Salmonella Blog - Surveillance & analysis on salmonella news & outbreaks

The Obama Administration is far from having its own people in place to run the food safety machinery of the federal government. However, we are starting to see some of the changes that were promised in last year's campaign. One of these changes is to issue warnings to the public not to eat something once its apparent there is a problem. The latest such warning was issued in regards to raw spouts.

Here's what your federal government had to say in issuing the warning on Sunday:

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today recommended that consumers not eat raw alfalfa sprouts, including sprout blends containing alfalfa sprouts, until further notice because the product has been linked to Salmonella serotype Saintpaul contamination. Other types of sprouts have not been implicated at this time.

The investigation indicates that the problem may be linked to contamination of seeds for alfalfa sprouts. Because suspect lots of seeds may be sold around the country and may account for a large proportion of the alfalfa seeds currently being used by sprout growers, and cases of illness are spread across multiple states, FDA and CDC are issuing this general advisory.

FDA will work with the alfalfa sprout industry to help identify which seeds and alfalfa sprouts are not connected with this contamination, so that this advisory can be changed as quickly as possible.

CDC, FDA and six State and local authorities have associated this outbreak with eating raw alfalfa sprouts. Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Utah, and West Virginia have reported 31 cases of illness with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Saintpaul to CDC. Most of those who became ill reported eating raw alfalfa sprouts. Some reported eating raw sprouts at restaurants; others reported purchasing the raw sprouts at the retail level.

The illnesses began in mid-March. Cases are still being reported, and possible cases are in various stages of laboratory testing, so illnesses may appear in other states. No deaths have been reported. The number of infected people may be higher than currently reported because some illnesses have not yet been confirmed with laboratory testing.

The CDC and FDA recommend at all times that persons at high risk for complications, such as the elderly, young children, and those with compromised immune systems, not eat raw sprouts because of the risk of contamination with Salmonella or other bacteria. Salmonella is an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy individuals infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses, such as meningitis and bone infections.

Initial investigation results trace the contaminated raw alfalfa sprouts to multiple sprout growers in multiple states. This suggests a potential problem with the seeds used, as well as the possible failure of the sprout growers involved to appropriately and consistently follow the FDA Sprout Guidance issued in 1999. The guidance recommends an effective seed disinfection treatment immediately before the start of sprouting (such as treating seed in 20,000 parts per million Calcium hypochlorite solution with agitation for 15 minutes) and regularly testing the water used for every batch of sprouts for Salmonella and E coli O157:H7 contamination.

Experts for lawyers representing the victims of the Salmonella Typhimurium inspected both the Peanut Corporation of America's Plainview, TX and Blakely, GA plants this week.  With nine deaths and hundreds of illnesses linked to the Salmonella contamination found inside the PCA facilities, media attention on this week's first inspections by outside experts was high.

Jennifer Emert at Georgia's WALB News spoke to some of those experts and painted a sickening picture of the condition of the plants now associated with the largest recall of peanut products in U.S. history.   Emert reported:

Pictures taken Thursday inside the Blakely Peanut Corporation of America plant, show disturbing images, a screwdriver left inside a machine where peanuts were stored. A small piece of wire inside the hopper with peanuts matching wire found inside the plant's maintenance area, and that's not all.

"When he pulled the bottom release door of the hopper and let some of the peanut product down there was a wasp and a beetle that was alive," said George Pearl, Alps Evidence & Photo President.

"A lot of grease, a lot of oil, a lot of peanut waste that's trapped in pieces of equipment," said Roy Costa, a former Health Inspector.

The Plainview, Texas plant was worse with dead mice on the floor. Attorney Bill Marler and his team of six inspectors spent several hours looking the plant over from the leaks in the roof to the gaps in the bay doors.

Rodents and insects can spread the Salmonella bacteria.   As of noon yesterday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was reporting 3,913 peanut and peanut related products being on the recall list because they have ingredients from the PCA plants.

More from WALB here.

 FDA announced that Union International Food Co. is expanding a spice recall to include all Lian How brand and Uncle Chen brand sauces, oil and oil blends in various size packages because the products may be contaminated with salmonella, an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections, especially in young children, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems. The company had previously recalled Lian How brand and Uncle Chen brand dry spices.

California state health department officials say the salmonella outbreak has sickened 33 people throughout northern and central California, and nine others in Nevada, Oregon and Washington. No deaths have been reported. Officials say most of the people sickened appeared to have been exposed to salmonella while eating at Asian restaurants that used the company's spices.The company said salmonella was isolated from an open container of Lian How white pepper.

The Uncle Chen and Lian How brand products were distributed to retailers, wholesalers, distributors, restaurant suppliers and restaurants. Details: By phone at 510-471-6799; on the Web at http://www.ufunionfood.com.

The recall includes the following Lian How brand items:

A rainy night in Georgia
A rainy night in Georgia
I believe that it's raining all over the world
I feel that it's raining all over the world

Scientific American is out with a report today that says when you add that famous rain to Georgia you end up with lot's of Salmonella.   Talk about taking the romance out of a famous Ray Charles song!

The magazine reports that:

Researchers at the University of Georgia in Athens (U.G.A.) have found that rain ups the risk of salmonella in rivers and streams—and, in turn, in products nourished by and washed in tainted runoff waters. The scientists report in Applied and Environmental Microbiology that 79 percent of water samples from rivers and streams in southern Georgia collected and tested over a year contained the rod-shaped bacteria; concentrations were highest in specimens gathered in the summer months and right after it rained.

Study co-author Erin Lipp, an associate professor of environmental health sciences at U.G.A.'s College of Public Health, says the findings indicate that officials trying to trace the source of salmonella contamination should put untreated surface water at the top of their suspect list.

After a downpour, rainwater accumulates on ground surfaces or in bodies of water. Before it reaches a final destination, the surface water may come into contact with salmonella—which lives in the intestinal tract of humans and animals and can be spread via their feces and vomit. Contaminated water may seep into porous soil—and thereby infiltrate irrigation systems used to nourish fields and wash produce.

There were reports of ponding on the roof and leaks into the Peanut Corporation of American facility in Blakely, GA, which is responsible for the largest ongoing recall of peanut products in U.S. history.

Check here for more from Scientific American.

FDA Product Recall List

FDA Product Recall List

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is alerting the public to a voluntary recall by Union International Food Company (Union City, Calif.) of the company’s dry spice products. The recall is based on an investigation of an ongoing foodborne illness outbreak of Salmonella Rissen. This investigation is being conducted in collaboration with state health officials in California, Oregon, Nevada, Washington and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The company’s products are distributed in these states and Arizona.

The dry spices being recalled were sold primarily to ethnic restaurants, wholesalers, and retail outlets under the brand names “Lian How” and “Uncle Chen.” At this time, the distribution of products appears confined to the western region of the country.

The recalled products sold at retail outlets include 5-ounce plastic jars of the following Uncle Chen brand dry spices: Whole White Pepper, Ground White Pepper, Whole Black Pepper, and Ground Black Pepper. The Lian How brand products are generally sold to restaurants and wholesalers; a full list of recalled products appears below.

A total of 42 cases of Salmonella Rissen infection have been reported to the CDC by health officials in California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. Most of the reported cases (33) are in California.

Information, including epidemiologic information and preliminary test results on samples collected, from health authorities in the affected states, links white and black pepper as foods possibly associated with illnesses. The FDA and California officials are inspecting the Union City, Calif. processing facility and have collected environmental and product samples.

The FDA advises consumers who may have purchased these dry spices to dispose of them. Restaurants, retail outlets, and other purchasers should stop using the recalled dry spices immediately and dispose of them. Also, the public is advised to discard any food made with these products and to remove the dry spices from dispensers on consumer tables and at kitchen work stations. All equipment and utensils that have come into contact with these dry spices should be washed, rinsed and sanitized before further use.

Salmonella can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis. Individuals who are experiencing these symptoms should contact a doctor immediately or go to an emergency room for evaluation.

 One of the awesome facts of the whole peanut/ salmonella outbreak was that the Peanut Corporation of America had gone for years with either a license or any inspections.  But guess what?  It was not an isolated incident.   

Washington Post Staff Writer Lyndsey Layton reports in Friday's WP that:

During its investigation of the Peanut Corporation case, the FDA discovered about 20 additional facilities that have been making peanut products without the knowledge of federal regulators. It learned about the facilities because they were buying peanuts from PCA, said Michael Herndon, an FDA spokesman. The agency will not name the 20 facilities or say where they are located, he said, adding that FDA inspectors are planning to visit each site shortly.

"It's a little depressing, but not surprising, that they found another 20 facilities they didn't know about," said Jean Halloran, director of food safety for Consumers Union. She pointed to the fact that unknown to federal regulators, one of Peanut Corporation of America's three facilities had operated in Plainview, Tex., for four years until the outbreak.

It looks to us like there was a pretty big chunk of the peanut industry operating off the radar.   We wonder how much of the food industry is managing this trick of being in the market sans regulation or oversight.  It unlikely that the peanut industry is the only part of the food business that maintains sub-prime operators.   

See the entire WP story here.