In the news

The FDA announced on its website that Dole Fresh Vegetables, Inc. had voluntarily recalled a limited number of cases of baby spinach. The products being recalled are 6 oz Dole Baby Spinach bag, Lot code W20308A, and 10 oz Dole Baby Spinach clamshell, Lot code W203010, both with Use-by dates of 08-05-2019, due to possible contamination from Salmonella. No illnesses have been reported in association with the Recall. The products were distributed in IL, IN, KY, MI, NJ, NY, OH, TN, VA, and WI.  This precautionary Recall is being issued due to a sample of Baby Spinach that resulted in a positive test for Salmonella in a random sample test conducted by the Department of Agriculture in Michigan.

https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/dole-fresh-vegetables-announces-precautionary-limited-recall-baby-spinach

Scientist from Perdue University published in the August issue of Applied and Environmental Microbiology a study in which they performed RNA sequencing on three isolates (two outbreak-associated isolates and a reference Salmonella Heidelberg strain) with various levels of heat tolerance to gain insight into the mechanism behind the isolates’ enhanced heat tolerance. A genomic analysis was performed to determine the genetic relationships among the outbreak isolates. The conclusion of this study revealed that (i) six Salmonella Heidelberg isolates associated with the foodborne outbreak had enhanced heat tolerance, (ii) one outbreak isolate with enhanced heat tolerance also had an enhanced biofilm-forming ability under stressful conditions, (iii) exposure to heat stress increased the expression of Salmonella Heidelberg multidrug efflux and virulence genes, and (iv) outbreak-associated isolates were likely transcriptionally primed to better survive processing stresses and, potentially, to cause illness. @ https://aem.asm.org/content/85/16/e01065-19

In the past few years, every summer sickness due to Cyclospora happens. Food poisoning bulletin reports that The Cooper’s Hawk of Jacksonville, Florida, Cyclospora outbreak has sickened 80 to 100 people. A specific food or beverage that caused the outbreak has not yet been identified. There is a current multistate Cyclospora linked to basil imported from Mexico. There are at least 132 people sick in 11 states in that outbreak. And there is another outbreak in Minnesota, with at least 35 people sick, that is associated with three restaurants in that state. In three months, 580 people in the United States have been sickened with Cyclosporiasis, according to the CDC. @ https://foodpoisoningbulletin.com/2019/coopers-hawk-cyclospora-outbreak-sickens-80-100/

On August 03, 2019 Texas Tripe Inc. of Detroit TX recalled, Texas Tripe brand name products: Ground Turkey Necks, Chicken Tripe complete, Ground chicken W/bone, Shepherd blend, Chicken Pork Salmon W/egg, Chicken Blend Green Tripe, Phat Katz, Senior Pro, All-Star Bully Blend, Beef Blend, Duck-Rabbit, Goat Tripe Complete, Boneless Chicken Blend, Turkey Pork Blend, Beef Tripe& Ground Rabbit, and Wolf Run, due to potential contamination with Listeria monocytogenes. The products were distributed in Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Louisiana, Kansas, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Indiana, California, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Virginia, S. Carolina, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, Idaho, Wisconsin, N Carolina, Nebraska, Wyoming, Montana, Utah, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, and Kentucky, directly to the end-user, via either FedEx or Delivery Truck.
No illnesses have been reported to date. The potential contamination was found after a routine investigation performed by the state of Texas. Texas Tripe claims that it had found a possible source of contamination and has since made the corrective action. @ https://www.pr.com/press-release/791340