THE CANADIAN SIDE OF THE HAZELNUT RECALL

The recent DeFranco & Sons (of LA, California) recall of E.coli 0157:H7 contaminated hazelnuts (also known as "filberts") involves Canada as well as the United States (and, for all we know at present, may also spread to other countries).

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has issued an alert to Canadian consumers, noting:

"If you have purchased bulk or unlabelled, in-shell hazelnuts or in-shell mixed nuts containing hazelnuts after Nov. 16, 2010, and are unsure if you have the recalled product, check with your place of purchase to determine if you have the affected product."

The affected nuts are known to have been distributed in Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Ontario, but, as the CFIA said, they could also have been distributed elsewhere in Canada (because some of the big bulk bags of hazelnuts have probably been re-packaged into smaller ones by other distributors and shipped elsewhere - see earlier blog).

So far, two Canadians have fallen ill with a strain of E. coli 0157:H7 that matches the genetic fingerprint of the strain responsible for the hazelnut-linked illnesses in the United States.

For a list of recalled products - also relevant to Canada - see earlier post. And the warning I gave earlier also applies in Canada: some of these hazelnut could have been used as ingredients in finished foods (such as chocolates, baked goods and so on), so avoid such foods for the time being until we see where this recall ends.

TSF

DETAILS ON THE DeFRANCO & SONS HAZELNUT RECALL

Here are the details on the DeFranco & Sons hazelnut recall (see previous post). Apparently they received the nuts from various suppliers and growers. This is one of those "Ah-ha, I told you so" moments. The Safe Food Handbook not only has a whole chapter on nuts, but stresses throughout that one of the reasons our industrialized food system is risky is because it mixes products from a range of growers and suppliers. Case in point. It is going to take a while before we trace the bad nuts back to their grower.

Some of the DeFranco products were hazelnuts alone, some contained hazelnuts mixed with other nuts. The 50-pound bags of in-shell hazelnuts or mixed nuts with in-shell hazelnuts were probably repacked by other companies into smaller packages with different labels or sold from bulk containers to us. (Read - any kind of hazelnuts could be contaminated).

The affected products listed below were distributed between Nov. 2, 2010 and Dec. 22, 2010, so we could have been eating them for months.

Brand Size Product Sell by Date UPC
Sunripe 1 lb Large Hazelnuts 6/30/11 070533 000167

Sunripe 1 lb Mixed Nuts 6/30/11 070533 000143
Sunripe 2 lbs Mixed Nuts 6/30/11 070533 001003

None
Sold as “Season’s
Greetings” Gift
Pack) 4 lbs Mixed Nuts 6/30/11 070533 101024
Sunripe 50 lbs Imperial Mixed Nuts -- --
Sunripe 50 lbs Supreme Mixed Nuts -- --
George Packing 50 lbs Hazelnuts -- --


Take them back or toss them out!

TSF

E.COLI CONTAMINATED HAZELNUTS

E.coli 0157:H 7 contaminated hazelnuts (and, I bet, a growing list of hazelnut-containing processed foods). Yes, you read correctly.

DeFranco & Sons of Los Angeles, California, is recalling in-shell hazelnuts and mixed-nut products in bulk and bags. They were distributed nationwide in the US and to Canada. (I wonder where they were grown? California or imported? I'll find out and let you know). These nuts have already been linked to seven cases of E.coli 0157:H7 illness in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. There will be more.

E.coli 0157 contamination of nuts is very uncommon. Usually it's Salmonella bacteria (as it was in the case of past peanut and pistachio outbreaks we had). And, we all know by now that this nasty bacteria can cause very serious illness, especially in young children and the elderly who could develop hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) just as they think they are getting over the diarrhea.

If you have eaten hazelnuts recently, or, any product containing hazelnuts (such as peanut butter, chocolates, baked goods, ice creams) watch out for symptoms of bloody diarrhea, in case you were unlucky. Onset of symptoms is usually 3-4 days (but can be 2-8) after eating the nuts. Get yourself (or your child) to a doctor if that happens.

And my advice - avoid any brand hazelnuts or hazelnut containing product for the moment, until we find out where this outbreak ends up.

TSF

AN NPR "SHOT" AT THE SAFE FOOD HANDBOOK

Well, you can't win all the time. Nor can you like every review of your book. The serious reviews of The Safe Food Handbook to date have been gratifyingly positive. The media ones are OK.

I don't really expect much from a reviewer (and I have been one myself) - just three things: 1) read the book; 2) spell my name correctly; and 3) balance the need to be witty and profile yourself with a fair take on what the book actually says.

The review by the National Public Radio (NPR) Health Blog ("Shots") is certainly the shortest to date: (http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2010/12/28/132402841/5-health-books-you-dont-need-to-read-because-we-did)

Here goes speed dating meets literary criticism.
The Safe Food Handbook by Heli Perrret
Food is scary. "Risky food is everywhere." Deal with it.

By the way, I rather like the ambiguity of the NPR blog title "Shots" as it could mean a "shot of medicine", shooting down (as in a put-down), or "a shot in the dark." I do wonder in this case whether the reviewer actually read the book, or just "speed dated" it for a few minutes, before he indulged in his "literary criticism." In his hurry, he spelt my name incorrectly. I don't mind the "Dr." being left off as I don't use it 99% of the time anyway, but "Perrret" spelt - yes, with 3"r"s and one "t" is sort of cute, but not correct.

Whereas I like the fact that the review is punchy and witty, I wish it had also given a fair view of the book. The review says "food is scary." This is not an alarmist book. As Carole Marks, of the radio program "A Touch of Grey" recently said in introducing me on her program, it is an "empowering book." I was so pleased that she saw it as such. Yes, risks in food are mentioned, food group by food group, but always as a starting point for solutions. The consumer can take charge. And in fact, one of the mains reasons I wrote it is because I felt there was a need for a food safety book that is written by someone who loves food - growing it, cooking it and eating it.

I don't know about the final "deal with it" part of the review. It depends how you read that phrase. If you read it as "you can deal with it," then that's good. As the book says, you will never be able to avoid all the risks that could crop up in your food from time to time, but you will be able to avoid many of them if you are an informed consumer.

But there's the problem of the heading of the whole review "Five Books You Don't Need to Read Because We Did." I am afraid that is not going to help you be an informed consumer who avoids food risks. This review certainly does not give you the answers. And there's more to eating safely on a daily basis than avoiding Salmonella bacteria, and more to safe practices than washing your produce. Read it and you'll find out.

TSF

MY GUIDE ON SAFE FOOD AND DRINK FOR TRAVELERS

I just took a look at the World Health Organization's "Guide on Safe Food for Travelers." I don't like it. Apparently it was adopted by China for the Beijing Olympics. No wonder several members of the US track team came down with food poisoning.

As you gather from several recent posts, travel has been on my mind lately (is it spring coming?) and I have certainly done enough of it in my life - mainly for international assignments. Anyway, here's my own guide, which I now always follow except in Europe and certain Asian cities:

• Eat only cooked food, except in the case of fruit which has been grown high on a tree and you can peel (such as bananas, mangos, oranges).
• As far as possible, avoid large catered affairs and buffets.
• Avoid street vendor food, and food sold by small roadside places or in markets, unless it is simple food, cooked in front of you (such as a roasted corn cob, roasted chestnuts).
• Only eat cheese or other dairy if you are certain it is pasteurized.
• Avoid shellfish, unless you are certain that it comes from safe waters and never eat fish or shellfish on a plane.
• Drink only bottled water and drinks, or hot coffee, tea, and avoid ice in anything you drink unless you are sure it is made from bottled water.

And, of course, always wash your hands before you touch food.

TSF

WAS IT SALMONELLA IN THE EGGS? A FOOD POISONING CASE STUDY

Last night a good friend told me had recently had a miserable case of food poisoning. Since he reads this blog, as do several other mutual friends, let's just call him Joe. Joe is over 65 years old, owns and runs his own company, physically active, and relatively healthy. Here's the sad tale he told me.

Joe had gone to his usual pastry shop for coffee and a custom-made pizza after a bike ride in San Francisco. He asked for the following on the pizza: egg whites, smoked salmon and fried onions. Three hours later, just as he was starting a very critical meeting with an important new client, he started to have stomach cramps. All he wanted now was for the meeting to finish. As soon as the client walked out the door he began vomiting and continued to vomit violently all night. He recovered in about a day. Joe was convinced that there had been salmonella in the eggs on his pizza. But was it the eggs, and was it Salmonella bacteria?

Let's look at four possible causes in Joe's case - all of which are commonly associated with restaurant food, starting with Salmonella. Since he did not go to a doctor, we'll never know what it was, but have a guess. By the way, his case will not be reported as a food poisoning statistic either - as most aren't.

Salmonella bacteria can get into almost any food and at any point between the field and plate, although they are most likely to be in foods of animal origin. Food workers may also carry Salmonella and pass them on. Most persons infected with Salmonella develop diarrhea, abdominal cramps and fever. Onset of symptoms usually occurs 12-72 hours after eating. Luckier victims recover in as little as 48 hrs, but usually it's 4-7 miserable days. It can be even longer if complications set in (that is, if it gets into bloodstream, requiring hospitalization).

Listeria monocytogenes is also becoming a major public health problem. Unlike Salmonella, the onset of symptoms can be very slow - 3 to 20 days, and occasionally even longer. Victims tend to have fever and muscle aches (like flu) and sometimes a stiff neck. Gastrointestinal symptoms aren't always present. Like Salmonella, L.monocytogenes is found in soil and water, but can get into food at any point. It is often present in ready-to-eat foods, most likely because a high percentage of food workers carry it - some estimates are as high as 30 percent.

Staphylococcus aureus is another bacterium that commonly causes food poisoning, especially in restaurants. It could get into food from the nose or skin of a food workers (it is believed that up to 25% may carry it without symptoms). Onset of symptoms is caused by the Staph toxins and occurs very quickly - in perhaps as little as 30 minutes, but usually, 1-6 hrs and normally includes several of the following: nausea, retching, vomiting, stomach cramps, and diarrhea, lasting about one day, but sometimes up to 3 days.

Norovirus is the most common cause of food poisoning and is a very contagious virus. It usually gets into food directly from food handlers, and sometimes from contaminated surfaces or kitchen tools. Onset of symptoms is usually 24-48 hours after eating contaminated food, but occasionally it is earlier, and includes very bad vomiting, watery non-bloody diarrhea with abdominal cramps, and nausea. Luckily, recovery is almost always within 1-3 days (and, miserable nights).

A final thought - we tend to think that we got food poisoning from the last meal we ate. This could be true, but it may not be. As you see from the preceding, the onset of symptoms could range from 30 minutes to 20 days - just with these four possible causes. And there are others. Could Joe have got the food poisoning from something else he ate?

TSF

BROCCOLI CAUSES RECALL OF READY-T0-EAT FOODS I

Hazardous broccoli! Yes. This time it seems that healthy vegetable is the culprit. But don't blame the poor vegetable. My guess is that the source of the problem was a sick worker who handled the broccoli or badly sanitized equipment. Ready-to-eat (RTE) food is always more risky than fresh - as I have stressed in the book, and in several blogs, particularly in terms of Listeriosis risk.

Listeria monocytogenes bacteria, which causes Listeriosis, is becoming a major public health threat in many countries, including in the US and Canada. That's why I am blogging this recall - to make the point yet again: RTE foods tend to be more risky and should be avoided by people who are particularly vulnerable to Listeriosis. If you fall into one of the following groups - don't eat them: pregnant women, people with weakened immune systems, those with HIV/AIDS, elderly. Young children are also at more likely to become seriously ill.

This bacteria has a high fatality rate (around 25%). Some people won't even know they have been exposed to it. Some will have mild symptoms. Others will die. In the case of pregnant women, it is the unborn child that is at risk.

Back to the latest Listeria - linked outbreak and food recall: Taylor Farms Pacific, of Tracy, California, has just recalled 64,000 pounds of various RTE food products sold at supermarket chains of Safeway, Raley's, Vons, Pak N'Save, Pavilions in the US states of California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington because of suspected Listeria contamination. The recalled products include a range of healthy-sounding snack trays, pork and chicken dinners with broccoli and apparently deli salads. For a full list of recalled products, go to: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/Recall_016_2011_Release/index.asp.

The USDA points out that some of the salad mixes were only available for sale through deli counters (and, I would assume, did not carry a Taylor Farms label). They are no longer for sale but check your frig in case you still have some deli salad with broccoli, red onion, bacon bits, raisins, sunflower seeds and dressing ingredients. If so, return it to the store or throw it out. Don't eat it!

TSF