In the news

From the beginning of the outbreak in January of 2017, until 09 April 2018, a total of 1011 laboratory-confirmed listeriosis cases have been reported to National Institute for Communicable Disease (NICD). Listeria monocytogenes was most commonly isolated/detected in blood culture (73%, 733/1011), followed by CSF (21%, 213/1011). The ages of the infected people range from birth to 93 years (median 18 years) and 41% (418/1011) are neonates aged ≤28 days. Of neonatal cases, 96% (402/418) had early-onset disease (birth to ≤6 days). Females account for 56% (549/979) of cases where gender was reported. Final outcome data is available for 68% (691/1011) of cases, of which 28% (193/691) died. @ http://www.nicd.ac.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/NICD-Situation-update-on-listeriosis-outbreak-South-Africa_13-April-2018.pdf

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Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) announced that Metro Ontario Inc. is recalling Fresh 2 Go brand Roast Beef Paninis from the marketplace due to possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination. The recall was due to test results of CFIA, however to date, Fresh 2Go has received no reports of illness associated with the consumption of these products. @ http://www.inspection.gc.ca/about-the-cfia/newsroom/food-recall-warnings/complete-listing/2018-04-10/eng/1523403774240/1523403777066

The agency issued a new clarification about dietary supplements containing pure or highly concentrated caffeine in powder or liquid forms. These products are considered unlawful when sold in bulk quantities directly to consumers. “Despite multiple actions against these products in the past, we’ve seen a continued trend of products containing highly concentrated or pure caffeine being marketed directly to consumers as dietary supplements and sold in bulk quantities…The amounts used can too easily become deceptively high because of the super-concentrated forms and bulk packaging in which the caffeine is being sold,” said Scott Gottlieb, M.D., FDA commissioner. “We’re making clear for industry that these highly concentrated forms of caffeine that are being sold in bulk packages are generally illegal under current law. We’ll act to remove these dangerous bulk products from the market.”The amount of caffeine in these products is equivalent to about 20 to 28 cups of coffee, a potentially toxic dose of caffeine. In fact, less than two tablespoons of some formulations of powdered, pure caffeine can be deadly to most adults, while even smaller amounts can be life-threatening to children. @ https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm604485.htm?utm_campaign=04132018_PR_Concentrated%20Caffeine&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua