Thread: FDA names Taylor Farms of Mexico as source in parasite outbreak

JoNel Aleccia NBC News
8/2/2013

Those restaurants included Olive Garden and Red Lobster, operated by Darden restaurants, a spokesman for the Orlando, Fla., firm confirmed.

Taylor Farms has a history of recalling potentially contaminated leafy greens, including a February 2013 recall of baby spinach over fears it was tainted with Enterohemorrhagic E. coli, or EHEC, a particularly virulent bacterium that can cause severe infection and illness. The firm recalled bagged hearts of romaine in 2012 for listeria risk and bagged salad in 2011 over worries about salmonella contamination.

CDC -Infections from the rare cyclospora parasite have sickened at least 400 people in 16 states, health officials said.

Taylor Farms of Mexico, a division of a California-based produce supplier whose greens go to national restaurants including Red Lobster and Olive Garden, shipped parasite-tainted salad mix that has sickened hundreds in Nebraska and Iowa, U.S. health officials said Friday.

Food and Drug Administration officials did not say whether the same bagged salad is tied to a cyclospora outbreak or outbreaks that have sickened at least 400 people in 16 U.S. states.

"The FDA traceback investigation found that illness clusters at restaurants were traced to a common supplier, Taylor Farms de Mexico, S. de R.L. de C.V.," the FDA said in a statement.

Those restaurants included Olive Garden and Red Lobster, operated by Darden restaurants, a spokesman for the Orlando, Fla., firm confirmed.

"The FDA's announcement today regarding Iowa and Nebraska is new information," said Rich Jeffers, communications director for Darden. "Nothing we have seen prior to this announcement gave us any reason to be concerned about the products we've received from this supplier."

FDA's investigation did not implicate salad mix packages sold in grocery stores, officials said. As a result of the probe, the agency will step up surveillance of leafy products exported to the U.S. from Mexico.

The Mexican plant is part of Taylor Farms, a Salinas, Calif.-based firm that supplies lettuce and cut vegetables to national restaurant chains and grocery stores. Taylor Farms has 11 processing plants in the U.S. and one in San Miguel, Mexico, according to the company website.

FDA officials, in conjunction with company leaders, will conduct an environmental assessment of the processing facility in Mexico to determine the probable cause of the outbreak. State officials had said the salad mix included romaine and iceberg lettuce, along with carrots and red cabbage. A 2011 inspection found no "notable issues," the FDA said.

The firm's chairman and chief executive, Bruce Taylor, told NBC News in an email that the company has an extensive testing program in place in Mexico for both water sources and raw product.

"All our tests have been negative and we have no indication of the parasite in our product," Taylor said late Friday.

The contaminated salad mix is likely no longer in the food supply chain in Iowa and Nebraska, where at least 223 people have sickened, health officials emphasized. The last date people reportedly became ill in those states was July 2, they added. The typical shelf life for salad mix is about two weeks.

"Iowa and Nebraska health authorities have said this is not an ongoing outbreak and is no longer in the food supply in those states," said Jeffers, of Darden. "The health and safety of our guests is our top priority and it is completely safe to eat in our restaurants."

Taylor Farms has a history of recalling potentially contaminated leafy greens, including a February 2013 recall of baby spinach over fears it was tainted with Enterohemorrhagic E. coli, or EHEC, a particularly virulent bacterium that can cause severe infection and illness. The firm recalled bagged hearts of romaine in 2012 for listeria risk and bagged salad in 2011 over worries about salmonella contamination.

Food safety experts have criticized the investigation of the cyclospora outbreak, which began with two cases in Iowa on June 28, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most of the illnesses were reported from mid-June through early July.

Michael Osterholm, Minnesota’s former state epidemiologist who now heads the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, said the search for the source of the rare parasite took too long and wasn’t as thorough or targeted as it should have been.
“I think it’s really a mess,” Osterholm told NBC News. “To me it’s a situation where we need a major review.”

Osterholm said state investigators, including those in Iowa and Nebraska, which first tagged premixed salad as the source of the outbreak this week, didn’t conduct case-control studies that would have quickly isolated the cause.

But Dr. Patricia Quinlisk, the Iowa state epidemiologist, has defended her state’s response, saying that cyclospora is a difficult bug to detect and track because of its long incubation period and special testing requirements.

States that have reported illnesses include Iowa, Texas, Nebraska, Florida, Wisconsin, Georgia, Illinois, Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Connecticut, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, and Ohio.

Cyclospora is a parasite excreted in human stool. Illnesses have been associated with contaminated water or food. It causes gastrointestinal symptoms including prolonged diarrhea, fatigue, loss of appetite, vomiting and other flu-like symptoms.

Cyclospora infections are rare in the U.S., but past outbreaks have been associated with contaminated fresh produce including fruit and herbs. Raspberries imported from Guatemala were responsible for a 1996 outbreak that sickened 1,465 people in the U.S. and Canada and also for a 1997 outbreak that made more than 1,000 people ill, CDC records show.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/health/fda-na...eak-6C10833090

Taylor Farms of Mexico and US restaurants who use their produce need to notice a consumer response. This is just one more reason that I re-wash the packages that say, "Pre-washed Greens"..... And going out to restaurants has lost its appeal.

Friday, August 2 2013, 11:21 PM EDT

Mystery Super Bug Reported in Ohio UNDATED -- A mystery stomach bug had made nearly 300 people sick in 11 states -- now including the Buckeye state.

The FDA is looking into produce in tropical and subtropical countries for any link to this nasty bug. They have not been able to pinpoint any one item.

The sickness spreads when people ingest foods or water contaminated with feces leaving them with flu-like systems.

"It's called cyclospora, it's a tiny parasite one cell large. Usually people get it from traveling to other countries. It's on food, it's in water. You can't get it from touching someone," said Dr. Marc Siegel, a correspondent for Fox News.

http://www.fox45now.com/shared/news/...id_14923.shtml

It's unclear if all the cases are linked.

For more information about the cyclospora infection, click here.

______________________________________

Epidemiologic Investigation

• As of August 1, 2013 (5pm EDT), CDC has been notified of 400 cases of Cyclospora infection from the following 17 health departments: Iowa, Texas, Nebraska, Florida, Wisconsin, New York City, Georgia, Illinois, Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Connecticut, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, and Ohio.
• Most of the illness onset dates have ranged from mid-June through early July.
• At least 22 persons reportedly have been hospitalized in five states.

http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/cyclosp...tion-2013.html

These restaurants are serving produce to their customers that is infected with fecal parasites from Mexico. The reason people are getting sick is because the produce is not being washed before being eaten in the restaurants.

This is WIDESPREAD (15 states).

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Updated: Wednesday, July 31 2013, 06:36 AM CDT Florida health officials say they are now investigating 24 cases of a stomach bug that has infected people in 15 states. 321 people in 15 states have come down with it. At this time, there are no confirmed cases in our area. The cause is a parasite called Cyclospora usually found on fruits or vegetables from tropical regions. Florida Department of Health officials say they have not found common links to restaurants or food ingredients that may have caused the outbreak. The illness is easily treatable. But it can be deadly if untreated. It always makes me nervous when our foods are contaminated and can make you sick... It can be very serious, especially whose immune system is compromised, older and younger folks can be very affected by it.. The symptoms an upset stomach, weight loss nausea. Doctors say the best way to prevent it is to make sure you are thoroughly washing your food.

http://www.weartv.com/news/features/...es-34389.shtml

Georgia Part of Nationwide Cyclosporiasis Outbreak, Tips to Avoid It

Written by Amanda Castro on Friday, August 02, 2013 05:08 PM. Posted in Local

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) - Four people in the Peach State are showing signs of a nasty parasite infection that could be linked to a nationwide outbreak. Health officials say there are simple ways that you can keep your food safe and avoid it.

Cyclosporiasis—that is a big name for this tiny parasite and it is popping up all over the country.

"We are seeing an increase in cases from the normal average," Amber Erickson, the North Central Health District Epidemiologist, said.

According to the latest numbers from the CDC, 400 people in 16 states have contracted the disease and two states linked it to bagged lettuce. Erickson says there are no cases here in Middle Georgia, but there are four confirmed cases in the Peach State.

"On average in a year we get about 10 cases [in Georgia] and so right now we don't know if these cases are involved in the outbreak."

It's caused by eating or drinking something that is contaminated by the parasite.
"Stool gets into the vegetables and then you don't wash the vegetables very well and then you eat the vegetables that are contaminated with stool," Dr. Rodrigo Hasbun with the University of Texas Health Medical School said.

Symptoms include diarrhea, loss of appetite, nausea, and fatigue.

"It causes watery diarrhea that can cause dehydration and other problems that come with that that can lead to hospitalization," Erickson said.

The best way to avoid this nasty bug is to wash your hands properly—that is 20 seconds in warm water with soap. Also wash your fruits and vegetables, even if they are pre-packaged.

"Don't trust them. You don't know in that prepackaged lettuce may be five different types of lettuce all washed at different times and then prepackaged, so its always best to wash everything," Erickson said.

Health investigators aren't sure the nationwide cases are part of the same outbreak, but Erickson urges everyone to take precautionary measures with your health and food.

To be clear, there are no cases of cyclosporiasis here in Middle Georgia. Erickson says you don't have to stop eating lettuce, just make sure you clean it.
The last time there was a clyclospora outbreak was back in 2000 and it was linked to berries.

http://www.41nbc.com/news/local-news...ps-to-avoid-it

Stomach bug in 2 states linked to Mexican farm

MARY CLARE JALONICK 15 hours ago

HealthPublic Health Olive Garden Red Lobster Nebraska Food and Drug Administration Darden Restaurants

WASHINGTON (AP) — An outbreak of stomach illnesses in Iowa and Nebraska has been linked to salad mix served at local Olive Garden and Red Lobster restaurants and supplied by a Mexican farm.

The outbreak of cyclospora infections has sickened more than 400 people in 16 states. The Food and Drug Administration says it is still working to determine whether the salad mix is the source of illnesses in the other 14 states.

"It is not yet clear whether the cases reported from other states are all part of the same outbreak," the agency said in a statement. "The investigation of increased cases of cyclosporiasis in other states continues."

Both Olive Garden and Red Lobster are owned by Orlando-based Darden Restaurants. In a statement, Darden spokesman Mike Bernstein said the FDA's announcement is "new information."

"Nothing we have seen prior to this announcement gave us any reason to be concerned about the products we've received from this supplier," Bernstein said.

The FDA said it traced illnesses from the restaurants in Nebraska and Iowa to Taylor Farms de Mexico, the Mexican branch of Salinas, Calif.-based Taylor Farms. The company, which provides produce to the food service industry, said its facility located about 180 miles north of Mexico City in San Miguel de Allende is the only one of its 12 sites to be connected to the cases.

In an email, the chairman and CEO of Taylor Farms, Bruce Taylor, said the Mexican plant produced 48 million servings of salads for thousands of restaurants in the Midwest and eastern U.S. in June, the month the outbreak started. He said the facility has an extensive water testing program.

"All our tests have been negative and we have no evidence of cyclospora in our product," Taylor said. "We are working closely with the FDA to continue this investigation."

View gallery."

Graphic identifies the states where cases of cyclospora infection have been reported to the CDC; 1c …

Taylor said Taylor Farms de Mexico does not supply Olive Garden and Red Lobster restaurants in Texas, the state with the second most illnesses in the outbreak.

According to CDC, 113 of the illnesses reported so far were in Texas. Iowa has had 146 illnesses and Nebraska 81.

In an additional statement on the company's website, Taylor Farms says the Mexican facility is "state of the art and has an exceptional food safety record." The statement said the product is out of the food supply.

The FDA said it had audited the Mexican processing facility in 2011 and found "no notable issues," according to the agency. The agency said it would increase surveillance efforts for green leafy products imported from Mexico.

The most recent known illness in the two states linked to the infected salad was in Nebraska a month ago. The typical shelf life for a salad mix is up to 14 days.

There have been more recent illnesses in other states. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the most recent illness was July 23 but centers did not specify a location.

The agency said its investigation has not implicated any packaged salad sold in grocery stores.

http://news.yahoo.com/stomach-bug-2-...083436090.html