Diarrhea burrito is not healthy eating: Chipotle gets a free pass

Posted on January 15, 2016 by Douglas Powell

For whatever reason – money – Chipotle investors and apologists are willing to look beyond the company’s many failings.

If Chipotle really wanted to be a leader, they would have embraced microbiologically safe food and internal verification long before the 2015 outbreaks.

If Chipotle really wanted to be a leader they’d stop playing to consumer fears with their advertising.

If Chipotle really wanted to be a leader, they would embrace genetically engineered foods that require fewer and far less harmful pesticides.

Chipotle is a follower, sucking up dollars wherever it can.

In its latest PR rah-rah stunt, Chipotle is going to close all of its 1,900 outlets on Feb. 8 for a few hours “for company executives to be transparent about the status of the E. coli outbreak, and what Chipotle is doing to prevent it from happening again.”

Chipotle’s stock price sits is currently down around 40% off its 52-week high, as the outbreak news hurt sales more than had been expected. The company has advised investors that it could be a few rocky quarters before Chipotle sees a definitive, positive improvement.

In an effort to bring back some of the customers it’s lost, Chipotle co-CEO Monty Moran said Wednesday it will be doubling the amount of free food restaurants can give away to its customers, reports CNBC.com.

The New York Times says, with a straight face, Chipotle’s new mantra is “Safe food, not just fresh” while gushing that, “From its start in 1993 as a burrito stand in Denver opened by a young Culinary Institute of America-trained chef who borrowed money from his parents, Chipotle now has more than 2,000 locations. Its stock nearly doubled over the last five years, and in August the company reached a market value of $23 billion.

“Chipotle emphasizes fresh, locally sourced ingredients. It was the first major chain to reject genetically modified food. Chipotle has embodied the notion of doing well by doing good.”

That’s not doing anyone any good.

It’s marketing BS.

Consumers aren’t so dumb or confused. Chipotle said same-store sales dropped a greater-than-expected 14.6 percent in the last quarter, and analysts have been scrambling to downgrade their ratings. On Tuesday, Chipotle shares dipped below $400 and were down 47 percent from the August high.

Two of the incidents, the one in Simi Valley, Calif., in August that sickened 234 people, and another in Boston in December, which affected at least 136 customers, were linked to a norovirus, a highly contagious virus that causes gastroenteritis. It is spread through contact with an infected person, a surface bearing the virus, or by contaminated food.

Chipotle has said both outbreaks were caused by sick employees who ignored strict policies prohibiting them from coming to work and, without elaborating, said that disciplinary measures were meted out to those responsible.

Anyone can say they have strict policies (Heston-norovirus-isn’t-my-fault Blumenthal comes to mind) but verification, that takes effort.

In August, 64 people were treated for salmonella after eating at a Chipotle in Minnesota. Fresh tomatoes were identified as the culprit.

Chipotle shares have jumped nearly 14 percent over the last two days after company executives gave an upbeat presentation to investors, bankers and analysts at the ICR investor conference in Orlando, Fla., where they predicted the brand would regain its luster and reiterated an aggressive expansion and growth plan.

Follow the money.

Beaver fever in U.S., 1971–2011

Posted on January 15, 2016 by Douglas Powell

My friend was at his cabin near Algonquin Park (that’s in Canada) and twittered that his wife wanted to know if it was OK to use stream water to boil potatoes.

He said sure, as long as you don’t mind the beaver poop.

We’ve had a long tradition of don’t eat poop, but if you do, make sure it’s cooked.

Giardia intestinalis is the leading parasitic aetiology of human enteric infections in the United States, with an estimated 1·2 million cases occurring annually. To better understand transmission, we analysed data on all giardiasis outbreaks reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for 1971–2011.

The 242 outbreaks, affecting ~41 000 persons, resulted from waterborne (74·8%), foodborne (15·7%), person-to-person (2·5%), and animal contact (1·2%) transmission. Most (74·6%) waterborne outbreaks were associated with drinking water, followed by recreational water (18·2%). Problems with water treatment, untreated groundwater, and distribution systems were identified most often during drinking water-associated outbreak investigations; problems with water treatment declined after the 1980s. Most recreational water-associated outbreaks were linked to treated swimming venues, with pools and wading pools implicated most often. Produce was implicated most often in foodborne outbreaks. Additionally, foods were most commonly prepared in a restaurant and contaminated by a food handler.

Lessons learned from examining patterns in outbreaks over time can help prevent future disease. Groundwater and distribution system vulnerabilities, inadequate pool disinfection, fruit and vegetable contamination, and poor food handler hygiene are promising targets for giardiasis prevention measures.

Giardiasis outbreaks in the United States, 1971–2011

11.jan.16

Epidemiology and Infection

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0950268815003040

E.A. Adam, J.S. Yoder, L.H. Gould, M.C. Hlavsa, and W. Gargano

http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=10111419&fileId=S0950268815003040

50% of chicken breast Campy positive, irrigation water source of dangerous E. coli: FoodNet Canada 2014 short report

Posted on January 14, 2016 by Douglas Powell

FoodNet Canada tracks illnesses of the gut, commonly known as food poisoning, in Canadians, and traces them back to their sources, such as food, water and animals. These data are analyzed to help determine which sources are causing the most illness among Canadians and help us track illnesses and their causes over time.

In the 2014 surveillance year, FoodNet Canada was active in three sites (partially or throughout the entire year) in Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta. In each location, or “sentinel site,” enhanced human disease surveillance is performed in parallel with active surveillance for specific bacteria, viruses and parasites in the possible sources to which the ill may have been exposed.

The purpose of this report is to present the preliminary findings from the 2014 surveillance year in the sentinel sites. This report will be followed by a comprehensive annual report which will include more extensive analyses of temporal trends and subtyping information for an integrated perspective on enteric disease from exposure to illness.

With the expansion to three sites in 2014, FoodNet Canada is able to provide more valuable information on enteric disease in Canada. This information on enteric disease continues to be essential to the development of robust food and water safety policies in Canada.

In 2014, Campylobacterand Salmonella remained the most common causes of human enteric illness in the sentinel sites.
Campylobacterwas the most prevalent pathogen found on skinless chicken breast in all sites with close to one-half of all samples testing positive. Across all three sites,Salmonella is the most commonly found pathogen in chicken nuggets, with more than one-quarter of all samples testing positive. Salmonella prevalence on skinless chicken breast ranged across the sites from 15% – 26%. In ground beef, VTEC remains at a low prevalence. Pork chops appear to contain the pathogens of interest (Campylobacter,Salmonella, and Listeria monocytogenes) at relatively low levels.
Fresh-cut fruit sampling showed that these products are rarely positive for the parasites, viruses and bacteria tested.
On farm, Salmonellawas commonly found in broiler chickens in all sites. Salmonella was also found in turkey in the BC site, but at a lower prevalence than in the broiler chickens. In turkey in the BC site, Campylobacter was again the most common pathogen found in 2014, as in 2013. Campylobacter was also commonly found in beef and dairy manure samples in the ON site, as in previous years. Campylobacter prevalence in broiler chickens was variable across the sites, ranging from 8.7% – 22%.
VTEC was found in about one quarter of irrigation water samples in the BC and AB sites.
Results from the 2014 FoodNet Canada sampling year have demonstrated that retail meat products, particularly chicken products, remain an important source of human enteric pathogens. Some of this contamination is likely due to high levels on farm and other points along the farm to store continuum. Fresh-cut fruit does not appear to be an important source of enteric disease for Canadians, while irrigation water has the potential to be a source of VTEC in particular. Continued monitoring of human cases and potential sources in the sentinel sites is important to help further understand enteric disease in Canada and detect emerging trends. This information will help protect Canadians and help to develop future public health policy.

To obtain a copy of the full report, please contact: phac-FoodNet.Canada-aspc@phac-aspc.gc.ca

Why can’t it be posted on the Internet?

CNN’s version of 7 things to know about the U.S. food system

Posted on January 12, 2016 by Douglas Powell

There’s a lot you don’t know about what you’re eating.

Here are some of the most important things we learned while reporting CNNMoney’s Raw Ingredients series.

The food industry is vast

The U.S. spends a lot of money on food. We’re talking $1.5 trillion a year, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Corn is the foundation

The U.S. produced almost 800 billion pounds of corn in 2014.

It’s the basis of much of our food: It goes into animal feed, high-fructose corn syrup, cereal, starch and some alcohol. So if you’re eating meat and cereal or drinking soda, there’s a good chance it all started with corn.

The industry has a fat wallet and lots of influence

When it comes to new regulations, food companies and their lobbying groups will throw their weight around.

Beginning in 2001, the USDA’s Microbiological Data Program shouldered about 80% of all public testing for pathogens in produce and regularly called for recalls. The produce industry lobbied against it, claiming that the agency within the USDA that ran it didn’t have the authority to test produce.

When the FDA moved to prohibit the use of poultry litter (that is, chicken poop) in cattle feed to prevent Mad Cow Disease in 2004, the industry argued that science didn’t justify the ban. Four years later, the FDA decided the regulation wasn’t necessary, saying it addressed the issue in other ways.

Critics say there should be more food testing

Mansour Samadpour runs IEH Laboratories, one of the largest private food testing facilities in the nation. Companies hire him to test their food and make sure it’s safe for the consumer.

He believes much of the current testing is too infrequent and small in scale. “We call that faith-based food safety,” he says.

Why do companies resist more testing? If more was done at the retail level, it would “always result in recalls,” Samadpour says, because they find pathogens in the food so often.

But he also insists that some companies “are doing everything that they can” with regard to food safety.

The environment is not the main priority

The aim of the food industry is having food at our fingertips — available anytime, anywhere. But we use a lot of resources to make that happen.

Neither is your health

Americans are spending less money on food than ever before, but they are spending more on health care (as a percentage of overall spending).

Companies adapt to consumer demands

Food companies really want to give consumers what they want. Fewer artificial ingredients, meatier fish, prewashed salads … producers are constantly evolving their products in response to customer feedback.

Norovirus lasts in poop

Posted on January 10, 2016 by Douglas Powell

Noroviruses, the leading cause of severe gastroenteritis worldwide, have 6 genogroups and 38 genotypes; strain GII.4 is most frequently associated with outbreaks (NEJM JW Infect Dis Mar 2013 and MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2013; 62:55).

Histo-blood group antigens (HBGAs) may act as attachment factors for norovirus: People with a functional FUT2 gene (secretors) express HBGAs on mucosal epithelium; nonsecretors, who have a FUT2 mutation of guanine-to-adenine at codon 428, are presumed to be protected from norovirus infection.

The Oregon Department of Public Health and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have analyzed 10 selected norovirus outbreaks (9 related to strain GII.4) from November 2009 through January 2013. They studied 62 cases, 34 exposed controls, and 18 nonexposed controls. Illness duration was significantly longer in people age 70 or older than in younger patients. Norovirus was detected in stool in 42 cases (68%). Shedding of norovirus in stool, which occurred for at least 21 days in 16 of 35 cases (47%), was significantly more likely if the initial stool sample had >1010 copies of virus per gram than if it had fewer copies per gram. For GII.4 viruses, the researchers found no association between secretor status or blood type and symptomatic infection.

Prolonged shedding of Norovirus after infection

Neil M. Ampel, MD reviewing Costantini VP et al. Clin Infect Dis 2016 Jan 1.

http://www.jwatch.org/na40028/2016/01/05/prolonged-shedding-norovirus-after-infection

There’s a lot of dangerous E. coli in cow poop

Posted on January 3, 2016 by Douglas Powell

Shiga toxin–producing Escherichia coli (STEC) serogroups O26, O45, O103, O111, O121, and O145, called non-O157 STEC, are important foodborne pathogens.

Cattle, a major reservoir, harbor the organisms in the hindgut and shed them in the feces. Although limited data exist on fecal shedding, concentrations of non-O157 STEC in feces have not been reported. The objectives of our study were (i) to develop and validate two multiplex quantitative PCR (mqPCR) assays, targeting O-antigen genes of O26, O103, and O111 (mqPCR-1) and O45, O121, and O145 (mqPCR-2); (ii) to utilize the two assays, together with a previously developed four-plex qPCR assay (mqPCR-3) targeting the O157 antigen and three virulence genes (stx ₁, stx ₂, and eae), to quantify seven serogroups and three virulence genes in cattle feces; and (iii) to compare the three mqPCR assays to a 10-plex conventional PCR (cPCR) targeting seven serogroups and three virulence genes and culture methods to detect seven E. coli serogroups in cattle feces.

The two mqPCR assays (1 and 2) were shown to be specific to the target genes, and the detection limits were 4 and 2 log CFU/g of pure culture–spiked fecal samples, before and after enrichment, respectively. A total of 576 fecal samples collected from a feedlot were enriched in E. coli broth and were subjected to quantification (before enrichment) and detection (after enrichment).

Of the 576 fecal samples subjected, before enrichment, to three mqPCR assays for quantification, 175 (30.4%) were quantifiable (≥4 log CFU/g) for at least one of the seven serogroups, with O157 being the most common serogroup. The three mqPCR assays detected higher proportions of postenriched fecal samples (P > 0.01) as positive for one or more serogroups compared with cPCR and culture methods.

This is the first study to assess the applicability of qPCR assays to detect and quantify six non-O157 serogroups in cattle feces and to generate data on fecal concentration of the six serogroups.

Multiplex Quantitative PCR Assays for the Detection and Quantification of the Six Major Non-O157 Escherichia coli Serogroups in Cattle Feces

Journal of Food Protection, January 2016, No. 1, pp. 4-178, pp. 66-74(9)

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4315/0362-028X.JFP-15-319

B. Shridhar, L. W. Noll, X. Shi, B. An, N. Cernicchiaro, D. G. Renter, T. G. Nagaraja, J. Bai

http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/iafp/jfp/2016/00000079/00000001/art00009

Incidence of campy in pets and petting zoos

Posted on December 21, 2015 by Douglas Powell

Animal contact is a potential transmission route for campylobacteriosis, and both domestic household pet and petting zoo exposures have been identified as potential sources of exposure.

Research has typically focussed on the prevalence, concentration, and transmission of zoonoses from farm animals to humans, yet there are gaps in our understanding of these factors among animals in contact with the public who don’t live on or visit farms.

This study aims to quantify, through a systematic review and meta-analysis, the prevalence and concentration of Campylobacter carriage in household pets and petting zoo animals. Four databases were accessed for the systematic review (PubMed, CAB direct, ProQuest, and Web of Science) for papers published in English from 1992–2012, and studies were included if they examined the animal population of interest, assessed prevalence or concentration with fecal, hair coat, oral, or urine exposure routes (although only articles that examined fecal routes were found), and if the research was based in Canada, USA, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. Studies were reviewed for qualitative synthesis and meta-analysis by two reviewers, compiled into a database, and relevant studies were used to create a weighted mean prevalence value. There were insufficient data to run a meta-analysis of concentration values, a noted study limitation.

The mean prevalence of Campylobacter in petting zoo animals is 6.5% based on 7 studies, and in household pets the mean is 24.7% based on 34 studies. Our estimated concentration values were: 7.65x103cfu/g for petting zoo animals, and 2.9x105cfu/g for household pets. These results indicate that Campylobacter prevalence and concentration are lower in petting zoo animals compared with household pets and that both of these animal sources have a lower prevalence compared with farm animals that do not come into contact with the public.

There is a lack of studies on Campylobacter in petting zoos and/or fair animals in Canada and abroad. Within this literature, knowledge gaps were identified, and include: a lack of concentration data reported in the literature for Campylobacter spp. in animal feces, a distinction between ill and diarrheic pets in the reported studies, noted differences in shedding and concentrations for various subtypes of Campylobacter, and consistent reporting between studies.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of the Campylobacter spp. prevalence and concentration in household pets and petting zoo animals for use in exposure assessments

18.dec.15

PLoS ONE 10(12): e0144976

Pintar KDM, Christidis T, Thomas MK, Anderson M, Nesbitt A, Keithlin J, et al.

http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0144976

1-in-5 food samples in India found adulterated and misbranded

Posted on December 8, 2015 by Douglas Powell

The Siasat Daily reports that one-out—of-every-five samples of food items tested by public food safety labs in the country has been found “adulterated and misbranded” with maximums in Uttar Pradesh followed by Punjab and Madhya Pradesh.

Over Rs 10.93 crore penalty has been imposed in 2,795 cases, while culprits have been convicted in 1,402 cases so far this year, according to the testing report of public laboratories released by the Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

As per the report compiled by the state governments, food safety labs received 83,265 samples, of which 74,010 were tested till November 24 of 2015.

Out of the tested samples, the labs found 14,599 samples were “adulterated and misbranded” the data showed.

As many as 2,676 criminal cases and 7,860 civil suits were registered, of which convictions were reported in 1,402 cases, the report added.

Unsafe food costs Ghana US$69 million annually

Posted on December 8, 2015 by Douglas Powell

Ghana Web reports that food safety expert, Mr John Oppong-Otoo, has chastised the government for its failure to carry out sustained exposure assessments on food to ascertain the level of risk for all contaminants in food they consume.

Though exposure assessment has been done elsewhere in Ghana it is said to be limited, largely due to the unavailability of funds to carry out the research.

According to Mr Oppong-Otoo, who is also the CODEX Alimentarius Manager at the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA), the risks associated with consuming unsafe food should prompt government to commission such a research.

“When we do the exposure assessments, we find out the levels that Ghanaians are exposed to. Then we compare it with a certain health-based value. If the exposure is higher then there is risk. An exposure assessment will form the basis of a risk management programme,” he said at a workshop on food safety for selected journalists in Accra.

The total number of outpatients reported cases of foodborne diseases in Ghana is about 420,000 per year, with an annual death rate estimated at 65,000 and total cost to the economy at US$69 million.

52 sick with E. coli O26 linked to Chiptole; tightening suppliers

Posted on December 5, 2015 by Douglas Powell

As the number of confirmed cases of E. coli O26 linked to Chipotle restaurants increased to 52 in nine states, the company says it’s revamping its food-supply standards.

Chipotle will work with Seattle-based IEH Laboratories and Consulting Group, unveiled a new safety program that includes improving its supply chain and doing DNA testing of produce. Chipotle also is retooling its training to help employees handle food more carefully.

“While it is never possible to completely eliminate all risk, this program eliminates or mitigates risk to a level near zero, and will establish Chipotle as the industry leader in this area,” Mansour Samadpour, head of IEH Laboratories, said in a statement.

USA Today said Chipotle Mexican Grill will soon have stricter guidelines for its suppliers that will mean the chain will be using local produce less often.

Chris Arnold, a company spokesman, said in an e-mail Wednesday that the company plans on formally releasing some of its changes in the coming days, if not sooner.

“We do expect that some of the local suppliers we have used will not meet more stringent testing standards we have put in place,” Arnold said.

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