Author: Tony Coveny, Ph.D

Escherichia coli O121 Outbreak in Canada Linked to Robin Hood Flour:  At Least 30 Victims Identified The E. Coli O121 outbreak in Canada, that began in November of 2016 (when the first victim was identified), was triggered by consumption of flour.  The Non-O157 E. coli (the more common form of food born E. coli) have sickened at least 30 people.  Each of the victims was a resident of Canada or had recently travelled to Canada.  At least one U.S. traveler is among the 30 confirmed victims. The Canadian victims were spread widely across Canada, residing in Alberta, British Columbia, Newfoundland…

Marquette County Salmonella Outbreak Hits UP Mysterious Outbreak of Salmonella Hits Negaunee Township in the Upper Peninsula, Michigan According to the Marquette County Health Department, an outbreak of Salmonella has been identified in Negaunee Township in the Upper Peninsula, Michigan. The outbreak remains small, and the source has not yet been identified. Health officials are warning residents of Marquette County, and especially Negaunee Township, to practice good personal hygiene and work to prevent cross-contamination. For an update to the Marquette County Salmonella Outbreak, call the salmonella attorneys at 1-888-335-4900.

Cilantro Fresh Mexican Grill Salmonella Outbreak Remains Under Investigation: DPH Seeks Help from Victims to Narrow the List of Contaminated Items The Cilantro Fresh Mexican Grill, located at 1158 Whalley Ave, New Haven, CT 06515, has been in business since December of 2012.  Now it is temporarily closed due to a Salmonella outbreak linked to consumption of the food prepared there. The Department of Public Health (DPH) ordered it closed while the investigation is ongoing – DPH is also asking patrons who ate there and subsequently became sick to call them and report their illness so they can conduct a…

Hildale STEC Outbreak Turns Fatal:  Total Number of Victims Unknown More information has been made available by the Southwest Utah Public Health Department (SUPHD) about the Hildale STEC Outbreak.  According to Dr. David Blodgett, a SUPHD officer, the two children contracted a Shiga Toxin-Producing form of E. coli (STEC) known as O157:H7.  This strain of STEC infects about 80 to 100 Utah citizens each year (out of a population of 3 million), and is deadly in about one STEC case each year.  Both deaths in the Hildale STEC Outbreak were children who were hospitalized at the time.  They were part…

Southwestern Utah E. Coli Outbreak has Officials Scrambling as Second Child Dies A second child has died from an infection with Shiga Toxin-Producing E. coli, or STEC, in the Southwestern Utah E. Coli Outbreak.  The death occurred in Southwestern Utah which had already seen a child succumb to the potentially deadly bacterial infection.  Both children died while hospitalized. The Southwest Utah Public Health Department is investigating the E.coli bacteria outbreak in Hildale, Utah, and at this time has been unable to identify a likely source. SUPHD’s David Heaton, had this to say to local reporters:  “All the water testing we’ve done…

Cilantro Fresh Mexican Grill Closes After it is Found to be the Source of a Salmonella Outbreak The Cilantro Fresh Mexican Grill closed its doors in New Haven after local authorities traced a local outbreak of salmonella to its food. The store, which is at Cilantro Fresh Mexican Grill at 1158 Whalley Avenue in New Haven, CT, has been linked to an unidentified number of Salmonella victims in Connecticut.   The “Cilantro,” as it is called locally, serves Mexican style foods including tacos, burritos, salads and other Mexican themed foods.  According to the Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) and…

Creation Gardens Recalls 11 Tons of Beef Linked to E. Coli According to the US Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) twenty-two thousand pounds of beef have been recalled because of the presence of E. coli in random tests.  The producer is Creation Gardens Inc., a wholesale food supplier of both ground and cut beef.   The recall follows at least two positive E. coli tests. According to authorities, the beef was sold to Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee retail outlets.  Creation Gardens supplies at least 1500 restaurants in Lexington, Evansville, IN., Nashville, and Cincinnati. Major Recall of…

In April of 2015, U.S. District Judge Mark Bennett sentenced Quality Egg LLC  executives Austin “Jack” DeCoster (83) and his son Peter DeCoster (53) to prison in connection with a massive egg-related salmonella outbreak.  Since then, the two have been free pending appeals.  Now, justice is closer for the 60,000 plus victims who were likely victims of the salmonella outbreak they enabled.   The sentence is relative short – only three months in prison – but with the U.S. Supreme Court refusing to reverse the sentence, they are off to jail,  For Peter, it will be at a minimum security prison…

Souplantation Restaurant  Implicated in a Shigella Outbreak that Forces it to Close its Doors – Reopening Scheduled for 11 a.m. Today At least 10 Shigella illnesses have led to the closure of Souplantation restaurant in Camarillo, Ventura County, California.  Souplantation restaurant is part of a San Diego headquartered chain, but only this one location has been implicated.  The announcement of a series of Shigella illnesses came on June 22, 2017, leading to the immediate closure of Souplantation restaurant.  The Souplantation restaurant is expected to reopen today – according to Elizabeth Huff, a spokesperson for Ventura County Environmental, “we will reinstate…

Rare Salmonella Outbreak Hits the EU and is Linked to Sesame Paste Tainted with Salmonella 11:z41:enz15 Sesame seeds from Nigeria and the Sudan are at the heart of an outbreak of a rare strain of Salmonella that has never before been identified.  These two contaminated products were used in Greece to make sesame paste, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), but unconfirmed by the Hellenc Food Authority (EFET).  The implicated sesame paste products include Sesam La Crème. The rare Salmonella 11:z41:enz15 strain is not identified in the Kauffmann-White table of Antigenic Formulae of the Salmonella…