Chicken products fingered in international Salmonella outbreak

A deadly nine-nation outbreak of Salmonella Mbandaka ST413 infections is most likely due to consumption of ready-to-eat (RTE) chicken products and/or fresh chicken meat, such as those used in sandwiches and wraps.

According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, 196 cases have been reported in nine countries, including seven member states of the European Union (EU), the United Kingdom (UK), and Israel since November 8, 2022.

Nineteen outbreak victims have been hospitalized, five of them with septicemia.

One person–a resident of the UK–has died.

Outbreak cases have been reported by the following countries:

Czechia (Czech Republic): 5 (none confirmed as yet)
Estonia: 3 (all confirmed)
Finland: 89 (42 confirmed and 47 possible)
France: 10 (all confirmed)
Germany: 2 (all confirmed)
Ireland: 1 (all confirmed)
Netherlands: 1 (all confirmed)
Israel: 4 (none confirmed as yet)
United Kingdom: 81 (all confirmed)

The UK was the first country to detect the outbreak, reporting a cluster of 31 cases from England (25), Scotland (3) and Wales (3) on May 20, 2022. Sample collection dates ranged between September 24, 2021 and April 23, 2022. Four of the patients were hospitalized, and one has died.

Finland followed on the UK’s heels with a report of nine cases on June 16, 2022.

The Finnish food safety authority has linked suspect products to an Estonian company, but this link could not be verified by traceback identification or microbiological analysis.

The European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC) is encouraging its member countries to sequence the genomes of Salmonella Mbandaka isolated from human sources and to interview those patients whose isolates match the outbreak strain.

Salmonella Mbandaka was first reported in 1948 in the Belgian Congo, where it was recovered from a patient suffering from salmonellosis.

The ST413 strain entered the Polish feed and poultry sector in the 1990s, and has been circulating in Poland and other EU countries since then.

The ECDC warns that new cases are likely to occur until the source of the outbreak has been identified and controlled.

OUTBREAK ALERT AND PRODUCT RECALL: Listeria monocytogenes in pre-cooked chicken

One person is dead and two more have been hospitalized in a multi-state outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes according to a report released last night and updated today by the US Centers for Disease Contol and Prevention (CDC).

All three outbreak victims were either living in a long-term care facility or were already hospitalized at the time they became infected.

Two of the cases, including the single fatality, are in Texas. The remaining case is in Delaware.

Victims range in age from 60 to 95, with a median age of 89 years old. Two of the three are male.

The CDC warns that the true number of infected people may be higher, and the outbreak may not be limited to Texas and Delaware.

The outbreak strain was recovered from two samples of precooked chicken products during routine sampling conducted by the US Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).

One of the positive samples was produced by Tyson Foods Inc. in Dexter, MO. The producer of the second sample to test positive for the outbreak strain has not yet been named.

Tyson recalls 4,246 TONS of pre-cooked chicken products

Tyson has recalled approximately 8,492,832 pounds of ready-to-eat (RTE) chicken products produced between December 26, 2020 and April 13, 2021 and bearing the establishment number, EST. P-7089.

The recalled products include frozen, fully cooked chicken strips, diced chicken, chicken wing sections, and fully cooked pizza with chicken and were sold under multiple brand names, including: Tyson, Jet’s Pizza, Casey’s General Store, Marco’s Pizza, and Little Caesars.

These items were shipped nationwide to retailers and institutions, including hospitals, nursing facilities, restaurants, schools and Department of Defense locations. Please refer to the recall notice for a complete list of affected products.

Consumers and food handlers should take additional care when preparing dishes that included pre-cooked chicken, especially when the food will be offered to the elderly or to immunocompromised individuals, including pregnant women.

What businesses need to know

Do not serve or sell recalled products.
Long-term care facilities, hospitals, and other facilities that serve people at higher risk for severe Listeria illness should take extra precautions. Listeria is particularly harmful to people who are 65 years or older, pregnant, or have a weakened immune system.
All of the sick people in this outbreak ate foods served at a long-term care facility or hospital.
Follow USDA-FSIS guidelines to prevent the spread and growth of Listeria.

What consumers need to know

Do not eat any recalled products. Throw them away or return them to where you bought them.
Follow these five steps to clean your refrigerator, containers, and surfaces that may have touched the recalled products. Listeria can survive in the refrigerator and can easily spread to other foods and surfaces.
Call your healthcare provider right away if you have these symptoms after eating recalled products.
- If you are pregnant: Fever and muscle aches. Your illness may be mild, but Listeria can cause pregnancy loss or premature birth. It can also cause serious illness or death in newborns.
- If you are not pregnant: Headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, and convulsions, in addition to fever and muscle aches.

Chicken Jerky Dog Treats: The Latest Word From FDA

December 30, 2008

As we wrote earlier this month, there appears to be a connection between kidney failure in dogs and consumption of chicken jerky dog treats made in China. The problem has been reported in Australia, where one brand of treats already has been recalled by The Kramar Pet Company as a precaution. The Kramar treats had been manufactured in China.

The US investigation into this mysterious kidney ailment has been in progress for more than a year. FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine issued a warning to consumers in 2007, and repeated the advisory earlier this month – shortly after the Australian recall was announced.

FDA posted a Consumer Update on its website on December 24th, entitled Caution to Dog Owners About Chicken Jerky Products. This update summarized the information contained in the agency’s earlier 2007 and 2008 warnings, but provided no new information. Our curiosity was piqued, and we e-mailed the Center for Veterinary Medicine to ask some direct questions on the status and progress of the FDA investigation.

Earlier today, we received the following statement from FDA spokeswoman, Laura Alvey:

“FDA is actively investigating the matter and conducting analysis for multiple different chemical and microbiological contaminants. We have tested numerous samples of chicken jerky products for possible contaminants including melamine.

The complaints received have been on various chicken jerky products but to date we have not detected any contaminants and therefore have not issued a recall or implicated any products. We are continuing to test and will notify the public if we find evidence of any contaminants.”

What should we conclude from this statement?

The problem is not linked to a single manufacturer or importer of chicken jerky dog treats.
The problem is chronic and long-standing – not of short duration.
The contaminant still has not been identified, but is probably NOT melamine.
FDA is taking this problem seriously, and has not put it on the back-burner.

As for any possible recalls, FDA’s hands are tied – understandably so. Before requesting a recall, the agency must have evidence that links a specific product and/or contaminant to the problem. Until FDA is able to pinpoint the source of the problem, it can do no more than issue generalized warnings to consumers – at it has done twice this month.

Until this mystery is solved, consumers can take certain actions to protect their dogs: