FSnet Aug. 24/08
CANADA:
Deadly listeriosis outbreak traced to Maple Leaf meats
CANADA: Link
between Listeriosis outbreak atrain and Maple Leaf Foods
products confirmed, CFIA & PHAC to hold technical briefing
Sunday
Public Health
Agency of CANADA statement on a Listeria Monocytogenes
outbreak
FLORIDA:
Special report: Restaurant inspections; Heat’s on the
kitchen
FLORIDA: Lee
County not a hot spot in ‘most dangerous state’
UK:: Doubts
persist at factory in salmonella inquiry, Food safety chiefs
believe there may be a second source of the bug
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CANADA:
Deadly listeriosis outbreak traced to Maple Leaf meats
23.aug.08
Canwest News Service
Nicole Baer and Larissa Liepins
http://www.canada.com/story.html?id=222b628d-8dc8-46af-b1dd-540864db14b8
The Canadian Press
http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5geMpKt1fIdBy2fQGiOoJQQzsvJ-w
OTTAWA - Maple Leaf Foods expanded a product recall Saturday
after test results confirmed that an outbreak of listeriosis
that has claimed four lives across Canada is linked to
processed meats produced at one of the company's plants.
The expanded recall will include all products from the
Toronto facility "as a precautionary measure," the company
said.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the Public Health
Agency of Canada have been testing samples of recalled meat
for the past week to determine the source of a fatal
outbreak of listeriosis.
At a news conference late Saturday night, Agriculture
Minister Gerry Ritz and public health officials announced
that results of genetic testing from three samples of the
recalled products show that two tested positive for the
outbreak strain of listeria. A third was a close match, but
with a slight variance.
The results are "highly significant" and show the
investigation is "on the right path," said the statement by
the Public Health Agency of Canada.
More test results are expected next week.
Maple Leaf began a recall of two of its brands last Sunday
and, soon after, expanded the recall to 23 and shut down its
Toronto plant for a thorough cleaning and inspection by
investigators.
Since then, health authorities have been scrambling to
determine how many deaths or illnesses can be confirmed as
linked to ingestion of the particularly deadly strain of the
Listeria monocytogenes bacterium carried in the contaminated
food.
Michael McCain, president and chief executive officer of
Maple Leaf, said the company has a culture of food safety
with standards "well beyond" what regulators require.
"This week, our best efforts failed," he said at a news
conference in Toronto after the test results were announced
Saturday night.
The additional product recall is expected to be implemented
swiftly, with a list of affected products to be published by
the company Sunday morning.
In the meantime, the Toronto facility remains closed during
"the most comprehensive sanitization possible," McCain said,
adding the process is expected to be complete by early this
week.
McCain called the fatal outbreak a "terrible tragedy" that
has shaken confidence in Maple Leaf.
"Tragically, our products have been linked to illness and
loss of life,"_McCain continued. "To those people who are
ill, and to the families who have lost loved ones, I offer
my deepest and sincerest sympathies. Words cannot begin to
express our sadness for their pain."
"This is the toughest situation we've faced in the 100 years
of this company's history," McCain told the news conference.
"We know that this has shaken confidence in us."
"It (Listeria) is virtually impossible to eradicate in its
entirety," McCain said. "It exists in plants, in
supermarkets, potentially in your kitchen," he said.
CANADA: Link
between Listeriosis outbreak atrain and Maple Leaf Foods
products confirmed, CFIA & PHAC to hold technical briefing
Sunday
23.aug.08
from a press release
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/link-between-listeriosis-outbreak-strain/story.aspx?guid=%7B7FB1EB56-D239-4129-BD03-76AA70EDCE48%7D&dist=hppr
OTTAWA, ONTARIO -- The Public Health Agency of Canada and
the Canadian Food Inspection Agency have received laboratory
results from Health Canada that establish a link between
meat products recalled by Maple Leaf Foods from their plant
in Toronto and an outbreak of listeriosis in four provinces.
To date, 21 cases of listeriosis have been confirmed, and
the same strain has been detected in four people who have
died. A further 30 cases remain under investigation.
The investigation into the cause of the outbreak is complex.
Results of genetic testing from three samples of the
products recalled by Maple Leaf Foods show that two tested
positive for the outbreak strain of listeria. Test results
for the third product were a close match to the outbreak
strain, but showed a slight variance. While these results
are highly significant, and indicate that the investigation
is on the right path, the investigation is not complete.
Test results on additional food samples expected next week
will advance the investigation further.
It would not have been possible to establish the link
between the food samples and outbreak cases of listeriosis
without the full cooperation of all parties involved,
including provincial, territorial and local health units,
federal departments and agencies, and Maple Leaf Foods. All
parties are continuing to work together on the
investigation.
Officials from the Public Health Agency and the Canadian
Food Inspection Agency and health Canada will hold a
technical briefing for members of the media on Sunday August
24, at 2:00 pm at the National Press Theatre, 150
Wellington, in Ottawa, to provide further details of the
continuing investigation into further possible sources of
the outbreak.
Because the onset of symptoms of listeriosis can occur up to
70 days after contaminated food is consumed, it is expected
that the number of confirmed and suspected cases will
continue to increase over the next several weeks. Up-to-date
information on the number of cases in the outbreak is
available on the website of the Public Health Agency of
Canada.
For further information on listeriosis and the symptoms of
the illness, please consult www.publichealth.gc.ca.
Public Health
Agency of CANADA statement on a Listeria Monocytogenes
outbreak
23.aug.08
Public Health Agency of Canada
http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/tmp-pmv/2008/listeria080820-eng.php
The Public Health Agency of Canada is collaborating with
provincial and local health authorities in Quebec, Ontario,
Saskatchewan and British Columbia, Health Canada and the
Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) to investigate an
increase in cases of Listeriosis with the same genetic
fingerprint (strain).
To date, there are 21 confirmed cases of the outbreak strain
of Listeriosis in four provinces (16 in Ontario, three in
BC, one in Saskatchewan and one in Quebec). Three deaths in
Ontario, and one death* in British Columbia have been
attributed to this strain. * outbreak listeriosis strain was
present however it may not have been cause of death
Additionally there are 30 suspected cases under
investigation. (14 in Ontario, two in BC, two in
Saskatchewan, four in Alberta and eight in Quebec.) These
cases are positive for listeriosis, but genetic
fingerprinting results are required before they can be
determined to be linked to the outbreak strain.
The Public Health Agency of Canada is working with its
partners to confirm the source of these infections. This
includes gathering epidemiological information from ill
individuals and assessing results of food testing.
Ready-to-eat meat products are being investigated as a
possible source. For information regarding recalled
products, please see the CFIA website:
http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/corpaffr/recarapp/2008/20080819e.shtml
Listeria monocytogenes can be found in a variety of dairy
products, vegetables, fish and meat products. The disease
affects primarily older individuals, pregnant women,
newborns, and adults with weakened immune systems. A person
with listeriosis may experience fever, muscle aches, and
sometimes gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea or
diarrhea. Deaths are uncommon, except in the very young, the
very old, or people with weakened immune systems. People who
believe they have experienced symptoms of illness are urged
to contact their health care provider.
For further information on Listeria:
* Special Notice to Editors
http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/tmp-pmv/2008/listeria_notice_avis_edit-eng.php
* Backgrounder: Canada’s Foodborne Illness Outbreak Response
Protocol
http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/tmp-pmv/2008/listeria080820bck-eng.php
* Listeriosis Outbreak Media Qs & As
http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/tmp-pmv/2008/listeria080820qa-eng.php
*
http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/fssa/concen/cause/listeriae.shtml
New Window
*
http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/msds-ftss/msds96e-eng.php?option=email
FLORIDA:
Special report: Restaurant inspections; Heat’s on the
kitchen
23.aug.08
The News-Press
Drew Sterwald
http://news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080823/NEWS01/80823033
Two inspectors walked into Suriya Thai Restaurant on
Cleveland Avenue in Fort Myers on a Tuesday morning in
January.
They measured the temperatures of hot and cold food, checked
the cleanliness of cutting boards and kitchen utensils and
looked for proper hand-washing and drying provisions for
workers.
Instead of serving Pad Thai and chicken curry that day, the
family-owned restaurant was served an emergency order to
close until violations were corrected.
Inspectors found chicken thawing at room temperature on a
countertop. They saw roach and ant killer in a spray bottle
on a food shelf. They counted cockroaches — three dead, 17
alive — in plastic containers, on shelves next to clean
dishes and at the sushi bar.
Suriya Thai’s owners say their restaurant had not been shut
down before in five years of business. The owners worked
overnight to correct their violations, reopened the next
day, and met inspection standards in March and June.
Since Jan. 1, a dozen other Lee County restaurants have been
issued emergency closure orders by state inspectors. Suriya
Thai had more critical violations than the others.
The News-Press examined three years of reports filed by the
Department of Business and Professional Regulation and
discovered the number of Lee County restaurants shut down
for public health or safety reasons more than quadrupled in
the fiscal year that ended June 30: Some 26 were closed
compared to six in 2006-07 and five in 2005-06.
The spike far outpaced industry growth over the same three
years; the number of food service licenses issued for
sit-down restaurants in Lee County rose less than 9 percent
over the same time period.
Statewide, emergency closures increased 30 percent over the
same three years, from 463 to 600.
Restaurants typically reopen the next day after passing
reinspection. But the trend means more work for inspectors
and costly closures for restaurants at a time when the
economy already is taking a bite out of business.
Why are more restaurants being shut down for public safety?
State regulators credit beefed-up inspections, and some
local restaurateurs agree.
Other owners and managers willing to talk about the subject
were at a loss to explain it. Several calls to the Florida
Restaurant Association’s Lee/Charlotte Chapter went
unreturned.
“They need more inspectors and more inspections,” said
Curtis Johnson of North Fort Myers. “They don’t put enough
people out in the field.”
While selling tomatoes and bell peppers at the downtown Fort
Myers produce market, Johnson recalled an alarming visit to
a local fast-food restaurant where he saw staff handling
food and cash while wearing the same disposable gloves.
FLORIDA: Lee
County not a hot spot in ‘most dangerous state’
23.aug.08
The News-Press
Drew Sterwald
http://news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080823/NEWS01/80823032
Restaurants in Florida make more people sick than in any
other state, a public-service Web site reports.
Healthinspections.com analyzed food-poisoning numbers from
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to arrive at
its ranking of “The Most Dangerous States For Eating Out.”
Florida has ranked No. 1 three years in a row.
But things might not be all that ominous for the Sunshine
State. Despite a well-publicized and unsavory ranking,
food-borne illness outbreaks linked to restaurants have
dropped 73 percent in the last 10 years, according to the
Florida Department of Health. There were 86 outbreaks
reported in 2006-07.
Local outbreaks — incidents involving two or more sick
people — are rare, the Lee County Health Department
reported.
Healthinspections.com, which offers consumers free online
access to restaurant inspections from across the country,
reports on safety issues and tracks trends. Its staff has
analyzed data for media outlets from “Dateline NBC” to “Good
Morning America.” Its parent company sells software used by
some restaurant inspectors, but the online inspections
portal is not operated for profit.
The site ranked Florida slightly ahead of California with 74
confirmed outbreaks in 2006 compared to 69. Minnesota edged
ahead of Ohio, 55-54; and New York state placed fifth with
50 outbreaks.
Report ‘misleading’?
The report leaves a bad taste in the mouths of restaurant
industry representatives and state regulators.
“Their story touting Florida as the ‘Most Dangerous State to
Eat Out’ is very misleading,” according to Jennifer Garner,
spokeswoman for the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Industry.
“The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has lauded Florida’s
commitment to effective food safety regulation.”
Florida leads other states in required training for
food-service workers and by reporting suspected as well as
confirmed outbreaks of food-borne illness, Garner said in an
e-mailed statement. Restaurant inspection standards here are
statewide; other states’ regulations may differ from county
to county.
“Florida’s inspection system and training requirements are
continuing to improve food safety,” Garner said.
Statistics support the conclusion.
Suspected and confirmed food-borne illness outbreaks
plummeted from 323 to 86 over a decade, according to the
state health department.
Healthinspections.com representatives say the numbers tell
the story: 300 people ill and 36 hospitalized with
restaurant-related food poisoning in 2006 in Florida.
“It’s not surprising that the state restaurant association
isn’t happy about the story,” said Mark Garrison, managing
editor of Healthinspections.com. “Their job is to convince
people to eat out.”
In Lee County, only a few food-borne illness outbreaks are
reported each year, according to health department
epidemiologist Robert South.
Last year, the department recorded 57 individual complaints
of food-borne illness; the year before there were 124.
Two or three outbreaks typically are reported in a year and
most are tied to an event such as a church social or family
cookout, South said.
“In a county with over 600,000 people, that’s practically
nothing,” he said.
The most memorable outbreak in recent history, South
recalled, was a 1995 incident: A meal catered by a
now-defunct Kenny Rogers Roasters restaurant sickened 49
teachers at Suncoast Middle School in North Fort Myers.
Salmonella poisoning was suspected, but investigations were
inconclusive, according to The News-Press reports at the
time.
UK:: Doubts
persist at factory in salmonella inquiry, Food safety chiefs
believe there may be a second source of the bug
24.aug.08
Times Online
John Burns
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/ireland/article4597270.ece
Health authorities are still not satisfied that a production
line at Dawn Farm Foods in Kildare, linked to an outbreak of
salmonella throughout Europe, is functioning properly.
They also believe there is a second source of the bug, which
has left 140 people ill, 10 in Ireland and 70 in England.
Last week more cases were found in France and Sweden.
It is thought that the failure of a thermal cooking line in
Dawn led to infected bacon, beef and chicken products
getting into food products such as Subway sandwiches. The
factory is undergoing pharmaceutical cleaning, but tests
have to be run to ensure that the thermal line is operating
properly before it is re-opened.
“Whether it was a one-off failure and they managed to
contaminate the clean side of this factory with this bug, or
whether there were intermittent failures, it’s difficult to
tell,” said Alan Reilly, deputy chief executive of the Food
Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI).
“Both ourselves and the Department of Agriculture would have
to be satisfied that the measures Dawn have put in place are
adequate to ensure that products coming out of that plant
are safe.”
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