In the news

After 2018 fall outbreak of E. coli in romaine lettuce, LGMA amended the agreement to include more food safety practices on farms. Scott Horsfall, CEO of the LGMA, said in a statement, “The California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement Board of Directors has adopted additional requirements to reduce risk when it comes to water used in growing lettuce and leafy greens. This means that every box of leafy greens placed into commerce by a certified LGMA member will now be produced under new, more stringent requirements.”The contaminated irrigation water is perceived to be the cause of the outbreak. As a result, LGMA issued new regulations, which included daily equipment cleaning, review of the impact on crops after severe weather, traceability measures, and longer buffer zones between farm fields and animal feedlots. It will also require growers to categorize the source of the water, consider how and when the fields are irrigated, test irrigation water to see if it’s safe and sanitize the water if needed. And growers will no longer be able to use untreated surface water for overhead irrigation of these crops in the 21 days before harvest. The LGMA program also requires mandatory government audits of member farms. These new rules are above and beyond the FSMA rules. Growers in the Yuma, Arizona region have also made recommendations about growing leafy greens, improving traceability and increasing sanitation protocols. Increasing buffer zones between animal’s farms and produce fields is another recommended preventative measure, according to the Yuma Safe Produce Council. Time will tell if these new measures by the LGMA and the Yuma Safe Produce Council will be effective. @ https://foodpoisoningbulletin.com/2019/romaine-e-coli-outbreak-lgma-adopts-food-safety-practices/

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today that K2D Foods, doing business as (DBA) Colorado Premium Foods, a Carrolton, Ga. Company, is recalling approximately 113,424 pounds of raw ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O103. The raw ground beef items were produced on March 26, March 29, April 2, April 5, April 10, and April 12, 2019. These items were shipped to distributors in Ft. Orange, Fla. and Norcross, Ga. for further distribution to restaurants. This recall is related to the investigation of an outbreak of E. coli O103 outbreak. Unopened, intact ground beef collected as part of the ongoing investigation from a restaurant location, where multiple case-patients reported dining, tested positive for E. coli O103. However, at this time, there is no proven link between this positive product and the ongoing E. coli O103 outbreak. @ https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/recalls-and-public-health-alerts/recall-case-archive/archive/2019/recall-047-2019-release

Due to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) test results, Golden Pearl Mushrooms Ltd. recalled GPM brand Pea Shoots from the marketplace due to possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination. The recalled products include GPM Sweet Pea Shoots and GPM Pea Shoots. There have been no reported illnesses associated with the consumption of these products. @ https://www.inspection.gc.ca/about-the-cfia/newsroom/food-recall-warnings/complete-listing/2019-04-19/eng/1555725095376/1555725097506

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 8 people infected with the outbreak strain of Listeria monocytogenes have been reported in 4 states (Michigan, Pennsylvania, New-Jersey, and New-York). All 8 people have been hospitalized, and one death has been reported from Michigan. Epidemiological data indicate that meats and cheeses sliced at deli counters might be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes and could make people sick. WGS performed on Listeria isolated from ill people in this outbreak showed that they are closely related genetically. The outbreak strain has been identified in samples taken from meat sliced at a deli and from deli counters in multiple stores. The CDC did not identify a single, common supplier of deli products. The outbreak strain has been identified in samples taken from deli products and deli counters in multiple locations. @ https://www.cdc.gov/listeria/outbreaks/deliproducts-04-19/index.html