Fw: [BITES-L] bites Oct. 16/10
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Date: Sat, 16 Oct 2010 10:46:24 -0500
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Subject: [BITES-L] bites Oct. 16/10
bites Oct. 16/10
Bagged salad: press release before publishing a bad idea
OKLAHOMA salmonella victim shares story as mystery continues
CANADA: Folklorama officials seek new standards after E. coli woes
NEW YORK: An "A" for Jean Georges
TEXAS: Dickey's BBQ cited with health violation
SINGAPORE: Food handlers required to go for food hygiene refresher course
Experts poke holes in Contador's contaminated meat defense
MICHIGAN: Norovirus, not food, caused illness at Shelby banquet hall, officials say
INDIA: 20 students taken ill after consuming free milk in Puducherry
South AUSTRALIAN company recalls Paris Creek Cheese, Tilsit 200g
ONTARIO: Scandal-ridden pet food firm being sold to U.S. company
The performance of food safety management systems in poultry processing using a microbial assessment scheme and a diagnostic instrument
UK: Pet bird linked to human infection?
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Bagged salad: press release before publishing a bad idea
16.oct.10
barfblog
Doug Powell
http://www.barfblog.com/blog/144592/10/10/16/bagged-salad-press-release-publishing-bad-idea
In Sept. 2000, I called Procter & Gamble to substantiate claims their consumer-oriented FIT Fruit and Vegetable Wash removed 99.9 per cent more residue and dirt than water alone.
The PR-thingies hooked me up with some scientists at P&G in Cincinnati, who verbally told me that sample cucumbers, tomatoes and the like were grown on the same farm in California, sprayed with chemicals that would be used in conventional production, and then harvested immediately and washed with FIT or water. The FIT removed 99.9 per cent more, or so the company claimed.
One problem. Many of the chemicals used had harvest‑after dates, such as the one tomato chemical that must be applied at least 20 days before harvest. Residue data on produce in North American stores reveals extremely low levels, in the parts per million or billion. So that 99.9 per cent reduction was buying consumers an extra couple of zeros in the residue quantity, all well below health limits.
I also asked why the results hadn't been published in a peer-reviewed journal, and the P&G types said it was an important advance that had to be made available to consumers as soon as possible, without the delays and messiness of peer-review.
Maybe Chiquita Brands, the owners of Fresh Express and also based in Cincinnati, are using the same PR flunkies as P&G because the public relations around the new produce rinse – FreshRinse – is strikingly familiar and equally lame as FIT in 2000.
For the most part, pathogens and chemicals in fresh produce need to be controlled on the farm, and in transportation and distribution.
The new rinse, for use in the packing shed and which the company says removes microorganisms from leafy greens more effectively than conventional chlorine sanitizers, was unveiled yesterday at a news conference at the Produce Marketing Association Fresh Summit to gushing reviews.
Fernando Aguirre, Chiquita's chairman and chief executive officer, said,
"Based on our extensive research, we are proud to introduce the biggest invention since the creation of prepackaged salads. ... Compare FreshRinse technology to current wash standards. Chlorine is the abacus and FreshRinse is the iPad. An abacus is what people use with the beads, a great thing at the time, just like chlorine rinse was. We believe FreshRinse sets a new standard in food safety."
Also jumping aboard the metaphor train, Mike Burness, vice president of global quality and food safety said,
"As a matter of magnitude, that's the equivalent of chlorine walking a mile and FreshRinse making two round trips to the moon. If chlorine walked one mile, FreshRinse would have walked a marathon. We have seen a significant reduction of potential foodborne organisms that cause disease."
Scientific advisors who gave more qualified endorsements included project advisor Dr. Michael Osterholm, a professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Minnesota, Dr. David Acheson, managing director of food and import safety for Leavitt Partners and the former the Food and Drug Administration associate commissioner for food protection and chief medical officer, and Dr. Robert Buchanan, director and professor, University of Maryland Center for Food Safety & Security Systems.
Did any of you esteemed science types say to Fresh Express, we should publish these results in a peer-reviewed journal first, because that's the way this credibility thing works?
I told Ilan Brat of the Wall Street Journal yesterday that I couldn't judge whether the new wash worked better or not without publication in a peer-reviewed journal.
Fresh Express had three recalls of its bagged salads this year, and was the source of a Salmonella typhirmirium outbreak that sickened eight people in May, but decided it wasn't worth telling anyone about it.
Metaphor-man Burness, told the Journal the company chose to market the product before submitting supporting research for publication in peer-reviewed journals because "anything that advances food safety, we believe we need to leverage that for our consumers."
Sounds familiar.
He added that the company plans to submit its research to the Journal of Food Protection by the end of the year.
Dude, I've got a bunch of graduate students who say they have papers they are going to prepare for the Journal of Food Protection. I have about a dozen in my head too. Except that doesn't count for shit.
If the company had instead spent the time it used coming up with terrible risk communication metaphors preparing the results for publication, they would at least have a paper submitted. Until then, I'm thinking cold fusion.
"All this data is nice—why isn't it published in a peer-reviewed journal?" Powell said.
Still, he added, "if it does what it says it can do, that would be important, because it would be an additional tool to lower the risk" that eating salad greens could cause outbreaks of disease.
Fresh Express, you're an industry leader and this year's winner of the International Association for Food Protection's Black Pearl award for food safety leadership. But I don't get this. I'm all for marketing food safety, but with a strong caveat: be able to back it up.
A table of leafy green foodborne illness outbreaks is available at:
http://bites.ksu.edu/Outbreaks%20related%20to%20leafy%20greens%201993-2010
http://www.digitalnewsrelease.com/?q=FE_FreshRinse
http://thepacker.com/Chiquita--Fresh-Express-roll-out-food-safety-technology/Article.aspx?oid=1273113&fid=PACKER-HANDLING-AND-DISTRIBUTING&aid=2189
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704300604575554531108547278.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
http://barfblog.foodsafety.ksu.edu/blog/142465/10/06/04/lost-translation-time-end-don%E2%80%99t-ask-don%E2%80%99t-tell-food-safety-outbreak-reporting
OKLAHOMA salmonella victim shares story as mystery continues
16.oct.10
NewsOK
Sonya Colberg
http://www.newsok.com/oklahoma-salmonella-victim-shares-story-as-mystery-continues/article/3505272?custom_click=pod_headline_health
Salmonella victim Gay Rodriguez said she felt a little off one day. Four days later, she collapsed at home and began fighting for her life.
"My knees turned to Jell-O, and I just crumpled," she said.
Her granddaughter, Amber Rodriguez, 11, raced crying to the little home workshop where her grandfather worked.
"Papi, help! Mom fell!"
The Jones resident is the only person hospitalized during Oklahoma's salmonella outbreak that sickened 17 people in three counties. The state Health Department investigation identified infections in one other Oklahoma County adult, 14 school-age children in the Mustang School District in Canadian County and one young adult in Carter County.
Jose Rodriguez said he was hurt and dazed after tests initially failed to pinpoint what had left his wife reeling and 30 pounds lighter in four days. Her second day in intensive care, doctors said she still might not survive. She did.
Gay Rodriguez said she knew she was in trouble after she saw a vision of her father in the hospital. He died in 2006.
"You're not supposed to be here yet," he seemed to say.
Health Department investigators have finished interviews and data evaluation but couldn't identify the source that infected Oklahomans, said Laurence Burnsed, the Oklahoma Health Department's communicable disease division director.
He said they suspect a couple of different sources could have caused the outbreak but were unable to pinpoint anything.
CANADA: Folklorama officials seek new standards after E. coli woes
16.oct.10
Winnipeg Free Press
Jen Skerritt
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/folklorama-officials-seek-new-standards-after-e-coli-woes-105094199.html
Folklorama organizers will meet with city and provincial health inspectors next week to draft tougher food-handling standards on the heels of a toxic E.coli outbreak.
Executive director Ron Gauthier said the festival will heed advice from Winnipeg health officials and other public health inspectors in the wake of a summer outbreak of verotoxigenic E. coli linked to the Russian pavilion.
Gauthier said he will meet with city and provincial health inspectors next week to get more input on what Folklorama could do to prevent a similar outbreak from occurring again. He said all pavilions will be required to follow the new guidelines next year and new standards will be complete by early 2011.
The changes come on the heels of a toxic E. coli outbreak that surfaced in the first two weeks of August. Forty people fell ill with symptoms and five people were hospitalized including a two-year-old boy who suffered acute renal failure and was put on dialysis in pediatric intensive care.
A Winnipeg Regional Health Authority investigation found 85 per cent of people who fell ill from toxic E. coli attended the Russian pavilion at the city's annual cultural festival, and items served as part of the "Russian combination platter," including borscht, meatballs, rice and Russian juice, were eyed as potential sources of contamination.
NEW YORK: An "A" for Jean Georges
15.oct.10
New York Times
Sam Sifton
http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/15/an-a-for-jean-georges/?partner=rss&emc=rss
The pendulum has swung for Jean Georges, the four-star restaurant in the Trump International that was the subject of an embarrassing (if popular!) post on Diner's Journal earlier this week, after a wandering cockroach was spotted in the dining room.
On Thursday, the restaurant received an A from the New York City Department of Health, the highest grade available in city inspections of restaurants for compliance in rules set for food handling, food temperature, personal hygiene and vermin control.
"We are very proud of this rating," said Lois Freedman, a spokeswoman for the restaurant.
TEXAS: Dickey's BBQ cited with health violation
15.oct.10
Ultimate Katy
Chad King
http://www.ultimatekaty.com/stories/217613-dickey-s-bbq-cited-with-health-violation
Dickey's BBQ in Katy received a health violation during its last inspection on Oct. 14, when Harris County health inspectors observed unsafe food surface rules. The restaurant is located at 5000 Katy Mills.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration considers this a violation that could lead to the spread of foodborne illnesses.
SINGAPORE: Food handlers required to go for food hygiene refresher course
15.oct.10
Channel NewsAsia
Wayne Chan
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1087366/1/.html
SINGAPORE -- Workers preparing food at food outlets will now have to go for a refresher course on hygiene once every three years.
This is in place of an old system where they were certified for life after passing a one-day course.
The National Environment Agency (NEA) said the change is to reduce cases of food poisoning.
Workers from 300 catering companies have started on the first phase of the Refresher Food Hygiene Course at the Institute of Technical Education's (ITE) Simei Campus. Some 12,000 food handlers can be re-trained yearly.
But to complete the training for all 150,000 registered food handlers, more training providers will be needed.
The four-hour course includes food poisoning case studies to emphasise the danger of unhygienic food habits.
Experts poke holes in Contador's contaminated meat defense
15.oct.10
Cycling News
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/experts-poke-holes-in-contadors-contaminated-meat-defense
Two anti-doping experts have given Tour de France winner Alberto Contador little hope that his argument that contaminated meat was the cause of his Clenbuterol positive will be accepted. The substance was detected at low levels in a sample taken from the Spaniard during the Tour's second rest day, and he has been suspended by the UCI pending the outcome of an investigation. He stands to lose his third Tour title and be suspended from competition.
Detlef Thieme, director of the Institute of Doping Analysis and biochemistry in Kreischa, Germany said that Contador's case bears little comparison to that of table tennis player Dimitrij Ovcharov, who was cleared of a Clenbuterol doping offense after succesfully arguing the positive resulted from contaminated food.
Thieme told the dpa that the case of Ovcharov, who tested positive after a table tennis tournament in China, was different from Contador's because the German-Ukrainian was able to prove that other people who ate the same food in China also showed traces of Clenbuterol and a hair test looking for historical traces of the drug in the athlete's system proved negative.
None of Contador's teammates, who shared in a special meal during the Tour which included beef brought in from Spain, were tested.
MICHIGAN: Norovirus, not food, caused illness at Shelby banquet hall, officials say
15.oct.10
Detroit News
Charles E. Ramirez
http://www.detnews.com/article/20101015/METRO03/10150415/1361/Norovirus--not-food--caused-illness-at-Shelby-banquet-hall--officials-say
Mount Clemens — A person who spread Norovirus to others likely caused several patrons to become sick at Club Monte Carlo two weeks ago, county health officials said.
The Macomb County Health Department said food was not the source of the illness that struck several who attended weddings Oct. 2-3 at the Shelby Township banquet hall on Van Dyke south of 23 Mile.
"Analysis of the data found no relationship between illness and the consumption of any particular food served at the banquet hall," said Dr. Kevin Lokar, the health department's medical director.
Several patrons who attended weddings at the banquet hall during the month's first weekend contacted the Health Department on Oct. 5 after they became sick with vomiting and diarrhea.
INDIA: 20 students taken ill after consuming free milk in Puducherry
15.oct.10
NDTV
Press Trust of India
http://www.ndtv.com/article/cities/20-students-taken-ill-after-consuming-free-milk-in-puducherry-60129?pfrom=Cities
Puducherry: In a suspected case of food poisoning, twenty students of a government school fell ill after drinking milk supplied under the free breakfast scheme.
Official sources said the students of government higher secondary school at Karayambuthur complained of nausea soon after taking the milk and were immediately rushed to a nearby hospital, where they were treated as outpatients and sent home.
It was alleged that a lizard that had fallen into the milk was the cause of the health problem.
South AUSTRALIAN company recalls Paris Creek Cheese, Tilsit 200g
16.oct.10
Herald Sun
AAP
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/south-australian-company-recalls-paris-creek-cheese-tilsit-200g/story-e6frf7jx-1225939554115
A South Australian dairy company has recalled cheese products which may be contaminated with deadly bacteria.
Farm Paris Creek has voluntarily recalled its product Paris Creek Cheese, Tilsit 200g with a "best before" date of 5JAN11 due to the possible presence of listeria. Listeria does not usually infect humans but can cause paralysis and is especially dangerous to pregnant women and their unborn children. The cheese was sold at Woolworths stores in Queensland and New South Wales and at Coles in Victoria.
ONTARIO: Scandal-ridden pet food firm being sold to U.S. company
15.oct.10
The Spec
The Canadian Press
http://www.thespec.com/news/business/article/267780--scandal-ridden-pet-food-firm-being-sold-to-u-s-company
MISSISSAUGA, ONT. Regulators have approved the sale of Mississauga-based pet food maker Menu Foods Income Fund to an Arkansas-based competitor.
The company announced Friday that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission has approved the $239-million takeover offer from Simmons Pet Food Inc.
The deal has already been overwhelmingly approved by shareholders and it is expected to close in November.
Menu, a private-label and contract manufacturer of wet pet food products that was embroiled in a massive pet food recall three years ago, put itself up for sale after a strategic review earlier this year.
The acquisition writes an end to a difficult chapter in Menu's recent history as the company has focused on recovering from a tainted food scandal in 2007.
Menu recalled at least 60 million cans and pouches of cat and dog food after it was discovered that some products imported from China contained melamine, a deadly chemical that got into its supply chain and caused some animal deaths.
The performance of food safety management systems in poultry processing using a microbial assessment scheme and a diagnostic instrument
15.oct.10
Ghent Univeristy
Imca Sampers, Liesbeth Jacxsens, Ann Dumoulin, Mieke Uyttendaele
Abstract
Introduction Salmonella spp. and in particular Campylobacter spp. were by far the most frequently reported causes of food borne zoonoses in humans in the European Union (EU) in 2006. Poultry meat has been implicated as one of the main sources of these human infections. Although the Belgian poultry sector invested several years in research, implemented severe European hygiene legislation (e.g. EU Regulation 853/2004) in their Food Safety Management System (FSMS) and are certified against different international acknowledged Quality Assurance (QA) standards (e.g. ISO22000, BRC), contamination with pathogens, such as Campylobacter, still occur.
Methods Two recent developed tools, 'Microbial Assessment Scheme' (MAS) (Jacxsens et al., 2009) and 'Food Safety Management System Diagnostic Instrument' (FSMS-DI) (Luning et al., 2008; 2009) were applied to measure the microbiological performance of the current FSMS of two operators in the poultry supply chain with focus on chicken meat preparations, previously subjected to a nationwide Belgian Campylobacter survey (Habib et al., 2008; Sampers et al., 2008). By adoption of the MAS protocol, a more in-depth assessment of the actual microbial performance of the FSMS output of the two poultry meat preparation companies was acquired. MAS supports in deciding on where and how to take a sample, at what frequency, how to prepare a sample, how to conduct microbial analyses, how to interpret results and judge the outcome in perspective of the FSMS. Further a FSMS-DI was used in an in-depth interview with the QA person(s) of the respective companies to assess levels of core control and assurance activities as addressed in the FSMS and to judge the risk level of the context wherein the system has to operate. The FSMS-DI consists of a set of indicators and grids to analyze the current FSMS.
Results Both companies had to deal with high-risk product and process characteristics, which put high demands on the level of design and actual operation of the crucial control and assurance in their FSMS.
The MAS showed that one company had a well functioning FSMS, expressed in terms of low microbial numbers in the final products and small variations in microbial counts. For the other company, high microbial numbers were found in the poultry samples as well as environmental samples, which could be explained by inadequacies in operational performance of the core control activities. Campylobacter spp. can be spread out during processing due to lack of process control and effective GHP, resulting in high prevalence and high counts. Possible causes were faecal contamination, which might be due to malfunctioning or wrong tuned evisceration, cross contamination during processing, and inadequate personal hygiene. With the diagnostic instrument differences could be found on the level of CCP-control, verification and validation (assurance), and in context risk due to differences in process characteristics, organizational support and chain dependency.
Conclusions The fact that no physical intervention processes or intervention methods can be (yet) applied in combination with the high initial counts at the incoming materials creates a conflicting situation for the companies. This insight could enhance the discussion with risk managers regarding the acceptance of no or limited interventions steps in production processes in the poultry chain. Moreover, a discussion about 'can we accept this risk and rely on good cooking practices by consumers?' could be initiated. Last but not least risk managers need to be aware that certified FSMS based on sound HACCP plans, GMP, PRP and legal requirements is, in the specific case of poultry meat production, not a guarantee for absence of pathogens and a good food safety output.
UK: Pet bird linked to human infection?
16.oct.10
Worms & Germs Blog
Scott Weese
http://www.wormsandgermsblog.com/2010/10/articles/animals/birds/pet-bird-linked-to-human-infection/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+WormsAndGermsBlog+%28Worms+and+Germs+Blog%29
A UK woman is both grieving the loss of her husband and battling illness she thinks came from a new pet parrot. The 67-yr-old woman, who has chronic lymphocytic leukemia, obtained the bird to keep her company as her husband was dying of cancer. She says that she's never felt right since she obtained the bird. She is also upset that the bird is not very tame, saying "Jasper is clearly a wild bird, and they do carry all sorts of germs, so it is a worry for me."
Since her husband's death, the woman has had 3 rounds of antibiotics to treat a respiratory tract infection that refuses to go away. No more details are provided, and presumably (hopefully) her doctors have tested or treated her for psittacosis, a disease caused by Chlamydophila psitacii that can be acquired from birds, especially psittacine birds like parrots.
This story raises a few relevant questions:
Was it a good time to get a pet?
That's a tough question. Getting a petting during difficult circumstances can help many people cope, and having the pet while a family member is sick can be very beneficial. On the other hand, bringing a new pet (with the associated new pet issues) into an already stressful situation can be a problem. Also, with both the woman and her husband being sick and having weakened immune systems, there are some infectious disease risks that need to be considered. The cost-benefit of getting a pet in a situation like this is hard to determine and it varies greatly between households. At a minimum, anyone in a situation that is considering getting a pet should learn about potential pet-associated disease risks so that they can make an informed decision.
Was a bird a good pet to get for this household?
Another question without a clear answer. Birds can be good companions, but they also carry a few diseases that are of concern, particularly for people with weakened immune systems. It's hard to say whether a pet bird is higher risk than a pet dog or cat. It probably is lower risk from some standpoints (bites, scratches) but higher risk for some diseases. The key is, as mentioned above, becoming informed about potential disease risks and what can be done to reduce these risks. With that information, you can make a more educated determination of whether a specific pet is appropriate.
Also, in high risk households like this, getting a new pet examined before it makes it to the household is a good idea. That lets a vet identify any concerns, ranging from obvious signs of disease to inappropriate behaviours. Identifying these problems before the pet makes it home lets them be addressed quickly. This might involve treatment, prompt training, keeping the pet somewhere else for a short time while a problem is addressed, or a recommendation to return it because of a major concern. It's much easier to do these things, especially return the pet, before it has made it home and people have become attached.
Should you assume that a captive-bred bird is a disease-free bird?
Absolutely not. Captive-bred does not equal disease free. In fact, for some diseases, rates are higher in captive-bred birds. (I'm definitely not advocating getting wild-caught birds....just trying to make it clear that birds from breeders can carry various infectious diseases). The point is, getting a bird from a reputable breeder is a good start, but it doesn't negate the risks. Healthy, well cared for birds can carry a variety of microorganisms that can infect people. Risks are higher in people with compromised immune systems, as was present in this house.
Pet ownership always has some risk of infectious disease transmission. Almost always, that risk is manageable and acceptable considering the positive aspects of pet ownership. However, thought needs to go into the process to ensure that the risks are minimized and acceptable in any given situation.
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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