FOODS BILL MARLER AND I DON’T EAT

As I was googling another food safety issue the other day, I came across the list of 6 foods that Bill Marler won’t eat. In case you don’t know who Bill Marler is, he is the most prominent food poisoning lawyer in the United States. He has made many millions of dollars representing victims of food poisoning. Clearly he has learned something along the way about the most risky foods to eat.

So here is his list (from http://www.foodpoisonjournal.com/food-poisoning-information/six-foods-bill-marler-never-eats). And then I will give you mine.

1. Unpasteurized (“raw”) milk and packaged (unpasteurized) juices.
2. Raw sprouts.
3. Meat that isn’t well done.
4. Prewashed or precut fruits and vegetables.
5. Raw or undercooked eggs.
6. Raw oysters and other raw shellfish.

Now, to my list. I avoid everything on Marler’s list with a few additions and modifications. The below refer to his above points.

1. Yes, absolutely.
2. Yes, again.
3. Yes, but I also avoid underdone chicken (but I imagine, if asked, Marler would agree).
4. I definitely avoid all precut fruits and vegetables, but I do on occasions eat bagged prewashed salads or greens such as spinach (after first rewashing them), though I prefer to eat the fruits, vegetables and herbs that I grow myself).
5. Absolutely agree.
6. Absolutely agree.

In addition, I avoid these foods:

1. Salsa (unless I make it myself).
2. Raw milk cheeses
3. Raw fish, including in ceviche and even sushi.

TSF

A BAD WEEK FOR POTATOES

We tend to think of potatoes as a relatively risk-free food. Offhand, how many cases of food poisoning can you think of in which potatoes have been involved? But the last few days may make us think twice about this popular vegetable.

McCain Foods USA, Inc. has had to recall their frozen hash brown potato products because of bits of golf balls (can you believe it?) hiding in them. I have been trying to figure out how on earth this could have happened. But I can see where it is possible. If a potato field happens to be near a golf course, a large mechanical harvester of potatoes could pick up a ball or two.

Anyway, throw out any 2 lb. bags of hash browns in your freezer if they are Roundy’s or Teeter brands, and if you live in Illinois and Wisconsin (Roundy’s brand) or in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, District of Columbia, Delaware, Florida, Georgia and Maryland (Harris Teeter brand).

By the way, McCain Foods also supplies restaurants with vegetables and distributes to some 160 countries around the world. Who knows where golf-ball hash browns will pop up? You may want to be careful if you are biting into some hash browns at your favorite restaurant.

And you had better pass on the potato chips too if Jalapeño Flavored Frito-Lay‘s Kettle Cooked chips or Jalapeño Flavored Miss Vickie’s Kettle Cooked potato chips are your favorite. In this case there could be Salmonella bacteria in the Jalapeño seasoning that was used. Yes, as I discuss in The Safe Food Handbook (the book, not this blog) Salmonella bacteria are remarkably hardy. They can live in very dry conditions – as in spices – for months.

Remember, Salmonella can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and anyone who has a weakened immune system, such as people receiving cancer treatment.

TSF

DOES PRESIDENT TRUMP EAT HASH BROWNS?

The chances are that President Trump will cut the budget of the FDA and USAID, which in turn will limit expenditure on keeping America's food safe.

In a way, it’s odd, because I would guess that Trump is at least very concerned about the safety of the food he personally eats. After all, he is a germaphope. He hates shaking hands, afraid that he will catch something. And one of the reasons he gives for eating junk food is that he claims big franchises are safer and more clean.

Of course, given that he eats his burgers and steaks well done, he should at least be able to avoid bacteria in meat unless there is cross contamination. And as far as we know, he doesn’t care much for vegetables except for potatoes.

But even cooked potatoes can sometimes carry risks. I wonder, for instance, whether he eats hash browns? If so, he had better be careful.

Today McCain Foods USA, Inc. issued a recall of widely distributed frozen hash brown products because they may be contaminated with golf ball materials. And some of these products were distributed in Florida where his “Winter White House” is located where he seems to be spending an inordinate amount of time - at taxpayer expense. If such hash brown potatoes are eaten, there is the risk of choking or injury to the mouth.

Of course, Trump is very keen on golf, but all the same, I doubt he is so keen he wants to eat the golf balls!

TSF

IS TRUMP'S RESTAURANT ENCOURAGING FOOD POISONING?

Not good news for Trump’s “Winter White House.” Mar-a-Lago’s restaurant didn’t do well on the latest inspection on January 26. Inspectors found 13 health and sanitation code violations.

Is this a case of paying $200,000 membership fee for a nasty case of food poisoning? Maybe even worse if the victim is a visiting head of state being wined and dined there. Talk of embarrassing!

All U.S. restaurants are inspected on a regular basis by inspectors from local public health departments. There is some variation between how often they do it and what they look for, but usually it covers things like cleanliness of the kitchen area and food handling, cooking and storage procedures. They also try to make sure that food is not cross-contaminated or contaminated by employees or by cockroaches, flies or rodents running around. I checked out the actual list for Florida. It has fully 50 “high priority” categories on it, meaning that failure on any one of these could pose a risk of food poisoning for diners.

At Mar-a-Lago raw meat (chicken, duck, beef and ham) were stored at temperatures that were far too high for safety. What, they are now trying to save on their electricity bills? Or, was it because their refrigerators were not operating properly and needed repairs?

Also, it seems that the restaurant's fish that was to be served either raw or undercooked had not undergone proper inspection for parasites. If you have been reading the news or this blog about the recent unpleasant experience of two California newlyweds with rat lungworm disease (which they probably caught from food in Hawaii) you will know that parasites can be very nasty indeed.

Even some of the lesser violations at Mar-a-Lago (such as inadequate hand-washing facilities for employees) have been found to often lead to food poisoning. It seems that not only do they have paying for refrigerator repairs and for replacing rusting shelves, but also can’t afford to heat the water!

Maybe Trump should take a break from playing golf and go back to checking the kitchen himself. Apparently, when he used to do so in the past, Florida’s “Sanitation and Safety Specialists” (that is their proper name) cited Mar-a-Lago with far fewer violations. Or should he sent Ivanka down there? She seems to get things done.

TSF

SENIORS ON CRUISES WATCH OUT!

I received sad news this morning. An elderly friend of mine had died. She became ill while on a cruise. The official cause will probably be listed as “congestive heart failure” or something similar. But although that explanation will be much more acceptable to the cruise line, it is not the whole story.

First, a bit of background. My friend is (I typed “is” as I am still having trouble using the past tense..)..was in her 80’s. Like many people of that age, she had a few chronic conditions, one being arthritis, and another, a “weak” heart. But she had never had a heart attack and her doctor in the UK considered her well enough to go on the cruise with her caregiver.

I was told that she really enjoyed the trip up until day 22 of this 44 day cruise. At that point there was an outbreak of food poisoning on the ship. She became very ill, dehydrated, and had to be sent to a hospital in Jamaica, which was the closest port. Several of the passengers ended up there, especially those who were over 60. At least one died soon after she was hospitalized in Jamaica.

Along with a few of the others, my friend was confined to the intensive care unit. After a few days she seemed to be better, but because she was still weak and considered at risk, she was sent to a hospital in Florida, and then to one in England, where she now lived. She died there.

If you have been following this blog, you will know that food poisoning outbreaks on cruise ships are common, with the majority of them caused by norovirus – a highly contagious group of viruses which often infects both passengers and crew. Usually an outbreak starts through contaminated food (perhaps contaminated by a crew member), but you can also catch it directly from someone who is ill (by taking care of them, using the same eating utensils or even from sprayed vomit), and, from surfaces.

Most people recover after 1-3 thoroughly miserable days. However, passengers who are older frequently develop severe dehydration which can aggravate or lead to other serious conditions as seemed to have occurred in my friend’s case. It is not unusual for relapses to happen a couple of weeks or so after the food poisoning incident itself, even after the patient seems to have recovered and has been released from hospital.

The Safe Food Handbook (available on Amazon) discusses how you can protect yourself, as do other posts on this blog. Be careful if you are going on a cruise!

TSF

IS SCHOOL LUNCH TOO DANGEROUS TO EAT?

I want to say right at the outset, that I believe in the value of school lunch. When I was a poor malnourished refugee child, I really appreciated that food. It is very hard to pay attention in class if you are hungry. But food poisoning outbreaks at schools are not unusual, simply because institutional food, prepared and served in bulk, is always more risky. And of course, such outbreaks get a lot of media coverage.

Recently there was a very large outbreak in Egypt caused by a school lunch (see earlier post), in which some 3,300 children had to be sent to hospital. In all, it is estimated that there have been 4,650 school lunch associated food poisoning cases nationwide in Egypt just this month (March, 2017). But Egypt is not the only country where such outbreaks occur. I have read case studies of school food poisoning outbreaks in India, Canada, UK, Japan and elsewhere. How the school lunch is organized and how sanitary the conditions are, varies in these and other countries.

In the United States, the National School Lunch Program is carefully supervised, but even then, food poisoning outbreaks occur. It is estimated that between 1991 and 2000 (I don’t have later statistics) there were 300 outbreaks of food poisoning in American schools, which made at least 16,000 students ill. The largest during that decade affected school children in seven states in 1997-1998. It was unusual in that it was caused by a toxic mold in frozen burritos.

But there have been many different types of causes over the years. Bacteria such as Salmonella, E.coli and Staphylococcus strains have been found to cause food poisoning in school lunches. Even agricultural chemicals have been involved, though less than they are in Third World countries. Several incidents have of course been caused by the common norovirus. That was the cause of the recent outbreak of food poisoning at the St. Charles East High School in Illinois, USA, in which some 800 students became ill.

As of this past Wednesday, the Ministry of Education in Egypt suspended school lunches, which feed some 9 million students a day. It plans to set up a committee (the usual bureaucratic solution) and conduct an investigation of why school lunches are so unsafe. I can hazard a few guesses.

TSF

FOOD POISONING OUTBREAKS FROM EGYPT

Egypt’s huge food poisoning incident of a few days ago sickened 3,353 school children and sent 3,300 to the hospital. The school lunch is clearly suspect as all the children who became ill ate it. What a horrible experience for the poor teachers and the schools – all these children with vomiting and diarrhea. They are probably still having nightmares about it.

So far the causal agent or specific lunch item has not been identified. I would lay my money on norovirus. One reason I suspect norovirus is because the symptoms are typical. Another is that norovirus was also suspected in one of the food poisoning outbreaks at Al-Arbak University in Cairo in 2013 and is quite common in such mass meal programs all over the world (see next post).

In all, Egypt’s food has had a bad run of luck over the last few years and it is commonly known that national hygiene in food processing, packaging, preparation and food service is poor. The world is beginning to wonder whether it is safe to eat at all, particularly since it has caused havoc overseas as well as domestically.

The worst case of such exported food was that large outbreak of E. coli 0104 food poisoning which originated in Northern Germany in 2011. It made some 4,100 people ill, mainly in Europe, and killed at least 50. After many false turns by investigators, it was finally traced to fenugreek seeds imported from Egypt that had been sprouted in Germany (see the several posts on this blog).

You may also recall the Salmonella-contaminated organic celery seed that originated in Egypt. I had to pat myself on the back for predicting correctly on this blog that these seeds had been imported from Egypt.

Then over the last few months there has been that Hepatitis A problem with frozen strawberries imported from Egypt, which were used to make not-so-healthy smoothies in the U.S. They have given 143 unsuspecting people in 9 states a dangerous liver disease.

Of course, this isn't the end of the list.

TSF

IT'S NOROVIRUS SEASON: THERE'S BAD NEWS AND GOOD NEWS

In the U.S. we are currently in the middle of peak season for Norovirus outbreaks. Just google the term and you’ll find a number of reported outbreaks, including huge outbreaks in schools.

So here’s some bad news and good news about this virus.

The bad news about Norovirus is that it is a very contagious virus which you can catch not just from food (especially salad bars) but also all kinds of surfaces such as hand rails, countertops and even plastic bags. Don’t suck your thumb or bite your fingernails and wash your hands thoroughly before eating (Is my son reading this?). What is more, you can feel truly awful if you have it. Also bad news is the fact that it is often caught in places where you go to have fun – not get sick – such as cruises, restaurants, weddings, parties and celebrations of all kinds (I won’t put schools and nursing homes on that “fun” list). Another piece of bad news is that you can catch it more than once. Having been ill with Norovirus once will not protect you from getting it. As in the case of the flu, there are many types of noroviruses.

The good news is that while you may feel absolutely awful for what seems like a million years, you’re likely to get better quickly – usually between one to three days. Another piece of good news is that if you are fairly healthy to start off with and keep yourself well hydrated while vomiting all over the place, you will be OK once it’s over. This could be another plus - you may find that you have just undergone a crash weight loss program. And the final good news is that if you work outside your home, or are in charge of cooking for your household, you will have a couple of days of rest afterwards, as no one will want you anywhere near them or preparing any food while you could still be contagious.

TSF

TRUMP ILL WITH FOOD POISONING?

No, this isn’t the case yet, at least as far as I know. Though it could be. He is a senior – and therefore in a high risk group. The fact that he is overweight – verging on obese – puts him at even greater risk for food poisoning. Research suggests that being seriously overweight is linked to a weakened immune system, which means he would have less protection against dangerous foodborne illness.

And I know this sounds mean, but I am kind of wishing for an outbreak of food poisoning at Mar-a-Lago, particularly at a time when he was entertaining a head of state there (hopefully President Putin of Russia, or Kim Jong-un of North Korea) which would really ensure that it hit the global news.

I think a first-hand experience is the only way President Trump will understand the importance of food safety, and hopefully begin to grasp the importance of regulations and inspections of our food. True, such regulations will never eliminate food risks completely, but at least they will reduce them.

Today, when announcing the drastic scaling back of federal regulations – something he had been threatening to do for months – he paved the way for exposing the American consumers to even more outbreaks of food poisoning than we are already having.

Even if regulations are not completely eliminated, Trump and Congress can financially starve the Federal food safety agencies from doing anything much to protect our food supply. Want to bet it will happen?


TSF

LISTERIA RISK IN NUMEROUS CHEESE PRODUCTS

Well, here we go again. In the U.S. we are seeing recalls of all kinds of cheeses and products made with cheese. Large, snowballing recalls of contaminated cheese have occurred on a pretty regular basis over the years. The usual culprit is that nasty little bacterium, Listeria monocytogenes, that I mentioned in connection with Ruth’s spreads a couple of blogs ago.

I am sure we have not reached the end of this particular wave of cheese and related product recalls yet. Cheese is a food product commonly used in a number of snacking and cooking products and in prepared foods of all kinds.

Here are a few of the companies issuing recalls “out of an abundance of caution” as some of them so self-righteously note (I hate that phrase). Deutsch Kase Haus, LLC of Middlebury, Ind. Is recalling its Colby cheeses that it supplied to a number of other companies. Sargento Cheese Company is recalling select Sargento branded cheeses (which it apparently got from Deutsche Kase Haus). Guggisberg Cheese Inc. is recalling various types of Colby type cheeses. Meijer is announcing a recall of its Meijer Brand Colby Cheese and Colby Jack Cheese, sold at deli counters.

And then there are companies such as MDS Foods Inc., of Massillon, Ohio, which is recalling multiple products because it unfortunately got the Colby cheeses it used in them from Deutsch Kase Haus and Choice Farms LLC which is conducting a small recall of stuffed mushrooms.

Press on the recall button on this blog and you will get more recalls. New ones are coming out all the time.

Yes, you may have kept these foods you bought in the refrigerator. Unfortunately, that won’t do you much good. Listeria can grow and multiply at those cold temperatures.

And if you are older, or have a weakened immune system, you are more vulnerable - along with young children and pregnant women (who may suffer miscarriages or stillbirths).

TSF

FOOD RECALLS START SMALL BUT GROW BIG

The previous post was about a recall by Ruth's Salads of one lot of 7 ounce containers of Pimento Spread in 5 states in the U.S. Well, no surprise. The recall has now expanded to many more of Ruth's products and to 8 states. So what else is new? After all, this is the usual pattern. Many food recalls start small but expand, and keep expanding.

That is why I keep warning readers to stop eating ANY similar products as soon as you learn of a recall. Living a few days without your favorite spread is not going to kill you. But a case of food poisoning just could do that, especially if you are a senior or someone else with a weakened immune system, or a pregnant woman (in that case, it would be your unborn child who is in danger).

And don't sit back and relax when you read that "no illnesses have been reported to date in connection with this problem." That phrase always sends my blood pressure up. If the tiny bacterium Listeria monocytogenes is to blame - as it is in this case - it could take up to 70 days for symptoms to develop. Dah....

So keep a watch out for any high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, especially if you are older. And while it is fresh in your mind, write down exactly what you ate and when, and keep the container if you still have it. In fact, you might be wise to give your doctor a call just in case.

And don't eat any of the below, or even anything similar, since we still don't know what ingredient in these or similar products was the contaminated one.

Ruth’s Original Pimento Spread 74952-00005 7 oz.
Ruth’s Original Pimento Spread 74952-12023 12 oz.
Ruth’s Original Pimento Spread 74952-24023 24 oz.
Ruth’s Old Fashion Pimento Spread74952-15005 16 oz.
Ruth’s Jalapeno Pimento Spread 74952-12014 12 oz.
Ruth’s Lite Pimento Spread 74952-12000 12 oz.
Ruth’s Cream Cheese w/Pineapple-Pecans
74952-12008 12 oz.

TSF

A LEADING CAUSE OF FOOD POISONING IN OLDER ADULTS

If you have read The Safe Food Handbook (my book, not this blog) you will probably guess that one of my favorite agents of food poisoning is the tiny bacterium Listeria monocytogenes. It is believed to be the third leading cause of death from food poisoning in the United States.

Listeria turns up on a regular basis in our processed foods and in restaurant meals. Recently, it was suspected in Ruth's Pimento Spread, which is distributed in Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.

This blog has often highlighted how dangerous the Listeria bacterium is for pregnant women, that is, for their unborn child (causing miscarriages and stillbirths). But today I want to touch on how dangerous it is for older adults and anyone else with a weakened immune system (such as those receiving cancer therapy).

As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states, more than half of all Listeria infections occur in people age 65 and older. Why? The CDC points to the fact that as we age our immune system and organs aren’t as good at recognizing and ridding our body of harmful germs as they used to be. Chronic conditions such as diabetes and cancer also tend to occur more in people who are older and also weaken the immune system. Add to this the fact that as we age, our whole body, including our digestive system, tends to become more sluggish and ineffective, allowing pathogens such as Listeria monocytogenes to multiply and cause us more harm.

I suspect it also had something to do with the fact that older people who still live independently tend to eat more processed "easy" foods such as Ruth's Pimento Spread, which is a typical place for this nasty bacterium to hide.



TSF

HOW IMPORTANT ARE DATES ON FOOD?

I have noticed that a lot of people are confused by freshness dates on food. A recent study by Harvard Law School’s Food Law and Policy Clinic agrees. It concluded that more than 90% of people in America have thrown out food too soon because they misunderstood what the dates actually meant.

Here are the real meanings of those freshness dates according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture:
• A “Sell-By” date tells the store how long to display the product for sale.
• A “Best if Used By (or Before)” date is recommended for best flavor or quality. It is not a purchase or safety date.
• A “Use-By” date is the last date recommended for the use of the product while at peak quality.

So if these dates refer to quality, where does food safety come in at all? I would not dismiss the dates completely. After all, freshness does have something to do with safety as well as with quality. Personally, I use the dates in two ways.

First, when I am shopping, especially for products such as milk, eggs, meat, fish and so on, I always make sure I get the product with the latest date. You would be surprised at what a variety of dates there are for items such as milk on one shelf at a single store.

Secondly, I use the date as an indication of how long to keep the food. Yes, quality matters to me, but so does safety. No, I don’t always throw the item out as soon as it has reached the “use-by” date or the “best-by” date. Sometimes I keep it for a few more days. But I never rely exclusively on such dates. I also use the old-fashioned “look-and-sniff” approach as a guide.

If the food smells “off” even if the date says it shouldn’t, you may not want to take risks, especially if you are older, or have a suppressed immune system or are pregnant.

To your good health,
TSF

JUST IN TIME FOR JULY 4 – A CHICKEN RECALL

Many Americans will be barbecuing today to celebrate July 4th. One of the most popular foods to barbecue is chicken. In fact, it is estimated that some 73% of U.S. barbecue meals include chicken.

If that includes you, make especially sure that it is very well cooked, and take extra care in handling as well. There is a huge chicken recall by Foster Farms – just in time for July 4th celebrations. The reason for the chicken recall is an outbreak of illnesses caused by Salmonella Heidelberg bacteria – a particularly nasty Salmonella that crops up from time to time in our food supply.

Actually, the current outbreak has probably been ongoing since March, 2013. As of a couple of days ago (the latest statistics available) 621 people from 29 states and Puerto Rico have been infected. The largest number of illnesses have been reported from California (77% of total).

Over a third of the people who have become ill have ended up in hospital, because the outbreak strains of Salmonella Heidelberg are resistant to many of the antibiotics that are usually prescribed. No deaths to date.

While this outbreak is still under investigation and has not yet been conclusively linked to chicken products sold by this huge California chicken producer, it looks possible. Foster Farms is taking precautions, while the FSIS and CDC are investigating further.

The suspect chicken products were shipped by Foster Farms to Costco, Foodmax, Kroger and Safeway as well as other big food retailers as well as distribution centers in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada and Utah. Check your frig and freezer for products that have the numbers “P6137,” P6137A” or “P7632” inside the USDA mark of inspection - that is, if you haven’t thrown the wrapping away. But be very careful with any chicken you are eating today, especially if barbecuing.

For advice on safe barbecuing check my post of May 25, 2014 titled "Tips for Safe Barbecuing" and of July 3, 2011, called "Safety Tips for Picnics and Barbecuing."

To your good health,

TSF

ANOTHER TRADER JOE'S RECALL FOR HUMMUS

Trader Joe's happens to be one of my regular stores for shopping. It is convenient, well run, health conscious, efficient and carries many products I like at reasonable prices - such as cheeses and breads, and the food my dog prefers. If it was a publicly traded company, I would definitely buy shares in it.

But at the same time, I am constantly worried by the number of risky ready-to-eat products Trader Joe's carries. its rather erratic approach towards product dating and stating country of origin, and the number of product recalls it has had over the years. Many of them have been covered on this blog: recalls for trail mixes, peanut butter, nuts, dips, prepared salads, bagged greens, sliced apples, granola bars, cookies, hummus, dips, and more.

Now there is yet another recall for hummus. Nor is this the first hummus recall it has had. There was one back in April 2012 for instance. I blogged it.

This time, Massachusetts prepared foods manufacturer Lansal Inc.(also known as "Hot Mama’s Foods"), has announced that it is recalling some 7 tons of hummus and dip products due to possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination. As readers of this blog know, this is a particularly dangerous bacterium for pregnant women and for young children, sickly or elderly people.

Trader Joe's was not the only large chain that sold the possible dangerous hummus products. Target stores nationwide also carried them. Those of Trader Joe’s, as well as Giant Eagle were distributed to multiple states in the U.S.

I have to confess that I used to buy hummus at Trader Joe's. But after the 2012 recall, I decided it was too unsafe. A friend gave me a very easy recipe for making it at home, and I am glad she did.

You may also want to consider doing so. Listeriosis infection is no joke.

To your good health,

TSF

WHERE DID THE E. COLI CONTAMINATED GROUND BEEF GO?

We were told today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS) that there is as much as 1.8 million pounds of ground beef out there somewhere in the United States that should not be eaten or even touched. Why? Because it could be contaminated with one of the very dangerous strains of E.coli bacteria - E. coli O157:H7.

This bacterium can cause dehydration, bloody diarrhea, and abdominal cramps two to eight days after you ate the contaminated food. Yes, most people do recover within a week or so, but some (most likely young children and the elderly) can develop a type of kidney failure called hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) and end up in the hospital.

One of the problems with this recall is that we don’t know where the recalled products went. In other words, the distribution list hasn’t yet been given by the Wolverine Packing Company, of Detroit, Michigan, the food company involved, to USDA-FSIS. If you look back on recent recalls, such lists are usually released anywhere from one day to two weeks or more after a recall is announced. Part of the problem seems to be that some companies don’t keep good records. Another could be that they don’t want to lose their clients, so are reluctant to have them told by the government that they have been receiving bad meat.

In this case, the list of products recalled (which is very, very long) does not tell us much. But there are some possible clues. According to Wolverine Packaging, all of the illnesses that are believed to be linked to this bacterium and this company’s products occurred among people who ate undercooked hamburgers at restaurants - not in their homes - in four states - Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, and Ohio. Reportedly, none of the product was labeled for retail sale in supermarkets and none of it went to the National School Lunch Program. That’s a relief.

Therefore, if you did not eat “rare” or “medium rare” hamburgers in a restaurant (or, fast food chain outlet) in the past month, you can relax. Besides, if you are reading this post, you can’t be dead yet. And, I assume you are more or less out and about. So either you did not eat this contaminated ground meat, ate it in a safely cooked mode (see my previous post), ate portions of it which were not too badly contaminated, or, ate it and got over your case of food poisoning. Congratulations!

However, next time you eat out, you may want to play it safe and ask for your hamburger “well done.” You’ll get to like it after a while. And what’s more, you don’t need to lie awake worrying about food poisoning for several days afterwards!

To your good health,

TSF

HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT YOU HAVE LISTERIOSIS?

Listeriosis is caused by a tiny and innocent looking microorganism called Listeria monocytogenes which turns up quite frequently in our food supply. One of the biggest problems is that it is so hard to know if you have caught it.

Popular food items that most often carry this bacterium are Mexican-style cheese (queso fresco or queso blanco) or other cheeses made from unpasteurized milk, deli (ready-to-eat and supposedly “fully cooked”) meats, and raw vegetables and sprouts (the bacterium exists in the soil and water). Ready-to-eat or “convenience” foods (such as sandwiches, salads, snacks) are increasingly a culprit, because many food service workers carry this bacterium and can contaminate the food during preparation. There are several other posts on this blog discussing which particular foods you need to avoid.

If you are healthy and not pregnant, you don’t need to worry about Listeriosis. You might only feel a little bit “off” for a few days, or not even feel ill at all even if you do get a dose of it. But if you are pregnant (see previous post) or have a weakened immune system, you have to do your very best to avoid foods that could carry it. Should you catch it anyway, you need to get to the doctor as quickly as possible.

So how do you know if you might have it? The symptoms are usually ones like nausea, diarrhea, fever, headache and muscle aches, which could easily be confused with the ‘flu. If the infection becomes “invasive” (that is, the bacteria enter the blood causing bloodstream infection, or, the central nervous system, causing meningitis) you might even have convulsions, a stiff neck and feel disoriented, confused or suffer loss of balance.

A big problem for pregnant women is that they often only experience fever and other very vague symptoms. Other people with weakened immune systems, such as people with cancer, cancer treatments, or other serious conditions (like diabetes, kidney failure, liver disease, and HIV/AIDS) are more likely to have the full range of symptoms.

Remember too that just because you are sure you didn’t eat any “risky” foods in the last week or so, doesn’t mean you don’t have Listeriosis. It could be something you at as long as 20 or even 30 days ago, as sometimes symptoms of this disease take a very long time to develop. Go to a doctor anyway.

Listeriosis is usually treated with antibiotics during pregnancy. These antibiotics, in most cases, will prevent infection to the fetus and newborn. So quick action is important.

To your good health,

TSF

ANOTHER OUTBREAK ON A CRUISE SHIP

There's another bad outbreak of illness on a cruise ship. At least three to six hundred passengers and crew have had a few days of absolute misery with vomiting and diarrhea. They wish they had never set foot on board.

So what else is new? It happens all the time. The latest to be hit by this kind of outbreak is a Royal Caribbean cruise ship named Explorer of the Seas. It was on a 10-day trip to the Caribbean. No more. The cruise is over. With about 10 to 20 percent of the passengers ill, the cruise line decided to call it quits.

It's probably thanks again to norovirus, sometimes called the "cruise ship virus." However, that still has to be confirmed. Inspectors from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are presently on board and laboratory tests are being done. I would bet that food has played a role in the spread of this virus, as it usually does.

Incidentally, the Explorer of the Seas scored 98 - pretty close to perfect - on its recent sanitation inspection by the CDC's Vessel Sanitation Program.

I just checked back on this blog. It seems that I have posted 28 times on norovirus. About half of the posts dealing directly with outbreaks on cruise ships. So if you want to learn how to avoid it, there's plenty of information.

In the meantime ..To your good health!

UPDATE 1/28/14: I notice a lot of readers are clicking on a much older post "Hundreds Fall in on Cruise Ship." Even though this refers to a similar outbreak on a different ship, much of what it says also applies here.

TSF

SALMONELLA EVERYWHERE IN OUR FOOD

The government of the United States has been keeping a special eye on contamination of the country’s food supply by the various Salmonella bacteria. It is now sending out quarterly reports on progress every year. The monitoring focus is primarily on meat and poultry. But, as The Safe Food Handbook: How to Make Smart Choices about Risky Food points out, Salmonella keep cropping up in other foods as well. Nor is it at all clear that we are winning the battle against these pesky bacteria.

Some examples of recent discoveries of such bacteria include the end-of-last year one by The Cultured Kitchen® of West Sacramento, California. It was suspected that Salmonella could be present in all flavors of their non-dairy cashew cheese product ( herb, Smoked Cheddar, Pepper Jack, Pesto or Peso Basil, White Cheddar). These non-dairy cashew cheeses were distributed in Northern California and Nevada at various natural foods stores and farmers markets in the Sacramento Valley, San Francisco Bay Area, and Reno. So much for healthy, small producer, farmers market food!

How did the Salmonella get in? The suspect was cashew nuts - imported from Southeast Asia. The special strain of Salmonella that was found only turns up in these so that was clear evidence. Yes, the products might be “local” but all the ingredients may not be.

Even more recently, Tyson Foods, Inc. had to recall some 33,840 pounds of mechanically separated chicken products because contamination by a Salmonella Heidelberg strain – one of the common ones – was found.

And back in October, Costco had to recall huge amounts of rotisserie (cooked) chicken because of Salmonella contamination.

And that’s only a few examples of Salmonella bacteria turning up in our food.

By the way, symptoms of Salmonella infection include fever, abdominal cramps, and (maybe bloody) diarrhea. Most people who become ill recover within a week. Some, like infants, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems, may develop complications that send them to the hospital.

Be careful what you eat, especially if you are in a high-risk group!

To your good health,

TSF

CAN YOU CATCH BIRD OR SWINE FLU FROM FOOD?

For the last few days, the news in North America has been full of "swine flu" (H1N1v virus) reports, and even one about "bird flu" (H5N1 virus). My friends are asking me: “Can you catch these kinds of influenza from your food?”

Before I address this issue, let me say that I am glad I at least briefly covered both these topics (as well as “mad cow disease”) in The Safe Food Handbook: How to Make Smart Choices about Risky Food.” (For those of you who have bought the book: see the chapter on Meat and Poultry, pp.155-158). I had a nasty feeling that these weird kinds of flu might come back to haunt us. And, they have.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) about half of the United States is reporting widespread influenza outbreaks, most of it apparently caused by the H1N1v virus – also called “swine flu” although it is really a variant of one that is common in pigs. Remember the worldwide pandemic in 2009-1010? The odd thing about this virus then was that it tended to attack younger people. We don’t know if it will the same this season.

As for "bird flu" – it has now arrived in a human in North America. Canada has reported its first death from "bird flu." But the victim had clearly caught it in China, and in fact became ill on the way back home. Before this most of the confirmed 648 cases (bound to be just a fraction of the actual ones) as well as the 384 or so deaths, have been in Asia.

So – to the main question: can you get either "bird" or "swine flu" from your food? The answer isn’t all that simple. Yes, you can catch "bird flu" from handling infected birds – including when you are preparing to cook them. Usually, chickens, turkeys or ducks have been involved. And as far as we know at present, it is not present in birds in North America - yet We are still not sure if you can catch it from eating infected poultry. As for "swine flu" – as the book says, as far as we know at present (things could change), you can’t get it from eating pork, particularly well-cooked pork. But it is possible that someone preparing your food (for instance, when eating out at a restaurant), could sneeze or cough on your slice of tomato or lettuce leaf, or otherwise land the virus in your meal.

There is still a great deal we don’t know about both these scary types if influenza, or, how they could change in the future.

By the way, in the meantime, don’t hug a pig. And if you are travelling in Asia, I would also suggest you don’t get too close to wild birds – or leopards and tigers which now sometimes also carry bird flu.

To your good health,

TSF