Fw: [BITES-L] bites Sep. 6/10
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Date: Mon, 6 Sep 2010 07:13:46 -0500
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Subject: [BITES-L] bites Sep. 6/10
bites Sep. 6/10
Salmonella in eggs is not new; what have auditors, inspectors and buyers been doing
Raw milk sickens COLORADO kids
12 Northern IRELAND children infected with E.coli
KUWAIT gets serious about food safety; punish those who distribute contaminated or expired food
KANSAS State quarterback vomits his way to victory against UCLA
Talented bacteria make food poisoning unpredictable
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Salmonella in eggs is not new; what have auditors, inspectors and buyers been doing
05.sep.10
barfblog
Doug Powell
http://www.barfblog.com/blog/143965/10/09/05/salmonella-eggs-not-new-what-have-auditors-inspectors-and-buyers-been-doing
Philip Brasher of the Des Moines Register reports that the salmonella-in-Wright and Hillandale-eggs outbreak that has sickened at least 1,470 in the U.S. left officials at Costco Wholesale Corp. scratching their heads. How had inspectors for Costco, who looked over the northeast Iowa farm where the chain bought eggs, not noticed the rodent holes in the henhouses?
Craig Wilson, who oversees food safety for Costco, said, "There are a lot of guys going, 'Hey, wait a minute. They're finding stuff and our guys were there and they didn't see it.' "
Critics – and I was one of them -- say many food-safety audits are designed to tell companies paying for them what they want to hear. The defunct Peanut Corp. of America had a glowing food safety audit from an outside firm before a 2008 salmonella outbreak in peanut butter that killed nine people and sickened more than 700.
U.S. Department of Agriculture inspectors also missed the problems at Hillandale as well as at Wright County Egg, a producer that recalled 380 million eggs and supplied Hillandale with hens and feed.
The USDA employees, whose main job is to grade eggs on their condition and catch defects, don't check henhouses or look into farms' salmonella-prevention programs, a job the USDA leaves to the Food and Drug Administration.
The USDA employees do inspect conditions in packing facilities for companies that request and pay for the service. The packing facilities at Hillandale in West Union and at four more farms operated by Wright County Egg had all been audited by the USDA in 2009 or this year and received stellar marks - grades of 97 to 99 percent.
Several customers of R.W. Sauder Inc., an egg producer in Pennsylvania, have told the company they plan to add salmonella-prevention measures to their egg specifications, said Paul Sauder, the firm's president. Those buyers include a large supermarket chain and food service company, whom Sauder declined to name.
Buyers "had the perception that as long as the eggs were USDA-inspected, all eggs were equal. There is renewed awareness now," he said.
Salmonella in eggs is not new.
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20100903/BUSINESS01/9030360/-1/cyclone_insider/Egg-recall-Buyers-consider-own-rules-on-safety
Raw milk sickens COLORADO kids
06.sep.10
barfblog
Doug Powell
http://www.barfblog.com/blog/143966/10/09/06/raw-milk-sickens-colorado-kids
The Denver Post reports this morning, at first, Mary Pierce (right, photo by Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post) thought her 2-year-old couldn't stop throwing up because she had a typical stomach bug. A few days later, she watched in terror as the lethargic little girl was rushed by helicopter to The Children's Hospital, her little kidneys shutting down.
Then Nicole's 5-year-old brother, Aaron, fell ill, following her into the hospital and onto a dialysis machine. The cause of their potentially deadly illness: drinking raw goat's milk from a local dairy.
"I'm not a typical Boulder person," Pierce said. "We were just trying it because my son is allergic to dairy. We're not going near it anymore. … It's not worth it. You can't understand until it's your kid lying in the bed."
The outbreak in June that sent the Pierce children to the hospital for three weeks and sickened about 30 others has state health officials ramping up efforts to warn people against drinking unpasteurized milk.
There are lots of foods that make people sick, and people are free to pick their poisons. But if raw milk is about choice, then pasteurized milk is safer and more affordable. And it's always the ids that suffer from their parents' choices.
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_16001821
12 Northern IRELAND children infected with E.coli
06.sep.10
Belfast Telegraph
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/12-children-infected-with-ecoli-14934466.html
Twelve children in County Armagh have been infected with the E.coli bug, the Public Health Agency (PHA) has confirmed.
Seven who attend the Holly House nursery in Dollingstown were infected with the potentially dangerous O157 strain of the bacteria.
The PHA said a further five cases were identified after screening. None of the children are seriously ill.
Holly House has been temporarily closed until the source is identified.
A PHA official said tests at the site gave no evidence to suggest that the nursery was the cause of the outbreak.
KUWAIT gets serious about food safety; punish those who distribute contaminated or expired food
06.sep.10
barfblog
Doug Powell
http://www.barfblog.com/blog/143967/10/09/06/kuwait-gets-serious-about-food-safety-punish-those-who-distribute-contaminated-
Government officials have publicly expressed concern that public health has become a minor issue, consequences are meaningless, and the sale of dodgy food is on the rise.
How refreshing.
In what country would bureaucrats make such bold statements to potentially upset the ruling food safety oligarchy of industry, auditors and regulators? U.S.? Canada? U.K.? Australia? Anywhere?
Kuwait.
Arba Times reports the Chairman of the Consumer Protection Society Attorney Faisal Al-Sebaie expressed his disappointed over the mediocre measures taken by the relevant authorities to protect public health from greedy traders, who sell spoilt or contaminated food products in the local market.
Al-Sebaie lamented the public health has become a minor issue for the concerned authorities, especially the ministries of Social Affairs, Labor and Commerce, leading to the spread of contaminated or expired food products in the local market.
He said no strict measure has so far been taken to prevent the distribution of contaminated or expired food items because the government has opted to remain silent over the unscrupulous activities of greedy traders.
He wondered why a country as rich as Kuwait cannot establish a modern laboratory to conduct tests on the imported food items.
Meanwhile, Secretary-General of the society Attorney Khalid Al-Dosri appealed to the government to immediately take strict measures against those proven to have violated the food safety regulations. He thinks the Ministry of Commerce is keen only on arresting the owners of small shops, which sell spoilt food products, while disregarding the violations committed by business tycoons.
Moreover, Chairman of the Social Committee at the society Khalid Al-Sebaei wondered why the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor dissolved the boards of directors of 13 cooperative societies allegedly for engaging in corruption and manipulating prices without putting them in jail. He urged the ministry to obligate the cooperative societies to submit financial and administrative reports quarterly to prevent, if not eliminate, the violations.
http://www.arabtimesonline.com/NewsDetails/tabid/96/smid/414/ArticleID/159272/t/Punish-those-who-distribute-contaminated-or-expired-food/Default.aspx
KANSAS State quarterback vomits his way to victory against UCLA
05.sep.10
barfblog
Doug Powell
http://www.barfblog.com/blog/143964/10/09/05/kansas-state-quarterback-vomits-his-way-victory-against-ucla
There's something decadent about watching a Kansas State football game 50 yards from the sandy beaches of Anna Maria Island, Florida, on a Saturday afternoon while dining on grilled grouper fresh from the Gulf of Mexico, asparagus, summer squash and sweet potatoes.
Then Coffman started barfing.
Carson Coffman (right, during Saturday's game, pretty much as shown), K-State's starting quarterback (for now) was seen hurling on the sidelines and had to leave the game in the third quarter to get rehydrated with an IV-drip. According to media reports KSU's QB barfed about 10 times during the game.
It wasn't my cooking. No word on whose cooking it was, or whether the yakking was food-related at all. And who cares. K-State beat UCLA 31-22. And we just finished a delightful lunch of grilled Gulf shrimp accompanied by grilled peaches, pineapple and strawberries.
http://www.kansascity.com/2010/09/04/2200243/in-the-end-coffman-delivered-the.html
Talented bacteria make food poisoning unpredictable
05.sep.10
Society for General Microbiology
Laura Udakis
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-09/sfgm-tbm090110.php
While we are often exposed to bacteria in our food which could cause food poisoning, we don't always become ill - why should this be so?
Professor Colin Hill who is presenting his work at the Society for General Microbiology's autumn meeting in Nottingham today describes how bacteria use different tricks to aid their survival inside the body, helping to explain why food poisoning can be so unpredictable.
One of the biggest challenges faced by food-borne bacteria is acid. Acidic conditions, particularly in the stomach and in the gut will kill most microbes found in contaminated food.
Professor Hill's group at University College Cork has revealed that Listeria bacteria, which may be found in soft cheeses and chilled ready-to-eat products, can overcome harsh acidic conditions by exploiting key food ingredients. Listeria that survive are able to cause serious and sometimes fatal infections, particularly in the elderly and pregnant women.
Certain food constituents such as the amino acid, glutamate, can help the bacteria neutralise acid, allowing the bacteria to pass through the stomach unscathed. Professor Hill explains the significance of this. "People who consume foods that are contaminated with Listeria and are also high in glutamate, such as soft cheese or meat products, have a higher chance of developing serious infection than someone eating the same quantity of bacteria in a low-glutamate food," he said. "Of course this is further complicated by the fact that a contaminated, low-glutamate food could be eaten in combination with a high-glutamate food such as tomato juice, which could also increase the risk of infection."
Listeria can also take advantage of food processing and storage conditions to help them survive. "Bacteria that are exposed to low pH before entering the body may adapt to become more acid-tolerant and therefore better equipped to deal with acidic conditions in the body. For example, Listeria contaminating naturally acidic foods such as cheese may be more likely to cause infection than Listeria carried at a more neutral pH in water.
Professor Hill explains how his group's work could help reduce the incidence of Listeria infections. "The number of cases of listeriosis has nearly doubled in the last decade in Europe. This is because the bacterium is so good at overcoming the challenges it faces in food and in the body," he said. "Our studies show that consuming Listeria in one food may be quite safe, while eating the same amount in another food might be lethal. By understanding the role of the food matrix we may be able to identify and eliminate high-risk foods from the diet of susceptible people."
bites is produced by Dr. Douglas Powell and food safety friends at Kansas State University. For further information, please contact dpowell@ksu.edu or check out bites.ksu.edu.
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