Category Foodborne Illness Outbreaks

Denmark and Sweden hit by norovirus in oysters

Denmark and Sweden are the latest countries to report outbreaks of norovirus linked to shellfish from France. At least 180 people in Denmark are sick since the start of the year and 70 are affected in Sweden, although some of these are thought to have fallen ill after eating Swedish oysters. In France, 1,033 people... Continue Reading Read More

Recall update adds diced chicken products amidst Listeria outbreaks

Health officials are reporting that dozens more imported frozen chicken products are being recalled in Canada because of Listeria contamination. Outbreaks in the U.S. and Canada have been traced to such products that are under recall. Today, food safety officials in Canada issued an updated recall notice for chicken products. The frozen chicken imported to... Continue Reading Read More

More pig ear pet treats recalled because of Salmonella

TDBBS is recalling some of its pig ear pet treats because state testing found Salmonella in a sample. As with other pet product companies recently, the TDBBS recall comes amidst a nationwide outbreak among people who have links to such pet treats. “This recall is the result of routine sampling conducted by the Michigan Department... Continue Reading Read More

Extension scientists to conduct new environmental study on Yuma’s produce region

Environmental factors impacting the risk of produce becoming contaminated in the Yuma growing region of Arizona are the subject of a new study. University of Arizona (UA) Cooperative Extension scientists are partnering with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Yuma growers, local irrigation districts, and the Arizona Department of Agriculture on a multi-year study of... Continue Reading Read More

Caito’s response to earlier FDA inspection observations did not prevent Salmonella problem

On June 8, 2018, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advised the public of an outbreak of Salmonella Adelaide that eventually sickened 77 people in nine states. Most of the outbreak victims reported eating pre-cut cantaloupe, watermelon or a fruit salad mix with melon purchased from grocery stores. According to the CDC, epidemiologic... Continue Reading Read More

Publisher’s Platform: If I was part of Catio Foods, I’d be nervous

Opinion Criminal prosecutions in food cases have been quiet for the last few years. Outbreak 2: The recent multistate investigation began on April 2, 2019, when CDC’s PulseNet identified the Salmonella Carrau outbreak. As of April 24, 2019, 117 people infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Carrau have been reported from 10 states – Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri,... Continue Reading Read More

Two people dead in Canadian Salmonella outbreak linked to Celebrate brand frozen profiteroles and eclairs from Thailand

Frozen profiteroles and mini eclairs sold in grocery stores are the apparent sources of two deaths among at least 73 lab-confirmed cases of Salmonella Enteritidis infections in Canada as of April 27, 2019, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC). The outbreak, which was first announced on April 5, 2019, has spread to... Continue Reading Read More

More sick in outbreak linked to fresh melon sold by Walmart, Kroger, others

An outbreak of Salmonella linked to pre-cut fresh melon continues to grow, with 117 people across 10 states confirmed with infections. More than a third of the patients have required hospitalization. Public health officials are urging consumers to not eat the pre-cut fresh melon products listed in the chart below because of the risk of... Continue Reading Read More

California growers say their new water rules mean safer romaine for everyone

For the second time this year, romaine lettuce growers are imposing measures they hope will end the recent string of E. coli O157:H7 outbreaks that were associated with their products last year. This latest action to strengthen food safety practices that will be required by romaine lettuce farms came Friday in a vote by the... Continue Reading Read More

The “switch” that can make current Salmonella outbreaks even worse

There are three current multistate outbreaks of Salmonella in the United States. Two–infections linked to Butterball Brand Ground Turkey and Precut melons–are outbreaks that began in 2019 and the third involving ground turkey was a 2018 outbreak of raw ground turkey products that remain open. Taken together, the three have sickened 279 people resulting in... Continue Reading Read More