Recent Comments

    Category Stec

    ‘Timing couldn’t have been better’ 40 sickened with E. coli O157 at Richey reunion

    Posted in: E. coli, e. coli O157, food safety, Food Safety Policy, Risk Communication, Stec on: August 18

    It was supposed to be unforgettable, but for some who attended the Richey, Montana, Centennial last month, it was unforgettable for the wrong reasons. Around 40 people from 10 states reported they had been infected with E. coli O157. At … Continue reading → Read More

    Handwashing is never enough: E. coli outbreak suspected at Oregon fair

    Posted in: E. coli, food safety, Stec on: August 18

    Washington County health officials are investigating after cases of Shiga-toxin producing E. coli were reported after some attendants at the Washington County Fair became ill. No sources has been identified, but public health officials said that livestock at the Washington … Continue reading → Read More

    Testing beef trim: Yes, people try to do their best

    Posted in: E. coli, food safety, Food Safety Policy, Stec on: August 10

    The objective of this study was to determine the immediate source of Escherichia coli on beef trimmings produced at a large packing plant by analyzing the E. coli on trimmings at various locations of a combo bin filled on the same day and … Continue reading → Read More

    Two E. coli cases linked to livestock close Washington school

    Posted in: Cross Contamination, E. coli, Government Agencies, Stec on: July 21

    Two young Washington state girls are hospitalized with complications from E. coli infection and their school has been temporarily closed for cleaning. One of the girls has reportedly developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a serious kidney condition linked to E. coli infection. Health officials said the source of their exposure to Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) bacteria... Continue Reading Read More

    FDA says raw dough’s a raw deal and could make you sick

    Posted in: E. coli, e. coli O157, food safety, Food Safety Policy, Stec on: June 28

    Do you find it hard to resist gobbling up a piece of raw dough when making cookies, or letting your children scrape the bowl? Do your kids use raw dough to make ornaments or homemade “play” clay? Do you eat … Continue reading → Read More

    Burgers may need higher cooking temperature to be safe from E. coli

    Posted in: E. coli, e. coli O157, food safety, Food Safety Policy, Stec on: June 3

    Food safety friend Lynn McMullen at the University of Alberta, and others have found that cooking ground beef at 71C — the level of heat long advised by Health Canada — does not always eliminate all the strains of Escherichia … Continue reading → Read More

    Officials investigate link between 3 children with shiga-toxin E. coli and Fairfax Creek in Calif.

    Posted in: California, E. coli, e. coli O157, Stec on: May 27

    Richard Halstead of the Marin Independent Journal writes two young children, one a 2-year-old Fairfax resident, have been diagnosed with a toxin-producing form of E. coli, and Marin public health officials are investigating the possibility that the source of the … Continue reading → Read More

    Risk reduction: Irradiation of strawberries

    Posted in: E. coli, food safety, Stec on: May 13

    Strawberries are vulnerable to harboring microbial pathogens because they are generally not washed due to their perishable nature. The focus of this study was to quantify the reduction in infection risks associated with non-O157 Shiga toxin producing E. coli serotypes … Continue reading → Read More

    ‘We grind our patties in store every day’ so they’re safe, and other hamburger myths

    Posted in: E. coli, e. coli O157, food safety, Food Safety Policy, policy, restaurant inspection, Stec on: May 1

    Not sure who is worse here: the celebrity chef or the government regulators. But they’re both wrong on the topic of shiga-toxin producing E. coli in hamburgers. The stories pitch it as a “bun fight between health bureaucrats and burger … Continue reading → Read More