Author: Tony Coveny, Ph.D

Case Count Rises in Salmonella Muenchen Outbreak linked to alfalfa sprouts from Sweetwater Farms, CDC Confirms

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is currently working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and state and local health departments to identify the victims of an outbreak of Salmonella Virchow. According to the FDA, trace-back and epidemiological evidence has led authorities to name RAW Meal Organic Shake & Meal Replacement products, produced by Florida company Garden of Life LLC, as the source of this Salmonella outbreak. At least 18 victims across 15 different states have been identified so far, with a single victim of this strain of Salmonella Virchow residing in Florida, Massachusetts, Maryland, New…

Kansas State Health Officials Identify Sweetwater Farms Alfalfa Sprouts as Source of Salmonella Outbreak The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) confirmed that sprouts grown at Sweetwater Farms in Inman, Kansas are the source of a Salmonella outbreak that involves eight confirmed cases to date. In addition to the five cases confirmed in Kansas, three additional cases were identified in Oklahoma. The same strain of Salmonella was positively identified in each of the three linked Oklahoma cases. As a result of the outbreak, Sweetwater Farms announced a voluntarily recall of alfalfa sprouts in lot number 042016. According to officials,…

Johnson County Department of Health and Environment health investigators have identified Norovirus as the culprit in an outbreak of gastrointestinal illnesses among patrons of the Buffalo Wild Wings Grill and Bar located in Overland Park, Kansas at 7030 W. 105th St. Among the victims were members of the Shawnee Mission South High School swim and dive team who were engaged in a fundraiser at 105th Street and Metcalf Avenue, very near the restaurant. The Buffalo Wild Wings store closed this last weekend and thoroughly cleaned and sanitized the restaurant. A health department spokeswoman, Barbara Mitchell, stated that the Johnson County…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), together with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and state and local officials in at least nine states are investigating an outbreak of Salmonella Virchow linked to Garden of Life brand RAW Meal Organic Shake & Meal Replacement products. Garden of Life is a Florida company headquartered in Palm Beach Gardens. The CDC is coordinating the efforts of public health investigators by using PulseNet, the national database that holds the pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) identifiers on cases of Salmonella bacteria, uploaded from laboratories testing the stool cultures of potential victims. So…

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has now identified 15 victims in the wide-ranging Listeria outbreak linked to Dole prepackaged salads, likley produced at the Dole processing facility in Springfield, Ohio. The victims come from 8 different states, including Connecticut , Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania with some having become ill as far back as early July of 2015 and the most recent victim identified earlier this month. According to the CDC, the isolates derived from the victims are “highly related genetically,” having been analyzed using whole genome sequencing. At least one victim…

Just yesterday, on January 26, 2016, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated the number of Salmonella Poona victims to 888, up from the November count of 838. One new state was added to the previous 38, bringing the total number of states impacted by the Mexican Cucumber Salmonella Poona Outbreak to 39. So far local authorities in each state, in coordination with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)and the CDC, have successfully traced the origin of the Mexican Cucumber Salmonella Poona Outbreak to traditional “American” or “slicer” cucumbers that were imported from Baja Mexico by Andrew…

Dole Fresh Vegetables, Inc. has announced it is suspending all production at its Springfield, Ohio facility following an intense investigation led by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The investigation linked its products to at least 12 Listeria illnesses, including one fatality. The investigation has been ongoing since September of 2015. Dole is also responding to the FDA and CDC findings by issuing a recall of Dole-branded and private label packaged salads processed at its Springfield facility. Dole has identified the recalled products as having a product code beginning with…

Snap’s Ferry Packing Company, or “Snap’s,” has announced a recall of about 410 pounds of ground beef due to fears of E. coli contamination. The Tennessee Company, centered in Knoxville, issued the recall after E. coli O157:H7, the most common type of E. coli associated with food borne illness, was associated with its product through investigators’ trace-back efforts. The 82 or so packages of ground beef were sold to various area restaurants in Knoxville, reportedly in 5 pound packages, with a production date of November 20, 2015. The packages also have the traditional USDA mark of inspection with a product…

Following what can only be described as a horrific year for Chipotle, one of the nation’s fastest growing restaurant chains, the national office has decided to close all of its stores, nationwide, for part of the day on February 8th. The company says it will shutter more than 1,900 Chipotle locations, coast to coast, so that the employees can take part in a meeting to address safety concerns and what it will take to move forward. According to Chipotle, this is an opportunity to thank employees, answer questions and to discuss the important changes it intends to, or has already,…