FROZEN OYSTERS WITH NOROVIRUS FROM KOREA

Norovirus is believed to be the most common cause of food poisoning, although we can also get it from other sources. It's rarely in the news - except when there is a large outbreak on a cruise ship or plane (see posts for Feb. 25 and 26).

Symptoms of Norovirus illness (diarrhea, vomiting, stomach cramps, and occasionally other flu symptoms) are usually over quickly (1-2 days). We often refer to it as "stomach flu" and don't even consider that it might have come from something we ate. Unfortunately, though, this virus is very contagious.

Now the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned consumers not to eat certain ASSI Brand frozen oysters (shucked, not in shells). There's been an outbreak of norovirus-caused illness in Washington state and they've traced it to these oysters. The oysters were imported from Korea, and processed there - yes, another problem with processed imported food.

By the way, the oysters come in 3-lb bags . Each bag identifies Central Fisheries Co. Ltd., as the packer and Korean Farms of Santa Fe Springs, Calif., as the distributor. Korean Farms distributes a variety of Asian food products. "Assi" is their flagship brand. Incidentally, the word Assi comes from the traditional Korean title for an upper class, young, married woman. Ooops..We used to have a dog called that.

The “Better if Used By” date on the bags of oysters is “2013.02.232.” Although the recall notice does not specifically state it, most likely the oysters went to restaurants, since few of us buy 3lbs of shucked oysters at a time. Certainly, the illnesses that triggered this recall were the result of three people eating the oysters at a Washington State restaurant.

This product was shipped to the states of Washington, California, Texas, Colorado, Arizona, Idaho, and Utah. If you live in one of those seven states, you may want to pass on the oyster dish on the restaurant menu, or, any dish containing oysters, in case they have been undercooked. Thorough cooking does kill this virus.

To your good health,
TSF

DEADLY FLORIDA OYSTERS BEING RECALLED

The Safe Food Handbook calls oysters one of the most dangerous foods you can eat. I never eat raw oysters or even lightly cooked ones. But they are an easy food for me to give up, as I really find that slithery feeling unpleasant when a raw oyster wriggles down my throat.

The two main risks in oysters are Norovirus and bacteria from the Vibrio genus. Norovirus is no big deal, but those Vibrio bacteria are. Their members include the cholera bacterium. And that's what's been found in Florida oysters harvested from Area 1642 in Apalachicola Bay, Fla. between March 21 and April 6, 2011 - toxigenic Vibrio cholerae O75. (By the way, notice how late this recall is coming..It's now May). Area 1642 is a zone that stretches from north to south in Apalachicola Bay just on the east side of the bridge that goes from Eastpoint, Fla., to St. George Island, Fla. This is not the first time Vibrio bacteria have turned up in oysters from Florida.

As of today, nine people have been reported to be ill (as always, many cases do not get reported). All ate raw or lightly steamed oysters. So far no one has died, but the more toxic Vibrio certainly can prove fatal if the bacteria enter your bloodstream and multiply there.

Here are the typical symptoms: nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. You would start to feel ill anywhere from a few hours up to five days after eating the raw or lightly cooked oysters. There may also be blood or mucus in your stools. In worst cases, the bacteria can get into your bloodstream. If so, the symptoms can be truly horrible and may include loss of skin, kidney failure and excruciating pain. Believe me, this is one of the worst possible kinds of food poisoning.

Certain kinds of people are much more at risk for becoming seriously ill from Vibrio than others: those who have cirrhosis of the liver, liver cancer, hepatitis or a suppressed immune system for other reasons (such as AIDS. In fact the FDA warns anyone with a liver disease never to eat raw or lightly cooked oysters. Some studies also suggest that others who are more susceptible include people with hemachromatosis, diabetes mellitus, kidney disease - and those taking a lot of antacid pills.

If you still have any of those recalled oysters in your refrigerator, throw them out! (They shouldn't be kept that long anyway). No oyster is worth your life.

To your good health,
TSF

MISLEADING STATISTICS ON FOODBORNE ILLNESS

One of the many Mark Twain sayings that I like is: "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics." True - statistics are often misleading. You can interpret and use them in a variety of ways to make a point. That also applies to statistics about foodborne illness. A call-in question during my KQED Forum radio interview on Friday, made me very aware of this. But it is difficult to explain complicated issues well in a 10-20 second response on air (particularly if the show is live, and the question catches you "cold.") So I am doing it here.

The number of reported illnesses caused by one or other food or food group (such as produce, dairy, seafood, meat, grains) depends on several factors. They include:

• The contaminants that it carries
• Whether these contaminants are or are not checked for by the industry and government inspectors
• The food's popularity (how widely it is distributed, eaten or used as an ingredient in other food products)
• The point of contamination (farm, factory, distributor, transporter, retailer, restaurant, and so on).

The questioner was particularly concerned because I said that raw vegetables and fruits cause a large number of illnesses every year. They do - because most Americans and Canadians eat them, most of the contaminants enter at an early point (the farm), several bacteria are now tested for on raw produce, and some of the huge fresh produce companies distribute their products nationwide.

Yes, your lettuce or spinach salad may not be as deadly - strictly speaking as say, as raw oysters or sprouted seeds. But these foods cause a far smaller number of illnesses in the U.S. and Canada, simply because only a small percentage of people eat them. Raw produce causes many times more. But for the stated reasons.

TSF

FIVE FOODS I WON'T EAT IN 2011

I'm an omnivore. I have even eaten barbecued bugs in Asia, sheep's eyes in Greece, some very odd root foods gathered by Bushmen in Africa, and well...a whole lot of other things I would rather not think about these days.

But the other night someone I met at a party asked me if there are any types of North American dishes or meals I simply won't eat because I consider them too unsafe. Yes, there are. Here are five that I plan to pass on in 2011, both when eating at home and when eating out:

• Salads or sandwiches made using raw sprouts.
Sprouts are simply too easily contaminated, even when producers use best FDA recommended procedures, and even if you grow them yourself.

• Raw oysters in any form.
True, I don't care for their slimy texture, but there is also a major health risk: Vibrio vulnificus bacteria which can make you very seriously ill and even be fatal.

• Farmed fish imported from China.
Too many drug residues have been found in these fish, and the FDA probably isn't even catching a small fraction of the ones that are there.

• Cheeses made with unpasteurized ("raw") milk.
I love them, but the latest outbreaks are showing that the 60 day cheese aging rule is not working to kill all bacteria.

• Sunnyside-up eggs.
I don't consider eggs to be a very risky food, in spite of the 2010 large Salmonella-associated outbreak. But they're easy to give up. I mean, they're not like chocolate. So why risk it?


TSF