The on-going Salmonella enteritidis egg recall is being analyzed from multiple angles. Questions are being asked of egg farms, egg hatcheries, egg producers, and egg distributors. The Food and Drug Administration is under fire for lacking a sufficient number of inspectors to prevent this outbreak or identify it sooner. The FDA has also received criticism for what the public believes to be laxed standards... [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]

The summer is quickly approaching and with summer comes baseball season, summer concerts and numerous events that take place all across America’s arenas and stadiums. The warm weather allows for many of these outdoor venues to play host to thousands of people, providing not just entertainment, but also food and drink. As with any situation where food or drink is served, there is a risk of exposing... [more]

The recent outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 in a Vancouver, Washington day care is a powerful reminder that the family of virulent E. coli that includes E. coli O157:H7 is not your average food poisoning pathogen. Four children that attended the daycare facility have been sickened with serious illnesses caused by the dangerous bacteria; one four year old boy has already lost his tragic battle with the microbe. State... [more]

Since the initial Illinois Subway Shigella outbreak was reported, 116 people have contracted Shigella and 13 have been admitted to the hospital for Shigella related illnesses. The DuPage County Health Department has been investigating this outbreak of Shigella foodborne illness. The Subway restaurant in question, situated in Lombard, Illinois has been closed; however, the Shigella’s cause has not... [more]

It’s hard to miss the hundreds of articles and blogs buzzing around a singular subject, the recently published Pew Charitable Trusts’ commission report on the cost of foodborne illness for the United States. After the numbers provided by the FDA, CDC and USDA (among other government agencies) were crunched, the final cost of foodborne illness was significantly higher than previous estimates, a... [more]

According to the Kitap Sun, sailors and some civilian mariners on the USS Emory S. Land were sickened by E. coli linked to drinking water. Over 34 sailors and 8 others complained of diarrhea and vomiting as a result of contaminated water. The ship was docked near Portland in Cascade General Shipyards. It appears that the E. coli contamination may have originated when the crews water supply was... [more]

With Easter right around the corner and many individuals giving baby chickens as pets to young children, the CDC published an article warning of the risk of Salmonella contamination from baby chickens and other poultry. The article was appropriately entitled “Risk of Human Salmonella Infections from Live Baby Poultry.” Live poultry can be a source of Salmonella foodborne illness.  Salmonella food... [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]