Eggs may be linked to rise in food-borne ills
The N.C. Laboratory of Public Health has detected nearly five times as many cases of a food-borne illness called Salmonella enteritidis in 2005, as compared with the first six months in 2004. State health officials are continuing to investigate, and no common source for all these cases has been found.
But recent outbreaks of the illness in nearby states have largely been associated with eggs, as have several of North Carolina's previous outbreaks, reports Dave Harbin for The Charlotte Observer.
Salmonella can be found inside eggs that appear perfectly normal but, if the eggs are eaten raw or undercooked, the bacterium can cause illness.
Eggs can be an important source of nutrition but, unlike egg-borne salmonellosis of past decades, the current epidemic has been traced to intact and disinfected grade A eggs. The reason is that salmonella can infect healthy appearing hens and contaminate eggs before the shells are even formed. These food-safety rules can help you avoid these illnesses:
- Don't eat raw eggs or foods containing raw eggs, like cookie dough, blender drinks, homemade mayonnaise, or homemade ice cream. Use a pasteurized liquid egg product or pasteurized in-shell eggs if the food won't be cooked before eating. Buy clean eggs. Choose Grade A or AA eggs with clean, uncracked shells.
- Keep eggs refrigerated in their carton in the coldest part of the refrigerator, not in the door, and use them within three to five weeks. The refrigerator should be set at 40 degrees Fahrenheit (5 degrees Celsius) or slightly cooler.
- Freeze eggs for longer storage by breaking the eggs, beating the yolks and whites together, and putting the mixture in a freezer container. Use frozen eggs within one year.
- Cook eggs until yolks are firm. Poaching, hard cooking, scrambling, frying and baking are some of the cooking methods that can be used to safely cook eggs.
- Eat eggs promptly after cooking. Do not keep eggs warm for more than two hours.
- Cleanliness is very important. Wash hands, utensils, equipment and work areas with warm, soapy water before and after contact with eggs and egg-rich foods.
The LA County Department of Health Services issued a health alert Wednesday to diners who ate at the Il Fornaio restaurant located at 310 N. Beverly Drive in Beverly Hills. At least three people became ill with Salmonella infections and two were hospitalized after eating at Il Fornaio between July 12 and 16. The restaurant used raw and undercooked eggs in some of its recipes.
In North Carolina, 453 cases of 
There has been an outbreak of salmonella at a popular Beverly Hills restaurant.
Federal disease detectives say they've seen a significant decline in rates of 
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network are working to help keep everyone cool, calm and well all season long.
There is a large variety of 
Oneida County health officials have yet to find the cause of a recent outbreak of food poisoning that left two people hospitalized.
Health officials are still searching for the source of 15 cases of 
No common source has been found for all 15 cases of 
Orchid Island Juice Company of Fort Pier, Fla. has voluntarily recalled a variety of brands of unpasteurized, fresh-squeezed orange juice with an expiration date from prior to July 25, 2005. This includes the Schnucks Premium Brand of orange juice sold at the Bettendorf store.
A Snohomish County teen was hospitalized after eating Cold Stone Creamery ice cream that may have been tainted with a rare strain of 
Research and Markets has announced the addition of Understanding Pathogen Behaviour: Virulence, Stress Response and Resistance to their offering.
A woman who says she became ill after drinking orange juice tainted with 
A 
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Whenever there is an outbreak of food-borne illnesses, Dean Bodager and other members of the Florida Department of Health track down the source. Most outbreaks occur at the point of preparation -- a restaurant employee who didn't wash his or her hands properly, food that wasn't kept at the correct temperature to prevent bacteria growth, or some sort of cross-contamination.
OBIM, a Ready Pac affiliated producer of fresh cut fruit, is announcing a one-time recall of various fresh cut cantaloupe items due to a small potential risk of 
For young children, a trip to a petting zoo is a recreational and educational treat. With the rise in popularity of petting zoos, there's a potential for the rise of 
The state health department is investigating a cluster of 
Orchid Island Juice Co. has expanded the list of brands involved in its recall last week of unpasteurized orange juice that has been linked to more than a dozen illnesses from possible 
Seven cases of people being sickened by 
The discovery of potential 
Strong evidence links orange juice produced at Orchid Island Juice Co. in Fort Pierce to an outbreak of 15 cases of illness caused by a strain of 
The FDA has announced that Orchid Island Juice Co. of Fort Pierce, Florida was recalling unpasteurized orange juice after fifteen cases of 
The Michigan Department of Community Health is investigating a possible outbreak of 
State health officials are investigating at least 11 
Unpasteurized orange juice products from Orchid Island Juice Co. of Fort Pierce, Fla. are being recalled, because they may be contaminated with 
The best defense against 
The North Carolina Laboratory of Public Health has detected nearly five times as many cases of the food-borne illness 
The best defense against 
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Sweetwater County Environmental Health officials have traced a 
Unpasteurized orange juice products from Orchid Island Juice Co. of Fort Pierce, Fla., have, according to this story, been recalled because they may be contaminated with 
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Owners of a Rock Springs restaurant have voluntarily closed due to a possible link to a 
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The FDA is issuing a nationwide warning to consumers against drinking unpasteurized orange juice products distributed under a variety of brand names by Orchid Island Juice Company of Fort Pierce, Florida, because they have the potential to be contaminated with 
The Irwindale, California company O-B-I-M, a producer of fresh-cut fruit, says it's issued a recall of various fresh-cut cantaloupe items because of a risk of 
"Because the investigation is ongoing and we're still trying to narrow down our focus, we don't want to prematurely implicate people or institutions -- or do anything that might compromise the investigation," said Tim LaFountain, district epidemiologist at the Staunton-Augusta Health Department, after a recent 
At the same time temperatures rise, people are more likely to leave food unrefrigerated for longer time periods. Food sits out at picnics, barbecues and during travel, and the number of food borne illnesses increases during the summer.
Craig Hedberg of the University of Minnesota's School of Public Health says that while it's a pleasure to eat outside, the risks for contracting food-borne illnesses are higher when you prepare and serve a meal out of doors.
Northeast Colorado Health Department's Deanna Herbert warns that most food poisoning cases happen in the summer months. Warmer weather is the perfect environment for bacteria in food to multiply rapidly so it's very important to take those extra precautions for safe food handling during this time, especially when you're preparing perishable foods such as meat, poultry, seafood and egg products, and salads that contain mayonnaise.
Janette Rodrigues of The Virginian-Pilot reports that of 40 children and four adults from southeastern Virginia and North Carolina that were on an educational trip to Australia, 14 students and two leaders fell violently ill with 
South Carolina is facing at least two outbreaks of 
According to CDC, an estimated 76 million cases of food poisoning occur each year in the United States; some 5,000 are fatal. The best defense against 
Carole Sugarman, a former Washington Post food reporter, now covers the Agriculture Department for Food Chemical News, reports that the CDC estimates that there are 76 million cases of food-borne illness a year in the United States, a problem that sends nearly 325,000 people a year to the hospital; 5,000 a year die from it. The young, the old and the immune-compromised are hit hardest.
Spanish vegetables, many of which end up on British dinner plates, are being watered with untreated sewage in parts of Spain as farmers battle to raise crops in a severe drought according to The Guardian.
Federal public health authorities estimate that up to 4 million cases of 
The FDA is alerting the public that products containing "cake batter" ice cream sold at Cold Stone Creamery stores throughout the country may be associated with an outbreak of 
A children's nursery is the suspected source of an outbreak of