The FDA announces the completion of two E.coli O157:H7 outbreak investigations. The third investigation continues. The investigation known as Source3 identified 18 reported illnesses in nine states: California, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington. After the investigation, no single farm was identified as a common source of the outbreak. The other completed outbreak investigation ( Source 1) identified 32 reported illnesses in 12 states: California, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, New Jersey, Ohio, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin. The E. coli strain is genetically similar to a strain linked to a romaine outbreak that occurred in the spring of 2018. A specific food was not linked to the current outbreak, and a common source of the outbreak was not found. @ https://www.fda.gov/food/outbreaks-foodborne-illness/outbreak-investigation-e-coli-o157h7-unknown-food-fall-2020?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery
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FDA announces completion of two E. coli outbreak investigations.
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Meatpackers across North America are concerned about a resurgence of coronavirus cases, trying to avoid the shutdowns that left supermarket shelves empty earlier in the pandemic. Cargill has temporarily closed one of its beef plants in Canada after some employees tested positive. JBS sent 5,000 of its vulnerable U.S. workers home on paid leave. Sanderson Farms sees infections rising among its workers as cases increase in Texas, Mississippi, Georgia, the Carolinas, and Louisiana. Companies are better prepared, having spent millions of dollars to reconfigure factories, implement social distancing, and distribute the protective equipment workers need to stay safe while keeping the food supply chain running. Tyson spent $540 million to adapt its U.S. facilities in 2020, JBS invested more than $200 million in health and safety measures and over $160 million to pay higher wages. Smithfield has invested more than $700 million in extensive efforts aimed at Covid-19 prevention. The U.S. meat industry wants its workers to be among the top priority for vaccines. @ https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-18/pandemic-is-starting-to-hit-north-american-meat-plants-again
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The FDA announced on its website that Tesoros Trading Co. (Las Vegas, NV) is recalling some lots of frozen “Trader Joe’s Lightly Salted Edamame” because they have the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. The recalled “Trader Joe’s Lightly Salted Edamame” were sold at Trader Joe’s retail stores only in the Arizona, Southern California, Southern Nevada, and Utah regions. All affected product has been removed from sale and destroyed. The product comes in a 16-ounce plastic package. @ https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/tesoros-trading-company-recalls-product-because-possible-health-risk?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery
Tesoros Trading Co. from Las Vegas, NV is recalling certain codes of frozen “Trader Joe’s Lightly Salted Edamame” because they have the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly peo
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Food Safety News reported that in 2019, there were 402 foodborne disease outbreaks reported to the Robert Koch-Institut (RKI) or the Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL). At least 1,970 illnesses, 385 hospitalizations, and five deaths were linked to the outbreaks. The report shows 902 potential foodborne outbreaks (excluding norovirus gastroenteritis) with 2,632 patients compared to 886 outbreaks in 2018. Campylobacter caused387 outbreaks, and Salmonella caused 277 in 2019. Of the 902 outbreaks, 333 were listed as food-related and affecting 1,213 patients (163 outbreaks from Campylobacter with 391 patients and 126 from Salmonella with 676 cases). Two deaths were caused by listeriosis. Clostridium perfringens caused the largest outbreak, with 75 people sick. Due to eggs, the second-largest incident included 64 patients, 19 of whom had to be hospitalized. Factors that contributed to outbreaks included cross-contamination, inadequate heat treatment or cooling, and an infected employee. @ https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2020/12/germany-reports-400-outbreaks-in-2019/?utm_source=Food+Safety+News&utm_campaign=3fc0bb3325-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f46cc10150-3fc0bb3325-40253059
Germany recorded more than 400 foodborne outbreaks in 2019 with almost 2,000 illnesses and five deaths, according to recently released statistics. In