Thread: Another food contamination outbreak to watch

I don't know enough to say how this happened, but haven't we been having a lot of contaminated food stories lately?

http://www.denverpost.com/ci_4958157

Denver company recalls sausage
By Steve Raabe
Denver Post Staff Writer
Article Last Updated: 01/05/2007 04:47:39 PM MST


Denver-based Gold Star Sausage Co. is voluntarily recalling 15,514 pounds of potentially contaminated sausage products, the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service said Friday.

The products may be contaminated with bacteria that can cause listeriosis, an uncommon but potentially fatal disease.

Recalled products include one-pound packages of Maverick Ranch beef franks with "sell by" dates of 2/14/07, 2/21/07 or 2/28/07; one-pound packages of Maverick Ranch buffalo franks with dates of 12/27/06, 1/3/07, 1/10/07, 2/14/07, 2/21/07 or 2/28/07; and five-pound packages of beef franks with product code MF55-0606-15 packaged on 12/09/06.

The products were distributed to retailers and institutions in 18 states including Colorado. The government said it has received no reports of illnesses.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Listeriosis

L monocytogenes is ubiquitous in the environment. The main route of acquisition of Listeria is through the ingestion of contaminated food products. Listeria has been isolated from raw meat, dairy products, vegetables, and seafood. Soft cheeses and unpasteurized milk are potential dangers, however post-pasteurization outbreaks of infection from dairy have been from pasteurized milk.[1]

There are four distinct clinical syndromes:

Infection in pregnancy: Listeria can proliferate asymptomatically in the vagina and uterus. If the mother becomes symptomatic, it is usually in the third trimester. Symptoms include fever, myalgias, arthralgias and headache. Abortion, stillbirth and preterm labor are complications of GU infection.
Neonatal infection (granulomatosis infantisepticum): There are two forms. One, an early-onset sepsis, with Listeria acquired in utero, results in premature birth. Listeria can be isolated in the placenta, blood, meconium, nose, ears, and throat. Another, late-onset meningitis is acquired through vaginal transmission, although it also has been reported with cesarean deliveries.
CNS infection: Listeria has a predilection for the brain parenchyma, especially the brain stem, and the meninges. Mental status changes are common. Seizures occur in at least 25% of patients. Cranial nerve palsies, encephalitis, meningitis, meningoencephalitis and abscesses can all occur.
Gastroenteritis: L monocytogenes can produce food-borne diarrheal disease, which typically is noninvasive. The median incubation period is 1-2 days, with diarrhea lasting anywhere from 1-3 days. Patients present with fever, myalgias, muscle aches, gastrointestinal nausea or diarrhea, headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, or convulsions.

Diagnosis and treatment
L monocytogenes can often be cultured from the blood, and always cultured from the CSF. There are no reliable serological or stool tests.

Bacteremia should be treated for 2 weeks, meningitis for 3 weeks, and brain abscess for at least 6 weeks. Ampicillin generally is considered antibiotic of choice; gentamicin is added frequently for its synergistic effects. Overall mortality rate is 20-30%; of all pregnancy-related cases, 22% resulted in fetal loss or neonatal death, but mothers usually survive.[citation needed]

Prevention
Cook all raw food thoroughly. Wash raw vegetables.

I don't know if it's just me or not......but I never remembered this many cases back to back to back of food contamination before. Makes you afraid to eat.

My open-pollinated, heirloom vegetable seeds have arrived.

I agree with you Crazy Bird as I have never heard of so many food recalls for illness causing microorganisms. This is down right frightening. If I didn't live in a condo I would consider growing some of my own fruits and vegetables as I did in Canada. Now what is really frighteneing is that in an issue of Women's Health Magazine I found an article that commented on the spinach and salad recalls saying that processors of vegetables are considering irradiating our food to kill illness causing germs. It would be much more cost efficient if they just got rid of illegals who pick it.

Now that we suspect the case of these type of cases I'm sure we will notice more and more of them.

Originally Posted by BetsyRoss

My open-pollinated, heirloom vegetable seeds have arrived.

I'm with you on that. I have my own and have learned how to harvest the seeds from a varity of veggies including lettus.