September 2006

Questions linger about the contamination source and farming and irrigation practices. But in the current spinach-related E. coli O157:H7 outbreak, at least word got out quickly, says Susan Brink for the Los Angeles Times.

Less than a week elapsed between Sept. 8, when Wisconsin notified the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of an uptick

A judge has approved the $2 million settlement of a class-action lawsuit for people who got sick from after eating at the Royal Botanical Gardens last Mother’s Day, where more than 150 people said they fell ill after eating roast beef.

The Halton Public Health department said the roast beef was contaminated with salmonella.

Parents looking for more answers about last spring’s salmonella outbreak at Jefferson Elementary School will have to wait a little longer, according to the Country Gazette.

School officials are waiting for a final report on an investigation of the incident by the state Department of Public Health, who have already linked the outbreak to a

A lawsuit was filed today against Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., the company whose Greenwood, Indiana, store was the source of a Salmonella outbreak. The lawsuit was filed in Johnson County Superior Court on behalf of a Greenwood resident whose son became violently ill and was hospitalized after consuming foods purchased at the Wal-Mart deli. The lawsuit

Public health professionals will soon have a clearer picture of the magnitude of food poisoning across Europe, thanks to a new European project which aims to improve the surveillance of food-borne infections across the continent.

The project is part of the Med-Vet-Net initiative, a European Network of Excellence which brings together experts from a range

Change in food-borne illness control became necessary because of the way food is distributed in the United States, reports Susan Brink of the Times. In the old days of food poisoning, the source usually could be traced back to a local event: potato salad at a family picnic or bad chicken at a church supper.

Food safety experts say food poisoning outbreaks could be avoided. Possible solutions, they suggest, include giving the FDA or USDA — or some other government entity — more authority on farms when it comes to preventing diseases in humans.

Among the holes they cite in the safety of the nation’s food supply:

  • The Food and

Some frozen chicken entrees, such as Chicken Kiev and Chicken Cordon Bleu, have been linked to salmonella poisoning in consumers who thought they were microwaving pre-cooked meat. In fact, the entrees contained raw meat and the microwave did not sufficiently cook them.

At least 48 people have been stricken with salmonella poisoning over the past

Most people have heard about the national recall of bagged spinach. But what they may not know is that the FDA issues recall notices continually.

Salem Health Director JoAnn Scott says her office gets 10 to 15 recall notices a month. The same notices are also sent to large supermarkets. But what happens after that