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News Headlines: 07 - 13 August 2010

Nationwide egg recall over Salmonella fears; Agency warning over scombrotoxic fish poisoning; CDC releases foodborne disease surveillance report; Cloned animal investigation - update; China investigates reports of contaminated milk powder; E. coli cases spark major beef recall

Nationwide egg recall over Salmonella fears

Wright County Egg of Galt, Iowa is voluntarily recalling certain shell eggs in the USA because of possible contamination with Salmonella. Shell eggs have been linked to recent cases of illness caused by Salmonella Enteritidis and an investigation is ongoing.

The recalled eggs were sold under 13 different brand names and in various carton sizes. They are labelled with Julian dates from 136 to 225 and with plant numbers 1026, 1413 and 1946. The eggs were distributed to wholesalers and distributors in eight states and then nationwide.

Wright County Egg also says it is sending current stocks of shell eggs to a breaker for pasteurisation to destroy any Salmonella present.

http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm222501.htm

Agency warning over scombrotoxic fish poisoning

A number of incidents of scombrotoxic fish poisoning during the summer has prompted the UK Food Standards Agency to issue advice to caterers and consumers on how to store fish safely.

The Agency says that four incidents were reported to the health protection Agency during July, with 10 people becoming ill. All these outbreaks were associated with catering premises and were probably the result of poor food handling practice or inadequate refrigeration. Tuna was the fish involved in three of the incident, with the fourth being associated with mackerel.

The Agency is advising consumers and caterers to ensure that fish is frozen or refrigerated in covered containers as soon as possible. Fridges should be set at a temperature of 5oC or below and freezers at --18oC or below. Care should also be taken when thawing frozen fish and hands should be washed before and after handling fish. The same advice applies to canned fish such as tuna after opening.

http://www.food.gov.uk/news/newsarchive/2010/aug/sfp

http://www.hpa.org.uk/hpr/news/default.htm#scmbr

CDC releases foodborne disease surveillance report

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has published a report, Surveillance for Foodborne Disease Outbreaks - United States 2007, showing that almost 1100 foodborne disease outbreaks were reported in the USA in over the year.

The cause of over half the outbreaks could not be identified, but the commonest causes of the remaining 45% of outbreaks were norovirus (39%) and Salmonella (27%). A single food commodity was identified in 235 outbreaks, with poultry, beef and leafy vegetables being the foods most often implicated.

The full report has been published in the CDC journal Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, which is available on-line via the link below.

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr

Cloned animal investigation - update

The UK Food Standards Agency has released further details about its investigation into reports that meat and milk from the offspring of a cloned cow have entered the human food chain without authorisation.

The investigation has found no evidence that any milk from the animals concerned has been sold to consumers or entered the food chain. However, it has found that meat from three animals derived from embryos from a cloned cow in the USA has entered the food chain without authorisation.

Some of the meat from one of these animals was exported to Belgium, prompting the Agency to inform the Belgian authorities and issued an alert through the EU RASFF system. However, the Belgian Food Safety Agency (AFSCA) has asked for the alert to be removed from the system, as it does not consider the incident to be a food safety issue.

http://www.food.gov.uk/news/newsarchive/2010/aug/summarycloninginvestigations

http://www.afsca.be/consommateurs/default.asp

China investigates reports of contaminated milk powder

According to the Reuters news agency, officials from the Chinese Ministry of Health are investigating reports that milk powder contaminated with hormone residue may have caused premature breast development in three infant girls from southern Hubei province.

The Reuters report states that the Chinese media have linked the incident to an infant formula manufacturer in China, but the company has denied the claims. Health officials are arranging for tests to be carried out on samples of formula and for the affected girls to be medically examined to determine the cause of their condition.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTOE67904H

E. coli cases spark major beef recall

The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has announced that Valley Meat Company, of Modesto California, is recalling approximately one million pounds of frozen ground beef patties and bulk ground beef product that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7.

Public health officials in California are investigating a possible link between the recalled beef and a cluster of seven cases of illness caused by a rare strain of E. coli O157:H7.

Approximately 60 different products are included in the recall, each marked with the establishment number "EST. 8268" and production codes from 27509 to 01210. The products were produced between October 2009 and January 2010 and distributed to retail outlets and foodservice providers in four US states and internationally. FSIS is urging consumers to check freezers and discard any of the recalled packs they find.

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/Recall_048_2010_Release/index.asp

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