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Food
Food Safety and Poisoning
NEWS:
Arsenic In Irrigation Water Is Transferred To Crops
Chinese Experts Confirm Melamine-Kidney Stone Link “The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says melamine-tainted food was not imported into the U.S., though anecdotal — meaning real-life — evidence suggests some products containing the chemical did in fact make it to U.S. shores. In 2007 thousands of U.S. pets were killed or sickened because of melamine contained in pet food that imported from China. Unexplained animal deaths and illnesses continue to this day, without noticeable action or concern by agencies responsible for protecting the public. In the kidney stone study, Chinese researchers analyzed urine sample of 15 Chinese children with kidney stones. The samples were compared to those from other children who consumed the tainted milk but did not develop kidney stones. They concluded that melamine alone can lead to the creation of kidney stones, whose size are directly related with the amount of melamine that is consumed. Not everyone who comes in contact with melamine develops kidney stones, however. The researchers say there is a "safe level," above which the risk escalates.”
Concern over canned foods “Now Consumer Reports' latest tests of canned foods, including soups, juice, tuna, and green beans, have found that almost all of the 19 name-brand foods we tested contain some BPA. The canned organic foods we tested did not always have lower BPA levels than nonorganic brands of similar foods analyzed. We even found the chemical in some products in cans that were labeled "BPA-free." “
E. coli-tainted beef infects 21 people in 16 states “Mechanical tenderization softens tough cuts of beef by hammering the meat with metal needles or blades that break up muscle fibers and connective tissue. It is often used to improve the tenderness of roasts and steaks that are cooked at a processing plant before being sent to restaurants. In the meat industry, it is referred to as "needled" meat. Consumer advocates say mechanical tenderization poses contamination risks in meats that are served rare, such as steaks, because it can bring bacteria from the surface of meat to the center of the cut. A rare steak may be cooked enough so that bacteria on the surface are killed but those inside the meat survive.”
FDA Says To Avoid Pistachios Amid Salmonella Scare “The Food and Drug Administration said central California-based Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella Inc., the nation's second-largest pistachio processor, was voluntarily recalling more than 2 million pounds of its roasted nuts shipped since last fall.”
Feds Open Criminal Probe of Peanut Producer “Federal officials have launched a criminal investigation into the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) -- the company at the heart of the salmonella outbreak -- for allegedly shipping peanut products it knew had tested positive for that bacteria.”
FDA confirms salmonella in Kellogg's crackers
FDA urges people to avoid peanut butter products “Federal health authorities on Saturday urged consumers to avoid eating cookies, cakes, ice cream and other foods that contain peanut butter until authorities can learn more about a deadly outbreak of salmonella contamination. Most peanut butter sold in jars at supermarkets appears to be safe, said Stephen Sundlof, head of the Food and Drug Administration's food safety center. "As of now, there is no indication that the major national name-brand jars of peanut butter sold in retails stores are linked to the recall," Sundlof told reporters in a conference call. “
FDA Warns against Consuming Peanuts and Peanut Products Sold by Westco Fruit and Nuts Inc.
Firm Tied to Salmonella Ran Unlicensed Texas Plant “A peanut processing plant in Texas run by the same company blamed for a national salmonella outbreak operated for years uninspected and unlicensed by government health officials, The Associated Press has learned. The Peanut Corp. of America plant in Plainview was never inspected until after the company fell under investigation by the Food and Drug Administration, according to Texas health records obtained by AP. Once inspectors learned about the Texas plant, they found no sign of salmonella there. But new details about that plant -- including how it could have operated unlicensed for nearly four years -- raised questions about the adequacy of government efforts to keep the nation's food supply safe. Texas is among states where the FDA relies on state inspectors to oversee food safety. The problem is "not a completely uncommon occurrence," said Cornell University food science professor Joseph Hotchkiss. “
Flouride in Dog Food: Bone Meal and Cheap Fillers May Deliver Toxic Dose
Food Safety Efforts Have Stalled in Recent Years, CDC Says “"We need greater effort at all stages of movement of food in the food chain from farm to table" to prevent bacterial contamination, said Robert Tauxe, deputy director of the CDC's Division of Foodborne, Bacterial and Mycotic Diseases. Several factors are fueling the trend, including the intricacy of the U.S. food chain, the changing nature of the contaminating bacteria and the rise in imported food, Tauxe said. Bacteria that used to be associated mainly with meats and poultry have recently shown up in fresh produce, posing new risks, he said. Examples include E. coli 0157 in spinach and salmonella in peanuts and pistachios. “
Food Poisoning May Hurt for Life “Episodes of food poisoning may have serious long-term consequences -- including kidney failure or mental retardation -- particularly among children, researchers say.”
Health effects of trans-fatty acids: experimental and observational evidence (European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2009)) “Conclusions: Controlled trials and observational studies provide concordant evidence that consumption of TFA from partially hydrogenated oils adversely affects multiple cardiovascular risk factors and contributes significantly to increased risk of CHD events.”
High fructose corn syrup: How dangerous is it?
Hy-Vee Inc. Recalls Bakery Products With Peanut Butter Distributed in Seven States Due to Possible Health Risk “FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- WEST DES MOINES, IA -- January 17, 2009 -- Hy-Vee Inc. is voluntarily recalling the following products made in its bakery departments because they contain peanut butter that has the potential to be contaminated with salmonella: Peanut Butter Cookies, Monster Cookies, Peanut Butter Reese's Pieces Cookies, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies, Lunchbox Reese's Pieces Cookies, Lunchbox Peanut Butter Cookies, People Chow Party Mix and Assorted Truffle Fudge. All sell-by dates are included in this recall. The products are sold in various packaging and quantities and have a Hy-Vee price label attached. All items should be destroyed or returned to Hy-Vee for a full refund. The action was taken immediately after Peanut Corporation of America (PCA), the company that supplies bulk peanut butter to Hy-Vee, issued a recall of the peanut butter ingredient used to make the Hy-Vee bakery products. The recall is a precautionary step because of an unresolved nationwide outbreak of salmonella. Salmonella is an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare cases, infection with salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses, such as arterial infections (i.e. infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis. The identified items, sold in all Hy-Vee stores in Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota and Minnesota, have not been directly linked to the salmonella outbreak and there have been no reported cases of the illness.”
Listeria and the not-so-healthy salad lunch
Months After Melamine, China Food Security "Grim"
Nestle Toll House Prepackaged, Refrigerated Cookie Dough “FDA and the CDC are warning consumers not to eat any varieties of prepackaged Nestle Toll House refrigerated cookie dough due to the risk of contamination with E. coli O157:H7 (a bacterium that causes food borne illness). The warning is based on an ongoing epidemiological study conducted by the CDC and several state and local health departments. Since March 2009 there have been 66 reports of illness across 28 states. Twenty-five persons were hospitalized; 7 with a severe complication called Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS). No one has died.E. coli O157:H7 causes abdominal cramping, vomiting and a diarrheal illness, often with bloody stools. Most healthy adults can recover completely within a week. Young children and the elderly are at highest risk for developing HUS, which can lead to serious kidney damage and even death. FDA advises that if consumers have any prepackaged, refrigerated Nestle Toll House cookie dough products in their home that they throw them away. Cooking the dough is not recommended because consumers might get the bacteria on their hands and on other cooking surfaces.”
Nestlé's Inspectors Saw Rat Droppings, Rejected Peanuts “Nestlé USA, considering whether to buy ingredients from Peanut Corporation of America, twice sent its own inspectors to check out the company. Both times, they rejected the company after finding sanitary problems at its facilities in Georgia and Texas, noting rat droppings, live beetles, dead insects and the potential for microbial contamination. … Kellogg and other companies that bought products from Peanut Corporation of America told lawmakers yesterday that unlike Nestlé, they did not perform their own inspections. Instead, they relied on third-party audits common in the U.S. food industry. David Mackay, Kellogg's chief executive, said his company trusted audits performed by the American Institute of Baking International, the biggest food-inspection firm in the country. The institute conducted scheduled inspections of PCA's facilities and never flagged serious problems. It issued a "certificate of achievement" and a "superior" rating last August, when PCA was getting results from internal laboratory tests that revealed a salmonella problem in its plant in Blakely, Ga., congressional investigators said. "They gave PCA glowing reviews," said Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. "The company was selected by PCA, paid by PCA, and realized that if they didn't give PCA a glowing review, they were not going to get hired again. "They gave PCA a certificate of achievement," added Waxman, who held up the certificate in one hand and with the other waved a photograph, taken by federal investigators, of dead rodents inside a PCA facility. "How do you have a company that looks like this getting a certificate of achievement? . . . It really makes you think there must be something wrong." “
Obama bans 'downer' cows from food supply “The Obama administration on Saturday permanently banned the slaughter of cows too sick or weak to stand on their own, seeking to further minimize the chance that mad cow disease could enter the food supply. The Agriculture Department proposed the ban last year after the biggest beef recall in U.S. history. The recall involved a Chino, Calif., slaughterhouse and "downer" cows. The Obama administration finalized the ban on Saturday. "As part of our commitment to public health, our Agriculture Department is closing a loophole in the system to ensure that diseased cows don't find their way into the food supply," President Barack Obama said in his weekly radio and video address. … The Humane Society's president and chief executive, Wayne Pacelle, said he was pleased that the government "is putting a stop to the inhumane and reckless practice of dragging and otherwise abusing downer cows in order to slaughter them for human consumption."”
Obama warns of US food 'hazard' “Mr Obama cited a string of recent food safety scandals including a salmonella outbreak in peanut products this year that has been linked to nine deaths. The president said recent underfunding and understaffing at the FDA had left the agency unable to conduct annual inspections of more than a fraction of America's 150,000 food processing premises.”
Peanut Corporation of America Expands Nationwide Recall of Peanut Butter “FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- Lynchburg, Va. (January 16, 2009) -- Peanut Corporation of America (PCA), a peanut processing company and maker of peanut butter for bulk distribution to institutions, food service industries, and private label food companies, today announced an expanded recall of peanut butter produced in its Blakely, Georgia processing facility as well as the voluntary recall of peanut paste produced in the same plant because these products have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella. The company on January 13, 2009 previously announced the recall of 21 lots of peanut butter produced on or after July 1, 2008. Today's announcement and voluntary recall affect all peanut butter produced on or after August 8, 2008 and peanut paste produced on or after September 26, 2008 at the Georgia facility. The peanut butter being recalled is sold by PCA in bulk packaging in containers ranging in size from five to 1,700 pounds. The peanut paste is sold in sizes ranging from 35 pound containers to tanker containers. PCA is notifying customers who received the recalled product by telephone or in writing, as well as through the news media and a toll-free 24/7 hotline number. None of the peanut butter or peanut paste being recalled is sold directly by PCA to consumers through retail stores. "Today, the FDA informed PCA that new product samples in unopened containers tested positive for Salmonella," said Stewart Parnell, President of Peanut Corporation of America. The FDA has not yet confirmed the DNA fingerprints of these positive samples to match the strains causing the outbreaks of food borne illness in several states. PCA is immediately stopping all production at the Blakely, Georgia facility and notifying its customers to recall and retain all affected product produced during these dates at this plant.”
Peanut Processor Knowingly Sold Tainted Products “The Georgia peanut plant linked to a salmonella outbreak that has killed eight people and sickened 500 more across the country knowingly shipped out contaminated peanut butter 12 times in the past two years, federal officials said yesterday. … The outbreak, which has spread to 43 states and Canada, is ongoing, but the pace has slowed "modestly," Tauxe said. Half the people made ill have been children. Major-label peanut butter is not suspected to be contaminated with salmonella and is considered safe to eat, according to the FDA. The makers of several major brands, including Peter Pan, Jif and Smuckers, are worried that panicky consumers will stop buying their products, and they have been taking pains to point out that their peanut butters are not part of the outbreak. “
Phthalates Hard To Avoid In Food: Junk Food No Worse Than Healthful Food For These Potentially Harmful Substances “Phthalates – the softening agents in synthetic materials – were a hot topic during the last decade and have been linked to deformities in the male genitals, diabetes, premature births and excess weight. Now, a study from ETH Zurich has revealed that they are extremely difficult to avoid, even if you eat healthily. Synthetic materials are omnipresent in our everyday lives. To make them soft, flexible, durable and nicer, PVC or synthetically produced rubber is mixed with an organic compound made up of phthalate ester and alcohol (otherwise known as phthalates), for example. The synthetics industry uses about five million tons of these softeners annually; they are present in conventional flooring, cables and packaging materials, but also medical products and cosmetics. Easy pickings Because they are everywhere, they can easily enter the food chain and the human organism via food and drink. When and where this happens, however, is difficult to ascertain and has barely been researched. “After all,” says Michael Siegrist, a professor at the Institute of Environmental Decisions at ETH Zurich, “often you don’t know where in the food chain the phthalates get into the food – whether they come from the bucket used to harvest olives, the conveyor belt, or elsewhere in the production chain”.”
Purity of Federal 'Organic' Label Is Questioned “Three years ago, U.S. Department of Agriculture employees determined that synthetic additives in organic baby formula violated federal standards and should be banned from a product carrying the federal organic label. Today the same additives, purported to boost brainpower and vision, can be found in 90 percent of organic baby formula. The government's turnaround, from prohibition to permission, came after a USDA program manager was lobbied by the formula makers and overruled her staff. … Organic advocates and food marketing experts said the introduction this month of new "natural" products by an organics division of Dean Foods is the latest sign that the value of the USDA label has eroded. The yogurt and milk products will be distributed under the Horizon label and marketed as a lower-priced alternative to organic products. Congress adopted the organics law after farmers and consumers demanded uniform standards for produce, dairy and meat. The law banned synthetics, pesticides and genetic engineering from foods that would bear a federal organic label. It also required annual testing for pesticides. And it was aimed at preventing producers from falsely claiming their foods were organic. “
[Reliability of food labels from products marketed in the city of São Paulo, Southeastern Brazil.] (Rev Saude Publica. 2009) “CONCLUSIONS: High indices of non-compliance of nutritional data were found on labels of foods aimed at children and adolescents, indicating the urgent need for surveillance practices and other nutritional labeling measures.”
Salmonella Or Other Bacteria Found In Most Chickens Sold In Stores, US “According to a survey by a consumer organization, most chickens sold in US stores carry salmonella and/or campylobacter, the leading bacterial causes of foodborne disease. The survey report will appear in the January 2010 issue of Consumer Reports Magazine, and describes how an analysis of fresh, whole broilers bought at stores throughout the US showed that two-thirds contained salmonella and/or campylobacter. Consumer Reports bought 382 chickens from over 100 supermarkets, mass merchandisers, gourmet and natural food stores in 22 states, and had them analyzed by outside labs. Altogether they tested three top brands (Foster Farms, Perdue, and Tyson), 30 nonorganic store brands, nine organic store brands, and nine organic name brands. Five of the organic name brands were labelled as "air chilled", a slaughterhouse process that refrigerates and mists carcasses instead of dunking them in cold chlorinated water, they told the press. The tests revealed that: • 62 per cent of the chickens contained campylobacter. • 14 per cent of them contained salmonella. • And 9 per cent of the chickens contained both campylobacter and salmonella. • Only 34 per cent of the birds were clear of both pathogens. • This is double the percentage of clean birds found in the 2007 survey but considerably less than the 51 per cent found in 2003. • Some of the cleanest overall were the air-chilled broilers; about 40 per cent of which had one or both pathogens.”
Salmonella Typhimurium Outbreak “January 17, 2009: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is conducting a very active and dynamic investigation into the source of the Salmonella Typhimurium outbreak. At this time, the FDA has traced one likely source of Salmonella Typhimurium contamination to a plant owned by Peanut Corporation of America (PCA), which manufactures both peanut butter that is institutionally served in such settings as long-term care facilities and cafeterias, and peanut paste—a concentrated product consisting of ground, roasted peanuts—that is distributed to food manufacturers to be used as an ingredient in many products including cakes, cookies, crackers, candies, cereal and ice cream. The FDA has notified PCA that product samples originating from its Blakely, Ga., processing plant have been tested and found positive for Salmonella by laboratories in the states of Minnesota, Georgia and Connecticut. The state of Minnesota reported to FDA that its samples of King Nut peanut butter are a genetic match to the strain of Salmonellathat has caused illnesses in the state and around the country. King Nut is a distributor of PCA product.”
Search for Peanut Butter Product Recalls “Note: This list includes food products subject to recall in the United States since January 2009 related to peanut butter and peanut paste recalled by Peanut Corporation of America. This list will be updated as new information is received. This information is current as of the date indicated. Once included, all food recalls will remain listed. If we learn that any information is not accurate, we will revise the list as soon as possible.”
Studies find mercury in much U.S. corn syrup
The unusual suspects “If you were planning to serve shrimp during the holidays, you might not want to talk to Michael Doyle, director of the Food Safety Center at the University of Georgia. You see, most of the shrimp sold in the United States, as well as the tilapia and some other fish, are grown in ponds on small farms in China and Southeast Asia. Doyle has visited those farms. What they feed the fish doesn't belong in a family newspaper.”
Trail of E. Coli Shows Flaws in Inspection of Ground Beef “Meat companies and grocers have been barred from selling ground beef tainted by the virulent strain of E. coli known as O157:H7 since 1994, after an outbreak at Jack in the Box restaurants left four children dead. Yet tens of thousands of people are still sickened annually by this pathogen, federal health officials estimate, with hamburger being the biggest culprit. Ground beef has been blamed for 16 outbreaks in the last three years alone, including the one that left Ms. Smith paralyzed from the waist down. This summer, contamination led to the recall of beef from nearly 3,000 grocers in 41 states. … The frozen hamburgers that the Smiths ate, which were made by the food giant Cargill, were labeled “American Chef’s Selection Angus Beef Patties.” Yet confidential grinding logs and other Cargill records show that the hamburgers were made from a mix of slaughterhouse trimmings and a mash-like product derived from scraps that were ground together at a plant in Wisconsin. The ingredients came from slaughterhouses in Nebraska, Texas and Uruguay, and from a South Dakota company that processes fatty trimmings and treats them with ammonia to kill bacteria. … Those low-grade ingredients are cut from areas of the cow that are more likely to have had contact with feces, which carries E. coli, industry research shows. … Unwritten agreements between some companies appear to stand in the way of ingredient testing. Many big slaughterhouses will sell only to grinders who agree not to test their shipments for E. coli, according to officials at two large grinding companies. Slaughterhouses fear that one grinder’s discovery of E. coli will set off a recall of ingredients they sold to others. “Ground beef is not a completely safe product,” said Dr. Jeffrey Bender, a food safety expert at the University of Minnesota who helped develop systems for tracing E. coli contamination. He said that while outbreaks had been on the decline, “unfortunately it looks like we are going a bit in the opposite direction.” …To finish off the Smiths’ ground beef, Cargill added bread crumbs and spices, fashioned it into patties, froze them and packed them 18 to a carton. The listed ingredients revealed little of how the meat was made. There was just one meat product listed: “Beef.” … In the wake of the outbreak, the U.S.D.A. reminded consumers on its Web site that hamburgers had to be cooked to 160 degrees to be sure any E. coli is killed and urged them to use a thermometer to check the temperature. This reinforced Sharon Smith’s concern that she had sickened her daughter by not cooking the hamburger thoroughly. But the pathogen is so powerful that her illness could have started with just a few cells left on a counter. “In a warm kitchen, E. coli cells will double every 45 minutes,” said Dr. Mansour Samadpour, a microbiologist who runs IEH Laboratories in Seattle, one of the meat industry’s largest testing firms. With help from his laboratories, The Times prepared three pounds of ground beef dosed with a strain of E. coli that is nonharmful but acts in many ways like O157:H7. Although the safety instructions on the package were followed, E. coli remained on the cutting board even after it was washed with soap. A towel picked up large amounts of bacteria from the meat.”
Trans Fat Facts: Where Are Trans Fats Now?
Victim of 2007 Outbreak: 'Salmonella Ruined Me'
Whole Foods Recalls Hazelnuts Due to Possible Salmonella
ARTICLES:
10 Foods Most Likely to Make You Sick
Deciphering the 'Organic' Label
Food Preservatives: Reading the 'Not-So-Fine' Print
Food-Borne Illness: More Than Meets the Eye “Listeria is one of the more dangerous but less common food-borne pathogens, unusual in that it thrives in cool environments. Campylobacter, salmonella and E. coli O157:H7 are more-common culprits, infecting everything from produce to raw eggs and causing a range of symptoms, from fever, cramps and diarrhea to, in the case of E. coli, a potentially deadly kidney condition. The most frequent offender may be a pathogen known as Norwalk-like virus, but it is rarely diagnosed because its gastrointestinal symptoms come and go quickly.”
Pots, Pans, and Plastics: A Shopper's Guide to Food Safety
Salt Shockers Slideshow: High-Sodium Surprises
Slideshow: Foods Your Dog Should Never Eat
The 10 riskiest foods in America
JOURNAL ARTICLES:
Bacterial contaminants in carbonated soft drinks sold in Bangladesh markets. (Int J Food Microbiol. 2009) “These findings suggest that carbonated soft drinks commercially available in Bangladesh pose substantial risks to public health.”
Beverages obtained from soda fountain machines in the U.S. contain microorganisms, including coliform bacteria (International Journal of Food Microbiology 2009) “These findings suggest that soda fountain machines may harbor persistent communities of potentially pathogenic microorganisms which may contribute to episodic gastric distress in the general population and could pose a more significant health risk to immunocompromised individuals. These findings have important public health implications and signal the need for regulations enforcing hygienic practices associated with these beverage dispensers.“
Food contamination with salmonella species in the Republic of Macedonia. (Foodborne Pathog Dis. 2009)
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