez1,4

https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2020.00345

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2020.00345/fulld