Well, it’s been an interesting year in food safety. Some good things have happened and some not so good things. This little post will highlight some of the bigger stories that took place in 2011.

One of the biggest stories is that of the raw milk industry. It seems that recently you can’t find a food safety website or blog without finding an article about raw milk. The raw milk advocates testify about the health benefits of drinking raw milk, and on the other side, the food safety experts all say that raw milk is dangerous. We here at StateFoodSafety.com definitely side with the safe food experts in saying that raw milk has the possibility of being a very dangerous product. All dairy products should undergo pasteurization to be safe for human consumption. Although, if you’re interested in some raw milk preaching all you have to do is google “raw milk” and you’ll find many people declaring that they have seen the light of raw milk. As for myself, when I read that one of the first things that will happen when you drink your first cup of raw milk is diarrhea, I have to stop because that doesn’t sound like miracle food to me. It sounds like a foodborne illness.

Listeria was in the headlines an awful lot this year. 2011 saw the deadliest outbreak of Listeria in decades. Not only were there outbreaks in several different countries but in several unexpected food sources as well. Cantaloupes from Jensen Farms in Colorado were found responsible for one particularly deadly outbreak. When all was said and done the CDC investigation found 146 persons infected in 28 states–and 30 deaths! Our hearts go out to those families that suffered through this tragedy. We hope to never see another one like this.

In California, steps were taken to avoid more foodborne illness outbreaks. SB 303 passed the Senate and House and Governor Brown signed the law into effect on September 6, 2011. The bill, which amended Senate Bill 602, mandates that food handler training programs be accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).

You can find more about the law by following this link: http://www.statefoodsafety.com/company/pages/articles/article-11

StateFoodSafety became the first online food handler training provider to receive the ASTM e2659 accreditation in California.

So in review, raw milk, listeria, and new food handler legislation; hopefully 2012 will bring more advances in foodborne illness prevention and fewer outbreaks. If we all do our part, even simple activities like handwashing can make everyone’s food safer. Happy New Year from StateFoodSafety.com!

–Tim Snarr

For more information about outbreaks and food safety in 2011, visit FoodSafetyNews.com.

‘Tis the season to be jolly, but being jolly is not so easy when dealing with symptoms like diarrhea, abdominal cramps, nausea, and vomiting. People often mistake symptoms like these for “the stomach flu” because they don’t associate these types of symptoms with food eaten 2-3 days prior to getting sick. StateFoodSafety.com’s food safety students know, however, that there is no such thing as the stomach flu. In fact, the most likely culprit of gastrointestinal distress is foodborne illness (or “food poisoning,” if you want it to seem more exciting). Because they are often mistaken for our imagined foe, the stomach flu, very few cases of foodborne illnesses are ever reported. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that “each year roughly 1 in 6 Americans (or 48 million people) get sick, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die of foodborne diseases.”

You would think that with all of the medical advances in the world today that foodborne illnesses wouldn’t be such a problem, but despite the attention that has been placed on food safety in recent years, Americans continue to suffer. The National Environmental Health Association states that “although significant advancements have been made over the last 20 years to educate food service workers about safe food handling practices, there has been no change since 1984 in the top 3 causes of foodborne illness: … poor personal hygiene, improper holding temperatures, [and] improper cooling procedures.”

Facts like these illustrate the necessity of learning proper food safety practices. Whether you work in the restaurant industry or cook for your family, an awareness of food safety can keep customers and family members far from the exasperations caused by foodborne illness. The National Restaurant Association predicts an increase in restaurant dining with each coming year. Because most cases of foodborne illnesses come from restaurants, food safety education is a top priority. Although making food at home is typically safer when considering food safety, it is equally important to be well-educated in food safety practices when cooking food for yourself and those you love. This is especially true for households with small children, elderly family members, pregnant women, and patients with compromised immune systems.

Foodborne illnesses, although seemingly rampant, are simple to avoid if you know the causes: poor personal hygiene, lack of cleanliness in the cooking area, improper preparation of foods, and receiving food from an unsafe source. Thwarting these sources is vital. To do so, the CDC has provided these helpful tips:

1. Clean: wash hands, cooking tools (cutting boards, knives, and utensils), fruits and vegetables before preparing food.
2. Separate: Avoid cross-contamination by keeping raw meat and poultry far from other foods.
3. Cook: When cooking meat, poultry and eggs, do so thoroughly. Ground meat should reach an internal temperature of at least 160 degrees, and eggs should be cooked until the yolk is firm.
4. Chill: Separate leftovers into shallow containers and refrigerate promptly.
5. Report: Reporting foodborne illness to your local health department is an important way to keep you and the people in your community safe from additional foodborne illnesses, especially if a restaurant is suspected of improperly handling food.

By knowing and understanding the causes of foodborne illness and following these tips for prevention, you can practice safe food handling skills and get back to being jolly!

–Aubrey Pontious

Prior to this week I didn’t believe there could be a nationally-recognized day or week that needed more attention than the mid-August wonder that is Sneak Some Zucchini On To Your Neighbor’s Porch Night.  I have never been more wrong—ever.  This week, December 4-10, is National Handwashing Awareness Week 2011 and Global Handwashing Day is December 15.  Nothing has helped stay the advancement of disease and infection more than handwashing.  This is a week that needs to be brought to the forefront of all holidays (that means you, Arbor Day).

The number one thing we can do to prevent the spread of disease is regular, thorough handwashing.  As a teacher of junior high and high school-aged kids, I come in contact with just about every bug out there.  When the kids touch their desks, my desk, their papers, the door knobs, the blackboard, and everything else they seem to put their hands on, I find myself unable to avoid their germs.  Couple that with what my own young children bring home and everything they and their friends share; it’s a wonder I’m not permanently sick.  Our bodies are amazing at keeping infections and diseases at bay, but sometimes they need our help.  National Handwashing Week and StateFoodSafety.com want to give our bodies a hand (pun intended) when it comes to staying healthy.

Handwashing is simple and easy. There are only  a few steps:

1. Wet hands with warm water.
2. Apply soap.
3. Rub hands for 15-20 seconds. Remember to get under the fingernails and the backs of hands and wrists. For food handlers (and brain surgeons), washing the forearms is advisable.
4. Rinse.
5. Use a single-use paper towel or air dryer to dry.

That’s it! Nothing fancy. No fines to pay, no hoops to jump through; just easy common-sense practices. Now when should we wash our hands? The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) suggests the following:

• Before, during, and after preparing food
• Before eating food
• Before and after caring for someone who is sick
• Before and after treating a cut or wound
• After using the toilet
• After changing diapers or cleaning up a child who has used the toilet
• After blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing
• After touching an animal or animal waste
• After touching garbage

This single, simple, and easy practice is the number one prevention tool against disease. Happy National Handwashing Week! Go out there and hug someone you love . . . then wash your hands.

-Tim Snarr

Caroling with plates of goodies is a favorite tradition of many Americans during this holiday season. Benevolent folks load decorative plates with all kinds of delights to deliver to neighbors. It is a time when good-will brims as holiday treats are passed around.

Speaking of passing things around, you may not know that about one in fifteen Americans, per year, is infected by norovirus (you may have heard it called “the stomach flu.”).The FDA reports that the contraction of norovirus, as well as other highly contagious foodborne illnesses,  happens in a very short period of time and the chances of getting it increase when exposed to crowds common during holidays (think performances, school class parties, rest home visits, dinners, recitals, and vacations). Symptoms of norovirus infection include stomach cramps, vomiting, diarrhea, and some less distressful nuisances.

The weakened immune system of someone visited in a retirement center or elementary school may not be able to successfully fight off a foodborne illness like norovirus. So it pays to prepare holiday food with just as much care as a professional restaurant worker. Wash hands thoroughly with hot water and soap before and after touching food or utensils. Pay attention to cooking temperatures and transport both hot and cold items with extra care to avoid bringing food into the Temperature Danger Zone (41°-135° F) for too long.

Although the FDA has approved hand sanitizer to clean off hand germs in hospitals, substances that touch hands during cooking (water and some foods) interfere with the effectiveness of alcohol-based sanitizers. Using hot water and soap are required to wash hands appropriately, and gloves never replace frequent and thorough hand washing!

Washing hands before delivering treats both sweet and savory, ensures that sniffles, coughs, and bugs will not be as common as holiday carols, handshakes, and hugs.

-Julia Simmons, Home Economist, M.Ed.

Learn More: CDC.gov, FDA.gov

Photo Source

A lone solitary figure lay prostrate on the cold floor. Adrenaline was coursing through his veins as he forced himself to breathe deep, in attempts to quiet the shakes and regain a semblance of control. Sanity had just retaken control; however, only moments before death seemed a suitable alternative.

How he came to this predicament is still unknown, although all symptoms point to a flawlessly orchestrated operation put in motion hours before. What is unfortunately true, and incredibly disgusting, is that the assailant, Norovirus, was likely transferred through feces being ingested in the mouth . . . my mouth. The vehicle? Food.

My office door today, at StateFoodSafety.com, has a sign saying “Here lies one of our own, fallen from foodborne illness.” (It doesn’t. See above.) The reality is I shook someone’s hand, touched a doorknob, changed a diaper, touched a keyboard or a host of any other things infected by Norovirus, and didn’t wash my hands either well enough, or often enough.

So, unless you want to spend the Holiday season slumped against a cold toilet, confident your eyes will explode with every projectile vomit or the dreaded dry heaves, please take note of the following:

• Norovirus is the number one foodborne illness in the United States, occurring more than 20 million times a year.
• The “24-hour flu” or “stomach flu” is actually most likely Norovirus.
• Norovirus is highly contagious and causes acute gastroenteritis, or inflammation of the stomach and intestines.
• The most common symptoms are diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach pain.  Vomiting and diarrhea can occur many times a day (this has been personally verified).
• Anyone can get Norovirus.
• Most people get better within 1 to 2 days (thankfully, this has also been personally verified).
• Because of vomiting and diarrhea, dehydration is a common secondary illness, making it important to constantly drink small sips of electrolyte enhanced water like Gatorade.
• Norovirus is spread through contact with a contaminated surface, and then touching the mouth, or by having direct contact with an infected person, such as sharing food.

So, this Thanksgiving and Holiday season, unless you want to watch other people eat delicious Turkey legs, while you cringe and run to the john, please adhere to these tips to prevent the spread of Norovirus.

• Wash your hands.  Wash them often.  Use soap and water, especially after using the restroom or changing diapers, and always before preparing and eating food.
• Alcohol based hand sanitizers are helpful as supplements to soap and water, but are not a replacement.
• Carefully wash fruits and vegetables.
• Disinfect kitchen surfaces often using a bleach-based household cleaner or making your own solution by adding ¼ cup of bleach to 2 ¼ cups of water.  Just pour the solution into a spray bottle and disinfect surfaces.

–Bryan Chapman

This story is true. If you would like more information, jump to our facts source: CDC.gov

The best way to protect yourself from “what’s going around” this flu season is to wash your hands.  December 5-11, 2010 is National Handwashing Awareness Week, where Henry the Hand will remind you of the four principles of handwashing:

1. Wash your hands when they are dirty and before eating.
2. Do not cough into your hands.
3. Do not sneeze into your hands.
4. Above all, do not put your fingers in your eyes, nose, or mouth.

Yes, that means you.

The CDC, FDA, and (of course) StateFoodSafety.com™ offer resources to help you remember the five basic steps to handwashing:

1. Wet your hands with clean running water and apply soap. Use warm water if it is available.
2. Rub hands together to make a lather and scrub all surfaces.
3. Continue rubbing hands for 20 seconds. Need a timer? Hum the “Happy Birthday” song from beginning to end twice.  We also recommend humming the “Alphabet Song” from A to Z.
4. Rinse hands well under running water.
5. Dry your hands using a paper towel or air dryer. If possible, use your paper towel to turn off the faucet.

For an instructional video on handwashing, please visit the Demo section of our new website!

Image Credits:  Henry the Hand

The U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) has successfully identified the culprit in a recent multi-state outbreak of typhoid fever:  sapote fruit.  Called “mamey” fruit in the U.S., the grapefruit-size Sapote is grown commonly in Mexico and has a sweet, juicy pulp commonly used in ice creams and milkshakes.  The CDC became involved when local health departments in California and Nevada began reporting consumers infected with typhoid fever.  About 400 Americans become ill with typhoid fever annually, most while traveling in South America.  This scenario was strange because the infected persons had not been outside the United States when they contracted the disease.

CDC officials report that frozen sapote fruit pulp, used in milkshakes consumed by every person involved in the outbreak, was infected with Salmonella Typhi–more commonly known as typhoid fever.  The distributor, Goya Foods, Inc., has recalled its 14oz bags of Sapote (mamey) Fruit Pulp which were distributed in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Texas, Utah, and Washington.   Unfortunately (and curiously) additional information is not available on the distributor’s website.

The Washington Post published an interesting article this morning, spotlighting the recent E. coli outbreak associated with pre-cut, bagged lettuce that infected 23 people in four states during March and April of this year.  The lettuce was not purchased by consumers, but rather by several food service companies and supermarkets as part of their salad bars and prepared meals.  In fact, the majority of infected people were students at colleges in Michigan, Ohio, and New York who consumed the lettuce at their college dining halls.  This issue brings up an interesting question, however:  Are pre-cut, bagged vegetables more dangerous than whole vegetables?

First, how could E. coli, which is generally associated with animal feces, infect vegetables?  According to Caroline Smith De Wall, the food safety director at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, “The process of harvesting lettuce, chopping it or tearing, washing and putting it in a bag is a process similar to mixing ground beef.”  As any food handler should know, ground beef is potentially more hazardous than whole beef because bacteria on the outside of the meat is mixed into the center during the grinding process.  The same is true for lettuce, and other leafy greens which are grown in fertilized soil.  Fertilizer is largely composed of animal feces, and therefore is full of E. coli and other contaminants.  So when vegetables are processed for packaging, greens from multiple farmers’ fields (both contaminated and uncontaminated) may be tossed in and cut together–infecting all the produce.

Still, there are strong arguments on both sides of this debate.  Those who believe bagged vegetables are more dangerous argue that chlorine spray used to clean the produce before it is packaged does not kill enough of the bacteria.  Whereas when consumers purchase whole vegetables, they will commonly remove the outer leaves, thus physically removing the majority of potentially infectious bacteria.

James Gorny, senior advisor for produce safety at the FDA disagrees with the idea the bagged produce is more dangerous.  He stated that “bagged greens represent a disproportionate number of recalls, chiefly because they’re easier to identify than whole produce.  When you buy a head of lettuce, you have no idea what the brand name is, or who the grower is–so tracing it back is that much harder.”  Essentially he is stating that because the source of contaminated bagged vegetables is so much clearer than for whole vegetables, complaints about foodborne illness for those products is much higher.  In addition, it is much easier for health department officials to trace the source of the infection for packaged produce, and so it often appears as though pre-cut vegetables are more dangerous, even though they may not be.

Unfortunately there is no clear statistic proving that either whole or pre-cut vegetables are more dangerous.  In order to keep your patrons, family, and employees safe at the salad bar–wash your veggies.  Even if the bag states “pre-washed” it is always a good idea to rinse your leafy greens and vegetables that will be served as ready-to-eat items.  There are also several vegetable washes on the market that may be advisable for households with at-risk individuals.  For additional guidance, contact your health department.

This week marks the first anniversary of the identification of the H1N1 virus,or Swine Flu, that first became an epidemic across the United States before quickly  spreading into a full-blown global outbreak.  The most recent studies state that  14,286 people around the world lost their lives to H1N1 during 2009-2010.  Although the premature deaths of so many people is incredibly tragic, the United States government has been able to take advantage of our actions over the last year in order to assess our current ability to combat threats–both biological and man-made.

According to a press release from the USDHH Preparedness and Response, our goal is to supplement our vaccination technology in order to research, develop, and distribute more quickly and efficiently.  This will allow the USDHH to supply life-saving vaccines to sick populations more quickly and effectively.  As expressed by Sec. Kathleen Sebelius, a crucial element in this will be identifying how our response teams would respond to both known threats and unknown threats that may arise.

In responding to H1N1, as many of you are surely aware, vaccines where in short supply.  Worse yet, some vaccines did little or nothing to combat the ever-changing virus.  It is good to know that USDHH is aware of the mistakes that were made and can view this scenario as a learning opportunity so that if, heaven forbid, there is a “next time” we’ll be ready.

Check out the entire press release at flu.gov.

Salmonella

When talking about food safety, salmonella is a disease that gets brought up frequently.  This year, salmonella has prompted hundreds of food recalls from items as diverse as salami, tortilla chips, and salad dressing.  During the past few years, health officials have identified the bacteria in eggs, peanuts, black pepper, spinach, meat products and the list goes on and on.  Salmonella contamination becomes an even greater issue when contaminated food items are sent to multiple locations as ingredients as other products.  It becomes extremely difficult to trace where the infection began, and how far it spread.  This year alone, salmonella-contaminated black pepper was distributed as an ingredient in Italian-style deli meats, which then infected 252 people in 44 different states!  The same contaminated black pepper has also sparked countless spice, snack, and condiment recalls since January 2010.

Of the 2,000 strains of salmonella, only about a dozen can infect humans.  Still, the number of persons infected annually remains high from year to year.  The CDC estimates that there are a 1.4 million cases of salmonella infection each year in the United States, with only about 3% officially reported.  These numbers make is clear that it is impossible to overstate how crucial it is that food handlers become aware of this disease and how to protect consumers from it.

A few things to know about Salmonella:

• Salmonella can be transmitted from animals to humans (see Kissing Frogs) and from food to humans.
• Persons at greater risk for serious infection include infants, small children, chronically ill persons with weak immune systems, and the elderly.
• Salmonella can survive for weeks outside a living body.
• Salmonella is not destroyed by freezing.
• An infectious dose of salmonella can be as small as 15-20 cells (bacteria).
• Incubation period–the time it takes to get sick once a patient has contracted the disease–is anywhere from six to 72 hours.
• Common symptoms of salmonella infection include exhaustion, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea (which can be bloody in serious cases!).

What can you do to prevent salmonella infection in the workplace?  One of the first things each food service employee must do to prevent infection of any kind is wash their hands.  For salmonella-specific prevention, the Mayo Clinic recommends the following practices:

1. Cook poultry, ground beef, and eggs thoroughly before eating (or serving).   Poultry specifically must reach 160º F throughout before it can be served.
2. Eggs must be cooked until they have a hard yoke.  Pasteurized eggs may also be used.  If consumers insist on soft yokes, they must be made aware of the risk of salmonella infection.
3. Never consume or serve raw milk.  Milk must be pasteurized to be used in a consumer setting.
4. Wash and sterilize hands, utensils, and surfaces immediately after they have come in contact with foods of animal origin.
5. Be extremely cautious when preparing food for babies, children, sick persons, or the elderly as they are at a greater risk of infection.

If you have additional questions about salmonella and how to prevent it, please contact your local health department.

Sources:  Mayo Clinic, Wikipedia