The United Kingdom’s High Court has found a Surrey county petting farm liable for a 2009 E. coli outbreak that sickened 93 people, including 76 children under the age of 10, Smallholder Magazine reports. Several children suffered acute kidney failure and required dialysis following their infections, resulting in some likely experiencing permanent kidney problems. In its defense, Godstone Farm said the UK’s Health Protection Agency and the Tandridge District Council should share responsibility — a claim with which the court disagreed. Petting farms and zoos have been tied to dozens of illness outbreaks in the U.S. and Europe over the past two decades. Nearly all such outbreaks involve pathogens traditionally associated with foodborne illness, including E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella and Campylobacter. In October 2012, a petting zoo at the Cleveland County Fair in North Carolina caused an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak that sickened at least 106 people and killed 2-year-old Gage Lefevers. Children, the elderly and people with compromised immune systems are especially susceptible to illness from infected animals at petting zoos, where they spread bacteria through fecal bacteria on the ground or in their fur or saliva. In response to that outbreak, Food Safety News published a report on petting zoo outbreaks in November 2012.
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Authorities in Lithuania are investigating two cases of foodborne botulism linked to fish sold at a market.
The State Food and Veterinary Service (VMVT) conducted an inspection at a market
Parents in Arizona are reporting that their children became infected with E. coli after interaction with animals at the Arizona State Fair petting zoo.
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A Salmonella Enteritidis outbreak traced to eggs that sickened more than 100 people has been declared over by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
There were 105 confirmed patients
As part of its enforcement activities, the Food and Drug Administration sends warning letters to entities under its jurisdiction. Some letters are not posted for public view until weeks or
Fresh & Ready Foods LLC of Renton, WA, is recalling 2,414 of Fresh To You Sausage, Egg & Cheese Biscuit Sandwiches because they have the potential to be contaminated
A California pumpkin patch and petting zoo associated with an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 infections reopened Nov. 6 with the owners saying environmental tests for the pathogen had
The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is issuing a public health alert for frozen, not ready-to-eat (NRTE), meat and poultry products because of misbranding and
