Scots will continue to have an appetite for porridge and kippers after yesterday’s independence vote, but also remaining despite the outcome are Scotland’s food safety challenges. Foodborne illnesses strike about 132,000 Scots annually, sending 2,330 to hospitals and causing about 50 deaths. 
Who gets the bill for those damages — about 140 million British pounds…
NHS Report: E. coli Outbreak at Scottish Concert Venue Caused by Undercooked Burgers
An outbreak of E. coli O157 Verotoxin-producing E. coli (VETC) which sickened 22 people at the SSE Hydro concert venue in Glasgow, Scotland, earlier this year was caused by undercooked beef burgers, according to a report from the Public Health Protection Unit, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. The report states that 19 of the 22…
New Illnesses Bring Scottish E. Coli Outbreak to 21 Sick
An additional six cases of E. coli have been linked to burgers eaten at the Glasgow Hydro arena, bringing the total number ill to 21. The cases first began appearing several weeks ago. Some attendees who ate burgers at the arena between Jan. 17 and Jan. 19 have fallen ill with symptoms of E. coli…
15 Infected in Scottish E. Coli Outbreak
Another four cases of E coli O157 have been reported in connection to events on Jan. 17-19 at the SSE Hydro arena in Glasgow, bringing the total case count up to 15. Health officials believe the illnesses may be linked to contaminated burgers and are asking that anyone who attended the Hydro between Jan. 17…
Seven Sick With E. Coli From Scottish Arena
The health board in West Central Scotland is investigating seven cases of E. coli O157 possibly linked to burgers from the SSE Hydro arena in Glasgow. The NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) issued a statement Friday alerting anyone who attended events at the Hydro between Jan. 17 and Jan. 25 and has experienced stomach…
E. coli Conference: Research Should Focus on the Source
The report from the so-called “supershedders” conference on the future of enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) research — held recently in Scotland — is out. It identifies key knowledge gaps and recommends areas for future research. The workshop stemmed from the controversial 2005 E. coli outbreak in South Wales and was organized by the Food Standards…
E. coli O157:H7 Kills 8-Year-Old Scottish Girl
The National Health Service in the United Kingdom does not yet know the source of an infection of E. coli O157:H7 that resulted in the death of an 8-year-old Scottish girl. The deceased Rachel Shaw recently returned from visiting her father, 34-year old Adam Shaw in the United States, where she may have contracted the…
One Bad Jar Blamed for Scottish Botulism Outbreak
The incident management team has released the final report on last November’s botulism outbreak involving three siblings. It began when a 5-year-old boy and then his 7-year-old sister were admitted to the hospital November 8 and 9, respectively, with symptoms that included double vision, sore mouth and lower limb weakness. In a matter of hours,…
Scotland Going Independent On Food Safety
It’s not really going down like the plot of “Braveheart,” but the coming 2014 on Scottish Independence is already having large ramifications on food safety regulation in the United Kingdom. The Scottish Government is pulling out of the UK’s Food Standards Agency, opting instead to set up its own independent Scottish food standards body. The…
Eleven Percent of E. coli Cases May Be Secondary
In November 1996, a butcher who had been in business 28 years in the little town of Wishaw, southeast of Glasgow, used the same utensils to handle raw and cooked meat.
As a result of cross contamination in that single meat shop, more than 400 people became ill and 21 died from E. coli O157:H7 …