Salmonella Blog - Surveillance & analysis on salmonella news & outbreaks

Salmonella poisoning has been confirmed in at least 14 Kingston, Ontario residents and the outbreak has been linked to contaminated bean sprouts. Another 10 or 12 patients are suspected of being part of the same cluster of symptoms.

At first the salmonella outbreak was linked to a local restaurant, but a wider investigation indicated that it was related to wider distribution in stores.

Across Ontario, the number of people infected stands at more than 290.

Last week, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency warned the public not to consume mung bean sprout products distributed by Toronto Sun Wah Trading Inc. also known as Hollend Enterprises Inc.

The manufacturer has since voluntarily recalled the affected product from the marketplace.
 

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Toronto Sun Wah Trading Inc., also known as Hollend Enterprises Inc., are warning the public not to consume Sun Wah Mung Bean Sprouts because the product may be contaminated with Salmonella.

Sun Wah Mung Bean Sprouts are sold in packages of various weights and may also be packaged under various store names or without the Sun Wah name. All codes and Best Before dates are affected by this alert.

There have been a number of reported illnesses associated with the consumption of this product.

This product is distributed in Ontario, Canada.
 

Contaminated fruits and vegetables are causing more food-borne illness among Americans than raw chicken or eggs, consumer advocates said a in report released Monday.

Reuters reports that common sources of food illnesses include various bacteria such as salmonella and E.coli that can infect humans and animals then make their way into manure used to fertilize plants. The practice of using manure fertilizer is more common in Latin America, which has become a growing source of fresh produce for the United States.

"Although poultry has historically been responsible for far more Salmonella infections, in the most recent years ... produce seems to be catching up," the Center for Science in the Public Interest said, calling for tougher federal food safety standards.

In fact, vegetables and fruits triggered 31 outbreaks from 2002 to 2003, compared with 29 for chicken and other poultry, according to the report. Overall, contaminated tomatoes, sprouts and other produce made 28,315 people sick during 554 outbreaks from 1990 to 2003 -- 20 percent of all cases CSPI analyzed.

Chicken made 14,729 people sick in 476 outbreaks, and eggs were responsible for 10,847 illnesses from 329 outbreaks, according to the group.
 

Most people properly associate Salmonella with raw poultry. But according to an analysis of food-poisoning outbreaks by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), fresh produce is catching up with chicken as a major culprit of Salmonella infections. And, says CSPI, produce-related outbreaks tend to be larger than poultry-related outbreaks, and sicken more people, sometimes hundreds at a time.

Although poultry has historically been responsible for far more Salmonella infections, in the most recent years in CSPI's database, produce seems to be catching up.  In recent years, Salmonella outbreaks have been traced back to lettuce, salads, melons, sprouts, tomatoes, and other fruit- and vegetable-containing dishes.

From 1990 to 2001 poultry accounted for 121 Salmonella outbreaks and produce accounted for 80. But in 2002-2003, produce accounted for 31 Salmonella outbreaks and poultry accounted for 29. In 2004, there were three separate outbreaks involving 561 Salmonella infections that were linked to contaminated Roma tomatoes. From 2000 to 2002, Salmonella-contaminated cantaloupe imported from Mexico sickened 155 and killed two.

Salmonella isn't the only pathogen that ends up on produce. In 2003, green onions in salsa from a Pennsylvania ChiChi's restaurant transmitted hepatitis A to 555 people, killing three. Also that year, E. coli on a bagged salad mix sickened more than 50 restaurant patrons in the San Diego area.


 

Yu I Hsiang U.S.A. Corp. dba Fortuna Seafoods of Rosemead, California has recalled approximately 782 cases of Ocean Pearl brand Wild Caught Clam Meat that are fully cooked but quick frozen.

Each case contains 24 1-pound packages to a case.

The company’s clam meat has shown to be contaminated with Salmonella. 

The clam meat was produced by Fujian Provincial Meihua Aquatic Processing Factory in Changle, China.
 

Tererai Karimakwenda reports that 14 children under the age of five have died of salmonella infections in Harare, Zimbabwe in the last few weeks. The infections are usually contracted from infected food and given the critical food shortages and the squalid conditions under which many displaced families are living, more deaths could occur.

The Herald newspaper said the infections have not been made public by the authorities in either Harare or Chitungwiza and no warnings or advice have been issued by the health authorities.

A report by the EU's food regulator not only indicates that it is moving to recommend that table eggs be washed in the bloc, but also provides insight to the different methods and equipment food plants use to handle procedure.

Eggs are a primary source of human salmonellosis in Europe. Egg-associated infections are mainly caused by Salmonella Enteritidis. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) panel found that the evidence from other countries that require egg washing indicates that the procedure might help to prevent food contamination and illnesses in human. However in weighing the advantages and disadvantages of the requirement, the safety regulator says it needs more scientific evidence on whether to recommend that the bloc makes a shift in requirements.

EU regulations require that eggs sold directly to the public, defined as "Grade A", must not be washed or cleaned before or after grading. Producers also cannot chill or treat eggs for preservation. Grade B eggs, the second classification in the EU, may only be used by the food or non-food industries and can be washed or unwashed. Other countries like the US and Sweden require that all eggs be washed prior to being sold, claiming the procedure's food safety benefits outweigh the disadvantages.

The practice of washing of eggs has been mainly developed to clean dirty eggs in the Grade B classification. Another reason for washing eggs is to improve the hygienic quality of eggs by decreasing the bacterial load on the surface and thereby preventing the infection of the inside. Normally the unwashed egg shell serves as a good barrier to bacterial contamination and provides an array of antimicrobial properties for the egg. Washing may harm the delicate shell, encourage the propagation of crack sites and eventually bacterial contamination.

Scientific data regarding current egg washing practices indicates bacteria are reduced on the surface. However, sanitizing eggs will not prevent egg related diseases caused by microorganisms, such as Salmonella that are already present inside the egg.

The Missoula City-County Health Department has closed a local restaurant for the second time in a week following a resurgence of salmonella cases, In a letter addressed to owner Bill McQuirk and hand-delivered to the restaurant's management team on Friday, Ellen Leahy, director of the Health Department, said two of her inspectors on Thursday "observed high-risk critical violations in the categories of personal hygiene and cross-contamination at Rocky Mountain Grill. These violations are repeat violations, also identified during inspections on Oct. 23 and Oct. 28 as reported in the Missoulian.

Leahy laid out several conditions that must be met in order for the grill to reopen, including switching from fresh eggs to pasteurized eggs except in circumstances specifically approved by the Health Department.

The other requirements:

• The facility, including all surfaces, equipment and utensils must be thoroughly cleaned and sanitized to the satisfaction of the Health Department.
• All prepared and potentially contaminated foods must be disposed of under the supervision of the Health Department.
• All kitchen staff must complete at least a four-hour safe food handling training course.
• Stool samples for all staff with any food contact, including managers, kitchen and wait staff, must be submitted to the Health Department for salmonella testing.
• Enough people to adequately staff the kitchen must test negative for salmonella.
• Only staff with stool samples negative for salmonella may return to work. Anyone who tests positive must provide two consecutive negative stool samples before returning to work.
• Leahy said the investigation is looking at the egg supply, food handlers (including the possibility one or more is a carrier) and the food preparation environment.