MORE RECENT CASES OF SALMONELLA BACTERIA IN FOOD AND SUPPLEMENTS

In the last few days, Salmonella bacteria seem to be making up for lost time. Or else, food testing has just got lucky and caught more cases. I won't have time to blog them all, but here are some U.S. instances from the past few days, and one from the U.K.

These cases show the variety of situations in which Salmonella can crop up. The first two - peppers and alfalfa sprouts are quite common, and have occurred previously many times. The last two - in spice and in dietary supplements - are rarer but not unheard of either, as this bacterium is very good at surviving under dry conditions, and can do so for months. There have been several large spice recalls in the U.S. over the last few years, and of course, the very recent one in celery seeds (see earlier posts).

In peppers: Cal Fresco, LLC (“Cal Fresco”) of California is recalling some 18,500 pounds of fresh Jalapeño and Serrano chili peppers (imported from Mexico, by the way) because of contamination with Salmonella. They were shipped in cases under both the Cal Fresco (10 and 25 pound cases) and Grower Alliance (40 pound case) labels. This lot was distributed to retail stores within California, Oregon, Washington, Texas and Canada between December 3 and December 5, 2011 (I bought some, but luckily cooked them well).

In alfalfa sprouts: Green Valley Food Corp. of is recalling 650 cases of “Let’s Grow Healthy Together!” Alfalfa Sprouts 5 oz. containers, because the results showed to be contaminated with Salmonella. If you read this blog regularly you'll know that I view sprouted seeds as one of the riskiest foods you can eat (see previous posts).

In dietary supplements: Eclectic Institute, Sandy, Oregon is recalling specific lots of its freeze-dried capsules containing Gotu Kola (Centella asiatica) and Bladderwrack (Fucus vesiculosus) capsules because of potential Salmonella contamination.

In dry spices: In the U.K. the Food Standards agency reports that Natco Foods Ltd. is recalling certain batches of its own ground cumin due to the presence of Salmonella bacteria.

To your good health,

TSF

AGAIN - E.COLI BACTERIA IN GROUND BEEF

We have another very common type of food contamination in the U.S. - E.coli bacteria in ground beef. This is one of several similar recalls in 2011, but hopefully, will be the last (after all, we only have a couple of weeks left in the year). But don't bet on it. And the recall could also grow in size, as often is the case.

Today the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that Tyson Fresh Meats Inc., of Nebraska, is recalling some 40,948 pounds of fine-ground ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7.

The beef is known to have been shipped in big 10lb "chubs" to institutions and distributors in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. If it is sold in stores, it will have been repackaged under who knows what label.

And it wasn't the company which discovered it: the bacteria was found in the meat by routine government testing. Lucky it caught this one.

Cook your meat well, and be very careful handling it. I have taken to wearing disposable gloves, and of course, am very careful not to let the meat, or the wrap it came in, or any juices drip onto anything.

To your good health,

TSF

THE SALMONELLA MYSTERY SOLVED: IT'S GROUND TURKEY!

For the past five months or so, the authorities in the U.S. have been wondering what has been causing all those Salmonella illnesses throughout the country (at least 79 ill, and one death). Well, it seems that the mystery is finally solved. It's ground turkey. Yes, that risky ground meat product again.

Today the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a huge recall by the firm Cargill Meat Solutions Corporation, of Springdale, Ark. In all, 36 million pounds of ground turkey products are being withdrawn from the marketplace before they make more people sick.

If you find any of the below in your refrigerator, don't eat it. Return it to your store or throw it out. Don't even cook it for the dog, as handling it could put you at risk as well. This is a particularly bad Salmonella bacteria - not only because it is the more potent Salmonella Heidelberg, but because it is a multi-drug resistant strain. The products were distributed nationwide. It's a very long list, but here goes:

Ground Turkey Chubs - Use or Freeze by Dates of 2/20/11 through 8/23/11
• 10 lb. chubs of Honeysuckle White Fresh Natural Lean Ground Turkey with Natural Flavorings
• 10 lb. chubs of Unbranded Ground Turkey w/ Natural Flavoring 2 Pack
• 80 oz. (5 lbs.) chubs of Riverside Ground Turkey with Natural Flavoring
• 10 lb. chubs of Natural Lean Ground Turkey with Natural Flavorings
• 16 oz. (1 lb.) chubs of Fresh Lean HEB Ground Turkey 93/7
• 16 oz. (1 lb.) chubs of Fresh HEB Ground Turkey 85/15
• 16 oz. (1 lb.) chubs of Honeysuckle White 93/7 Fresh Ground Turkey with Natural Flavoring
• 4-1 Pound Packages of Honeysuckle White Ground Turkey with Natural Flavoring Value Pack
• 16 oz. (1 lb.) chubs of Honeysuckle White 85/15 Fresh Ground Turkey
• 48 oz. (3 lb.) chubs of Honeysuckle White 85/15 Fresh Ground Turkey

85% Ground Turkey - Use or Freeze by Dates of 2/20/11 through 8/23/11
• 19.2 oz. (1.2 lb.) trays of Honeysuckle White 85/15 Ground Turkey
• 19.2 oz. (1.2 lb.) trays of Honeysuckle White Taco Seasoned Ground Turkey Colored with Paprika
• 19.2 oz. (1 lb. 3.2 oz.) trays of Kroger Ground Turkey Fresh 85/15
• 48.0 oz. (3 lb.) trays of Kroger Ground Turkey Fresh 85/15
• 20 oz. (1.25 lb.) trays of Honeysuckle White 85/15 Ground Turkey
• 48.0 oz. (3 lbs.) trays of Honeysuckle White 85/15 Ground Turkey Family Pack
• 16 oz. (1 lb.) trays of Honeysuckle White 85/15 Ground Turkey
• 19.2 oz. (1.2 lbs.) trays of Honeysuckle White Seasoned Italian Style Ground Turkey with Natural Flavorings
• 20 oz. (1 lb. 4 oz.) trays of Safeway Fresh Ground Turkey with Natural Flavorings * 15% Fat
(NOTE: Sold in Texas only at Randall's and Tom Thumb, Use or Freeze by 03/12/11 through 05/05/11)

93% Ground Turkey - Use or Freeze by Dates of 2/20/11 through 8/23/11
• 19.2 oz. (1.20 lb.) trays of Honeysuckle White 93/7 Lean Ground Turkey
• 48 oz. (3.0 lbs.) trays of Honeysuckle White 93/7 Lean Ground Turkey Family Pack
• 19.2 oz. (1.2 lb.) trays of Fit & Active Lean Ground Turkey 93/07
• 19.2 oz. (1.2 lbs.) trays of Giant Eagle Ground Turkey Fresh & Premium Lean
• 19.2 oz. (1 lb 3.2 oz.) trays of Kroger Ground Turkey Fresh Lean 93/7
• 20 oz. (1.25 lb.) trays of Honeysuckle White 93/7 Lean Ground Turkey

Ground Patties
• 16.0 oz. (1 lb.) trays of Honeysuckle White Ground Turkey Patties with "Use by" or "Freeze by" dates of 2/20/11 through 8/23/11
• 16 oz. (1 lb.) trays of Kroger Ground Seasoned Turkey Patties Fresh 85/15, with "Use by" or "Freeze by" dates of 2/20/11 through 8/23/11
• 16.0 oz. (1 lb.) trays of Shady Brook Farms Ground Turkey Burgers with Natural Flavoring with the following "Use by" or "Freeze by" dates: 07/09/11, 07/10/11, 07/11/11, 07/15/11, 07/16/11, 07/21/11, 07/22/11, 07/24/11, 08/01/11, or 08/04/11

Frozen Ground Turkey - Production Dates of 2/20/11 through 8/2/11
• 16 oz. (1 lb.) chubs of Honeysuckle White Ground Turkey with Natural Flavoring
• 16 oz. (1 lb.) chubs of Spartan Ground Turkey
• 48 oz. (3 lb.) chubs of Honeysuckle White 85/15 Ground Turkey
• 40 lb. Bulk Packed Ground Turkey with Natural Flavoring for Food Service Use Only

To your good health,
TSF

MORE RADIOACTIVE BEEF IN JAPAN

As I expected (see previous posts on this issue), more cattle in Japan have been found to have very high levels of radiation. This is bad news, but let me say right away for those readers from Japan: a few meals of this radiation-contaminated beef are unlikely to seriously affect your health. You would have to eat it regularly for a longer time.

The total number of cattle shipped now appears to be 648 from Fukushima Prefecture, plus about another 24 from Niigata Prefecture (this total is bound to increase further). At least 8 farms are involved. All are reported to have fed radiation-contaminated straw to the cattle. This straw was collected near the crippled Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power plant after the recent nuclear catastrophe. That is, it was exposed to radiation from the atmosphere. Some of it has been found to have extremely high levels of the radioactive isotope caesium.

So where did the contaminated beef end up? Basically, it was distributed widely in Japan. According to The Mainichi Daily News, of the cows from Fukushima farms, 199 were shipped to Tokyo, 192 to Hyogo Prefecture, nine to Gunma Prefecture, eight distributed within Fukushima Prefecture, two went to Tochigi Prefecture and one to Saitama Prefecture. The authorities are still tracing these shipments further and finding out if the meat has actually been sold to consumers or to institutional clients.

What this incident is also showing is that farmers in Japan are out of the post-disaster information loop. Six of the seven from Fukushima Prefecture said they hadn't even heard that they weren't supposed to feed their cattle straw that that been stored outside! I hope this situation is being addressed. If these cattle farmers hadn't heard, most likely others haven't either, and there is bound to be more contaminated feed around - including for other food animals and poultry.

To your good health,

TSF

"CONVENIENCE" FOODS RECALLED AGAIN

It doesn't matter whether we call them "convience foods" or "ready-to-eat foods" (as I do in The Safe Food Handbook) the result is still the same: they are more likely to be contaminated with bacteria and to contain more unhealthy chemicals than are "simple" foods that have you slaving over the kitchen sink and stove for a while.

The most common risk is the bacteria Listeria monocytogenes (see previous post and several earlier ones for special risks for pregnant women and others). And, there is another recall in the U.S. This time it is by Warabeya U.S.A., Inc., based in Honolulu, Hawaii.It is recalling approximately 1,550 pounds of convenience meals that may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. Here's the list as in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) news release:

- "10.3-ounce packages of "7-ELEVEN FRIED CHICKEN BENTO"
- "11-ounce packages of "7-ELEVEN TERIYAKI CHICKEN BENTO"
- "10-ounce packages of "7-ELEVEN BREAKFAST SCRAMBLE BOWL"
- "17.75-ounce packages of "7-ELEVEN BIG BENTO"
- "7.25-ounce packages of "7-ELEVEN LITTLE SMOKIES SNACK PACK

The USDA seems to think the common cause was a contaminated food scale pan used for all these different RTE products. It might also be a common ingredient..The result is the same. Don't eat them - especially if you are pregnant!

To your good health,
TSF

WHY ARE SPROUTED SEEDS RISKY TO EAT?

Outbreaks of foodborne illness from sprouted seeds are common. They have occurred since the 1970's, all over the world. The second largest outbreak in terms of illnesses caused, and the most vicious in terms of the seriousness of those illnesses, occurred this year in northern Germany. Even as the Hamburg-Germany outbreak gradually winds down, new ones have started in France and the United States.

How do sprouts become so risky? Most of the time it is suspected that the actual seeds were the cause. That is, it wasn't contaminated equipment at the sprout farm, or water used during sprout germination, or some disease-carrying worker on the farm or at the packing plant. This means that the sprout grower was also an innocent victim. The bacteria were there already when the seeds were purchased. They had picked up these bacteria from their own growing environment.

However, the chances are that bacteria will be present in fairly low numbers in the seeds themselves. The dry conditions of an ungerminated seed are not ideal for the rapid multiplication of bacteria. But all this changes when the seeds are moistened during pre-germination. Multiplication speeds up even more in the few days during which the seeds germinate into sprouts. The bacteria happily take advantage of all those great nutrients in the seeds and the sprouts and multiply and multiply.

Whereas one teaspoon of seeds may just have contained a hundred or so E.coli, Salmonella, Listeria or other bacteria, after germination, there can turn into a million or more. Those few in the dry seeds may not have been enough to make someone ill, but the large numbers in the sprouted seeds are.

At present, we know of no way to make sprouts completely safe without destroying the seed's power to germinate (see next post). That's the sprout version of Catch 22.

To your good health,

TSF

FUKUSHIMA RADIATION CONTINUES TO CONTAMINATE FOOD

Tomorrow, June 11, will be the 3 month anniversary of the disastrous tsunami and nuclear catastrophe in Japan. I was heavily blogging the implications for food safety before this huge European E.coli bacteria outbreak diverted my attention. Now I am back.

The contamination of the environment and of food seems to be much less in the news now than it was during the first two months. In fact, very little information on levels of radionuclides in Japan's food seems to be released, even though testing is apparently ongoing. But that does not mean that radioactive material from the damaged Fukushima nuclear facility is no longer drifting over populated areas and agricultural land where crops grow and animals graze. It is. Nor does it mean that people, especially in Japan, are not concerned about how this affects the safety of their food. I can tell they are from the searches that reach my blog.

So, in answer to some of the questions people have, I tried to find out where the radioactive material is going. After much searching, I finally found information on the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety

Agency's (ARPANSA) official site. They have modeled its path according to wind conditions. From yesterday, June 9 the radioactive materials was supposed to mainly be over Northern Japan. However, starting from Saturday mid-morning, changing wind conditions would push the plume to the south of the reactor site. There may be some landfall over Southern Japan. While no landfall is expected in Tokyo on Thursday, ARPANSA says it may occur Saturday and Sunday. Over the next 12 days or so, the radiation plume is expected to move over Korea, China, Russia and USA.

The ARPANSA website provides more detailed information. But you get the picture. The radioactive material is still drifting around. Soil, grass and agricultural crops in the path of the radiation plume are progressively becoming more and more contaminated as they accumulate unhealthy substances such as nuclear Caesium and Iodine (see earlier blogs for more information on these). Several countries which import Japanese food products such as seaweed, seafood, milk and fruits and vegetables are cautious about foods grown in Japanese prefectures of Kanagawa, Nagano, Niigata, Saitama, Tokyo, Yamagata, Miyagi and Shizuoka.

To your good health!

TSF

ANOTHER U-TURN IN THE E.COLI OUTBREAK INVESTIGATION?

So the culprit vegetable for the huge toxic E.coli outbreak was declared to be (Spanish, imported) cucumbers. And then it wasn't cucumbers. Next it was (German-Saxony, organic) bean sprouts. And now doubt is being cast too on this being the criminal food. Talk of a mess! And talk of an embarrassing situation for German officials. And, a very frustrating situation for all the people living or visiting Northern Germany who are trying to not starve to death or ruin their health, but not knowing what to eat.

But I am a little sympathetic, because of the pressures and challenges involved in solving this mystery. If you have "been in the business" - as I have (among other things, having done bacteriology in public health laboratories), you tend to be more aware of the barriers and pitfalls. For one thing, particularly in the case of food, sufficient numbers of bacteria rarely turn up in every single sample. So you may get some negatives as well as positives. In this case, the news reports 23 out of 40 samples from the farm had turned out negative so far. There are still 17 to go. Let's see...

But there is also the chance - although less likely - that the bacteria entered at a later point. There are still other possibilities as well. I don't have the details on when the sprout samples were taken, but conceivably, it might be possible that the contamination was temporary, in that it only affected sprout crops at a certain period of time (around end of April to early May). This could have been a rainy period, with more runoff from fields where cattle were grazing. Or, perhaps wild animals (which can also carry such bacteria) were running around then, and are now gone. Sprouts do spoil rather quickly, so there may have been none of the original samples left on which to do tests.

Investigating the cause of a food outbreak is always a challenge, particularly with perishable produce or perishable legumes, unless you just happen to get lucky (for instance, finding the contaminated food sitting in the refrigerator of someone who has become ill). But, admittedly, this is one for the history books.

To your good health,

TSF

WE MAY NEVER KNOW THE SOURCE OF THE GERMANY-CENTERED E.COLI OUTBREAK

The E.coli outbreak that originated in Germany, and is spreading across Europe and beyond, is much worse than anyone initially expected. In fact, it is worse than any recent outbreak of food borne illness anywhere in the world. I am calling it "food borne" because that is how it has been classified from the beginning. But I am still keeping an open mind until there is conclusive proof. And there isn't yet.

True, food is indeed the source of illness from enterohemorrhagic E.coli like this one. But it is not the only possibility. You can also get it from contact with sick people, from animals (who may carry disease-causing bacteria but not show any symptoms), from a swimming pool, from oral contact with a contaminated spoon or fork (or, anything else), or from drinking water.

Even if it is food - and, it probably is, given the large number of people becoming ill, we may never find out which food item is involved. It wouldn't be the first time that an investigation of food borne illness came up blank. Not all crimes are solved either. And, as in the case of this outbreak, under pressure to come up with a solution, the wrong culprit is sometimes initially identified. Even if traceback efforts and laboratory testing never find the source, the outbreak usually just fizzles out. But, of course, it would end faster if we knew where it started.

Research institutes all over the world are becoming involved in trying to solve the mystery. Let's hope they succeed before it spreads any further.

To your good health!

TSF

ARE MOLDY DONUTS UNHEALTHY?

Earlier this month there was a recall of donuts in the U.S. Rather unusual. We tend to think of food recalls in terms of meat, produce or dairy products - but donuts? The reason was also not a common one. Bimbo Bakeries, USA, recalled several lots of its Entenmann’s Pop ‘Ems Donuts and Bimbo Donitas distributed in Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada, Utah and Wyomin because of mold. Reportedly some consumers not only reported odd appearance and smell, but illness. Were they imagining it, or can mold actually cause food poisoning?

In most cases, moldy food is not dangerous. In fact, "good mold" is used to make many kinds of foods, including certain cheeses. But some molds produce dangerous mycotoxins some of the time - when the conditions are right. The best known of these mycotoxins is aflatoxin, but there are plenty of others, including fumonisin, vomitoxin, zearalenone and ochratoxin. These molds and their toxins can potentially pop up in anything we eat, including grains and grain-based foods like bread and donuts, nuts, peanuts, spices, dairy and even produce.

It is unlikely that you will get a big enough dose of a mycotoxin from a single serving of moldy food to become suddenly and violently ill. But mycotoxins in your food could have a longer-term effect. In fact, some of these toxins have been linked to several forms of cancer and other diseases as well. The research is at a very early stage, except in the case of aflatoxin. Who knows what we'll find out in the future.

And, the trouble is that you can't tell when one of the fungi like Aspergillus, Claviceps, Penicillium or Fusarium takes it into its fuzzy mind to start spitting out these toxic byproducts. So, if you find moldy food in your refrigerator or on your kitchen shelf, throw it out. That's what I did with some bread today. Even though I hate wasting food, it is better than ruining your health.

TSF

P.S.: The Safe Food Handbook provides more detail on how you can avoid mold on food, and also how you can save some of the moldy food by careful removal of mold.

WHY ARE GRAPE TOMATOES CONTAMINATED?

An old friend in Australia asked me on my Facebook site whether I thought their grape tomatoes were also unsafe to eat. After I answered the question, something occurred to me. Perhaps she - and some other people - are thinking that the recently discovered Salmonella-bacteria contamination of some U.S. grape tomatoes has something to do with the nature of grape tomatoes themselves. That is, that grape tomatoes are less safe than other kinds of tomatoes.

That isn't the case. As far as I know, grape tomatoes are no more likely to carry pathogenic bacteria. And remember, in the current U.S. outbreak, all the tomatoes came from just one Florida farm which sent them to one Florida packer. Other grape tomatoes from other farms - as far as we know - are currently safe.

Any kind of tomato can become contaminated. Who knows, tomorrow we may hear of a recall of cherry tomatoes or plum tomatoes or Roma tomatoes. Over the years, we have had many incidents of contaminated fresh tomatoes, and Salmonella has been a common culprit. While they are growing, bacteria can get into growing tomatoes through contaminated irrigation water, fertilizer (especially if composting has not been properly done), from birds or insects or wildlife (such as those squirrels which are always trying to take a bite out of mine). While being sorted and packed, workers who are carriers of bacteria, viruses or parasites can also contaminate them. There have been cases when even the washing water was found to be the cause. Although fresh tomatoes are most likely to cause food poisoning, processed, as well as fresh tomatoes can carry bacteria and viruses. In 2010 there was a somewhat unusual small outbreak of Hepatitis A in France caused by sun-dried tomatoes (imported from Turkey). Basically, anything can happen.

So how can you keep eating those delicious fresh tomatoes and still be safe? There is no magic answer. Growing your own would certainly help (the photo is of one of my heritage tomatoes). And if you can't do that, there are studies which have shown that tomatoes still on the vine are safer than those off the vine.

TSF