Author: Tony Coveny, Ph.D

Arkansas restaurant employee tests positive for hepatitis A Northeast Arkansas has experienced multiple hepatitis A outbreaks since February 2018. The most recent incident involves an employee of On the Border restaurant in Jonesboro, Arkansas, who tested positive for the virus. Consumers who ate at the On the Border restaurant, located at 2324 Red Wolf Blvd in Jonesboro, between December 13 and December 27, 2018, may have been exposed to the employee who tested positive for hepatitis A. The contagious liver disease that results from infection with the hepatitis A virus is usually spread when a person ingests tiny amounts of…

Safe and Delicious Fast Food Seems Like a Stretch – but these establishments (and those named below) made the grade: Blaze Fast-Fired and MOD Pizza, Chick-fil-A, Five Guys and Jersey Mike’s Make the Grade  Safe Food that is also Delicious?  Believe it or not, some of the safest food in the U.S. is fast food from popular chains that also win regular acclaim for being well liked.  In a recent survey, Blaze Fast-Fire’d Pizza was the most popular fast food joint in Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Minnesota, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania.  It is also one of…

Xi’an Noodles customers experience gastroenteritis from possible bacterial toxin Three customers who ate at Xi’an Noodles in Seattle on December 21, 2018, have become ill with abdominal cramping and diarrhea, symptoms that are suggestive of a bacterial toxin in the food served there. The Public Health Department of Seattle and King County is investigating the outbreak, which involves members of a single meal party who ate and drank at the restaurant on December 21. Health Department investigators visited the restaurant on December 31, 2018, and identified potential risk factors for bacterial toxin growth. Their findings included significant food safety…

One of the most vital steps in preventing food borne illness is to have victims report their illnesses to the local health department.  By doing so, they assist the local health department to identify outbreaks and trace the origin of the food poisoning to its source.  One of the problems with food poisoning is that too many people take it for granted that it is a temporary illness that will pass on its own.  Usually it does, which is a good thing for the six million victims who acquire food poisoning in the U.S. each year.  But when people do…

Food safety requires proper cleaning practices Whether eating out or cooking a meal at home, the cleanliness of the food preparation surfaces and of the food itself can greatly impact your chances of experiencing the devastating effects of food poisoning. At home, something as simple as washing your hands before and after handling food can keep you safe and healthy. While you have less control over what happens in a restaurant, you can keep your eye out for signs of poor food handling procedures there as well. Washing your hands involves more than simply running them under some warm water.…

By Tony Coveny, Ph.D., J.D., M.A. When we discuss unpasteurized products, we are usually referring to dairy products like cheese and milk as well as juices.   There have been a number of high-profile outbreaks linked to unpasteurized juices, such as the 1996 Odwalla outbreak, but the majority (in terms of numbers) are related to dairy. Between 1993 and 2012, there were at least 127 separate outbreaks related to unpasteurized yogurt, milk, ice cream,  and cheese.  In these unpasteurized daily outbreaks alone the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) identified about 2000 victims with nearly 150 hospitalizations. But the…

Are Organic Foods Safe or More Dangerous than Processed Foods? By Tony Coveny, Ph.D., J.D., M.A. Organic food is much hailed as a safer alternative to processed foods, with a reputation for no pesticides, added chemicals, antibiotics, growth hormone, or genetically modified properties.  But recently, given the number of recalls of organic food, the question remains “is organic food safe?” The veracity of claims that organic food is safer has much to do with the integrity of the producer, however, as oversight is weak and inconsistent.   I have personally been on a banana plantation in Costa Rica where organic versus…

Food Poisoning and Pregnancy – Understanding the Risks Pregnant Women Face By Tony Coveny, Ph.D., J.D., M.A. Being Pregnant is a Major Change: How does food poisoning and pregnancy relate to immunology? The primary role of the immune system is to protect its host form attack.  It does this by circulating cells which monitor and respond to foreign invasion.  Pregnancy alters the immune system in fundamental ways which we are only now beginning to understand, and this has enormous implications for understanding food poisoning and pregnancy.  Historically many physicians have compared pregnancy to an organ transplant because the immune cells…

Jennie-O Turkey expands recall after salmonella outbreak – Hundreds all Salmonella Lawyers as Number of Victims Rises Adding to a recall that was first announced on November 15, 2018, Jennie-O Turkey Store Sales, Inc., is now recalling 164,210 pounds of raw ground turkey products that may be contaminated with salmonella. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, and the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development are investigating to determine the source of the salmonella outbreak that has sickened 216…

Organic butter recall expanded to include almond butter Expanding a recall issued for Organic Sunflower Butter on December 11, 2018, Inspired Organics, LLC, has issued an additional recall for Organic Almond Butter. Both products have the potential to be contaminated with listeria monocytogenes. Lipari Foods, LLC, based in Warren, Michigan, distributed the organic butter products made by Inspired Organics, LLC. The recalled Organic Almond Butter was distributed to retail stores and food service locations throughout Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. The new recall is for the 16-ounce container of Inspired Organics…