Daniele International, Wholesome Spice, and Mincing Overseas Spice Company have found themselves at the center of lawsuits related to Salmonella food poisoning.  According to the Washington Post, two people have sued some or all of the previously listed companies in relation to the Daniele International recall of Italian sausage products following the news that investigators are exploring the possibility... [more]

According to the Washington Post, ongoing investigations have shown that there is a strong possibility that the Daniele International, Inc. recall of Italian sausage products was related to imported black pepper contaminated with Salmonella. Over 200 people have reported illnesses in more than forty states.  Additionally, over one quarter of these individuals have required hospitalization to treat Salmonellosis.... [more]

The January 2010 outbreak of Salmonella serotype Montevideo highlights the fact that multiple types of Salmonella bacteria exist. According to the CDC, there are over 2,500 different forms of Salmonella. Additionally, the recent Montevideo strain of Salmonella, currently being investigated by the USDA, the Food Safety Inspection Service, the Food and Drug Administration, and the CDC, has infected 225... [more]

Since 2007, the Hawaii Department of Agriculture has been working in conjunction with the USDA on implementation of a Radio Frequency ID (RFID) pilot program. According to the department’s website, this research project, aimed at developing practical food tracking methods, links the Hawaii Department of Agriculture with local farmers. The farmers place RFID tags in containers of food products. The... [more]

On January 22, 2010, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that it was looking into a Salmonella outbreak that has spread to 38 states. According to the news update entitled Multistate Outbreak of Salmonella Montevideo, Salmonella serotype Montevideo has infected 184 people.  No one has ever died from the food poisoning; however, several individuals have been admitted to hospitals.... [more]

Yesterday, Daniele Inc. of Rhode Island announced the recall of  1.24 million pounds of peppered salami and other meat products after Oregon officials linked Daniele’s products with an outbreak of Salmonella montevideo. In addition to diarrhea and vomiting, Salmonella food poisoning, known as Salmonellosis, can cause fever, nausea, and can be potentially fatal if a person’s immune system... [more]

Yesterday’s issue of the SheboyganPress.com discussed a recent Wisconsin E. coli outbreak.  According to the newspaper, several children living in very close proximity to each other contracted E. coli.  Unfortunately, one child developed a potentially fatal complication known as Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome or HUS, which resulted in several surgeries, transfusions, and dialysis.  HUS, often linked... [more]

 Parkers Farm, Inc. of Coon Rapids, Minnesota is recalling products because they have the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infection in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Although healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache,... [more]

A team of microbiologists from Hollins University were curious to analyze how clean the average fountain soda was. What they discovered was not very encouraging. Almost half of the 90 soda samples collected from 30 fountains tested positive for some type of coliform bacteria. Coliform is a nice biological name for a rather unsettling bacteria; it is the name for bacteria that are commonly found in... [more]

Shigella is a genus of bacteria that causes diarrheal illness in humans. Shigella microbes are known to pass person to person and food can sometimes serve as a contamination source. Shigella were discovered over 100 years ago by a Japanese scientist named Shiga, for whom they are named. There are several species of Shigella bacteria: Shigella sonnei, also known as “Group D” Shigella, accounts... [more]