FSnet Aug

FSnet Aug. 9/08

TEXAS: Family struggles with crypto outbreak

NEBRASKA firm recalls beef products due to possible E. coli O157:H7 contamination

WASHINGTON: Whole Foods recalling possible E. coli contaminated beef

Whole Foods E. coli cases traced to NEBRASKA Beef Ltd., meat?

Fears for public health in food bug outbreak

BALTIMORE: Dirty Dining part #15: Popeyes Catonsville

Covering food safety scares

MISSOURI: St. Charles County restaurant inspections

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TEXAS: Family struggles with crypto outbreak
09.aug.08
WFAA
Macie Jepson
http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/healthsciencetv/stories/wfaa080808_wz_cryptoupdate.2a3af791.html
There are now 143 confirmed cases in the North Texas cryptosporidium outbreak.
One of the victims of the microscopic parasite is a little boy in Waxahachie who needed a hospital visit to get better.
His entire family also got sick, so it's been a long, long week for Stephanie Robinson.
She hasn't ventured far from her couch in days, first taking care of her youngest son, Jaxen.
"Constantly throwing up, diarrhea really, really bad," she said. "I mean, all night, all day."
Then two days later, her five year old Jace was stricken.
"I would give him something to drink and he would just throw up, throw up," Robinson said. "He was like lying on the bathroom floor; he couldn't move."
Robinson said Jace was lethargic; dehydrated from what was later diagnosed as crypto.

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NEBRASKA firm recalls beef products due to possible E. coli O157:H7 contamination
09.aug.08
USDA
Food Safety and Inspection Services
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/Recall_029_2008_Release/index.asp
Nebraska Beef, Ltd., an Omaha, Neb., establishment is recalling approximately 1.2 million pounds of primal cuts, subprimal cuts and boxed beef that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service announced today.
These beef products were produced on June 17, June 24 and July 8, 2008. The shipping containers and product labels bear the establishment number "EST. 19336" inside the USDA mark of inspection as well as the brand "Coleman Natural." However, these products were sent to establishments and retail stores nationwide for further processing and will likely not bear the establishment number "EST. 19336" on products available for direct consumer purchase.
Consumers with questions about the recall should contact company Vice President of Administration James Timmerman at 402-733-0456. Media with questions about the recall should contact company representative William Lamson at (402) 397-7300.
The problem was discovered through a joint investigation with state departments of health and agriculture, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and FSIS. To date, 31 cases in 12 states and Canada have been identified in the investigation.
FSIS is continuing its investigation into any products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7 or that are associated with illnesses and will take appropriate action when necessary.
E. coli O157:H7 is a potentially deadly bacterium that can cause bloody diarrhea, dehydration, and in the most severe cases, kidney failure. The very young, seniors and persons with weak immune systems are the most susceptible to foodborne illness. Anyone with signs or symptoms of foodborne illness should consult a medical professional.

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WASHINGTON: Whole Foods recalling possible E. coli contaminated beef
09.aug.08
USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-08-08-whole-foods_N.htm?csp=34
Boston Herald
Donna Goodison
http://news.bostonherald.com/business/general/view/2008_08_09_State_ties_E__coli_cases_to_Whole_Foods:_Tainted_beef_sold_at_four_area_stores/srvc=home&position=also
Whole Foods Market is recalling fresh ground beef sold between June 2 through Aug. 6 because the beef might be contaminated with E. coli bacteria.
The company has received reports that seven people in Massachusetts and two people in Pennsylvania who shopped at Whole Foods Market became ill, said spokeswoman Libba Letton.
Letton said the company's recalled beef was processed at the Nebraska Beef plant linked to the E. coli outbreak this summer. Federal health authorities say there have been 49 confirmed illnesses tied to that outbreak.
The recalled beef might have been sold at Whole Foods Market stores in Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maine, Massachusetts, Florida, New Jersey, New York, Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington D. C., Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Wisconsin and Canada.
Whole Foods Market of Austin, Texas, is asking customers who may have purchased ground beef from June 2 though Aug. 6 to dispose of the product and return it to the store with the packaging or receipt for a refund. For more information, consumers can call 512-542-0878.
The Boston Herald story says that It remains unclear why Whole Foods, the nation's largest natural and organic foods retailer, continued to sell the ground beef products after the recall date, the DPH said. But in a statement yesterday, Whole Foods said at the time of the recall, it had been assured by Coleman Natural Beef that no products delivered to its stores were linked to the recall.
"While Coleman Natural Beef is a relatively small supplier for Whole Foods Market, we are extremely disappointed that we must now question Coleman's assurances," said Edmund Lamacchia, Whole Foods' global vice president of procurement. (shouldn't Whole Foods be questioning all its suppliers assurances, all the time? Isn't that why they charge so much? Or is that just marketing fluff? – dp)

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Whole Foods E. coli cases traced to NEBRASKA Beef Ltd., meat?
09.aug.08
Marler Blog
Bill Marler
http://www.marlerblog.com/2008/08/articles/legal-cases/whole-foods-e-coli-cases-traced-to-nebraska-beef-ltd-meat/
Whole Foods, paragon of the natural food marketplace, linked to an E. coli outbreak tied to Nebraska Beef Ltd.? Goodness! According to the Boston Globe this morning, Massachusetts health authorities are warning consumers not to eat ground beef bought from Whole Foods Markets over the last two months after seven E. coli O157:H7 infections have been linked to Nebraska Beef Ltd. Meat.
The people who fell ill -- five of whom were hospitalized -- had all eaten ground beef from Whole Foods last month. Test results indicate that the ground beef products were part of a nationwide recall of meat produced by Nebraska Beef Ltd. because of E. coli contamination.
What I found most disturbing is this quote:
"A review of records from Whole Foods indicates that some of the stores received product from the recall list," the state said in a release. "At this time, it is not known why the food listed under the USDA recall was sold to the public after the recall date."
Well, I guess the good thing is that Whole Foods is now recalling fresh ground beef sold from June 2 through Aug. 6 at stores in the United States and Canada because the beef might be contaminated with E. coli bacteria. The company has received reports seven people in Massachusetts and two in Pennsylvania who shopped at Whole Foods Market became ill. Federal health authorities say there have been 49 confirmed illnesses tied to that outbreak.
So, it begs a couple of questions – 1) Why was Whole Foods selling meat that was supposed to be recalled? 2) Why was Whole Foods buying meat from Nebraska Beef Ltd., in the first place? Whole Foods website is filled with all sorts of promises. Here is one that seemed to be a bit ignored:
Products - Our Quality Standards
We carry natural and organic products because we believe that food in its purest state — unadulterated by artificial additives, sweeteners, colorings, and preservatives — is the best tasting and most nutritious food available.
Our business is to sell the highest quality foods we can find at the most competitive prices possible. We evaluate quality in terms of nutrition, freshness, appearance, and taste. Our search for quality is a never-ending process involving the careful judgment of buyers throughout the company.
Here are some other questions for Whole Foods (after they answer the first two):
1) Were you aware of Nebraska Beef's litigation history against the USDA in 2003 and a church in upstate Minnesota in 2007?
2) Had you ever reviewed Nebraska Beef's Non-compliance Reports?
3) Had you ever visited the Nebraska Beef plant?
4) After being linked to an E. coli outbreak in California in 2006, what safety measures did Whole Foods employ?
Also, this is certainly not the first time Whole Foods has been linked to and E. coli problem. We represent two children who became ill after eating E. coli-tainted hamburger purchased at a Palo Alto Whole Foods in 2006 and a child that developed HUS after drinking raw milk purchased at a Hartford Whole Foods. Perhaps that is why they got an "F."

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Fears for public health in food bug outbreak
09.aug.08
Irish Examiner
Noel Baker
http://www.irishexaminer.com/irishexaminer/pages/story.aspx-qqqg=ireland-qqqm=ireland-qqqa=ireland-qqqid=69453-qqqx=1.asp
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has urged customers to check a list of products that have been potentially linked to the lethal salmonella outbreak. Laboratory testing of foods has provided evidence of a possible link between the salmonella agona, which struck down eight people in just two weeks last month, and meat processed at Dawn Farm Foods, The Maudlins, Co Kildare.
The same strain of salmonella has also affected parts of Britain, with reports indicating that a 70-year-old in Liverpool has died from the infection.
Here, the FSAI began an investigation into the outbreak, tracking the food histories of the eight victims.
Yesterday, it confirmed all food that had been processed on the same production line in Naas as the beef product under investigation has been withdrawn.
In a statement, Subway said it had been made aware of a "possible link" between Dawn Farm Foods, one of its ingredients suppliers and the FSAI investigation into the salmonella outbreak.

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BALTIMORE: Dirty Dining part #15: Popeyes Catonsville
09.aug.08
abc
Joce Sterman
http://www.abc2news.com/mostpopular/story.aspx?content_id=bf9781b5-81b9-4d49-a58c-be64936758c0
It's a restaurant that's reached a record for our Dirty Dining series, the most closures of any restaurant we've covered in the series so far. ABC2 News Investigator tells us which dining spot gets the honor and why.
People who work near the Popeyes on Baltimore National Pike in Catonsville know the restaurant has had its share of problems. Tom Olszewski says, "I'm here every day. I see when they're closed. I see the signs on the door." But we wanted everyone to know what's been happening in this place.
That's why we're showing you their restaurant inspection reports. They show this restaurant has been shut down by health inspectors four times in the last two and a half years. We're going neighborhood by neighborhood, looking at places with the biggest number of violations and the consistent patterns we've seen in reports dating back to 2006.
And one thing we've seen again and again in the paperwork is that this Popeyes stinks. Olszewski tells us, "It just has a very foul odor when you walk in there, like stale chicken grease. I'm guessing that's what it is."
That smell has been a problem for years, with mentions of a foul odor from stagnant water and grease seen in their files dating back to 2006. But reports show that's the least of the problems for a place where inspectors say "sanitation is poor". The paperwork for this Popeyes points out the restaurant has also been cited for not protecting its food from contamination in four different inspections.
That's a critical violation that played a role in the county shutting down this Popeyes once in 2006, once in 2007 and twice in just the last three months. As for what was causing the potential contamination?? Mice, which inspectors say left evidence in the food prep areas, the front line, the shelving and even under the oven where they cook your chicken.
We visited the Popeyes and asked to speak to the manager but he told us we had to contact the Director of Operations for the company. His speech was familiar to us. We heard the same line a few months ago as we exposed similar problems at three other Popeyes locations in Baltimore city. We showed you their files as we uncovered all three had been closed at least twice by the city's health department.
All the Popeyes we've mentioned are owned by the same company, Delaware Food Ventures. Their office is listed as an address in Locust Point. We visited their office and were told the Director of Operations, Chuck Ayers, was not available. We went back again after going through the inspection files for 11 of the company's Popeyes franchises in the Baltimore area.
According to the reports, there have been 17 closures within those 11 restaurants since the start of 2006. On an additional visit, we were again told Ayers was not available. Phone calls to him asking for comment were not returned.
Copyright 2008 The E.W. Scripps Co. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Covering food safety scares
09.aug.08
Business Journalism
Ashley Macha
http://www.businessjournalism.org/pages/biz/2008/08/covering_food_safety_scares/
High-profile food safety stories, from tomatoes to jalapenos, have consistently grabbed headlines in both newspapers and online. Much of the coverage focuses on poisoning dangers, highlighting individuals who have died from diseases like salmonella or E. coli.
But food poisonings and recalls not only affect consumers, they also have the potential to damage sales and reputations. Farmers, manufacturers, wholesalers and importers all feel the pinch as food safety issues hit the news, and often times, even after the scare has passed, many, like those in the tomato, spinach, jalapeno and pet food markets, continue to face fallout.
Business reporters must learn the ins and outs of such issues, said Dr. Jan. L Duave, director for undergraduate studies and advisor chair for the Department of Agriculture Economics at University of Minnesota.
"In general, the press has done a decent job of reporting the facts of what is going on to the general public," Duave said. "One of the things that happens with reporters with these issues is that they like to talk to the 'man on the street' or the person who isn't trained to be objective about this."
Duave suggests business reporters look to third party sources for unbiased comments and complete data to round out the story. This is especially important since food scares in the past have brought some businesses to their financial knees.
"That's the tough part for the folks reporting on these things," Duave said. "The biggest service is to really seek out that objective third party - and they aren't always easy to find."
Bina Venkataraman, a science reporter for The New York Times, said each news organization and journalist has a different standard and tenor when reporting these topics.
"I certainly do not try to hype anything up," Venkataraman said. "I personally strive for accuracy and for informing the public and attempt to inform fairly and truthfully the decisions and interests of citizens, governments, businesses and more."

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