Foodborne Disease

(CIDRAP News) – The tally of people involved in a nationwide Escherichia coli O157:H7 outbreak associated with fresh spinach jumped by 17 today to reach 131, about half of whom were hospitalized, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reported.

(CIDRAP News) – The number of people affected by a nationwide Escherichia coli O157:H7 outbreak, apparently linked to fresh spinach, has climbed to 114 in 21 states, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said today.

(CIDRAP News) – Three people in Georgia recently contracted botulism after drinking contaminated carrot juice, prompting health officials to warn that carrot juice must be kept refrigerated.

Editor's note: The following story was published the morning of Sep 15 with current FDA data. During the day more cases were reported in the news media. The numbers as of late afternoon stand at almost 60 cases in 10 states (Ohio and Kentucky are the additional states).

(CIDRAP News) – Outbreaks of Escherichia coli in recent years have spurred federal and California officials to launch a broad investigation into farms and processors of lettuce and other leafy greens in California's Salinas Valley, according to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and news sources.

(CIDRAP News) – US health officials broke new ground last week by approving the use of a mixture of bacteriophages, or bacteria-killing viruses, to control the pathogen Listeria monocytogenes on ready-to-eat (RTE) meat and poultry products.

(CIDRAP News) – Washington state health officials said yesterday that 60 people have become ill after eating raw oysters from the state's coastal waters in recent weeks, well above the normal reported total for a whole year.

(CIDRAP News) – In the wake of two outbreaks of Salmonella infection involving 29 cases, Minnesota health officials are warning the public to be careful when cooking frozen, pre-browned chicken entrees.

The outbreaks prompted state health and agriculture officials yesterday to "strongly advise" people not to cook stuffed chicken entrees in microwave ovens because of the risk of uneven and incomplete cooking.

(CIDRAP News) – The US government's expanded testing program for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) will be cut back soon, having shown that the nation has "no significant BSE problem," Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns said today.

(CIDRAP News) – A chemical sanitizer now used in contact lens solutions and toothpaste may help solve the problem of keeping pathogens like Salmonella and Escherichia coli out of edible sprouts, according to a study published in the July issue of the Journal of Food Protection.