It’s National Food Safety Month! This month the American Dietetic Association wants to heighten awareness of food safety issues. From E. coli and cross contamination to washing your hands and monitoring your family for food poisoning symptoms, the ADA wants consumers to be aware of the dangers associated with contaminated food and help prevent the spread of foodborne illness. Here at Neblett, Beard,... [more]

Salmonella has made headlines lately. With over 550 million eggs recalled and a nationwide investigation linked to restaurants and egg farms, few consumers will ever forget the Salmonella outbreak of 2010. While Salmonella is a devastating illness which inflicts diarrhea and nausea upon its victims, it is not the only foodborne illness. While the media focuses intensely on Wright County Egg and Hillandale... [more]

At a recent Northwest Michigan fair, three children are believed to have contracted E. coli poisoning. Although the source of the E. coli has not yet been identified, there is talk that it could be related to food, water, or even a farm animal. As fall quickly approaches, school fairs will soon arrive. This means cotton candy, candy apples, hay rides, and petting zoos. While petting zoos can be fun,... [more]

Over the course of the last few weeks, Salmonella has been associated with everything from eggs to pistachios, alfalfa sprouts, milk, fruit juice and even mamey frozen pulp. Contaminated food items such as these can teach you a lot about the differences between different kinds of Salmonella bacteria as well as other forms of food poisoning. The recent egg recall which has been linked to Salmonella... [more]

As the CDC continues to investigate the outbreaks of Salmonella Hartford and Salmonella Baildon, there has been quite a bit of confusion among the general public. Let’s be honest, even many medical professionals are unaware or misinformed about the facts behind foodborne illnesses, which are some of the most common stomach ailments in the United States. In order to help people who may have concerns... [more]

There are 14 confirmed cases of Campylobacter in Montana which public health officials suspect is linked to contaminated well water. Montana public health officials in Gallatin County suspect Campylobacter in 70 additional, yet unconfirmed cases.  Although not yet confirmed, the illnesses appear to be centered around a resort located in the proximity of Hebgen Lake. According to the Bozeman Daily... [more]

Early this week, the Food and Drug Administration sent out a recommendation urging meat producers to limit the use of antibiotics in their animals.  The FDA’s recommendation is that antibiotics or “antimicrobials” are they often called, should only be used to treat sick animals, not as a means to raise the animals bigger and faster. The FDA’s announcement comes amid rising concern that the... [more]

This week, the recall of 15 million pounds of Campbell Soup’s Spaghetti O’s with Meatballs and ConAgra’s recall of Marie Callender’s frozen Cheesy Chicken and Rice meals served as examples of how quick recall action is essential in the fight against foodborne illness. The two separate recalls are on different sides of a very real recall issue that plagues our overwhelmed current system; the... [more]

Normally when people think foodborne illness, they think it is actually associated with food; however, water can serve as a host for parasitic, and bacterial foodborne illness organisms.  The Salt Lake Tribune recently posted a boil order for Saratoga Springs, Utah in an article by David Meyers entitled “Saratoga Springs Boil Order Still in Effect.” Utah County has recently seen seven cases of... [more]

Over the weekend, 40 residents and employees of a Pineville, Louisiana state hospital presented with gastrointestinal symptoms after eating in the facility’s cafeteria. Some of the victim’s symptoms were so severe that hospitalizations were required, and three patients died shortly after being sickened. State health officials and investigators publicly stated that foodborne illness was a suspect... [more]