Fw: [BITES-L] bites Dec. 10/10 -- II

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From: Doug Powell <dpowell@KSU.EDU>

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Date: Fri, 10 Dec 2010 21:17:16 -0600

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Subject: [BITES-L] bites Dec. 10/10 -- II

bites Dec. 10/10 -- II

MISSOURI resident dies from E. coli; 10 others sick from family gathering

UK bacon producer fined 18,000 for illegally selling hams

ONTARIO restaurant sickened 5 in 2007; conviction still stands in 2010

Headline error: 'Firm recalls sauteed children'

RUSSIA: Killer pig tails impounded

CANADA: Ottawa takes on control of B.C. salmon farms

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MISSOURI resident dies from E. coli; 10 others sick from family gathering
10.dec.10
barfblog
Doug Powell
http://www.barfblog.com/blog/145601/10/12/10/missouri-resident-dies-e-coli-10-others-sick-family-gathering
A Jasper County resident died earlier this week from what sounds like shiga-toxin producing E. coli food contamination and health department is investigating other possible cases that might be related to a single family gathering over Thanksgiving weekend.
Jasper County Health Department Director Tony Moehr told the Carthage Press the victim died this week of an extreme case of E. coli and his department is trying to determine what the people who got sick ate at this gathering, adding,
"Sometimes people have symptoms and they get over them in a day or a few days. In rare cases, severe E. coli poisoning can progress to conditions like hemolytic uremic syndrome that can cause the organs to shut down. That more severe form is apparently what happened in this case."
Moehr said his office has collected the leftover food that remains from that family event. He said a total of 11 people out of 24 people who attended the event have reported some symptoms, including the one person who died.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carthage,_Missouri
http://www.carthagepress.com/news/county/x1921996244/Jasper-County-resident-dies-from-E-coli-apparently-related-to-family-gathering

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UK bacon producer fined 18,000 for illegally selling hams
10.dec.10
barfblog
Doug Powell
http://www.barfblog.com/blog/145598/10/12/10/uk-bacon-producer-fined-18000-illegally-selling-hams
When food safety types arrived for a routine inspection at a bacon producer on Dec. 17, 2009, they found the company had started cooking and selling hams at the premises.
The Wiltshire Gazete and Herald reports a subsequent inspection of the ham production area found problems with cleaning and food safety management, including structural defects and poorly maintained equipment.
Remedial Action Notices were served requiring them to stop the production and sale of cooked meats at the premises. The company, Sandridge Farmhouse Bacon Ltd in Bromham, agreed to voluntarily surrender all the hams on site because they had not been produced in accordance with the relevant food safety legislation.
Sandridge Farmhouse Bacon Ltd and the managing director, Roger Keen, pleaded guilty to all seven charges brought by Wiltshire Council, which were:
Failure to ensure the council had up-to-date information about the business and its operations
Failure to have in place a food safety management system
Failure to ensure the design and construction of the premises helped protect against the formation of condensation and mould on surfaces
Failure to ensure the premises was kept clean and maintained in good repair and condition
Three counts of failing to ensure that surfaces (including the surfaces of equipment) in areas where foods were handled were in a sound condition and easy to clean and disinfect.
In addition to the fine, Mr Keen and Sandridge Farmhouse Bacon Ltd were ordered to pay costs of £1,000 and a £15 victim surcharge – for a total of £18,000.
Councillor Keith Humphries, Cabinet member for health and wellbeing, said,
"This was a deliberate attempt by the business to supply food for the festive season which was produced in unsatisfactory conditions. I commend the food safety officers for their prompt action in removing the food from sale and safeguarding public health."
Since the inspection last December standards at the premises have greatly improved and they are now able to resume ham production.
http://www.gazetteandherald.co.uk/news/8732317.Bromham_bacon_producer_fined_after_food_safety_offences/

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ONTARIO restaurant sickened 5 in 2007; conviction still stands in 2010
10.dec.10
barfblog
Doug Powell
http://barfblog.foodsafety.ksu.edu/blog/145600/10/12/10/ontario-restaurant-sickened-5-2007-conviction-still-stands-2010
In May, 2007, five patrons of the Yaman Restaurant in St. Catherines, Ontario (that's by Niagara Falls) got sick with E. coli.
The problems started when owners Mahmoud Asaad and Senan Daoud continued to run their business on May 19, 2007, despite the fact water to the restaurant was cut off due to a water-main break. The restaurant was shut down by the region that month, but reopened with a clean bill of health in August that year.
The two were convicted in 2009 on five counts each of selling food unfit for human consumption, and were fined $7,500 each.
The St. Catharines Standard reports that Judge Ann Watson said today in a written decision the 2009 convictions by another judge would stand in relation to four of five patrons.
http://barfblog.foodsafety.ksu.edu/blog/140113/09/04/11/bad-idea-running-restaurant-without-water-people-get-sick-owners-fined-15000
http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2885497

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Headline error: 'Firm recalls sauteed children'
10.dec.10
barfblog
Doug Powell
http://www.barfblog.com/blog/145599/10/12/10/headline-error-%E2%80%98firm-recalls-sauteed-children%E2%80%99
The folks over at foodconsumer.org may want to revisit the headline on a news brief about a U.S. Department of Agriculture recall of sauteed chicken products because they contain an undeclared allergen.
http://www.foodconsumer.org/newsite/Shopping/Alerts/sauteed_children_10121006087.html

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RUSSIA: Killer pig tails impounded
09.dec.10
Moscow News
Andy Potts
http://themoscownews.com/russia/20101209/188266111.html?referfrommn
Pigs tails can kill – and Russia's health watchdog has seized 25 tons of infected meat destined for the far east.
The unlikely cut of meat is a culinary delicacy and the bulk order had been imported from Germany to Khabarovsk and was due to go on sale in city supermarkets.
Vitaly Salenko announced that the tails had been tainted with listeria, which can cause an infection with a 25 per cent mortality rate among humans, RIA Novosti reported.

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CANADA: Ottawa takes on control of B.C. salmon farms
10.dec.10
Canadian Press
http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20101210/bc_salmon_101210/20101210?hub=BritishColumbiaHome
The federal government took control of regulating British Columbia's aquaculture industry on Friday, promising more regulations, transparency and oversight of the controversial salmon farming business.
Federal Fisheries Minister Gail Shea was in Vancouver to sign a memorandum of understanding with B.C. Agriculture and Lands Minister Ben Stewart, who had responsibility for salmon farms and ocean aquaculture until a landmark B.C. Supreme Court ruling last year forced the transfer.
"The new regulatory regime will provide the industry with operational certainty, ensure the public knows the environment will be protected and provides the most efficient and effective management regime possible," Shea announced.
The shift will see Ottawa in control of the cultivation of fish, enforcement of new Pacific aquaculture regulations and the conditions of licensing for fish farms.
"The new regulation and conditions of licensing will mean stronger environmental control, as well as increased monitoring and enforcement," Shea said.
She added that fish farms will be required to provide more data that will be made public for analysis. An ongoing public inquiry into the state of B.C.'s wild salmon stocks recently ordered salmon farming companies to turn over some of its data which has never before been released.
The inquiry was announced last year, after an abysmal year for salmon runs on the Fraser River that led many to fear the stocks had completely collapsed. The inquiry by commissioner Bruce Cohen is going ahead although this year saw historic returns.
Stan Proboszoz, of the Watershed Watch Salmon Society, said that data reporting must be made mandatory and not optional.
"Transparency concerning fish health data on salmon farms is critical as was recently affirmed by justice Bruce Cohen's ruling," he said in a statement.
"If (the Department of Fisheries and Oceans) wants a management regime that rebuilds public confidence as they claim, transparency should be the cornerstone of the new aquaculture regulations."

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