Researchers Need to Distinguish Between Salmonella Strains

With so many different strains of salmonella infections, it makes sense to continue refining the methods used to distinguish them. According to the article below, the CDC uses a method of DNA fingerprinting track the strain that caused the outbreak, but it doesn't work so well with Salmonella Enteritidis, so they're are developing a new and more accurate method of acquiring the bacteria's identity.
   . . . June


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Researchers developing way to distinguish between salmonella strains:
Penn State Live  Tuesday, September 21, 2010

University Park, Pa. — As scientists with the federal government search for the source of the salmonella that made thousands of people sick this summer and trace how it spread, researchers in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences are developing a new and more accurate method of acquiring the bacteria's identity.

The outbreak began last May. By August, at least 1,000 more people than usual around the country had gotten sick with salmonella poisoning. Investigators from the Food and Drug Administration discovered that two large enterprises in Iowa supplied eggs that carried a common type of salmonella, Salmonella Enteritidis, frequently associated with eggs. More than 500 million eggs from those farms were recalled, and investigators are piecing together how the outbreak occurred.

Hospitals reported the cases to state health authorities, who took a kind of genetic fingerprint of the bacteria and passed that information along to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. But in this case, the genetic fingerprint wasn't very helpful for tracing the bacteria because it was the most common fingerprint for Salmonella Enteritidis in CDC’s database.

As a result, "Investigators couldn't tell if all those people really got sick from the same thing," said Stephen Knabel, professor of food science, who has been working with faculty colleague Edward Dudley for the past year to develop a new and more accurate method for DNA fingerprinting the top 10 types of salmonella bacteria.

"The problem is that different strains of Salmonella Enteritidis are highly related and very difficult to distinguish between," Knabel said. "The CDC uses a method of DNA fingerprinting called PFGE to track the strain that caused the outbreak, but it doesn't work so well with Salmonella Enteritidis."

Read More . . .

Are Antibiotics In Livestock Feed Partly to Blame For Drug-resistant Bacteria?

 The article below brings out a very valid point. They say that the practice of lacing animals' feed with low-dose antibiotics to accelerate their growth is spreading drug-resistant bacteria to humans and rendering common antibiotics useless to treat illness. After all, isn't that why our doctors are being so careful not to treat every minor infection we have with antibiotics? 
     . . . June


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Doctors sound alarm over antibiotics in livestock feed
The Green Man:

The Canadian Medical Association is pressuring the federal government to investigate the human health impacts of feeding antibiotics to healthy beef cattle, poultry and hogs.

Doctors and scientists say the practice of lacing animals' feed with low-dose antibiotics to accelerate their growth is spreading drug-resistant bacteria to humans and rendering common antibiotics useless to treat illness.

A food chain contaminated by drug-resistant bacteria bodes ill for both public health and the cost of health care, and as drug resistance in microbes increases, the number of effective antibiotics in the doctors' arsenal has dropped.

"As doctors we are seeing that people have infections that were easily treated years ago, when all the basic antibiotics took care of most of the infections that people had," said Vancouver physician Dr. Bill Mackie, chairman of the environmental health committee of the B.C. Medical Association. "Of late there has been increasing [drug] resistance; when you put someone on an antibiotic that you expect to do its job, it doesn't work."

When a course of antibiotic treatment fails, people stay sick longer and doctors must resort to more exotic and often more expensive drugs, Mackie said.

The BC Centre for Disease Control has tracked a rise in the number of courses of antibiotics required to treat common bacterial illnesses, such as bladder infections.

Medical authorities are also grappling with a rise in multi-drug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, which mainly affects hospital patients but is also found in hogs and cattle, where it can be passed to humans, according to a 2009 report by the European Food Safety Authority.

Read on . . .

Thousands Sickened as Senate Stalls on Food Safety

 Food recalls are becoming so prevalent that we tend to ignore them most of the time unless it's directly related to us. An article like the one below really opens our eyes. It's not just the major recalls that are publicized but the thousands of others which weren't quite severe enough to immediately threaten our lives. We're dodging bullets here.
    . . . June


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Tons of Foods Recalled and Thousands Sickened as Senate Stalls on Food Safety:
September 11, 2010 18:49 Source: Center for Science in the Public Interest

As the nation reels from the impact of a massive egg recall that has sickened well over 1,500 people, survivors of foodborne illness and consumer advocates say that antiquated laws and poor enforcement are to blame.

According to a new report, the massive egg recall is only the latest—but largest—of 85 recalls that companies made while food safety reform legislation has been pending in the Senate, and since similar legislation passed the House in July of 2009. All told, at least 1,850 people have been sickened from foods subject to a recall, according to a report issued today by three consumer groups. And since foodborne illness is dramatically underreported, the actual toll of illness is almost certainly in the tens of thousands.

“Recalls and outbreaks are the most public consequence of our ‘horse and buggy’ food safety system,” said Caroline Smith DeWaal, food safety director at the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest. “Consumers are sometimes sickened and everyone up and down the chain has to check for, remove, and destroy the contaminated products. Only Congress can fix the underlying problems by passing legislation that has been languishing in the Senate for over a year.

In the 13-month period since the House passed H.R. 2749, the Food Safety Enhancement Act, researchers from CSPI, Consumer Federation of America, and U.S. Public Interest Research Group identified 85 separate recalls linked to at least 1,850 illnesses. 36 of those recalls were due to Salmonella contamination of lettuce, alfalfa sprouts, green onions, and ground pepper. Hydrolyzed vegetable protein contaminated with Salmonella spurred the recall of a wide variety of soup and dip mixes, dressings, and seasonings. 32 recalls, mostly from contaminated cheeses, were due to dangerous Listeria bacteria. E. coli bacteria on shredded romaine lettuce sickened at least 26 people in 23 states and the District of Columbia.

Read on . . .

Are 'Egg Factories" Breeding Ground For Salmonella?

 This article from The Atlantic is really an eye-opener. It lays out the case that the huge "egg factories" housing millions of caged hens which never see the light of day, surrounded by manure, rodents and flies may well be the breeding ground for these diseases.
   . . . June


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Where the Salmonella Really Came From

Food - The Atlantic:Sep 8 2010, 9:09 AM ET


It's been nearly one month since the nationwide recall of 550 million eggs, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) still hasn't figured out where the salmonella that sickened 1,470 people originated.

Well, I know where it originated, and I am about to reveal it here, both to save the FDA further trouble and to warn the public that the food safety bill currently before the Senate (which may be fast-tracked as election-wary lawmakers return from their break) might not prevent future food contamination epidemics. In fact, it could even cause serious harm to conscientious farmers whose meat, poultry, and produce has never sickened anybody.

Put simply, the cause of the current salmonella outbreak is industrial-scale factory farming, which has also been the cause of virtually every instance of bacterial food contamination the country has experienced in recent years. Huge farms and processors that ship their products across the nation have given us E. coli in ground beef and spinach, Salmonella in peanut butter and fresh salsa, and Listeria in processed chicken. Scanning this list of food-borne illness outbreaks in the United States in the last 15 years, I can find only one instance, Listeria-tainted milk from Whitter Farms in Massachusetts, where a small, local operation sickened its customers.

FDA officials who examined the farms behind the current rash of egg-induced sicknesses were shocked to discover evidence of manure—along with rodents, flies, cats, and birds—in the facilities, which housed 7.7 million caged hens. I, too, maintain a flock of laying hens, although mine is only a dozen strong. My chickens sleep in an abandoned horse stable and spend their days running loose, pecking and scratching around the property. They are no strangers to manure, flies, cats, birds, and the occasional rodent. But my eggs have never sickened anyone. Hens have been living in proximity to insects, mice, and other wildlife for millennia. What is new are the huge facilities containing millions of caged birds that never see the light of day.

Read on . . .

Did Federal Inspectors Ignore Complaints about Conditions At The Egg Farm?

 Did the 2 egg farms comply with regulations or were there some irregularities which should have been addressed. According to the article below, two former workers from one of those egg farms said that federal inspectors ignored complaints about conditions at the farm. Could this outbreak have been discovered before it infected so many?
   . . . June

Former Egg Farm Employees Say Their Complaints Were Ignored: Report: "Two former workers at one of the two Iowa egg farms implicated in the massive recall of salmonella-contaminated eggs said federal inspectors who worked at the two farms ignored complaints about conditions at one of the sites, the Associated Press reported Friday.

The two workers, employed at Wright County Egg facilities, said they reported problems such as leaking manure and dead chickens to U.S. Department of Agriculture employees, but nothing was done, the news service reported.

A spokesman for the Agriculture Department, Caleb Weaver, said the federal employees' main duties were "grading" the eggs and they weren't primarily responsible for looking for health problems. Weaver also said the USDA employee who oversaw grading at the facility did not recall anyone raising concerns, the AP said.

On Monday, U.S. health investigators detailed a slew of violations that included the presence of manure pits, rodents and dead flies at the two Iowa farms implicated in the recent egg recall due to salmonella infection.

"These are significant deviations from what should be happening," Michael Taylor, deputy commissioner for foods at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, said during an afternoon news conference at which the agency released the results of what is known as a "483" inspection report.

The "observations" are a clear violation of the new egg rule put into place in July, added David Elder, director of the FDA's Office of Regional Operations.

Both Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms "failed to fully implement and follow procedures in its salmonella and derivatives prevention plan," Elder said.

Read More

Would My Kitchen Pass a Restaurant Inspection?

 This question really stops you in your tracks. Are my family safe - or am I subjecting them to potential health risks? According to the article below, one in seven homes would flunk the kind of health inspection commonly administered to restaurants. The study, released Thursday, is believed to be one of the first to offer a sizable assessment of food safety in private homes. 
   . . . June

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Newsvine - Can home cooking be hazardous to your health?

Mike Stobbe, AP Medical Writer

 

Could your kitchen at home pass a restaurant inspection?

New researcher suggests that at least one in seven home kitchens would flunk the kind of health inspection commonly administered to restaurants.

The small study from California's Los Angeles County found that only 61 percent of home kitchens would get an A or B if put through the rigors of a restaurant inspection. At least 14 percent would fail — not even getting a C.

'I would say if they got below a C, I'm not sure I would like them to invite me to dinner,' said Dr. Jonathan Fielding, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

In comparison, nearly all Los Angeles County restaurants — 98 percent — get A or B scores each year.

The study, released Thursday, is believed to be one of the first to offer a sizable assessment of food safety in private homes. But the researchers admit the way it was done is hardly perfect.

The results are based not on actual inspections, but on an Internet quiz taken by about 13,000 adults .
So it's hard to use it to compare the conditions in home kitchens to those in restaurants, which involve trained inspectors giving objective assessments of dirt, pests, and food storage and handling practices.

What's more, experts don't believe the study is representative of all households, because people who are more interested and conscientious about food safety are more likely to take the quiz.

"You'll miss a big population who don't have home computers or just really don't care" about the cleanliness of their kitchens, said Martin Bucknavage, a food safety specialist with Penn State University's Department of Food Science.

A more comprehensive look would probably find that an even smaller percentage of home kitchens would do well in a restaurant inspection, he suggested.

Read More of the article

Lots Of Other Recalls Make Life Dangerous!

 Recalls are getting to be almost routine. From the dangerous food recalls that can kill us or make us very sick (such as the present salmonella egg recall) to the automobile industry recalls, to potentially harmful drugs, we're seeing new ones almost every day. Is the industry becoming more vigilant - or are manufacturers more careless? Either way, we need to be very aware of these warnings.
   . . . June

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The Buzz Log - Bad Eggs, Tainted Meat, Stall-Outs: The Recall Recap 

Yahoo! Buzz: "2007 was dubbed the year of the recall — but that dubious honor may have been premature. Three years ago, news of melamine-tainted dog food, salmonella-harboring peanut butter, and lead-painted toys all spurred a constant and at times frantic stream of online interest. A record-setting 472 products had to be sent back to companies. The furor led to renewed calls for companies to address systemic breakdowns and for government to strengthen oversight at home and overseas.

But that was before dangerous cribs, loose floor mats, and even worse peanut butter in 2009. These days, it's bad eggs — millions of them. The past 7 days alone on Yahoo! saw 82 different 'egg recall' searches, including 'egg recall 2010,' 'fda egg recall,' 'salmonella egg recall,' 'egg recall lot numbers,' 'salmonella egg recall numbers.'

And there's more: New warnings have come out on tainted beef, suspicious medicines, and exploding batteries. This is going to require even more online vigilance."

Voluntary recalls, especially for food products and drugs, have actually increased in the past three years — although how much of that is due to increased industry sensitivity and better testing technology is hard to measure. The Obama administration has pushed government agencies to toughen up on product crackdowns: The FDA, dinged for decreasing domestic food inspections between 2004 and 2008, now wants to bring criminal charges against executives whose companies have had many recalls.

How bad's the frequency? Well, now there's an app for updates — from Recall.gov, which consolidates recall news from several regulatory agencies. As for which products have preoccupied people's attention the most, here are the week's most-searched recalls.

Read On . . .

Restaurants, Grocery Stores Make Changes Due to Tainted Eggs

Many Grocery Stores and restaurants are posting signs about salmonella-free eggs after ensuring that their egg supplier is not on the recall list. It's been a massive recall of tainted eggs and is probably not over yet. The FDA says that there is no evidence that the outbreak has spread beyond 2 Iowa farms. More in the articles below.
   . . . June

Wary consumers, restaurants make changes after egg recall August 24, 2010 at 1:57 AM The expanding national egg recall, the largest in recent history, is having a far-reaching impact on farmers, grocery stores, chefs, and consumers across the region. The federal government has recalled more than a half-billion eggs that may have been tainted with salmonella bacteria and sickened hundreds of people nationwide. The outbreak is not linked to any farms or shops in New England, but many area businesses and customers are still taking extra precautions. Some local restaurants, like Sami's Wrap N' Roll in Jamaica Plain, recently changed suppliers to ensure the eggs served were known to be from a safe source, even though the ones previously used were not involved in the recall. "It's... No evidence that tainted eggs go beyond 2 farms August 23, 2010 at 7:38 PM MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press Writer= WASHINGTON (AP) — Food and Drug Administration officials said Monday that there is no evidence a massive outbreak of salmonella in eggs has spread beyond two Iowa farms, though a team of investigators is still trying to figure out what caused it. FDA officials said they do not expect the number of eggs recalled — 550 million — to grow. Dr. Jeff Farrar, FDA's associate commissioner for food protection, said 20 FDA investigators are at the two farms, Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms, and could be there until next week. He said preliminary findings of the investigation should be available later this week. Farrar said the chicks that came to the... Hy-Vee & Lowe's Stores Sign On for Egg Safety: Stores to Carry Salmonella-Free Pasteurized Shell Eggs Per FDA Recommendation August 23, 2010 at 6:37 PM   , Aug. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- As the number of individuals sickened by salmonella enteritidis grows to more than 1,000, salmonella-free 's Safest Choice Pasteurized Shell Eggs (www.safeeggs.com) will be available at Hy-Vee, Inc. stores and Lowe's Foods beginning next week.... Foodsafety.gov salmonella egg safety tips: Salmonella symptoms, recalled egg brands -Video August 23, 2010 at 5:58 PM FoodSafety.gov answers salmonella egg recall questions. Which brands of eggs have been recalled? What are the symptoms of Salmonella Enteritidis? There are just some of the many questions consumers are asking about the nationwide egg recall that may be linked to at least 1,300 cases of salmonella. With so much confusion relating to the egg recall the government is widely... Eggs tainted with salmonella sent to Nevada grocery stores August 23, 2010 at 3:05 PM Paul Matadeen reporting A California distributor is now part of the chain of providers suspected of selling eggs tainted with salmonella. The eggs, although from an Iowa farm, were sent to Nevada grocery stories via a west coast distributor. The means the eggs, under the brand name of Albertson and Mountain Dairy, could put Las Vegans at risk. Although there have been no direct... The egg recall and your dog August 23, 2010 at 1:05 PM Just like humans, dogs are susceptible to Salmonella. With the recent recall of over a billion contaminated eggs, one has to wonder how it affects your dog. Luckily, dry dog food isn't affected, but what about people that feed their dogs a raw diet? Because Pit Bulls have the tendency to have allergy issues, owners... Half-billion bad eggs, more could be recalled August 23, 2010 at 12:16 PM WASHINGTON — There may be more recalls of eggs in the salmonella outbreak, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Margaret Hamburg said Monday. "We may see some additional sort of sub-recalls over the next couple of days, maybe even weeks, as we better understand the network of distribution of these eggs that are contaminated," Hamburg told NBC's TODAY show. She advised consumers to check out the FDA website, foodsafety.gov to ensure that any eggs they purchased are not among the contaminated batches. As for the cause, Hamburg said that officials will aggressive investigate the problem to determine the exact source of the salmonella outbreak that has sickened as many as 1,300 people... Egg Recall expands to 500 M: Latest recommendations from FDA August 23, 2010 at 10:00 AM The egg recall has expanded to include an astonishing 500,000,000 eggs and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advises that it may be expanded again. Keep your family safe with these latest recommendations from the FDA. The recall now affects 17 states across the country, including Georgia. The FDA has identified more than 2,000 illnesses that stem from two farms in Iowa that share chickens, chicken feed and the same owner. Wright County Egg has received numerous citations in the past, including a 3.6 million dollar fine for health and safety violations and a $25,000 fine for cruelty of hens in 2006. In 2001, the company was named as a repeat violator. While the Food... Which brands of eggs can you safely eat & have you tried the local eggs ... August 23, 2010 at 12:16 AM If you're looking for local eggs, check out Soul Food Farm in Vacaville. That's where Alexis Koefoed manages her flock of seven breeds of Heritage chickens, a total of 1,100 hens that lay eggs of unusual richness and flavor. See the website, Soul Food Farm, Vacaville, CA. The eggs range in color from your traditional brown to dark chocolate and pale pink. Customers love the unusual colors, including dark olive and a pale greenish blue, produced by the few Araucana chickens the local farmers have. (Did you know that different breeds of chicken lay different-colored eggs?) Currently Soul Food Farm has (according to their current website) 1,100 hundred laying hens. The farm now have its... This email was sent to dyna999399.eggs99@blogger.com. Delivered by Feed My Inbox 230 Franklin Road Suite 814 Franklin, TN 37064 Account Login Unsubscribe Here