Category: E. coli

Who Cares Which E. coli Makes Someone Ill?

There’s been some hoopla in the food news this week. Six more E. coli serotypes (in addition to E. coli O157:H7) are now to be treated as adulterants by USDA when they are found in raw beef trim.

The addition of these toxin-producing E. coli serotypes to the pantheon of named adulterants is largely due to the efforts of Bill Marler. And I applaud his desire to advance food safety.

But what happens when an eighth serotype causes an illness outbreak? For example, E. coli O104:H4 the serotype that caused last summer’s massive outbreak in Germany, is not one of the “super six” newly named adulterants.

I was reminded of this problem yesterday while speaking with Dr. Raoult Ratard, State Epidemiologist with the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals. We were discussing the illness outbreak in several southern US states, and the shiga-toxin-producing E. coli O145 strain that was recovered from patients. As of today, there are 12 confirmed illnesses in Georgia (5), Louisiana (3, including a 21-month-old girl who did not survive), Alabama (2), Florida (1) and Tennessee (1).

I asked Dr. Ratard whether he could confirm that the Louisiana illnesses were due to E. coli O145. With a verbal shrug, he replied that he did not know; Louisiana does not do an immunological identification of E. coli strains, beyond determining whether or not they are E. coli O157:H7. He opined that this would be a waste of time and resources, given the number of different strains in circulation.

Instead, Louisiana looks for shiga-toxin producting E. coli, determines whether or not the strain is E. coli O157:H7, and runs a genetic profile (known as PFGE). The PFGE result is emailed to the CDC, and the culture is purified and shipped to the agency labs. As far as Louisiana is concerned, the exact identification of the E. coli serotype is interesting from an academic perspective, but not something that they care to spend time on.

After thinking about this for a couple of minutes, I found myself agreeing with Dr. Ratard. There was a time when determining the serotype was a useful tool in tracing the source of a disease outbreak. That tool has been supplanted by a much more precise and reliable tool, in the form of genetic profiling.

Which brings me back to USDA and the “super six serotypes” that are in the media spotlight. What the agency should have done – and what I proposed back in 2009 – was to simply declare ANY shiga-toxin producing E. coli as an adulterant.

  • The toxin doesn’t care which serotype is producing it.
  • The patients don’t care which serotype is making them ill.
  • The epidemiologists no longer rely on serotyping to define an outbreak.

So why should USDA set up seven individual small targets (E. coli O157:H7 and the “super six”) instead of a single inclusive target known around the world as “shiga-toxin producing E. coli?

Beats me!

Recalls and Alerts: June 7, 2012

Here is today’s list of food safety recalls, product withdrawals, allergy alerts and miscellaneous compliance issues. The live links will take you directly to the official recall notices and company news releases that contain detailed information for each recall and alert.

If you would like to receive automatic email alerts for all new articles posted on eFoodAlert, please submit your request using the sidebar link.

United States

  • Allergy Alert: Windsor Quality Food Co (Toluca, IL) recalls Safeway Select Five Cheese Lasagna (Retail cartons; Package code April 4, 2013) and Safeway Select Meat Lasagna (Shipping cases; Best by date April 4, 2013), because the products contain undeclared egg and soy. The recalled products were manufactured on April 4, 2012 and shipped to retail establishments in Alaska, California, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Maryland, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Texas, Washington, and Virginia.
  • Food Safety Recall: Bay Valley Foods recalls boxed pasta mix products manufactured by its subsidiary, ST Specialty Foods, Inc., because the recalled products include a seasoning blend manufactured by Kerry Ingredients & Flavours that may potentially contain small metal fragments. Affected products were packaged under the Aldi, Coborns, H-E-B, King Soopers, Kroger, Meijer, Mid-Mountain Foods, Mitchell Grocery and Wal-Mart brands. Please refer to the recall notice for a detailed list of products and lot codes.
  • Food Safety Recall (FDA Enforcement Report): Corn Products International, Inc. (Westchester, IL) recalls Purimune galactooligosaccharide powder derived from milk lactose (20kg/44.1-lb plastic bags; Product code 113001-156; Lot Nos. 0000117369, 0000117370 and 0000117371; Manufactured by Corn Products Korea, Inc., Icheon-City, Korea), because the product was found to be contaminated with Salmonella. Customers were notified of the recall by telephone on May 10th and May 15th-16th, 2012. The recalled product was distributed to Arizona, California, Nebraska, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Utah, Vermont, and Washington, as well as to Canada (Ontario and Quebec, only), Czech Republic, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
  • Dietary Supplement Safety Recall: Botanical Laboratories (Ferndale, WA) recalls Digestive 3 in 1 Health liquid dietary supplement (33.8-oz bottles; Lot 34552C(4-digit time code)A EXP 03/2014) and Digestive 3 in 1 Health liquid dietary supplement (16-oz bottles; Lot 34441C(4-digit time code)A EXP 03/2014), because the products may be contaminated with Salmonella. The recall was initiated after Botanical Laboratories was informed by a raw ingredient supplier (Corn Products International, Inc.) that a sample of one of the ingredients had tested positive for Salmonella.
  • Outbreak Alert: State, local and federal health agencies are investigating an outbreak of E. coli O145 illnesses that has sickened at least 11 people in Georgia, Louisiana, Alabama, Florida and Tennessee. One child died as a result of the her infection. The source of the outbreak is under investigation.

Canada

  • Allergy Alert: Rocky Roc Canada Trade Ltd. (Richmond, BC) recalls Torabika brand Cappuccino Extra Choco Granule (20 x 25g sachets; Product of Indonesia; UPC 8 996001 414019), because the product contains undeclared milk. The recalled product was distributed in British Columbia.
  • Food Safety Recall: Nys Pâtissier, Pâtisserie belge artisanale (Trois-Rivières, QC) recalls Sauce à Spaghetti Maison (1000mL glass jars), because the product was not manufactured in a manner that would ensure its microbiological safety.
  • Food Safety Recall (FDA Enforcement Report): Corn Products International, Inc. (Westchester, IL) recalls Purimune galactooligosaccharide powder derived from milk lactose (20kg/44.1-lb plastic bags; Product code 113001-156; Lot Nos. 0000117369, 0000117370 and 0000117371; Manufactured by Corn Products Korea, Inc., Icheon-City, Korea), because the product was found to be contaminated with Salmonella. Customers were notified of the recall by telephone on May 10th and May 15th-16th, 2012. The recalled product was distributed to Arizona, California, Nebraska, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Utah, Vermont, and Washington, as well as to Canada (Ontario and Quebec, only), Czech Republic, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

Europe

  • Food Safety Recall (Germany): Fa. Heiderbeck Käse vom Feinsten GmbH (distributor) and Casarrigoni srl (manufacturer) recall La Dolce Crema – “Spoon Gorgonzola” cheese (Product of Italy; Expiration dates 07.06./15.06./21.06./28.06), because the product may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.
  • Food Safety Recall (Greece): EFET orders the recall of Kouniniotis Iarmony Black Currant (200g packages; Expiry date 12/2012; Batch L 1356DSPG), due to contamination with unsafe levels of Ochratoxin A.
  • Food Safety Recall (Greece): EFET orders the recall of TRS – Tumeric Powder (100g; Expiry 31.03.2014; Product of India; Packed by TRS Wholesale Co. Ltd, UK), due to Salmonella contaimation. The recalled Tumeric Powder was sold by Sri Lanka Asien Market, Athens.
  • Food Safety Recall (FDA Enforcement Report): Corn Products International, Inc. (Westchester, IL) recalls Purimune galactooligosaccharide powder derived from milk lactose (20kg/44.1-lb plastic bags; Product code 113001-156; Lot Nos. 0000117369, 0000117370 and 0000117371; Manufactured by Corn Products Korea, Inc., Icheon-City, Korea), because the product was found to be contaminated with Salmonella. Customers were notified of the recall by telephone on May 10th and May 15th-16th, 2012. The recalled product was distributed to Arizona, California, Nebraska, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Utah, Vermont, and Washington, as well as to Canada (Ontario and Quebec, only), Czech Republic, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

Australia and New Zealand

  • Food Safety Recall (Australia): Jmark Pty Ltd., trading as Gourmet Selections, recalls Gourmet Selections Greek Salad (150g and 300g plastic tubs; use by dates from 6 JUN 12 to 14 JUN 12 inclusive), due to E. coli contamination. The recalled product was sold from Woolworths, IGA and other independent supermarkets in Western Australia.
  • Food Safety Recall (FDA Enforcement Report): Corn Products International, Inc. (Westchester, IL) recalls Purimune galactooligosaccharide powder derived from milk lactose (20kg/44.1-lb plastic bags; Product code 113001-156; Lot Nos. 0000117369, 0000117370 and 0000117371; Manufactured by Corn Products Korea, Inc., Icheon-City, Korea), because the product was found to be contaminated with Salmonella. Customers were notified of the recall by telephone on May 10th and May 15th-16th, 2012. The recalled product was distributed to Arizona, California, Nebraska, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Utah, Vermont, and Washington, as well as to Canada (Ontario and Quebec, only), Czech Republic, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
  • Medical Device Safety Recall (Australia): The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) advises that Other-Sonic Generic Ultrasound Transmission Gel (Product of USA; 250ml and 5L containers; Lot Nos. 060111, 090111 and 081411) has been recalled due to bacterial contamination. The affected lots were manufactured by Pharmaceutical Innovations Inc., USA between June and December 2011, and were the subject of a recall by the manufacturer in March 2012. TGA has confirmed the presence of the bacteria Klebsiella oxytoca and Pseudomonas aeruginosa in samples from the contaminated lots.

Some supermarket chains post recall notices on their web sites for the convenience of customers. To see whether a recalled food was carried by your favorite supermarket, follow the live link to the supermarket’s recall web site.

*The Kroger umbrella encompasses numerous supermarket, marketplace and convenience store chains, listed on the Kroger corporate home page.
**Includes Safeway, Vons, Pavilions, Dominick’s, Genuardi’s, Randalls, Tom Thumb, Carrs and Pak N’ Save.

Recalls and Alerts: June 1, 2012

Here is today’s list of food safety recalls, product withdrawals, allergy alerts and miscellaneous compliance issues. The live links will take you directly to the official recall notices and company news releases that contain detailed information for each recall and alert.

If you would like to receive automatic email alerts for all new articles posted on eFoodAlert, please submit your request using the sidebar link.

United States

  • Outbreak Alert: Six-year-old boy in Millbury, Massachusetts succumbed to hemolytic uremic syndrome after contracting E. coli infection from an unknown source. Worcester Public Health officials are investigating, according to a report in the Boston Herald.

Canada

  • Allergy Alert: OS Distribution recalls Nona Pudding (85g; Honeydew, Mango and Coconut flavors; All codes) due to the presence of undeclared milk. The recalled products were distributed in British Columbia.

Europe

Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands

  • Oral Drug Product Safety Alert (Hong Kong): The Department of Health warns the public not to consume the oral drug Jin Tan 1-Ching-Sung Laxative Tablets, as it may contain the banned Western drug diacetyldiphenolisatin (also known as oxyphenisatin).

Some supermarket chains post recall notices on their web sites for the convenience of customers. To see whether a recalled food was carried by your favorite supermarket, follow the live link to the supermarket’s recall web site.

*The Kroger umbrella encompasses numerous supermarket, marketplace and convenience store chains, listed on the Kroger corporate home page.
**Includes Safeway, Vons, Pavilions, Dominick’s, Genuardi’s, Randalls, Tom Thumb, Carrs and Pak N’ Save.