Unpasteurized cheese making record number sick in Texas

Posted on September 19, 2016 by Douglas Powell

Claire Z. Cardona of The Dallas Morning News reports a record number of people in Dallas County have been sickened from an infection caused by consuming unpasteurized cheese, health officials said.

There have been 13 brucellosis infections in residents so far this year, affecting patients between 6 and 80 years old, according to a health advisory released Thursday.

All of the patients reported eating the cheese brought into the U.S. from Mexico by friends or relatives, consuming the cheese while traveling in Mexico or eating unidentified cheese products from local street vendors, officials said.

The county typically sees two to six cases a year, though 11 were recorded in 2004.

Health officials confirmed all the Dallas County cases by blood culture. In two instances, hospital lab personnel were exposed while handling the samples.

The Brucella bacteria can infect livestock and is most commonly transmitted to humans who consume the unpasteurized dairy products. Some areas, such as Mexico and Central and South America, are considered high-risk, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Go public with data: More Listeria in more frozen veggies

Posted on August 27, 2016 by Douglas Powell

Country Fresh, LLC. of Conroe, Texas, is recalling 30,000 cases of various fresh-cut vegetable products because they have the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

The product in question was shipped to retailers in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia under the Country Fresh and store brand labels described in the product listing.

The product bears “BEST IF USED BY” dates between August 7, 2016 (8/7/16) through August 19, 2016 (8/19/16). The product is in either a clear plastic container as labeled below or in Styrofoam trays overwrapped with clear plastic film as labeled below. No products except those on this list are subject to this recall.

To date, no illnesses have been confirmed by public health authorities.

“We are treating this incident very seriously because we want to ensure that our customers are provided with only the safest, most wholesome, and high-quality products available,” said Max Payen, Country Fresh’s Director of Food Safety. The potential for contamination was uncovered as the result of a single routine sample taken at a retail store by the Georgia Department of Agriculture, which revealed the finished product tested positive for the bacteria.

If the company believes its soundbites, will it reveal its own testing results?

Illegal tamales in Texas

Posted on August 14, 2016 by Douglas Powell

Scott Shackford of Reason.com writes that homemade tamales sold on street corners or directly from people’s houses are about as common as lemonade stands in communities across the Southwest United States and probably elsewhere.

It’s an avenue for people without a lot of resources to make some scratch on the side. And they’re very popular around the holidays in the Latino community. Of course, this is all totally illegal. They don’t have business permits. They don’t have professional kitchens. There’s all sorts of rules and regulations to follow, but attempting to do so would be so costly that it would likely turn it into a money-losing venture.

So because of government fears about food safety, there’s a black market for tamales. In Carrollton, Texas, a suburb north of Dallas, Dennise Cruz found out the hard way not to do anything that could draw attention from government meddlers. Cruz decided to sell tamales from her home, advertised as such on a community social-media site called Nextdoor, and then the city cracked down hard on her, sending her a $700 fine for selling food without a permit. They didn’t send her a warning or come and shut her down. They when straight to threatening her with arrest unless she forked over a ton of money. The local CBS affiliate in Dallas covered the horrific crime:

A director said a fine was issued and not a warning because tamales are considered “potentially hazardous food” due to the cooked corn and meat being used.

“What if somebody got sick from them? What if somebody could have died from them? And I completely understand those concerns,” said Cruz.

14 sick with Cyclospora in (North) Texas

Posted on August 7, 2016 by Douglas Powell

Frank Heinz of NBC DFW 5 cited health officials as saying more than a dozen cases of cyclosporiasis have been confirmed in North Texas’ four major counties and that the source is likely contaminated food.

The Texas Department of State Health Services said Wednesday the parasite was found in Dallas, Tarrant, Collin and Denton counties and that the origin may be linked to a fresh produce item.
County officials told NBC 5 there have been four cases recorded in Dallas County, three in Collin County, four in Denton County and seven in Tarrant County. The Denton County cases and at least four of the Tarrant County cases had recently traveled out of the country — calling into question the point of origin.

Across the state, there are currently 66 confirmed cases of cyclosporiasis — though the sources of infection haven’t been confirmed. For most people, the symptoms are serious. “But for those who are very young and those who are older, or those who have a suppressed immune system, this illness can cause major problems,” said Dr. Khang Tran, chief medical officer at The Medical Center of Plano.

In recent years, 2012-2015, cyclospora outbreaks were associated with fresh cilantro imported from Puebla, Mexico. Since the summer of 2015, the Food and Drug Administration has instituted ban on imports from that region between from April through August.
In 2015, the DSHS said there were 316 cases of cyclosporiasis in Texas.

Cyclosporiasis Case Counts and Incidence Rates in Texas, 2001-2014

Year | Case Count | Incidence Rates

2014* | 200 | 0.7
2013* | 351 | 1.3
2012* | 44 | 0.2
2011* | 14 | 0.1
2010 | 9 | 0.0
2009 | 10 | 0.0
2008 | 6 | 0.0
2007 | 2 | 0.0
2006 | 1 | 0.0
2005 | 1 | 0.0
2004 | 4 | 0.0
2003 | 1 | 0.0
2002 | 1 | 0.0
2001 | 0 | 0.0

IR=incidence rate per 100,000 *incidence rates are bases on projected census data obtained from the DSHS Center for Health Statistics.

Salmonella-positive serrano peppers recalled

Posted on July 27, 2016 by Douglas Powell

Warren Produce, Edinburg, Texas, has voluntarily recalled 200 cartons of serrano peppers after a sample tested positive for salmonella.

The cartons were from 18 orders, but Warren Produce managing member Jimmy Henderson said none of the product is expected to make it to retail.

Henderson said the company was notified of the issue at 4:30 p.m. July 22 after the Food and Drug Administration sampled a single lot. Warren Produce recalled that lot along with two others from the same grower, although those lots did not test positive for salmonella. The recalled lots are #115181, #115158 and #115186.

By the morning of July 25, Henderson had received confirmation from 15 of the 18 destinations for the peppers that the product was pulled from the supply chain.

Henderson described the recall as “very effective.”

24 probable, 3 confirmed with Salmonella linked to Texas restaurant

Posted on June 11, 2016 by Douglas Powell

The Odessa American reports Ector County Health Department Director Gino Solla said Friday afternoon the total number of people who have lab-confirmed cases of salmonella has increased by one, bringing the total number to three.

Solla also said the restaurant where the people got the illness, Ajuua’s Mexican Restaurant, will open Saturday after several of the employees tested negative for salmonella.

Nine of the business’ employees tested negative for salmonella, Solla said, and a new hire was made, allowing them to operate with a skeleton crew.

The restaurant, at the request of the health department, closed their doors Monday after complaints were made by residents who said they got sick after eating at the restaurant on June 1. Solla said there are also 24 probable cases.

The investigation started around 4:15 p.m. June 3 after officials with the health department got a call saying 10 people had gotten sick after eating at Ajuua’s, Solla said. After getting reports one person in that group did have salmonella, they visited the restaurant and asked them to voluntarily close down.

An inspection was also done for the restaurant, with the store getting a rating of 87 out of 100. The store was reported as being out of compliance on several issues, such as not keeping food separated and protected during preparation, food was not dated in the walk-in cooler, no hand sanitizer for the hand sink and there were no paper towels in the men’s restroom.

Salmonella positive triggers habanero pepper recall

Posted on May 15, 2016 by Douglas Powell

Montero Farms of McAllen, Texas is recalling Orange Habanero Peppers, because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella.

Orange Habanero Peppers were shipped to Indianapolis, Indiana and to McAllen, Texas from April 28 2016 to present.

The product comes in 8 pound cardboard boxes marked with lot #41142-41143 on the top. In total 154 boxes are being recalled.

No illnesses have been reported to date in connection with this problem.

The potential for contamination was noted after routine testing by the FDA.

Production of the product has been suspended while FDA and the company continue their investigation as to the source of the problem.

Fresh From Texas recalls apple product because of Listeria

Posted on April 6, 2016 by Douglas Powell

Fresh from Texas of San Antonio, Texas is voluntarily recalling multiple products containing sliced red apples which are identified below because they have the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes,

No illnesses have been reported to date.

The product was sold by H-E-B stores in Texas.

The recall was the result of internal company testing which indicated the presence of Listeria Monocytogenes in two random samples of the same product. The company has ceased the production and distribution of the product as FDA and the company continue their investigation as to what caused the problem.

Blame Mexico: 151 now sick in Texas Cyclospora outbreak, source unknown

Posted on July 12, 2015 by Douglas Powell

The Texas Department of State Health Services reports that a recent surge in reports of illnesses due to the parasite Cyclospora has prompted DSHS to investigate the infections in hopes of determining a common source. DSHS has received reports of 151 Cyclosporiasis cases from around Texas this year.

DSHS recommends thoroughly washing fresh produce, but that may not entirely eliminate the risk because Cyclospora can be difficult to wash off. Cooking will kill the parasite (but be wary of cross contamination).

Last year, Texas had 200 cases, some of which were associated with cilantro from the Puebla region in Mexico.

113 now sick in Texas Cyclospora outbreak; no food IDed yet

Posted on July 3, 2015 by Douglas Powell

A recent surge in reports of illnesses due to the parasite Cyclospora has prompted the Texas Department of State Health Services to investigate the infections in hopes of determining a common source.

DSHS has received reports of 113 Cyclosporiasis cases from around Texas this year, including 101 in the last two weeks.

DSHS recommends thoroughly washing fresh produce, but that may not entirely eliminate the risk because Cyclospora can be difficult to wash off. Cooking will kill the parasite.

Last year, Texas had 200 cases, some of which were associated with cilantro from the Puebla region in Mexico.

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