Along with heat and humidity, summer brings with it the risk of severe weather. Heat waves in the east, hurricanes in the south, flooding in the Midwest and violent storms elsewhere means that there is a chance that many will be without power. So, what does the mean for all the food in your refrigerator and freezer? Will it be safe to eat after a power outage?

Whenever food is stored above 40 degrees Fahrenheit, it can become a breeding ground for dangerous bacteria such as E. coli, Salmonella, listeria, clostridium perfringens and other dangerous foodborne pathogens. In the event of a natural disaster, like a flood or hurricane, keeping food safe and stored at the proper temperatures becomes a challenge. Here are some types for keeping your family safe during a weather emergency and power outages.

• Keep thermometers in your refrigerator, freezer or cooler and make sure that the temperature doesn’t surpass 40 degrees. If it does, the food may no longer be safe to eat.
• Frozen foods can be re-frozen if they stay below 40 degrees and have visible ice crystals
• Use ice, frozen gel packs or frozen containers to help keep the temperature down in your refrigerator, freezer and/or cooler
• If possible, plan ahead and buy dry ice or block ice
• Group food together in the freezer to help it stay cold longer
• Keep your refrigerator, freezer and cooler closed as much as possible; this will help to keep them colder. According to the FSIS, an unopened refrigerator will keep food at a safe temperature for 4 hours. An unopened, full freezer will store foods safely for 48 hours, 24 hours is the rule of thumb if the freezer is only half full.

Never rely on a “taste” or “smell” test to determine if foods are safe to eat. The human nose cannot detect the presence of dangerous pathogens like E. coli or Salmonella which can cause serious, life-threatening foodborne illnesses. Stick with the principle “When in Doubt, Throw it Out!”

Here in Louisiana and other Gulf states, there is always a risk of a hurricane and flood.  Even though Tropical Storm Bonnie mostly fizzled out before she hit the coast, her impact on the weather still caused some flooding in the Baton Rouge area. If you or a loved one is at risk for, or has experienced flooding, here are some food safety tips:

• Store food on high shelves that will be safe from flooding.
• Do not eat food that has been exposed to flood waters, as it may have picked up dangerous pathogens that can cause food poisoning.
• Throw away food that was not stored in a waterproof container.
• Inspect canned items and look for swelling, leakage, punctures, holes, fractures, rusting or other deformations. Discard home canned foods, as their containers are not waterproof. Factory canned items and pouches should be washed in soap and warm water and the labels, which could harbor dangerous bacteria, should be discarded. Remember to re-label the items using expiration dates.
• Thoroughly wash and sanitize all cooking utensils and countertops.
• Use and drink bottled water that hasn’t been exposed to flood waters.
• If you don’t have bottled water, boiling water can kill most waterborne illness. If the water is cloudy, filter it or wait for it to settle before drawing off the clear water for boiling.
• If you have a well, make sure it is tested before using it again. Wells can harbor dangerous pathogens like E. coli 0157:H7, which it know to cause hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a dangerous secondary condition that can be caused by infection with E. coli. Hemolytic uremic syndrome affects the red blood cells and can cause kidney failure and death. Children, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems are most at risk of E. coli infection and hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS).

The burden of safety always rests with food manufacturers. It is their job to keep our food supply safe and free of dangerous pathogens like E. coli, Salmonella and listeria. However, weather emergencies, power outages and floods can pose unusual and serious risk of food poisoning. Severe weather can strike quickly and without warning. That’s why the  Office of Homeland Security urges you to “Get A Gameplan” to prepare for the threats that come along with dangerous summer weather.

Hospitalizations for three common waterborne diseases cost the health care system as much as $539 million annually, according to research presented today at the International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases.

“These cost data highlight that water-related diseases pose not only a physical burden to the thousands of people sickened by them each year, but also a substantial burden in health care costs, including direct government payments through Medicare and Medicaid,” says Michael Beach of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an author of the study.

Currently, there are no well-documented data on the total health care costs associated with all waterborne diseases. However, using data from a large insurance claims database between 2004 and 2007, Beach and his colleagues estimated the hospitalization cost of three common waterborne diseases in the United States: Legionnaires’ disease, cryptosporidiosis and giardiasis. For each case of disease, they calculated the cost paid by the insurer, the out-of-pocket cost to the patient, and the total amount paid.

Total estimated costs for hospitalization for the three diseases was $154-539 million, including $44-147 million in direct government payments for Medicare and Medicaid. Estimated annual costs for the individual diseases were: giardiasis, $16-63 million; cryptosporidiosis, $37-145 million; and Legionnaires’ disease, $101-321 million.

Inpatient hospitalization costs per case averaged more than $34,000 for Legionnaires’ disease, approximately $9,000 for giardiasis and more than $21,000 for cryptosporidiosis.

“When people think about these diseases, they usually think of a simple case of diarrhea, which is a nuisance but quickly goes away. However, these infections can cause severe illness that often result in hospital stays of more than a week, which can quickly drive up health care costs,” Beach says.

Other symptoms can include rashes, eye and ear infections and respiratory or neurological symptoms and can even be fatal.

Modest investments in preventing these diseases could lead to reduced disease and significant healthcare cost savings, Beach says. Some examples of possible, low-cost interventions include public education campaigns, appropriate maintenance of building water systems, and regular inspection of pools and other recreational water facilities.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) oversees a mandatory safety program for all fish and fishery products under the provisions of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, the Public Health Service Act, and related regulations. Adherence to these Acts and their supporting regulations helps ensure that the seafood U.S. consumers purchase is safe to eat. An important element in keeping seafood safe is making sure it is harvested from areas that do not present a chemical or biological hazard. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has the legislative authority to close and open federal waters for seafood harvesting while the states have authority to close and open waters under their jurisdiction.

In response to the oil spill, NOAA, FDA, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Gulf States are implementing a comprehensive, coordinated, multi-agency program to ensure that seafood from the Gulf of Mexico is safe to eat. This is important not only for consumers who need to know their food is safe to eat, but also for fishermen who need to be able to sell their products with confidence.

The first step in protecting the public from potentially contaminated seafood is to close fishing and shellfish harvesting areas in the Gulf that have been or are likely to be exposed to oil from the spill. In addition, NOAA and FDA are monitoring fish caught just outside of closed areas, and testing them for petroleum compounds by sensory and chemical analysis and dispersants by sensory analysis, to ensure that the closed areas are sufficiently large so as to prevent the harvest of contaminated fish. Ultimately, the oil will begin to dissipate and a trusted, science-based method must be used to determine when it is safe to eat the seafood from areas that were exposed to the oil. Once it is determined that the seafood from a given area is safe to eat, the waters can be re-opened to harvesting. Below is a description of the risks oil poses and the protocol that will be followed in determining when it is appropriate to re-open harvest waters that were closed due to the oil spill.

How oil can make seafood unfit for consumption:
There are two ways that oil can cause seafood to be unfit for consumption. The first is through the presence of certain levels of chemicals known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), some of which are carcinogenic. Oil is composed of many chemicals, but it is the carcinogenic PAHs which are of greatest concern because they can be harmful if consumed in sufficient amounts over a prolonged period of time. The second way seafood would be considered unfit for consumption is if it smells like petroleum product. This is known as the presence of “taint.” Under the law a product tainted with petroleum is considered “adulterated” and is not permitted to be sold as food. Petroleum “taint” in and of itself is not necessarily harmful and may be present even when PAHs are below harmful levels, however it should not be present at all.

How dispersants can make seafood unfit for consumption:
Based on current science, the dispersants used during the Deepwater Horizon response have a low potential to bioaccumulate in seafood and are low in human toxicity, therefore there is likely little public health risk associated with consuming seafood that has been exposed to them. Nonetheless, as a precaution, the U.S. government will continue to monitor the use of dispersants and test seafood that may have been exposed to them. It is possible for the dispersants to “taint” seafood with a chemical smell. Even though the dispersant “taint” may not be harmful, seafood possessing the chemical smell is considered adulterated and not permitted for sale.

Protocol for sampling, testing, and re-opening closed harvest waters:

1. Re-opening fishing waters that were closed, but which were never actually exposed to oil. Harvest area closures include buffer zones around the contaminated areas as a precaution to account for any uncertainty about the exact location of the oil from day to day. There are also areas which federal and state officials closed in anticipation that oil would enter, but it never did enter. If it can be confirmed (e.g., through water quality sampling, aerial surveillance, and/or satellite imagery) that a harvest area was never exposed to the oil, that area may be re-opened without first testing seafood samples.
2. Re-opening harvest waters that were exposed to oil. The first criterion to be met before harvest waters exposed to oil are re-opened is that the water be free of oil from the spill. Once the oil has dissipated, re-opening of harvest waters may be performed on a species by species basis; that is, areas may be open to the harvesting of certain types of seafood, like finfish, but not others. For a closed area to re-open for harvesting of a given species, samples of the species taken from the waters must successfully pass both a sensory examination and chemical analysis in an approved laboratory. Testing will be performed on finfish, shrimp, crabs, and mollusks (e.g. oysters/mussels).

   Criteria for sensory testing: A sample consists of the edible portion of the species of seafood being tested. A panel consisting of a minimum of 10 expert sensory assessors will evaluate each sample in both a raw and cooked state. In order for an area to be considered acceptable for re-opening from a sensory standpoint a minimum of seventy percent (70%) of the expert assessors must find NO detectable petroleum or dispersant odor or flavor from each sample. If any sample fails, the site from which it was collected remains closed.

   Criteria for chemical testing: If all tested samples of a given species from a collection site pass the sensory criteria, additional samples will undergo chemical analysis to determine if harmful levels of PAHs are present. If harmful levels of PAHs are found in the samples, the site from which the sample was collected fails and remains closed. If the levels of PAHs in the seafood samples do not pose a health concern the site will be considered eligible for re-opening.

   All contiguous sites must pass both sensory and chemical testing for an area to re-open.

By Magdalena Kendall, surveillance epidemiologist with the CDC

Last week, my colleagues and I presented our research on foodborne outbreaks linked to salsa and guacamole. Recently, the number of these reported outbreaks has increased. Between 1998 and 2008, nearly 1 of every 25 outbreaks associated with restaurants or delis may have been caused by contaminated salsa or guacamole.

We received a lot of questions about our research and what it means for people who love salsa and guacamole. (We love them, too!) Here are some answers for consumers.

Should I stop eating salsa and guacamole?

We’re not suggesting that you stop eating these foods or stop eating at restaurants. These are popular foods across the United States and are served in a variety of restaurants and at home. We just want to stress how important it is that these foods are prepared and stored safely.

What kinds of illnesses were associated with these outbreaks?

The most common infection was norovirus, followed by Salmonella, Shigella, E. coli, and other less common germs, which can all cause diarrhea.

Did your research show what contributed to these outbreaks?

Not in all cases, but there were some important clues. In 30 percent of the outbreaks, local investigators reported that the salsa or guacamole wasn’t stored or refrigerated properly. In another 20 percent, the investigators reported that food workers were the likely source of the contamination. In some cases, ingredients may have been contaminated before arriving in a kitchen.

Do you know which specific ingredients were contaminated?

We usually don’t know which ingredients were contaminated. But we do know that salsa and guacamole often contain diced raw produce, such as hot peppers, tomatoes, and cilantro. These ingredients have been implicated in past outbreaks.

Is there anything else about salsa or guacamole that makes it particularly likely to become contaminated?

Germs may grow to levels that can cause sickness if these foods are not prepared or stored safely in restaurants and homes. Also, salsa and guacamole are often made in large batches at restaurants, so even a small amount of contamination can affect many servings.

What about salsa that you buy at the store?

These outbreaks were not caused by commercially prepared (jarred) salsas that you would buy in a grocery store. Jarred salsas are usually heated to kill germs that may be present. Instead, most of the salsas we studied were freshly prepared.

Is homemade salsa or guacamole safe?

That depends on whether you follow these food safety rules:

• Before and after preparing food, wash your hands for 20 seconds with warm water and soap.
• Wash the ingredients thoroughly under running water. That includes ingredients that you plan to peel, such as avocados.
• Make sure that knives, cutting boards, containers, and other kitchen surfaces are clean.
• Keep the salsa or guacamole refrigerated until you serve it. Do not leave it out of the refrigerator for more than 2 hours. If the temperature is above 90 degrees, do not leave it out for more than 1 hour.

If you were eating out, what would you do to make sure these foods are safe?

If I were worried about the food safety practices in a restaurant, I would ask to see health department inspection results. I might also ask whether the restaurant has a manager who is certified in food safety. Some counties or states require this.

Perdue Farms, Inc., a Perry, Ga. establishment, is recalling approximately 91,872 pounds of frozen chicken nugget products that may contain foreign materials, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.

The products subject to recall include:

• 1-pound, 13-ounce bag of “GREAT VALUE Fully Cooked Chicken Nuggets.” Each bag bears the establishment number “P-33944” as well as a case code of “89008 A0160” on the backside of the packaging. There is also a “BEST IF USED BY” date of June 9, 2011.

Each case contains 8 bags and the frozen chicken nugget products were produced on June 9, 2010, and were shipped to a single retail store chain nationwide.

The company discovered small pieces of blue plastic after receiving consumer complaints. FSIS has not received any reports of injury at this time. Anyone concerned about an injury from consumption of this product should contact a physician.

FSIS routinely conducts recall effectiveness checks to verify recalling firms notify their customers of the recall and that steps are taken to make certain that the product is no longer available to consumers.

Feline’s Pride is expanding its July 1, 2010 voluntary recall of Feline’s Pride Raw food with ground bone for cats and kittens, Natural Chicken Formula, Net Wt. 2.5 lbs. (1.13 kg., 40 oz.) produced on 6/10/10 to include the product produced on 6/21/10, because it may be contaminated with Salmonella. People handling raw pet food can become infected with Salmonella, especially if they have not thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with the raw pet food or any surfaces exposed to the product.

When consumed by humans, Salmonella can cause an infection, salmonellosis. The symptoms of salmonellosis include nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, fever, and headache. Certain vulnerable populations, such as children, the elderly, and individuals with compromised immune systems, are particularly susceptible to acquiring salmonellosis from such pet food products and may experience more severe symptoms. 

Pets with Salmonella infections may be lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever, and vomiting. Some pets will have only decreased appetite, fever and abdominal pain. Infected but otherwise healthy pets can be carriers and infect other animals or humans. If your pet has consumed the recalled product and has these symptoms, please contact your veterinarian. 

The product is packaged in uncoded plastic containers and sold frozen to private consumers nationwide. Once thawed, the pet food has a shelf life of about 1 week. The firm manufactures the pet food by an as-ordered basis. This expansion of the recall affects those orders placed and shipped from June 21 through June 26, 2010 (produced on 6/21/10). 

The firm and FDA are investigating this matter to determine the source of this problem, and will take any additional steps necessary to protect the public health. 

To date, both the firm and the FDA have received no reports of Salmonella infection relating to this product. 

People who are experiencing the symptoms of Salmonella infection after having handled the pet food product should seek medical attention, and report their use of the product and illness to the nearest FDA office. 

People should thoroughly wash their hands after handling the pet food – especially those made from raw animal protein such as meat or fish — to help prevent infection. People may risk bacterial infection not only by handling pet foods, but by contact with pets or surfaces exposed to these foods, so it is important that they thoroughly wash their hands with hot water and soap. 

Since certain vulnerable populations, such as children, the elderly, and individuals with compromised immune systems, are particularly at risk from exposure they should avoid handling this product. 

D & M Smoked Fish, Inc. located in Queens, New York, is recalling Haifa brand vacuum packaged Schmaltz Herring with the lot number 168, because the product was found to be uneviscerated.

The lot being recalled is a product of Norway, individually vacuum-packed in clear plastic pouches with lot # 168 & Sell by date of 7/20/10 indicated on the label and distributed through food retailers in the NY area.

The Schmaltz Herring was sampled by a New York State Agriculture and Markets Food Inspector during a routine inspection. Analysis of the product by New York State Food Laboratory personnel confirmed that Schmaltz Herring was improperly eviscerated prior to processing.

The sale of uneviscerated fish is prohibited under New York State Agriculture and Markets regulations because of Clostridium botulinum spores are more likely to be concentrated in the viscera than any other portion of the fish. Uneviscerated fish has been linked to outbreaks of botulism poisoning.

Botulism is a serious and potentially fatal form of food poisoning, causes the following symptoms: general weakness, dizziness, double-vision and trouble with speaking or swallowing.

No illnesses have been reported to date in connection with this problem.

Neblett, Beard & Arsenault represents rice farmers in five states whose crops were contaminated by Bayer’s LibertyLink rice

Yesterday, another St. Louis jury found Bayer liable for crops that were contaminated by Bayer’s experimental, genetically modified rice. This time, it was an award for just over a half million dollars to Deshotels Farm Management, a Louisiana family farming operation.

So far, Bayer has lost 5 jury trials and has been found liable for over $52 million dollars in damages to farmers in several states. The company faces hundreds of additional lawsuits in federal and state courts, including a sixth case which is set to begin on July 19 in Arkansas state court, and a federal trial which is set for October in St. Louis. 
“Bayer threatened the farmers’ way of life by carelessly contaminating U.S. long-grain rice fields with its genetically engineered seed,” said Richard J. Arsenault, the attorney who acted as trial co-counsel for the Deshotels at the St. Louis trial.  Arsenault, serves on the Executive Committee of the multidistrict litigation against Bayer, and represents farmers in Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Missouri whose crops were contaminated by Bayer’s LibertyLink rice.

Bayer tested its genetically modified rice in the United States because it could not be tested in Europe. There were strict rules that needed to be complied with under U.S. laws, and the LibertyLink rice was not approved from human consumption.

Bayer did some of the testing of its experimental rice in Crowley, Louisiana, and it ended up contaminating the conventional U.S. rice supply.  The contamination was first discovered in the U.S. food supply chain in August of 2006 and prompted the European Union and other markets to restrict the import of U.S. rice.  Within days of the EU’s announcement, the decline in rice futures cost American rice farmers millions. 

“Many consumers hear ‘genetically modified’ and fear for the safety and wholesomeness of their food.  By negligently allowing genetically modified rice to contaminate the American rice supply, Bayer hurt our farmers economically and jeopardized their reputation,” concluded Arsenault.

06-md-1811, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri

Nearly 1 out of every 25 restaurant-associated foodborne outbreaks with identified food sources between 1998 and 2008 can be traced back to contaminated salsa or guacamole, more than double the rate during the previous decade, according to research released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention today at the International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases.

“Fresh salsa and guacamole, especially those served in retail food establishments, may be important vehicles of foodborne infection,” says Magdalena Kendall, an Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) researcher who collaborated on the CDC study. “Salsa and guacamole often contain diced raw produce including hot peppers, tomatoes and cilantro, each of which has been implicated in past outbreaks.”

To better assess the role of these popular foods in outbreaks, Kendall and her colleagues searched all foodborne outbreaks reported to the CDC for those with salsa, guacamole or pico de gallo as a confirmed or suspected food vehicle and analyzed trends in the proportion of all outbreaks with identified food sources.

CDC began conducting surveillance for foodborne disease outbreaks began in 1973, yet no salsa- or guacamole-associated (SGA) outbreaks were reported before 1984. Restaurants and delis were the settings for 84 percent of the 136 SGA outbreaks. SGA outbreaks accounted for 1.5 percent of all food establishment outbreaks from 1984 to 1997. This figure more than doubled to 3.9 percent during the ten-year period from 1998 to 2008.

Inappropriate storage times or temperatures were reported in 30 percent of the SGA outbreaks in restaurants or delis and may have contributed to the outbreaks. Food workers were reported as the source of contamination in 20 percent of the restaurant outbreaks.

“Possible reasons salsa and guacamole can pose a risk for foodborne illness is that they may not be refrigerated appropriately and are often made in large batches so even a small amount of contamination can affect many customers,” Kendall says. “Awareness that salsa and guacamole can transmit foodborne illness, particularly in restaurants, is key to preventing future outbreaks.”

Risk can be lowered by following guidelines for safe preparation and storage of fresh salsa and guacamole to reduce contamination or pathogen growth.

“We want restaurants and anyone preparing fresh salsa and guacamole at home to be aware that these foods containing raw ingredients should be carefully prepared and refrigerated to help prevent illness,” says Kendall.

Fresh Express has voluntarily recalled certain romaine lettuce salad products with expired use-by-dates of July 8th to 12th and an S in the Product Code due to possible E. coli 0157:H7 contamination. Other Fresh Express salad products are not included in the recall. While no illnesses have been reported in connection with the recall, the precautionary recall action is being conducted as a result of a positives test for E. coli 0157L:H7 in a random sample test of a single Hearts of Romaine salad conducted by the FDA.

E. coli 0157:H7 is a bacterium that can cause serious foodborne illnesses in a person who eats a food item contaminated with the E. coli bacterium. Symptoms of the infection may include severe and often bloody diarrhea, abdominal pain and vomiting. Most people infected with the E. coli bacterium do not run fever as a result of the infection.

The recall serves as a preventative measure and is being conducted to reach retailers as well as consumers. Fresh Express is attempting to inform retailers to check their inventories and store shelves to confirm that none of the product, presumed to be contaminated with E. coli 0157:H7, is mistakenly present or available for purchase by consumers. Although no longer being sold, consumers may still have the expired product in their homes. Fresh Express is advising consumers to check for any similar salad products in their homes and discard such products.

The Fresh Express romaine salad products were distributed and sold in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Iowa, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Wyoming, Washington and Nevada.