Food Safety
Salmonella Bareilly and Nchanga Raw Tuna Outbreak Updated
The CDC has updated the Salmonella Bareilly and Salmonella Nchanga outbreak linked to raw scraped ground tuna imported by Moon Marine USA Corporation. New states now included in the outbreak include California, Nebraska, and Tennessee.
As of May 2, 2012, 258 people are sick in 24 states and the District of Columbia. Salmonella Bareilly infections total 247 persons, and Salmonella Nchanga infections have sickened 11 people. Thirty two people have been hospitalized; no deaths are reported.
Microbiological Data Program Ignored in Budget Process
Congress is not seeking funding for the ‘tiny food program that matters’
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Microbiological Data Program will almost certainly be eliminated in fiscal year 2013 after the Senate Appropriations Committee decided to not include funding for the $5 million program in its budget bill.
The program, which was launched in 2001, currently tests about 15,000 samples of fruits and vegetables each year. Public health officials pull samples of alfalfa sprouts, cantaloupe, cilantro, hot peppers, bagged lettuce and spinach and tomatoes to gather data on E. coli (STEC), E. coli O157:H7 and other pathogens that can contaminate these products.
Samples are collected from produce distribution centers in 11 states and any isolated pathogens are then sent for pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) testing and the results are uploaded into the Centers for Disease Control PulseNet, which means they can be matched against illness or outbreaks.
Dubbed “A Tiny Food Program That Matters” by the New York Times editorial board, MDP does more for produce testing than any other state or federal entity, but the program has also been criticized for being slow and housed under the wrong agency, at the Agriculture Marketing Service.
In its budget request, the Obama administration called MDP a “lower-priority program because it has a low impact and is not central to the core mission of [USDA's Agriculture Marketing Service], which is to facilitate the competitive and efficient marketing of agricultural products.”
GMO Labeling Poised to Make California’s Nov. 6 Ballot
Missouri House Passes Ag-Gag Bill
The Missouri House of Representatives has passed H.B. 1860 on a vote of 108-32. The bill would make it a crime to record undercover pictures and videos on factory farms. Animal rights organizations have used these methods to expose animal cruelty and unsanitary conditions on farms and in slaughterhouses. Now it’s up to the Missouri Senate. A Senate committee will hear the bill this week and is expected to recommend approval.
The full Senate may vote on the bill later this week. Similar bills were passed in Iowa and Utah this year and was signed into law by the governors of those states, despite whistleblower statutes that are codified into law in the United States.
Source of Outbreak In Pueblo, Colo. Is Foodborne, Caterer Is Closed
The source of an outbreak that sickened 35 people who attended a community health luncheon in Pueblo, Colo. is foodborne, and the company that catered the event has been closed for multiple violations, according to the Pueblo City-County Health Department.
On Tuesday, April 24, 80 people gathered to attend the Community Health Center Annual Meeting. Afterward, 35 of them became ill. Results of a stool sample test performed by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) were positive for Clostridium perfringens.
Clostridium perfringens is a bacteria that causes diarrhea and abdominal cramping if ingested. Symptoms usually develop six to 24 hours after exposure and last for about a day, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
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Recalls
Puppy Formula Part of Expanded Diamond Pet Foods Recall
Smiling Hara Tempeh Recalling All Products for Possible Salmonella
Chad Oliphant of Smiling Hara Tempeh has announced that the company is recalling all products “out of an abundance of caution” for possible Salmonella contamination. The recalled products were manufactured between January 11, 2012 and April 11, 2012.
This recall includes all varieties and sizes of tempeh with a Best Buy date of 7/11/12 through 10/25/12. Do not eat these products; return immediately to the place of purchase for a full refund.
For more information, contact the company at 1-828-242-1300.
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