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]

NY Fish Inc, 738 Chester St, Brooklyn, NY, 11236 is recalling NY Fish Brand (cold) Smoked Herring, with a code of 141, discovered by New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets Food Inspectors during a routine inspection. The product was found to be uneviscerated prior to processing. This product may be contaminated with Clostridium botulinum spores, which can cause Botulism, a serious and... [more]

The CDC posted an interesting chart on its website. The chart describes foodborne sicknesses linked to U.S. outbreaks for the year 2007. During 2007, there were a total of 21, 244 foodborne illnesses linked to an outbreak and eighteen deaths. According to the chart, 34% of these illness are related to some form of bacteria. Salmonella and Norovirus topped the chart. Of the eighteen reported deaths,... [more]

Today, the CDC published its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). The main topic of this week’s edition was a summarization of 2007 foodborne illness data. The report outlined foodborne illnesses related to Salmonella, norovirus, E. coli, and a host of other food poisoning incidences from 2007. According to the report, there were 235 outbreaks related to one specific food item. Seventeen... [more]

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... [more]

Amish Wedding Foods, Inc. is recalling all lots of the following products: Pumpkin Butter 9 oz. UPC code# 0 49646 50014 7 Pumpkin Butter 16 & 18 oz. UPC code# 0 49646 65549 6 Sweet Potato Butter 16 & 18 oz. UPC code# 0 49646 65550 2 These products were sold under the following brands: Amish Wedding Foods, Finney’s Bulk Foods, Our Maker’s Acres, Uncle Charlies Products, Grandpa’s... [more]

  Foodborne illnesses can have very serious complications. When certain food poisonings occur, not only does the victim suffer from an initial bout of symptoms, sometimes long lasting fatal complications can result. The following is a list of a few bacteria linked to foodborne illnesses and some of the related complications.   Clostridium Botulinum: Clostridium Botulinum causes botulism food poisoning.... [more]

Clostridium botulinum spores when ingested, lead to botulism food poisoning. According to Colorado State University’s Extension Service Botulism Fact Sheet written by Professor P. Kendall, there are four types of botulism: foodborne, infant, wound, and undetermined. Foodborne botulism results when eating food that has not been properly refrigerated or preserved. Botulism spores, which are not killed... [more]

The FDA announced a recall by Haifa Smoked Fish, Inc. on February 3, 2010. This recall of vacuum packed Whole Schmaltz Herring has highlighted the link between improperly eviscerated fish and potential botulism food poisoning.  Because the viscera of fish are typically more likely to contain Clostridium botulinum than other segments of a fish, the sale of fish containing viscera is prohibited in New... [more]

I received some home raised honey as a gift this weekend. In our neck of the woods, many people raise bees and collect the honey. Nothing unusual there. What was unique was the warning. I took this photo with my iPhone and was curious as to what was the catalyst for the warning.  According to WebMD’s eMedicine cite, infant botulism is a unique form of  food poisoning. Children under twelve months... [more]