The Associated Press is reporting that the New Mexico state Department of Health is saying that three more people have been diagnosed with Salmonella bacteria infections that have been traced to Diego’s restaurant in Sante Fe.

Deborah Busemeyer, Health Department spokeswoman, confirmed that there are “now 12 Salmonella cases linked to Diego’s Cafe.”  Busemeyer is also reporting that 10 people from Santa Fe county and two from San Miguel county all at at Diego’s in late July and early August.  Patients range in age from one month to 62 years of age, with the infant contracting the Salmonella infection through breast milk from the baby’s mother, who ate at the restaurant.  Two of the original nine patients were hospitalized.  The investigation continues and involves interviews and testing of patients, food handlers, and food from the restaurant. (more…)

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the massive, nationwide Salmonella outbreak that was linked mainly to fresh hot serrano and jalepeno peppers imported from Mexico is ending.  This report was made amid reports that contaminated shipments had been turned back at the US border well before the outbreak and that some restaurants and grocery stores are still buying the imported, possibly tainted, peppers.

Federal officials maintain that tomatoes played a role in some of the early illnesses; however, investigations of case clusters that emerged later in the outbreak implicated jalapeno and serrano peppers.  In July, authorities found the Salmonella enterica serotype Saintpaul outbreak strain on a jalapeno pepper at a produce importer in McAllen, Texas and at a patient’s home in Colorado.  During testing at a farm in Mexico, authorities also found positive samples from both irrigation water and a serrano pepper. (more…)

Federal lawmakers are looking to reform the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which regulates drugs and 80 percent of the food Americans eat.  The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulates the other 20 percent of food—generally meat.  Despite that the FDA monitors the overwhelming majority of this nation’s food, it only received a fraction of the funding and the staffing of the USDA.

Meanwhile, we have long been reporting on the issue of food regulation in the U.S. in the face of ongoing, often massive nationwide outbreaks of deadly food borne illnesses such as Salmonella, Listeria, and E. coli, to name a few.  Given the recent problems with meat and produce that have sickened thousands and hospitalized dozens in the past couple of months, perhaps our food safety systems needs—if not an overhaul—some changes to better protect Americans. (more…)

An investigation has revealed that the Canadian who fell ill from Listeria monocytogenes was infected with the same strain that killed one person and left several others across Canada ill.  “We cannot confirm that the infection was the result of eating the recalled meat,” Marie-Claude Gagnon, spokesperson for the Quebec Ministry of Health and Social Services, said yesterday. “We can’t demonstrate a clear link, but many strains of listeria exist and it was the exact same one.”  Maple Leaf Foods Inc. recently issued a recall of a variety of its meats believed to be tainted with the Listeria bacteria, has temporarily closed its Toronto plant, and has initiated sanitation procedures there.  Maple Leaf Foods is Canada’s largest food processor.

Ontario’s associate chief medical officer of health, David Williams, said yesterday that he expected more listeriosis cases to be reported, but would not confirm how many deaths are under investigation, saying the cases may still be classified as “probable or suspect.”  Williams said, “Right now, we only have one death that is confirmed to meet the criteria and in the physician’s perspective was the underlying cause of death.  I am expecting more (listeriosis) cases to be reported.” (more…)

In the ongoing fight against the food borne illnesses that have been plaguing our country, effective today, spinach and iceberg lettuce can irradiated to kill certain such bacteria, including E. coli and Salmonella. The FDA issued the food-irradiation rule earlier this week following a wave of Salmonella and E. coli outbreaks, such as the massive 2006 E. coli outbreak in fresh spinach.

The irradiation rule only applies to spinach and iceberg lettuce and doesn’t require irradiation, but permits it, meaning not all iceberg lettuce and spinach will necessarily be irradiated and other vegetables, such as the raw Mexican peppers still thought to be a Salmonella threat, are not included. The FDA has long allowed fruits and vegetables to be irradiated at lower levels targeting insects and mold; the new level will destroy pathogenic bacteria in or on spinach, according to Robert Brackett, The Grocery Manufacturers Association’s senior vice president and chief science and regulatory affairs officer. The Grocery Manufacturers Association was formerly known as the National Food Processors Association. (more…)

The Associated Press is reporting that a recent outbreak of Listeriosis in Canada has killed one person and sickened at least 16 others.  The Public Health Agency of Canada said it was working with officials in four provinces to establish any link between the outbreak and the affected products recalled by Maple Leaf Foods.  Maple Leaf has suspended production at its Toronto plant, is re-evaluating food safety procedures at that plant, and is expected to recall about two dozen types of its packaged meats, an increase over its original recall that now includes a variety of turkey, smoked beef, and roast beef.  Maple Leaf announced this weekend that it discovered listeria bacteria in roast beef and corned beef made at its Toronto facility.  The company confirmed that the recall covered all products prepared at the plant since June 2.

Listeriosis is a type of food poisoning generated by the Listeria monocytogenes bacteria and is particularly dangerous to the elderly, pregnant women, newborns, those with chronic medical conditions, people with HIV, or those who are undergoing chemotherapy.  Most people experience mild flu-like symptoms—fever, muscle aches, nausea, or diarrhea.  In serious cases, the disease spreads to the nervous system, causing headaches, stiff neck, and convulsions.  In pregnant women, Listeriosis can result in miscarriage or stillbirth.  Listeria lives in soil, stream water, sewage, plants, and food and can easily contaminate dairy and beef products.  Because Listeria thrives in the cold, refrigerated food products provide an ideal environment for the germ. (more…)

Despite Salmonella risks, fresh serrano and jalepeno peppers from Mexico are still being sold in the United States.  Although federal officials say these fresh Mexican peppers pose a Salmonella risk, the pepper are selling for much less than for what their U.S. counterparts are selling them for.  Distributors now report buyers seem to be small Hispanic grocers and mom and pop restaurants; large supermarkets and restaurants are not touching the Mexican supply.

“Mexican peppers still are selling,” says Raul Ramirez, warehouse manager for Ramirez Brothers, a Los Angeles-based distributor of Mexican jalepenos. “Our customers are asking for them.”  Will Steele, CEO of Frontera Produce agrees, saying that Mexican peppers “are growing in prominence.”  Because its buyers—large supermarket and restaurant chains don’t want Mexican peppers, Frontera isn’t importing them, Steele said.  Forty-pound boxes of U.S.-grown jalapenos sold wholesale for $25 to $35 a box early this week, versus $14 to $16 for Mexican jalepenos, Steele says.  Before the warning, U.S. and Mexican peppers were selling for about the same price. (more…)

Kroger Grocery has asked its Indiana and Illinois customers to check for ground beef that might have been recently purchased from its stores.  Kroger is particularly concerned with products with “sell by” dates of August 1 through August 16 because this ground beef is part of a recall of E. coli tainted meat announced by Nebraska Beef.  Customers have been advised to return the ground beef to stores for a full refund or replacement.  The recall involves 153 Kroger stores—Kroger, Scott’s, Owen’s, Hilander, and Pay Less—in Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri.  Some of the involved stores may have notified customers by placing signs with specific information in their meat departments.

Both Kroger and Nebraska have been involved in an ongoing, multi-state E. coli outbreak that has been linked to the illness and hospitalization of dozens.  Nebraska Beef of Omaha is one of the main beef suppliers to Krogers and has been at the core of a number of other E. coli-related problems having recalled millions of pounds of beef in ongoing recalls since May; another recall was issued earlier this month for an additional 1.2 million pounds of beef. (more…)

The Associated Press is reporting that New Mexico state health officials are investigating a Salmonella outbreak involving nine people who fell ill after eating at Diego’s Restaurant in Santa Fe from late July to early August.  Patients range in age from five to 62 and reported becoming sick between August 2nd and 7th.  Most of the patrons—eight of the nine—live in Santa Fe County.  The other diner lives in San Miguel County.  Two of the patients were hospitalized.  The investigation continues and involves interviews and testing of patients, food handlers, and food from the restaurant.

Salmonellosis is an infection with a bacterium called Salmonella and is usually found in food contaminated with animal feces and is a group of bacteria that passes from the feces of people or animals to other people or animals.  Salmonella poisoning can occur when food is improperly stored or handled and when preparers do not wash their hands or sanitize implements involved in meat storage.  People infected with salmonella develop diarrhea—which may be bloody, fever, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal cramps within 12 to 72 hours of infection.  Laboratory testing is required to determine the presence of Salmonella; additional testing can determine the specific type and which antibiotics are needed. (more…)

The Associated Press reports that federal inspectors at U.S. border crossings repeatedly turned back filthy, disease-ridden Mexican pepper shipments in the months prior to the recent Salmonella Saintpaul outbreak that sickened 1,400 people.  The outbreak was ultimately traced to Mexican chilies, but no significant action was taken and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials expressed surprise as recently as last week saying that Mexican peppers were not spotted as a problem before.

Meanwhile, an AP analysis of FDA records revealed peppers and chilies were consistently the top Mexican crop rejected by border inspectors this last year.  Since January, 88 shipments of fresh and dried chilies were turned away; ten percent were contaminated with Salmonella; and in the past year, eight percent of the 158 intercepted shipments of fresh and dried chilies were Salmonella-tainted.  Despite this, Dr. David Acheson, the FDA’s food safety chief, says peppers were not a cause for concern. “We have not typically seen problems with peppers,” he said. “Our import sampling is typically focused on areas where we know we’ve got problems or we’ve seen problems in the past, which is why we’re now increasing our sampling for peppers.” (more…)