FOOD WORKERS OFTEN PASS ON NOROVIRUS

I just checked this blog and found that I had 33 posts dealing with Norovirus. Many of them have well over a thousand hits. The most popular ones are those which deal with Norovirus on cruise ships. That is a very common place for large outbreaks caused by this nasty virus. But sizeable Norovirus outbreaks have also occurred in restaurants, nursing homes, catered receptions and, in schools, where they have been occurring a lot recently in the U.S.

Why these places? True the virus is highly contagious. But there is another reason - these are all places where food is prepared by food service workers. Low income food service workers, with no health insurance, often turn up for work when they are ill so that they don't lose the wages they need to live on. In fact, if they have been ill with this virus, they should actually stay home for at least two days after they feel fine, because they could still be contagious. But of course, they don't. Can you blame them?

It estimated that at least 21 million people in the U.S. get sick from Norovirus every year, and some 70,000 or so are sick enough to end up in hospital. Those who die are often already ill or are older people who become very badly dehydrated. That is why I have often warned seniors not to eat at salad bars, which are a common place for the virus to hide out.

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

NO ILLNESSES HAVE BEEN REPORTED

I really think I need to see my doctor about my blood pressure. It rises every time I read a food company recall with that sentence "No illnesses have been reported" particularly when Listeria bacteria are suspected. I wish that the government food safety agencies would insist that the sentence be following by something like: "However, symptoms of Listeriosis may appear as late as a month after eating contaminated food."

In fact, appearance of symptoms can range from a few days to 70 days, and occasionally even longer. Or, you may have Listeriosis but not really feel sick at all. So what should you be on the lookout for?

If you are a relatively healthy adult, who is not pregnant, you may come down with fever, nausea, stiff neck, weakness, diarrhea and muscle aches. You may not have all these symptoms and you could dismiss it a case of the flu. In fact symptoms of a Listeria infection can be so mild that you won't notice them at all. That is the case if you are pregnant. Sadly, the baby may die before birth or come down with a life-threatening infection soon after birth. The symptoms in a newborn may be quite mild too and easily confused with some other problem. Perhaps nothing more than a little irritability, fever, little interest in feeding and some vomiting.

While most Listeria infections in adults tend to be very mild, they can get serious for older people or those with a weakened immune system, leading to complications such as septicemia or meningitis. So do be careful, particularly if you are in a high risk group. Right now, you should be checking any cheeses in your refrigerator against those that are being recalled (press the Recall link on this blog).

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