Author: Alicia Maroney
Holiday Catering: How One Mistake Can Spark a Major Outbreak Holiday parties, office banquets, and family gatherings depend on caterers to deliver safe, delicious food at scale. Catering that feeds dozens or hundreds introduces operational complexity far beyond a home kitchen. Those complexities matter because a single slip, slow cooling, an underpowered warmer, a cross-contamination event, or a lapse in hand hygiene, can turn a festive banquet into a mass-illness incident. Why Catered Holiday Events Are Uniquely Vulnerable Catered events combine several risk multipliers: Case Studies: How One Mistake Became Many Sick People North Carolina Catered Thanksgiving Luncheon (2015) Investigators…
Preventing Foodborne Illnesses in Airports and Airplanes During the Holiday Season How travelers, airports, airlines, and caterers can keep festive travel from turning into a public-health problem The holiday season concentrates travel, crowds, and hurried food service into a short period. Long security lines, packed gate areas, and routes crowded with pop-up vendors create more opportunities for sloppy food handling, temperature lapses, and cross-contamination. Airplanes and airports are complicated food systems: food is prepared in off-site kitchens, transported, stored in constrained galleys, reheated in limited equipment, and handed out from carts in a moving cabin. That chain creates many potential…
Health officials and federal agencies have escalated their response to a multistate cluster of infant botulism after laboratory and epidemiologic evidence pointed to powdered infant formula as a likely vehicle. Public-health investigators in the U.S., led by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), are working with state partners to confirm case counts, sequence isolates, test product lots, and trace distribution pathways as quickly as possible. What’s New (latest developments) Federal and state public-health agencies now say that epidemiologic and laboratory evidence links ByHeart Whole Nutrition powdered infant formula to a…
Supreme Deli LLC Voluntarily Recalls Boar’s Head Pecorino Romano Cheese Because of Possible Listeria Contamination Supreme Service Solutions LLC, doing business as Supreme Deli, is assisting in a voluntary recall of specific Boar’s Head Pecorino Romano cheese products after the supplier Ambriola Company notified customers and regulators of the potential presence of Listeria monocytogenes in select Pecorino Romano lots. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration posted the company announcement and product photos to help consumers and retailers identify recalled packages. What Was Recalled and How To Identify Affected Product The recall is limited to particular SKUs of Pecorino Romano cheese…
Leftover Safety After Holiday Meals Holiday meals are built around abundance. Big roasts, overflowing side dishes, and more desserts than you can finish are part of the ritual. The good news is that most leftovers are safe when handled correctly. The bad news is that a few small mistakes – leaving a casserole on the counter too long, failing to cool a giant pot quickly, or reheating unevenly – are common and can turn a festive meal into a trip to the doctor. The Core Rules In One Sentence Handle leftovers quickly, cool them rapidly, store them cold, reheat to…
Food Safety for Elderly and Immunocompromised Populations During the Holidays Holidays bring family, warmth, familiar recipes, and sometimes a crowded kitchen. Those same joys can quietly raise the risk of dangerous foodborne infections for older adults and people with weakened immune systems. According to the national food poisoning lawyer, Ron Simon, “Age, chronic illness, medications, and treatments such as chemotherapy change how the body handles germs.” A small lapse in temperature control, an undercooked casserole, or a shared utensil can mean a trip to the hospital instead of a cozy after-dinner conversation. Why Holidays Are a Higher Risk For Vulnerable…
Face Rock Creamery Recalls Vampire Slayer Garlic Cheddar Over Possible Listeria Contamination Face Rock Creamery LLC of Bandon, Oregon announced a voluntary recall on November 14, 2025 of 16 units of its 6-ounce Vampire Slayer Garlic Cheddar blocks after environmental testing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration detected Listeria monocytogenes in the processing area where the cheese was packaged. The recall is precautionary: finished product samples have not tested positive, but the presence of Listeria in the packaging environment prompted the company and regulators to remove the small number of sold units from circulation and alert consumers. The FDA…
Multistate Outbreak of Infant Botulism Under Investigation: 13 Infants from 10 States Linked to Infant Formula In collaboration with the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Infant Botulism Treatment & Prevention Program (IBTPP), and state and local partners, officials are investigating a multistate outbreak of infant botulism linked to powdered infant formula. As of November 8, 2025, 13 infants with suspected or confirmed infant botulism from 10 states have been identified. What We Know So Far Public health agencies have issued joint alerts indicating that…
Infant Botulism: Understanding the Risks and Protecting the Youngest Patients Infant botulism is a rare but serious disease that occurs when an infant ingests spores of Clostridium botulinum (or related species) that then germinate in the immature gut and produce botulinum neurotoxin in situ. The toxin blocks nerve signals that control muscles and breathing, leading to progressive floppiness, trouble feeding, and in severe cases respiratory failure requiring prolonged intensive care. Although uncommon, infant botulism demands rapid recognition and coordinated public health and clinical response because early treatment with botulinum immune globulin substantially reduces morbidity and length of hospitalization. How Infant…
Hi Tony! I hope you and the kids are doing well! Jason and I are leaving Monday night to go on vacation, so I’m sending my three articles for this week now. We will be back mid-week next week, so next week’s articles will come in the second half of the week. 🙂 Moonlight Companies Recalls California-Grown Peaches Over Possible Listeria Contamination On October 29, 2025, Moonlight Companies announced a voluntary recall of selected lots of California-grown conventional yellow and white peaches because Listeria monocytogenes was identified in the packing facility environment. The company’s announcement, posted on the U.S. Food…