A public alert was issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and Empire Kosher Poultry, Inc. are due to concerns about Salmonella illnesses reported in the northeastern and mid-Atlantic United States that may be associated with raw chicken products. On June 18, 2018, FSIS was notified of multiple Salmonella I 4,[5],12:i:- illnesses within the northeastern and mid-Atlantic United States. Working in conjunction with public health partners, FSIS determined that there is a potential link between Empire Kosher brand raw chicken products and this illness cluster. Based on available epidemiological information, multiple case-patients have been identified in the northeastern and mid-Atlantic United States, many of whom reported consumption of Empire Kosher brand chicken products. Approximately half of the affected case-patients have been hospitalized due to illness with illness onset dates ranging from September 2017 to June 2018. The Empire Kosher brand raw chicken items, which may include raw whole chicken, raw chicken parts, were produced and sold to consumers from September 2017 to June 2018. @ https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/newsroom/news-releases-statements-transcripts/news-release-archives-by-year/archive/2018/pha-08242018-1
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and Empire Kosher Poultry, Inc. are issuing a public health alert out of an abundance of caution due to concerns about Salmonella illnesses reported in the northeastern and mid-Atlantic United States that may be associated with raw chicken products.
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced that Cargill Meat Solutions (Fort Morgan, Colo.) recalled approximately 25,288 pounds of ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7. The recalled product is in10-lb. chubs and labeled “EXCEL 93/7 FINE GRIND GROUND BEEF”. These products were shipped to warehouses in California and Colorado. The problem was discovered on Aug. 22 by the company when they reviewed their records and determined that the product may be positive for E. coli O157:H7. @ https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/recalls-and-public-health-alerts/recall-case-archive/archive/2018/recall-069-2018-release
Cargill Meat Solutions, a Fort Morgan, Colo. establishment, is recalling approximately 25,288 pounds of ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7.
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The illness in this outbreak started after May 20, 2018, and seems to be ongoing. On July 13, 2018, McDonald’s decided to voluntarily stop selling salads at impacted restaurants in IL, IA, IN, WI, MI, OH, MN, NE, SD, MT, ND, KY, WV, and MO. As of August 23, 2018, a total of 507 laboratory-confirmed cases of Cyclospora infection were reported in people who consumed salads from McDonald’s restaurants; the cases were reported by 15 states and New York City. The investigation is ongoing and the FDA is currently reviewing distribution and supplier information for romaine and carrots. McDonald’s reports that they stopped using the Fresh Express salad mix at impacted restaurants in IL, IA, IN, WI, MI, OH, MN, NE, SD, MT, ND, KY, WV, and MO on July 13, 2018. No products have been recalled in association with this outbreak. At least 24 people have been hospitalized; no deaths have been reported. Illnesses that started after July 12, 2018, might not have been reported yet due to the time it takes between when a person becomes ill and when the illness is reported. For Cyclospora infections, this can take up to six weeks. @ https://www.fda.gov/Food/RecallsOutbreaksEmergencies/Outbreaks/ucm613513.htm?utm_campaign=Outbreak_08232018_Cyclospora&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua
The FDA confirms the presence of Cyclospora in Fresh Express salad mix through new laboratory method; Fresh Express recalls expired products containing romaine lettuce.
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A new article published in Eurosurveillance claims that more than 50% of severe Listeriosis cases in the EU belong to clusters. These clusters are not detected fast enough by the current European surveillance system. In this study, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) analyzed 2,726 human Listeria monocytogenes isolates from 27 countries between 2010 and 2015. Approximately 1/3 of the cases that were identified as part of a cluster affected more than one country, and frequently lasting for several years. Because only two listeriosis outbreaks were reported in the EU in 2016 and five in 2015, one can conclude that many of them have gone undetected. The use of whole genome sequencing (WGS) to characterize listeriosis cases could speed up the detection of clusters by up to 5 months. The faster detection of clusters could prevent further cases from the same source. In 2016, 2,536 cases were reported, including 247 deaths. The study also defines the most appropriate typing methods for earlier detection and investigation of isolated cross-border clusters and outbreaks of Listeria monocytogenes. @ https://ecdc.europa.eu/en/news-events/listeria-surveillance-new-eu-wide-study-reveals-most-outbreaks-remain-undetected
More than half of the severe listeriosis cases in the European Union belong to clusters, many of which are not being picked up fast enough by the current surveillance system, suggests a new article published in Eurosurveillance. The large-scale study looked into listeriosis epidemiology through whole genome sequencing and found that this method, when implemented at EU-level, could lead to faster detection of multi-country outbreaks, saving up to 5 months of the investigations.