Monthly Archives August 2016

Paralytic shellfish poison closes harbor to shellfish harvest

Quartermaster Harbor on Vashon-Maury Island in the Puget Sound is closed to recreational shellfish harvesting until further notice because of unsafe levels of paralytic shellfish poison (PSP). The Washington Department of Health posted the closure today for recreational harvesting, noting that the harbor remains open to commercial harvest. The closure includes all species of shellfish... Continue Reading Read More

FSA finds Brits not up to the mark on best burger practices

A survey of about 2,700 British adults has found that while 71 percent of them said they were concerned about food poisoning, 36 percent would still eat a burger that wasn’t completely cooked. According to the survey results, released Aug. 25 by the U.K. Food Standards Agency (FSA), more than one in 10 of the respondents... Continue Reading Read More

Hepatitis A outbreak linked to smoothies spans 5 states; 51 sick

More than 50 people in five states are confirmed with Hepatitis A infections in an outbreak associated with frozen strawberries from Egypt that were served at Tropical Smoothie Café locations in Virginia. The vast majority of the infected people — 44 — are Virginia residents, according to the Virginia Department of Health and the federal Centers for... Continue Reading Read More

Rising Life tablets suspected in elevated lead cases, 2 deaths

Local, state and federal officials are investigating Ton Shen Health in relation to elevated lead levels in children and two deaths that occurred after people took a Life Rising brand dietary supplement. The Chicago-based Ton Shen Health company recalled one lot of Rising Life brand “DHZC-2” tablets on Aug. 11 after testing by the Food and Drug... Continue Reading Read More

Study finds ‘amazing’ bacterial diversity in transported raw milk

Researchers at the University of California-Davis report that samples of raw cow’s milk shipped by tanker truck for processing show “amazing bacterial diversity” which varies by season. Their findings were reported Aug. 23 in mBio, the online, open-access journal of the American Society of Microbiology. The researchers sampled and analyzed raw cow’s milk from 899 tanker trucks as they... Continue Reading Read More

Over 100 now sick with crypto from pools in Arizona

Heath officials in Arizona said Friday that more than 100 people have been sickened in an outbreak of diarrheal infection and that more than 20 water facilities may have been contaminated. Maricopa County officials said that splash pads, water parks … Continue reading Read More

BPI drops some defendants from ‘pink slime’ civil action

ABC news reporters Diane Sawyer and Jim Avila and American Broadcasting Companies Inc. remain as defendants in $1.2 billion lawsuit brought by Beef Products Inc. in Dakota Dunes, SD.   However, the beef company that pioneered the product dubbed “pink slime” has agreed to drop its claims against ABC News Inc. and two former USDA... Continue Reading Read More

Food Recall Warning (Salmonella) – Five Star Shellfish Inc. brand oysters

Distribution – National. Recalling firm – Five Star Shellfish Inc.

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Over 4000 sick from Campylobacter in NZ water

With over 4,000 now sick from drinking water contaminated with Campylobacter in Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said today charges could be laid. According to Nicholas Jones of the NZ Herald, Key is backing the Hastings District Council, … Continue reading Read More

California warns against eating some shellfish on Central Coast

Levels of domoic acid 10 times the “action level” in certain shellfish along the Central Coast spurred California officials to issue a public warning against eating rock crabs and bivalve shellfish caught in the area. Specifically, Half Moon Bay rock crabs and Monterey Bay rock crabs and bivalve shellfish are on the danger list for... Continue Reading Read More