Salmonella Blog - Surveillance & analysis on salmonella news & outbreaks

US Trading CO. of Hayward, California is recalling the following product because they may be contaminated with Salmonella:

• "JHC Brand cooked seasoned anchovy (spicy)", Net Wt.: 7oz packed in clear plastic container
• "JHC Brand cooked seasoned anchovy w/sesame", Net Wt.: 7oz, packed in clear plastic container
• "JHC Brand cooked seasoned anchovy Net Wt.: 2oz, packed in clear plastic bag.

Cooked Seasoning Anchovy was distributed in retail stores throughout the state of California, Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio, Oregon, and Wisconsin.

There have been two reported illnesses in Canada associated with the consumption of this product.
 

The family of James Arledge have filed lawsuits against Camden`s Old South Restaurant and oven manufacturer Duke Manufacturing Company in connection with an outbreak of salmonella poisoning in May.

One of the actions is a wrongful death lawsuit filed on behalf of Arledge`s widow, Carolyn Arledge, and his daughter, Teresa Lee, as personal representatives of his estate. It claims Arledge died as a result of eating turkey contaminated with salmonella at Old South. The other action is a personal injury class action lawsuit filed on behalf of Carolyn Arledge and any others who also became ill from eating the turkey.

The lawsuits allege that only one of three heating elements in a Duke ``E Series`` electric convection oven at Old South was working, leading the restaurant to undercook the turkey which allowed salmonella -- commonly present in poultry -- to survive. That turkey was served to the Arledges and dozens of others.

The lawsuits also allege, however, that Old South had no easy way of knowing the two heating elements had failed. Specifically, the lawsuit said, an indicator light on the oven may have misled Old South employees to believe the turkey had been fully cooked. Duke Manufacturing faces strict liability, negligent, breaches of implied warranty and breach of express warranty actions.

Neither lawsuit seeks a specific amount of damages, leaving those determinations up to a jury.
 

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is warning the public not to consume Toronto Sun Wah or Hollend Enterprises Mung Bean Sprouts because the product may be contaminated with Salmonella.

This product is distributed in Ontario and may have also been distributed in the Abitibi-Temiscamingue area of Quebec.

This alert is a part of an on-going investigation. Although the exact source of contamination has not been confirmed, there is sufficient risk of contamination to warrant this alert.
 

Medical Officer of Health Dr. Richard Schabas gave the board of health an update December 9 on the recent salmonella outbreak. Schabas said that salmonella interditus was identified a month ago in the community.

The source of the disease is usually traced to poultry, cattle or occasionally people. But a little detective work tracked this particular outbreak to beansprouts from a distributor in Toronto. It had hit the age group of 20 to 29 particularly hard, with three cases in the Quinte area and 15 in Kingston.

When the supplier was identified on November 23, production was stopped at the plant the next day. On November 25 the Ministry of Health issued an advisory for the public not to eat beansprouts, an advisory which still stands. He estimated there were 500 cases across the province. The investigation by the Ministry is not yet complete.

"Wash beansprouts and cook them to reduce infection," he recommends.
 

Although more people are eating fruits and vegetables, this healthy trend comes with a risk -- illnesses traced to fresh produce are on the rise. Salmonella cases reported to the Lee County Health Department rose from 173 for all of 2004 to more than 230 so far this year. By far, those most affected are children 1 to 4 years of age.

Hamburger meat and chicken have become infamous as carriers of food-borne illnesses, but fruits and vegetables are now responsible for more large-scale outbreaks of food-borne illnesses than meat, poultry or eggs.

Why this increase in salmonella and other food-borne illnesses?

We import more, says Michael Barnaby, public information specialist for the Lee County Health Department. Although production in the United States always involves processed fertilizers, imported produce may be grown with raw or unprocessed fertilizers. We buy more pre-cut, packaged salads and their ingredients, and vegetables and fruits. Both fertilizer and unsanitary procedures by people become possible causes. We've increased distribution centralization. Meats may be shipped in the same carrier as veggies and fruits, or storage temperatures may be incorrect, increasing the risk to the food items.

What you can do to help prevent food-borne illness:

• - Wash all fruits and vegetables before cooking or eating.
• - Salmonella is killed by thorough cooking.
• - Salmonella is best prevented by proper food handling and cooking, maintaining sanitary water supplies and good hand washing.
• - Wash hands before preparing or serving foods. Have someone else prepare the food if you have cramps, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea.
• - Teach your kids to wash their hands after using the toilet and before eating.
   

The Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit have announced that an outbreak of salmonella poisoning related to bean sprouts appears to be over. The announcement piggybacks on a similar announcement from Sheela Basrur, chief medical officer of health for Ontario.

Since Oct. 1, 648 cases of salmonella have been reported in Ontario, including two in the tri-county district that were linked to bean sprouts.

Three other cases being investigated came back negative for salmonella.

Close to 600 restaurants and retailers will not be permitted to serve raw or lightly cooked bean sprouts. Grocery stores may still sell raw bean sprouts for cooking, but they may not serve them on prepared salads in the deli area.
 

The Cincinnati Health Department has said that it is OK to eat again at the Hilton Netherland Plaza hotel in downtown Cincinnati, but that they will continue to investigate a recent outbreak of food poisoning there.

Up to 1,500 people from the Cincinnati area, as well as Ohio and 12 other states, attended 16 catered events or conventions at the hotel between Nov. 29 and Dec. 3.

As many as one-third of them may have become ill with food poisoning. The department tested stool samples from some of the victims and found no common bacterial causes of food poisoning such as salmonella, shigella and E. coli.

The samples did test positive for norovirus, the most common food-borne illness in the country, accounting for about half of all cases, the health department said.
 

While a recent Salmonella outbreak linked to consumption of bean sprouts appears to be over, the KFL&A area's Medical Officer of Health is advising residents to cook bean sprouts before consuming them. Residents are being advised to ensure they properly cook the bean sprouts they purchase from grocery stores and markets, and restaurants in the area will only be able to serve thoroughly cooked bean sprouts.

This new advisory follows the directive given to local grocery stores and restaurants who were ordered to remove bean sprouts from sale and menus on November 23, 2005 after KFL&A Public Health established a link between raw bean sprouts and an outbreak of salmonella across the province. While there were 648 cases of Salmonella reported across the province, the KFL&A area had 24 confirmed cases of Salmonella during the recent outbreak.

The Pima County Health Department said Wednesday that it had received confirmation of salmonella contamination in nonpasteurized, raw milk produced by Colorado City's Meadowayne Dairy.

The milk was sold at several natural- and health-food stores in the Tucson area. Patti Woodcock, a spokeswoman for the Health Department, said no cases of salmonella poisoning related to the milk have been reported to the department. Health officials are asking that anyone who purchased the raw milk with an expiration date of Dec. 12 not to drink it.

Because conventional washing methods to remove microbial contaminants from fresh fruit and vegetable produce surfaces have been found to be only marginally effective, Agricultural Research Service scientists in Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania want to give the produce packing and processing industries better techniques.

Bassam A. Annous, a microbiologist at the ARS Eastern Regional Research Center, along with his colleagues, are developing new technologies to remove or inactivate pathogens on both fresh and minimally processed produce.

Bacteria can quickly attach to the produce surfaces and form what are called biofilms that likely improve their ability to colonize and survive. A biofilm is a mass of microbes attached to a surface and to each other by bacterial polymers. This polymer coating may protect bacterial cells from exposure to antimicrobial compounds, such as chlorine, used to sanitize produce.

The human pathogen Salmonella is often responsible for produce-related outbreaks of foodborne illness. For example, Salmonella is difficult to remove from cantaloupe surfaces, because it attaches to inaccessible sites and forms biofilm on the cantaloupe rind surface. This allows the pathogen to avoid contact with the sanitizing solution. Surviving Salmonella cells can then be transferred from the surface of the melon into the internal tissues during cutting prior to consumption.

Biofilm formation by Salmonella cells starts by attaching to the rind of cantaloupe following contamination. Once attached to the rind, Salmonella cells rapidly develop biofilm by growing and excreting polymers. This new knowledge helps explain how Salmonella survives harsh sanitizing environments.
 

A province-wide advisory against consuming bean sprouts remains in effect in response to an outbreak of salmonella poisoning that exceeds 500 cases.

Two cases have been confirmed in the jurisdiction of the Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit, which participated in a conference call about the 14-day-old outbreak with other regional health units across Ontario.

No other cases have been reported since last week.

Susan Healey, communications co-ordinator with the health unit, said the province and its 36 health units are working in close co-ordination to ensure public safety.
 

At least 57 people are on the sick list after an outbreak of salmonella in Hobart, Tasmania. The wave of food poisoning is believed to have forced dozens of Tasmanians on to workers' compensation leave while they recover.

About a dozen people at work got sick and another lot from another government function.

Raw egg has been named the likely culprit for the Hobart attacks but the State Government maintained there was no need to reveal the suspected food business at the heart of the outbreak.

A champion veterans' hockey player and active jogger Graeme Corney of Rose Bay is one of the victims who wants those who provided the bad ingredients to be made accountable. Mr Corney, 54, lost 9kg from the illness and is now so weak he can only walk a few metres. He ate sandwiches at a function for the Department of Tourism, Parks, Heritage and the Arts, where he works.

"I believe somebody should be accountable for this, it's going to affect a lot of people's lifestyle for at least a month," Mr Corney said.
 

The incidence of food-borne illnesses in the Rio Grande Valley far exceeds statewide figures. While some say this is because of proximity to Mexico, incidence rates in the border counties of El Paso and Laredo say otherwise.

For five consecutive years, Texas Department of State Health Services data shows the Valley has had much higher rates of food-borne illness, such as hepatitis A and salmonella, reports the Brownsville Herald.

Figures provided by the state health department are only based on confirmed cases reported by local doctors. There may be cases that are not reported, so actual rates may be even higher than reported rates.
 

The local health unit has joined a growing number across Ontario to record cases of salmonella poisoning since an outbreak last week connected to consumption of bean sprouts, reports Staff Writer Nick Gardiner.

Joan Mays, supervisor of health protection for the Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit, said two cases of the potentially lethal disease have been identified here in the past week.

She said samples sent to a laboratory in Kingston confirmed this week the presence of two cases of the disease but it still has to be determined if it is the same type found in the cases related to the bean sprouts.
 

Peel Health officials say 16 Peel residents have contracted potentially-deadly salmonella poisoning from eating contaminated bean sprouts, and they say that number will continue to climb.

As of yesterday afternoon, 43 Peel residents were infected with salmonella poisoning, including 30 people in Mississauga. Sixteen of the Peel cases have been directly linked to an outbreak across Ontario, while the others are still under investigation. The salmonella outbreak has affected more than 400 people. At this time last year, Ontario had experienced only about 60 cases.

Health officials suspect a Toronto-based producer and distributor, Sun Wah Trading Inc., which has about 20 per cent of the bean sprout market in Ontario, is responsible for the contamination.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency this week ordered a province-wide recall of all mung bean sprout products distributed by Sun Wah. The company has since recalled all mung bean sprout products from grocery store shelves, distributors, and restaurants.

Last week, Toronto public health authorities shut down Sun Wah, also known as Hollend Enterprises Inc.