Author: Tony Coveny, Ph.D

One or two days after an April 30th wedding held at the Flanders hotel in Cape May County, New Jersey, about one-third of the 150 wedding guests began to fall ill. Among the most common symptoms were nausea, severe diarrhea, fever and abdominal pain. Public Health Officials Investigating; Isolate Norovirus as Most Likely Cause Kevin Thomas, the county public health coordinator, confirmed that 42 of the 150 guests had fallen ill. The illnesses were brought to the attention of public officials because state law requires notification of any “suspicious outbreaks,” and continued by stating that the county was in the…

Minnesota Salmonella Outbreak Accidentally Revealed by Oregon Company Pacific Coast Fruit Co., a Portland, Oregon company, posted a notice on its website “in response to the recall of Organic Kale Medley ‘Power Greens Mix’ from Taylor Farms. The product is being recalled for potential contamination with Salmonella.” The company issued the statement, addressed to “[their] customers and the Pacific Coast Fruit Team,” was released to verify that the company had not received any of the salad blends believed to be the cause of the outbreak. The notice, which can be seen in full at the end of this post, continued by…

It all started falling apart in March. It was during that month that the the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspected the Pasco, Washington facilities of CRF Frozen Foods, the company at the center of multiple massive ongoing recalls, including one for over 40 brands and 350 items of food. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) began its investigation of a “cluster” of listeria infections in March. The infections, the oldest dating back to September 2013, involved cases of listeriosis caused by genetically similar strains of the bacteria. This past week, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released…

For at least the fifth time since 2006, and the second time this year – Organic Pastures voluntarily recalled a number of its products in February 2016 – a California dairy farm that sells raw, unpasteurized products has announced a product recall. Raw Cream, Milk Recalled by California Company Organic Pastures California state veterinarian Dr. Annette Jones has ordered a statewide recall of Organic Pastures Dairy’s raw milk and cream. State public health officials issued the recall after routine testing revealed the presence of salmonella in one of the samples of the company’s raw cream. The recall affects the company’s raw…

McAllen, Texas company Montero Farms is recalling its fresh Orange Habanero Peppers. The company initiated the recall because the vegetables have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella. FDA Inspection Prompts Company to Halt Production of Orange Habanero Peppers Montero farms initiated the voluntary recall of its fresh Orange Habanero Peppers on Friday, though the recall notice was not posted to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) website until Saturday. The recalled peppers are packed in eight pound cardboard boxes, which are marked with lot #41142-41143. The Orange Habaneros were shipped to Indianapolis, Indiana and McAllen, Texas between April 28th and…

On the afternoon of May 13th, 2016, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released its “Final Update” to the February announcement of a multistate outbreak of Salmonella infections associated with consumption of alfalfa sprouts from Sweetwater Farms, which the CDC ultimately concluded was actually attributable to a single contaminated seed lot. Recapping the Outbreak: Demographics and Related Information Over the past three months, the CDC, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and multiple states investigated a multistate outbreak involving 26 cases of Salmonella linked to “alfalfa sprouts from one contaminated seed lot.” That figure is double the number of…

For the second time in five weeks, a confirmed norovirus outbreak is spreading across an Oregon university campus. Earlier this spring, Oregon State University experienced a substantial outbreak of the highly contagious virus, and now, just over a month later, the University of Oregon has confirmed cases of the same virus. Norovirus Invades the University of Oregon Tobin Klinger, spokesman for the University of Oregon, confirmed that at least 38 people reported norovirus-like symptoms as of Thursday. As of this time, however, only a few positive results have been confirmed. Only a small percentage of people demonstrating symptoms of norovirus…

Frontier Tea Recall — Norway, Iowa’s Frontier Co-op has initiated a voluntary recall of the Organic Hoijcha Tea manufactured and distributed by the company due to concerns that the product is contaminated with Salmonella bacteria. Hoijcha Tea Recalled after Ingredient Tests Positive for Salmonella One of the raw ingredients received by Frontier Co-op for use in production of the tea tested positive for Salmonella. The third party supplier is in the process f recalling the raw ingredient. The recalled tea was distributed and sold nationwide “between the dates of December 13, 2014 [and] April 21, 2016],” according to the company’s recall announcement, which was posted to the US…

NORPAC Foods, Inc. Recalls Two Frozen Private Label Items Salem, Oregon’s NORPAC Foods, Inc. is recalling multiple frozen private label vegetable items marketed under the brand name “Natural Directions Organic.” The two items currently subject to the recall are (i) Natural Directions Organic Green Peas and (ii) Natural Directions Organic Mixed Vegetables. “This voluntary action is being undertaken because the recalled products contain vegetables that were purchased from CRF Frozen Foods and are part of the recent CRF Frozen Foods recall,” the company stated in its recall announcement. “Natural Directions” Brand Linked to CRF Frozen Foods Last week, CRF Frozen…

Eight Sickened by Listeria in Outbreak Linked to Frozen Vegetables Produced by CRF Frozen Foods Last week, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) posted an announcement that CRF Frozen Foods, a Washington-based company, had initiated an expansion of a more limited recall that the company had issued on April 23rd. A few days after the company announced the expanded recall, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued an outbreak alert on their website regarding the ongoing “Multistate Outbreak of Listeriosis Linked to Frozen Vegetables.” According to the CDC release, public health officials “from several states” had been coordinating with…