CDC identified an outbreak of Hepatitis A associated with a Hardee’s employee diagnosed with it. The health director said there have been 12 cases of hepatitis A this year, 10 since April 20. The Hardee’s restaurant voluntarily closed Tuesday afternoon and will remain closed indefinitely. The health department knew about the Hardee’s connection Monday but waited until Tuesday afternoon to tell the public. Officials said as many as 4,000 people ate at the restaurant over that 10-day period. Mecklenburg County Commissioner Pat Cotham said the Health Department dragged its feet on the issue and should have told the public sooner. According to the CDC, the vaccine must be given within 14 days of exposure for the vaccine to be effective. Hundreds of people lined up outside the Northwest Health Department Wednesday to get their vaccinations. @ https://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/customers-possibly-exposed-to-hepatitis-a-at-west-charlotte-hardees-restaurant/777564680
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Customers possibly exposed to hepatitis A at west Charlotte Hardees restaurant
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Federal and state inspectors have found two strains of Listeria in the Freshy Foods plant. One of the Listeria strains has persisted in the Elmwood facility since at least 2013. Listeria was also found in Freshy Foods sandwiches. The complaint filed in Federal court alleges Elmwood-based Freshy Foods LLC distributed food that was produced or held in unsanitary conditions. A year ago FDA asked the owners to voluntarily recall their food products, in light of the Listeria findings. The owners declined to do so, the complaint alleges. Freshy Foods co-owners Floyd D. James and Ida M. James, who serve as CEO and president of the company, respectively, also declined to cease operations pending further testing at the plant, according to the complaint. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed the accusations at the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, “to stop them from manufacturing and distributing adulterated food in violation of federal law.” @ https://www.nola.com/business/index.ssf/2018/06/elmwood_business_refused_to_re.html
Freshy Foods refused to recall food or cease operations after listeria was found at the Elmwood-based plant, a federal complaint claims.
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The White House budget director Mick Mulvaney, on June 21 introduced a reorganization plan. The plan proposes creating a single food safety agency under the Agriculture Department, decreasing the Food and Drug Administration’s role in regulating the food industry. Mulvaney said “Because of the Byzantine nature of the way we regulate in this country…if you make a cheese pizza, that is governed by the Food and Drug Administration, if you put pepperoni it, that’s governed by USDA. If you have a chicken, it’s governed by the USDA. If that chicken lays an egg, it’s governed by the FDA, but if you break the egg and make it into an omelet, that is now covered again by USDA.”Under the plan, food safety regulations would shift from FDA to USDA and FSIS, instead of having duties split between the FDA and the USDA. It’s an idea that the Obama administration proposed in 2015. It will create a new branch called the Federal Food Safety Agency. @ https://harvestpublicmedia.org/post/white-house-plan-would-move-food-aid-out-usda-combine-food-safety-efforts
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is the nation’s largest program to reduce hunger. It’s also the biggest program at the U.S. Department of