Tag: Health

Profiling Yersinia enterocolitica

Yersinia enterocolitica can grow at temperatures as low as 32º to 36ºF (0º to 2ºC).

Some history

Yersinia enterocolitica was first discovered to be a human pathogen in 1939; however, it was only recognized as a cause of food-borne disease in the 1970’s.

What is Yersinia enterocolitica, and where is its natural habitat?

Yersinia enterocolitica is cold-tolerant and can grow slowly in refrigerated food. It has been detected in many kinds of animals, and in surface waters. The serotypes that most frequently cause human disease are most likely to be found in the mouth and intestinal tract of healthy pigs, although the microbe has been detected in a variety of meats, milk, other dairy products, seafood and environmental waters.

How is Yersinia enterocolitica transmitted? What is the incubation period of the infection?

The disease is transmitted when an individual consumes food or water contaminated by one of the pathogenic strains of the bacterium. Two past outbreaks involved children who ate raw chitterlings (raw pork intestines), a traditional winter holiday dish among members of the African-American community. The incubation period can range from one day to 11 days.

What is yersiniosis? How long does it take to develop?

Yersinia enterocolitica infections in younger children usually result in enterocolitis – diarrhea, low-grade fever and abdominal pain. In older children and young adults, the infection may produce symptoms that resemble appendicitis. Symptoms typically require from one to 11 days to develop.

What are the symptoms of Yersinia enterocolitica infections?

Symptoms may include diarrhea, fever, abdominal pain, and vomiting. The severity of the symptoms depends upon the age of the victim and the size of the dose. The disease symptoms last from one to three weeks in most cases.

What is the prognosis of a Yersinia enterocolitica infection?

Most infections are self-limiting; however, complications and secondary illnesses can include appendicitis, arthritis, erythema nodosum, bacteremia, or extraintestinal infections. Among individuals who develop bacteremia (infection of the bloodstream), the fatality rate is 34-50%.

What foods carry Yersinia enterocolitica?

Yersinia enterocolitica has been found in meats (beef, poultry, lamb and, especially pork), milk and other dairy products, and seafood. Many – but not all – of the strains found in food are not pathogenic to humans.

How can people protect themselves from Yersinia enterocolitica infections?

Yersinia enterocolitica is killed during pasteurization of milk and by normal cooking procedures. Ways to minimize the risk of contracting an infection include:

  • Always cook pork, beef, lamb and poultry thoroughly, to an internal temperature of 165ºF (74ºC)
  • Take care to avoid contact between raw meat juices and foods that are ready-to-eat, including cooked meats, side dishes, salads and desserts
  • Wash and sanitize hands, utensils and work surfaces after working with any raw meat
  • Avoid consuming raw milk and dairy products made using unpasteurized milk
  • Avoid drinking untreated water
  • Always wash hands after touching a pet or barnyard animal
  • Do not allow toddlers and young children to play with pets or barnyard animals unsupervised.

For more information on Yersinia enterocolitica and other food-borne pathogens, visit the CDC website or read Food Safety: Old Habits, New Perspectives.

Recalls and Alerts: January 23, 2013

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.

Canada

  • Allergy Alert: Newfoundland Chocolate Company recalls all Best Before dates and sizes of the following Newfoundland Chocolate Company brand chocolates, due to undeclared egg and wheat: Smiling Land Series Gourmet chocolates featuring Newfoundland wildberries, Rum Runners & Rogues Series Gourmet chocolates featuring Newfoundland spirits and liqueurs, Lighthouse Series Gourmet dark chocolates, Quiet Cove Series Gourmet milk chocolates, and Jigs n’ Reels Series Gourmet milk, dark and white chocolates. The recalled products were distributed in the Atlantic provinces, Quebec, Ontario and Alberta, and may have been distributed nationally.
  • Food Safety Recall: Pâtisserie La Lorraine inc (Repentigny, QC) recalls Sauce au Poulet pour Vol-au-vent/Vol-au-vent chicken sauce (500 ml and 1 liter glass jars, with or without labels; sold up to and including January 11, 2013), because the jars were not labeled “Garder réfrigéré” and the contents, therefore, may not be safe for consumption.

Europe

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 website.

*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: January 22, 2013

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: C & H Meat Company (Vernon, CA) recalls Korean Brand BBQ Flavored Spicy Pork Butt (10-oz pkgs and bulk pkgs; Produced through Jan 16, 2013), Marinated Spicy Pork Butt (10-oz pkgs and bulk pkgs; Produced through Jan 16, 2013) and Korean Brand BBQ Flavored Spicy Boneless Chicken Leg Meat (10-oz pkgs and bulk pkgs; Produced through Jan 16, 2013), due to undeclared monosodium glutamate (MSG). The recalled products were distributed to retail establishments and restaurants in California.
  • Food Safety Recall: Knott’s Fine Foods, Inc. (Paris, TN) recalls Chicken Salad Sandwiches (3-oz black wedge with clear plastic film closure; UPC 0-11984-01132-6; All expiration dates 1/29/13 and earlier), after routine testing by the Tennessee Department of Agriculture found Listeria monocytogenes in a sandwich. The recalled sandwiches were supplied to 35 retail stores in West Tennessee, Western Kentucky and North Mississippi.
  • Food Safety Recall: Annie’s Inc. recalls all varieties of Annie’s Rising Crust Frozen Pizza (Best by dates including and between 09Jan13 and 14Sep13) after learning a fine metal mesh screen failed at a third-party flour mill and fragments of flexible metal mesh were found in the flour and pizza dough. The recalled varieties include: Organic Four Cheese Pizza (23.5 oz; UPC 013562 200016), Organic Pepperoni Pizza (23.6 oz; UPC 013562 200009), Organic Supreme Pizza (25.4 oz; UPC 013562 200023), Organic Spinach and Mushroom Pizza (25.0 oz; UPC 013562 200054), Four Cheese Pizza (22.5 oz; UPC 013562 200078), Pepperoni Pizza (22.6 oz; UPC 013562 200061), and BBQ Recipe Chicken Pizza (23.1 oz; UPC 013562 200092). The recalled products were distributed at grocery, mass and natural food stores throughout the United States.
  • Food Safety Recall: Pamela’s Products recalls Pamela’s Baking & Pancake Mix (24 oz; Best by Sep 26 2013), Pamela’s Chocolate Chunk Cookie Mix (13.6 oz; Best by Oct 7 2013), Pamela’s Chocolate Cake Mix (21 oz; Best by Sep 11 2013, Sep 19 2013 and Oct 4 2013) and Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie (5.29 oz; Best by Apr 14 2013), after having received notice from four individual consumers that they found what appears to be a single plastic or glass fragment in four different Pamela’s products. The recalled products were supplied to retailers nationwide.
  • FDA Warning Letter: FDA warns Burr Favara Enterprises (Omaha, NE) that a December 2012 inspection of the company’s seafood processing facility found serious violations of the seafood Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) regulation.
  • FDA Warning Letter: FDA warns Bryon K. Townsend (Tollesboro, KY) that a November 2012 inspection of his seafood processing facility found violations of the seafood Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) regulation.
  • FDA Warning Letter: FDA warns Sunburst Trout Farms, LLC (Canton, NC) that a July 2012 inspection of the company’s seafood processing facility found serious violations of the seafood Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) regulation and the Current Good Manufacturing Practice regulation for foods.
  • FDA Warning Letter: FDA warns True Taste, LLC (Kenosha, WI) that an October-November 2012 inspection of the company’s seafood processing facility found serious violations of the seafood Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) regulation and the Current Good Manufacturing Practice regulation for foods.
  • FDA Warning Letter: FDA warns Pierino Frozen Foods, Inc. (Lincoln Park, MI) that a November 2012 inspection of the company’s seafood processing facility found serious violations of the seafood Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) regulation.
  • FDA Warning Letter: FDA warns Sally’s Cider Press (Harmony, PA) that a September-October 2012 inspection of the company’s juice processing facility found serious violations of the Juice Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) regulation, and the Current Good Manufacturing Practice regulation for foods.
  • FDA Warning Letter: FDA warns Food for Health International, LLC (Provo, UT) that an April-May 2012 inspection of the company’s dietary supplement manufacturing facility found a number of violations of the Current Good manufacturing Practice (CGMP) regulations for Manufacturing, Packaging, Labeling, or Holding Operations for Dietary Supplements

Canada

  • Allergy Alert: Lennie Ciglen Distribution Inc. recalls all packages of Mahalo Candy Bar (57g; UPC 8 99033 00203 3), Buccaneer Candy Bar (57g; UPC 8 99033 00202 6), Snap! Candy Bar (50g; UPC 8 99033 00205 7), Twilight Candy Bar (60g; UPC 8 99033 00201 9), Jokerz Candy Bar (60g; UPC 8 99033 00200 2) and Cleo’s Peanut Butter Cups (43g; UPC 8 99033 00204 0), due to undeclared milk. The recalled products were supplied to retailers in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba and Ontario.
  • Allergy Alert: Meilleures Marques Limitée recalls St-Hubert Chicken Noodle Soup Mix (240g; Lot 112489; Exp. 2015/01/20; UPC 0 66701 00131 9), due to undeclared egg. The recalled product was supplied to retailers in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island and Quebec.
  • Food Safety Recall: Michel St-Arneault Inc. recalls Selection Hashbrown Potatoes (750g; Lots 2327, 2305, and 2306; UPC 0 59749 89329 9), due to ‘non-harmful’ extraneous material contamination. The recalled product was supplied to retailers in Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario and Quebec.
  • Food Recall: Metro Inc. recalls Irresistibles Three-Meat Pie (635g; Lot 28412; UPC 0 59749 88304 7), due to a labeling issue. The recalled product was sold in Quebec.
  • Food Safety Alert: CBC reports that expired infant formula has been found on some Vancouver-area supermarket shelves in violation of federal food safety guidelines.

Europe

  • Food Safety Recall (Denmark): Ove Johnsen, Fisketorvet recalls Live Oysters (Product of France; Package dates 3/1-2013 and 7/1-2013), due to Norovirus contamination. The oysters were supplied to retail stores with fish departments, fishmongers and restaurants.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2013.0066): Possible rodenticide granules in confectionery made with milk powder from Poland; distributed to the Czech Republic, Germany, Latvia, Poland and Slovakia.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2013.0068): Salmonella in lemon thyme from Morocco; distributed to the United Kingdom.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2013.0069): Acephate in okra from India; distributed to France.

Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands

  • Outbreak Alert (Hong Kong): The Centre for Health Protection is investigating two suspected food poisoning clusters involving six people who dined at a restaurant in Tsim Sha Tsui on January 15. All six people sought medical attention, but no one required hospitalization.

Australia and New Zealand

  • Allergy Alert (Australia): The Market Grocer recalls The Market Grocer brand Raisins (Golden), Crimson Raisins, and Cranberry Fruit and Nut Mix (500g clear plastic packaging; All Best Before dates up to and including 30/11/2013; Manufactured in NSW with raw ingredient imported from Chile), due to undeclared sulphur dioxide. The recalled products were sold at Thomas Dux Grocers, Harris Farm Markets and other independent grocers in the ACT, NSW and VIC.

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Outbreak Alert: The Public Health Agency of Canada warns travelers that cholera cases have been reported in Cuba since July 2012, and reminds Canadians that the Dominican Republic and Haiti have reported “thousands of cholera cases and related deaths” since  the beginning of the Haitian cholera epidemic in October 2010. Travelers should practice safe food and water precautions while visiting Cuba, Haiti or the Dominican Republic.

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 website.

*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.