Cryptosporidiosis is a diarrheal disease caused by microscopic parasites of the genus Cryptosporidium. Both the disease and the parasite are commonly known as “Crypto.” Many species of Cryptosporidium infect humans and a wide range of animals. The parasite is protected by an outer shell that allows it to survive outside the host for long periods of time and makes it resistant to disinfection. While... [more]

A recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) audit of our schools’ ability to receive and enact food recalls demonstrated that the current system is highly flawed in its reaction time to potential dangerous recalls putting more that 30 million school aged children at risk of contracting debilitating and sometimes deadly foodborne illnesses. The lack of communication between regulatory and investigative... [more]

Rep. Louise Slaughter, who chairs the House Rules Committee, has asked the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct a new study on the government’s tracking and monitoring of antibiotic use in livestock. Slaughter is the author of H.R. 1549, the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act.  The bill seeks to end non-therapeutic and improper use of antibiotics that are frequently... [more]

Under optimal growing conditions, the time it takes for E. coli bacteria to double ranges from 20 to 30 minutes. With as little as 10 bacteria believed to cause illness, the incubation of those 10 foodborne microbes could number into the hundreds of billions the day’s end. With the intense toxicity associated with some E. coli serotypes (such as E. coli O157:H7) and the severe complications related... [more]

Dr. Gil Chavez, acting chief deputy director of the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), Thursday issued a warning about specific brands of spinach that might have become contaminated with Salmonella.  The spinach’s distributor, Ippolito International, LP of Salinas, is recalling 1,715 cartons of bunched spinach after routine testing detected the contaminant. Salmonella is an organism... [more]

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in its push for a new, higher level of food safety awareness recently launched a “new” food safety website. There isn’t really any new information that is hosted on the website as much as it is a venue to collect and host information that was previously dispersed in various other CDC, FDA, USDA and FSIS related websites. While, I appreciate... [more]

Egg-associated salmonellosis is an important public health problem in the United States. Salmonella enteritidis can be inside perfectly normal-appearing eggs and if the eggs are eaten raw or undercooked, the bacterium can cause illness. A person infected with the Salmonella enteritidis bacterium usually has fever, abdominal cramps, and diarrhea beginning 12 to 72 hours after consuming a contaminated... [more]

Muranaka Farm, Inc. of Moorpark, CA is recalling 1005 cases of 60 count bunched Parsley, because it has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody),... [more]

Windsor Foods, a Riverside, Calif., establishment, is recalling approximately 2,268 pounds of beef and bean burrito products that may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced. The following products are subject to recall: 18-pound bulk cases containing individually wrapped “BUTCHER BOY RED CHILE... [more]

Foodborne illness microbes are killed by heat.  Food heated to an internal temperature above 160oF, even for a few seconds, is typically sufficient to kill parasites, viruses or bacteria. That is except for the Clostridium bacteria, which produce a heat-resistant spore.  Clostridium spores are killed only at temperatures above boiling.  This is why canned foods must be cooked to a high temperature... [more]