Salmonella contamination from pet turtles and a lack of handwashing has reached a total of 76 people in 19 states; 32 percent of which are children younger than 5 years old. Reported illnesses range from March 1 to Dec. 1, 2017, and since the CDC’s last update this increase in the number of confirmed sick…
Briefly: Listeria’s resurrection — Wash ’em — Deadly outbreak
Every hour of every day people around the world are living with and working to resolve food safety issues. Here is a sampling of current headlines for your consumption, brought to you today with the support of Alchemy Systems.
Dozens dead in South Africa Listeria outbreak
More than 550 people are confirmed sick, with…
Handwashing for Life Olympics: Battle at Waterloo
Pathogens met their Waterloo as more than 400 culinary professionals staged a two day pursuit of the…
Outbreak traced to puppies in 13th month; new states involved
Although officials with Petland Inc. say any dog can be infected with Campylobacter, 93 percent of victims in an ongoing, 15-state outbreak had contact with Petland puppies before becoming ill.
In an outbreak update Monday, federal officials reported a dozen more people have been confirmed in the outbreak since Oct. 3, bringing the total to…
Food Safety Month: Memories and myth busting
Growing up, September always meant the beginning the school year. But now, entering my 16th year of schooling, September has taken on a new meaning as a graduate student who is passionate about raising the awareness for the FDA‘s National Food Safety Month.
The second of four children, I was fortunate enough to have…
The Norovirus Woman explains hand sanitizers and bacteria
TAMPA, FL — Hand sanitizers have surrounded me from elementary school field trips to competitive sporting tournaments in high school and college. Running water wasn’t always available before snack time, or for handling mouth guards between games. There are many questions I had about antimicrobial hand sanitizers, but had no clue where to start.
Scanning…
Food safety in health care kitchens impacts patient healing
The 44th annual conference of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control brought together an international array of expertise to the convention center in Portland, OR.
Presentations and an abundance of creative posters were shared, each primarily based on unique experiences. Many sessions covered the importance of kitchens and food safety protocols in the healing…
Whole Foods closes kitchens under shadow of FDA findings
Whole Foods Market is closing down all three of its regional kitchens that prepared ready-to-eat food — including the one in Everett, MA, that netted the grocery chain an FDA warning letter citing Listeria problems — and will be using outside suppliers instead.
The move comes almost a year after inspectors from the Food and…
FDA warning letters: Dairies and cheese factory cited
Wisconsin and Utah dairy operations and a cheese factory in Pennsylvania received warning letters recently made public by the Food and Drug Administration.
LeRaysville Cheese Factory Inc. in LeRaysville, PA
The Philadelphia district office of the FDA sent a warning letter Sept. 2 to owner Milton Repsher describing “significant” food safety violations at the repacking…
Patient experience drives health care food safety leadership
This week Crothall Healthcare summoned a team of experts to collaborate by “mastering and integrating what you are good at” and challenged them to define new standards to light a path of continuous improvement in lowering health care acquired infections — starting with hand washing and food safety.
Thirty leaders and…