Author: Tony Coveny, Ph.D

The Science Olympiad regional competition being held at the Florida Gateway College turned ugly as 30 people were taken to the hospital.  According to the  Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, 28 of those were minors.  Although no source has been named, it is believed that the participants all ate food contaminated with a pathogen such as staph, a plausible option given the quickness in which the victims fell ill. A number of recent outbreaks that sent numerous people to the hospital in the span of a few hours have been linked to staph bacteria, including a daycare center in Alabama where…

Canada’s Public Health Agency has now identified 14 victims, sharing the same epidemiological pattern of E.coli O121, from British Columbia (5), Saskatchewan (4), and Newfoundland and Labrador (5). The source remains a mystery, with victim onset between November of 2016 and January of this year.  At least five of the victims have required hospitalization.  The strain, E.coli O121, is much less common that E. coli O157, but not so uncommon as to be considered extremely rare.  Both in the U.S and Canada, there are outbreak every year or so of this strain, often linked to vegetables, ground beef, handling of animals, or…

Seattle-King County Public Health (SPH) has announced it is investigating a cluster of illness associated with consuming raw oysters – which can be the source of food borne illness if not handled properly. SPH was called in on January 9, 2017 after four individuals reported sickness consistent with food borne illness.  The four had eaten raw oysters at Taylor Shellfish, located at 124 Republican St. in Seattle, on the fourth of January. Environmental health inspectors were sent to the restaurant on January 11th as part of the SPH investigation, but found nothing that could conclusively link the victims’ illnesses to consumption of…

The Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) has now linked about 100 Salmonella illnesses to a single November wedding catered by  Indelible Catering at the Colbert County hotel, a catering company out of Moulton, Louisiana. The ADPH indefinitely suspended Indelible Catering’s food permit (issued to Darvin McDaniel) after finding that nearly 100 people had begun vomiting, suffering diarrhea, and experiencing fever and severe abdominal pain.  The ADPH also said that Mr. McDaniel would no longer be making food in Alabama.  For nearly a quarter of the guests, hospitalization was required.  The wedding was held in Sheffield, Alabama. According to the ADPH,…

Nearly 5000 pounds of boneless veal, produced at the Gold Medal Packing plant in Rome, New York, is being recalled due to the finding of at least two strains of E. coli, including O26 and O45. Neither are as common and the O157 that accounts for most food borne illness from E. coli, and as such identification of those cases linked to this outbreak will be difficult. Most labs do not test for these strains, so the standard E. coli O157 test will be negative, but the bloody diarrhea will lead to the clinical  diagnosis (in many cases) of a…

At least 14 people in the State of Hawaii have contracted salmonellosis – the infection caused by Salmonella bacteria – in an outbreak that state officials tentatively linked to limu (seaweed) from an Oahu farm. Officials have declined requests to identify the suspected farm as of this time. The Hawaii Department of Health issued a statement indicating that four of the 14 infected developed illnesses severe enough to warrant hospitalization. The statement also indicated that victims vary in age, and include both children and adults. State Epidemiologist Sarah Park stated the preliminary investigation conducted by the Hawaii Department of Health…

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) issued a public health alert today due to concerns about Salmonella illnesses that “may be associated with a chicken salad product sold from Costco Store #1190,” located in Lynwood, Washington. The public health alert and recall is for varying weights of “Costco Rotisserie Chicken Salad.” Costco produced the chicken salad August 26th through September 2nd, and the salad was sold directly to consumers who shopped in that store. CDC Alerts Food Safety and Inspection Service of Ongoing Illness Investigation According to the public health alert issued by FSIS, “on September 26, 2016, the…

Sun-Dried Tomato & Roasted Garlic Trout is subject to a new recall by Clear Spring Foods. The recall is due to flour in the breading (wheat flour) that may be contaminated with E. coli O121. The recalled trout filets were sold at Schnucks between May 27th and October 6th at the stores’ seafood departments. One suspects that the flour used in breading the trout is part of the recalled General Mills flour, contaminated with the same strain of E. coli as the product in question. That recall was first announced in May 2016, leading to questions of why it took…

Mighty Taco Sickens Over 100 in Eerie County, New York 104 people are “reporting symptoms consisting primarily of nausea and vomiting after consuming refried beans” from one of eleven Mighty Taco locations in Eerie County, according to the Eerie County Department of Health (ECDOH). Those sickened reported dining at the restaurant between September 27th and October 6th. ECDOH expects additional cases in coming days, stating that “as this is an ongoing investigation . . . numbers may change as additional reports are received.” The Eerie County Department of Health, New York State Department of Health, Niagara County Department of Health, and New York…

Nestle Drumstick Ice Cream Cones Recalled Due to Potential Listeria Contamination Late Friday night, Nestle USA initiated a recall of its Drumstick Club 16 Count Variety and 24 Count Vanilla Pack due to the possible presence of Listeria in the ice cream cones. The ice cream cones involved in the recall were distributed nationally and “marked for easy individual sale,” according to the company’s press release. Both pack sizes contain 4.6 oz. cones manufactured in Bakersfield, California. Equipment contact surfaces from a location on the production line where the drumsticks are made tested positive for Listeria; however, there have been no…