SEATTLE — Sometimes when something that “just can’t happen” does happen, valuable lessons are learned. That was the case when some batches of commercially produced, packaged, whole caramel apples turned out to be the cause of a listeriosis outbreak in 2014-15 that infected 35 people from 12 states, putting 34 of them in the hospital. …
Citing Food Safety Risk, Retailer Removes Unrefrigerated Caramel Apples From Stores
The Kroger Co. of Cincinnati, OH, announced Thursday, Oct. 15, that its retail grocery stores would withdraw from sale unrefrigerated caramel apples that have been pierced with dipping sticks due to new scientific evidence that the product, if left unrefrigerated, may present a health risk. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention…
IAFP 2015: Experts May Have Determined How Caramel Apples Caused That Listeria Outbreak
In November 2014, health officials began investigating two concerning clusters of Listeria infections that seemed to be related. The two strains of bacteria had already killed at least five people and hospitalized a few dozen others by the time they got on the case, and they wanted to find the source and stop it as…
IAFP 2015: Debating Three Food Safety Perspectives
Routine epidemiological work still has an important role to play in this modern age of whole-genome sequencing, sustainability practices in the food industry aren’t hampering safety procedures, and the jury is still out on whether reducing sodium in processed foods is a food safety risk.
Those were some general sentiments expressed Sunday during a roundtable …