The FDA has published the following warning: Consumers worldwide should not use any ByHeart brand infant formula as all ByHeart products are included in this recall. As we know, as of November 26, 2025, a total of 37 infants with suspected or confirmed infant botulism and confirmed exposure to ByHeart Whole Nutrition infant formula (various […]
On August 22, 2000, Marion County Health investigators contacted the Oregon Health Department to report that a number of County residents were suffering from E. coli O157:H7. Three days later Wendy’s International, Inc voluntarily closed its Salem restaurant. The findings by the Marion County Health Department made the link to this Wendy’s restaurant clear: The […]
Why is Food Still Making Us Sick in the 21st Century? from Bill Marler
Between early May and early June 2005 the Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH) identified 11 state residents as being infected with an indistinguishable genetic strain of Salmonella Typhimurium as determined by pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) analysis. Eight of the cases were reported in children and five of the cases had required hospitalization. Interviews […]
According to Food Safety News, the number confirmed ill in an E. coli outbreak linked to a Seattle Ethiopian restaurant has risen to three. The health agency forced the closure of Ambassel Ethiopian Cuisine & Bar on March 6 after connecting the establishment to an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak, along with finding a variety of […]
Hot Springs Packing Co., Inc., a Hot Springs, Ark. establishment, is recalling approximately 6,120 pounds of chicken polish sausage and chicken breakfast link products due to possible contamination with Listeria monocytogenes, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today. The products subject to recall includes: 30-lb. packages of “DOUBLE D […]
April is a busy month. Iowa Governor’s Conference on Public Health April 9-10, 2013 Jack in the Box and E. coli O157:H7: The Outbreak, the Investigation and Improvements in Food Safety I get to share the stage with Phillip Tarr, MD, Melvin E. Carnahan Professor of Pediatrics, and Director of the Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology […]
I’m an avid reader of the Hagstrom Report. You should too. And, if you did not think the Sequester would have an impact in food safety – think again! FSIS delivers meat inspection furlough notice to unions The Agriculture Department’s Food Safety and Inspection Service today delivered to the National Joint Council of Food Inspection […]
FDA Warning Letter issued in 2012. The Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) has revoked the food-processing license of Chu Minh Corp., which produces tofu and other soy products, after several inspections found on-going sanitation problems with the Seattle business. In addition to revoking the company’s license to process food, WSDA also assessed a civil […]
In late July of 1999, Ohio public health officials began receiving reports that patients at local hospitals in Cincinnati were suffering from E. coli O157:H7 infections. By August 2, 1999, fifteen cases had been confirmed, and through investigative interviews the Ohio Department of Health learned that eleven of those fifteen people had eaten foods purchased […]
I’m off to Boston this week to the Association of Health Care Journalists Conference. I will be on a panel with the following exploring – Why is food still making us sick in the 21st century? • Will Daniels, senior vice president, operations and organic integrity, Earthbound Farm • Bill D. Marler, J.D., managing partner, […]
Ambassel, an Ethiopian restaurant in Seattle on Jefferson and Twelfth, has been shut down by the Seattle King County Department of Health for these violations: • Foods not protected from cross-contamination • Poor personal hygiene practices: insufficient handwashing • Equipment not properly sanitized • Handwashing facilities not working • Imminent health hazard: establishment linked to […]
Oregon and Washington have identified Foster Farms brand chicken as the most likely source of the infections in their states. Testing conducted by the Washington State Public Health Laboratories identified the outbreak strain of Salmonella Heidelberg in four intact samples of chicken collected from three ill persons’ homes in Washington. State public health officials are […]
Matthew Smith of KTVA 11 News reports that Alaska State health officials report a total of 24 people have fallen ill, two of whom were hospitalized, after drinking tainted raw milk from a Kenai Peninsula dairy. Among the ill is an infant who did not directly imbibe the raw milk, but got sick through a […]
In early May 2009, the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) identified a cluster of E. coli O157:H7 infections. See Email re: Cuyahoga County E. coli, PulseNet Cluster 0905HE…, Attachment No. 1. Bacterial isolates obtained from the stool cultures of three case-patients were a two-enzyme genetic match using pulse-field gel electrophoreses (PFGE). See May 26, 2009 E. […]
In reading the FDA’s Environmental Assessment: Factors Potentially Contributing to the Contamination of Fresh Whole Cantaloupe Implicated in a Multi-State Outbreak of Salmonellosis regarding the Chamberlain Farm’s Salmonella outbreak from last year over the weekend, I was struck by how complete the investigation was. I was also struck by how it seemed that this farmer […]