This is simply unacceptable. This botulism outbreak, frankly any outbreak that sickens babies, should never have happened. We can do more to protect the most vulnerable. The stork in “operation stork speed” clearly flew into a brick wall and crash landed. This child’s parents bought ByHeart Infant Formula at a Walmart. ByHeart utilized powdered organic […]
Cedar Falls, IA — Officials in Cedar Falls, Iowa say an E. coli outbreak at the Taco Johns has made more than two dozen people sick with at least 14 hospitalized. This after Taco Bell pulled green onions from thousands of its restaurants after people in several states were sickened by E. coli. And two […]
September was “Food Safety Month.” During September and the ensuing two months there have been at least four reported bacterial outbreaks tied to produce. The bacteria have been the deadly E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella. The produce: spinach, tomatoes and now green onions. First it was announced that over 200 people were sickened, many with acute kidney failure, and […]
Op-ed December 9, 2006 In an opinion piece this morning entitled “Sickened by Fresh Produce” the Editorial Page of the New York Times has weighed into the produce fields and found them contaminated too often with E. coli O157:H7. “The expanding outbreak of E. coli poisonings in New York, New Jersey and several other states […]
2000 TACO BELL HEPATITIS A OUTBREAK TIED TO GREEN ONIONS In early December, 2000, Lake County Florida Health Department (LCHD) learned of seven hepatitis A cases, including five hospitalizations, in Lake and neighboring Sumter Counties in a two week span. During the previous two years, the total number of known hepatitis A cases in Lake […]
Taco Bell, Distributor Probed by Federal Regulators According to a Bloomberg report, Yum! Brands Inc.’s Taco Bell chain and a supplier are being probed by state and federal regulators after an outbreak of E. coli sickened dozens of people and the chain closed 18 restaurants. What makes this interesting is that Green Onions may be […]
The distributor, Texas-based McLane Co., said Taco Bell representatives and state and federal health inspectors toured the distribution center in Burlington, N.J., that supplied the eight Long Island restaurants and the three in New Jersey. Question, did it also distribute to Pennsylvania?
Food Inspectors Crack Down On Illegal Cuisine – Some Markets Get Foods From Unregulated Sources CBS and the Associated Press report that when a food safety inspector walked into a market in Queens, he noticed the store had an interesting special posted on its front window: 12 beefy armadillos. In Brooklyn, inspectors found 15 pounds […]
According to Syracuse (WSYR-TV), the Onondaga County Health Department now says more than 600 people have reported getting sick after eating at the Dinosaur Bar-B-Que restaurant last weekend. The owner of the popular restaurant in downtown Syracuse agreed Thursday, to close the business through this weekend while the health department investigates. The restaurant’s owner, John […]
A source close to the spinach industry and agricultural politics told me a few interesting facts today: 1. Spinach Farmers and others businesses hurt financially by the recent spinach recall are considering asking for Federal or State relief along the lines that the airline industry did following 911. My reaction – shame, shame, shame. Not […]
In today’s Washington Post it was reported that a state legislator from Fairfax County said that she plans to introduce a bill that would allow homeless shelters in Virginia to serve home-cooked food. The proposal from Del. Kristen J. Amundson (D-Fairfax) followed a Health Department decision to crack down on the use of such food […]
I am an avid reader of the Perishable Pundit – especially since the recent E. coli-related spinach outbreak. Jim recently posted an interesting quote from a buyer at www.perishablepundit.com: Another Naysayer of Buyer-led Food Safety Initiative I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been asked if spinach is now “safe”, because we are carrying […]
Joan Murphy of the Produce News has been following the FDA’s recent announcement of yet another salmonella outbreak tied to restaurant consumed tomatoes. The full story can be found HERE. According to Ms. Murphy, the Food & Drug Administration is now investigating two tomato-related outbreaks, with the latest blamed for nearly 100 illnesses in 19 […]
Turkey and ham product recalled because of Listeria on Thanksgiving – Bad timing Honeybaked. 47,000 Pounds Of HoneyBaked Ham, Turkey Recalled The HoneyBaked Foods company is recalling nearly 47,000 pounds of its ham and turkey products, because they could be contaminated with Listeria.?? Listeria is a microorganism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections […]
The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced a change in the “Single Minimum Internal Temperature Established for Cooked Poultry”. The new cooking recommendation is as follows: “A whole turkey (and turkey parts) is safe when cooked to a minimum internal temperature of 165°F as measured with a food thermometer. Check the internal temperature in […]
Another great article by Scripps Howard on the United States food system: The actual number of Americans who die from food poisoning is a matter of conjecture. Statisticians at the CDC in Atlanta have estimated that at least 5,000 Americans die every year from something they ate. According to federal records based on death certificates, […]