Tag: pathogen
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FDA Warning Letters Provide Opportunity for Food-Safety Reminders During Viral and Bacterial Outbreaks
By Partner Lindsey Heinz and Associate Zac Parker The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sent warning letters to Jimmy John’s Franchise, LLC and its supplier Sprouts Unlimited Inc. regarding food safety practices after the agency traced an outbreak of E. coli to Jimmy John’s produce, which had previously caused outbreaks of foodborne illnesses. In the…
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FDA Closes Production Facility After Violations
A U.S. federal court entered a consent decree of permanent injunction prohibiting Home Style Foods, Inc., and its owner and quality manager from selling food products until the company complies with federal regulations. U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspections reportedly found Listeria monocytogenes in the company’s food preparation area and documented violations of seafood…
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DeLauro, Gillibrand Urge Transparency in USDA Testing
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) have sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) urging the agency to “adopt a policy of greater transparency with respect to the microbiological testing” that the agency collects from meat slaughter and processing establishments. The letter cites a Salmonella outbreak in ground beef…
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WHO Releases Report on E. Coli
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Health Organization (WHO) have released a report on Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) and the foods that tend to host it. Researchers analyzed data from foodborne outbreak investigations globally, finding 957 outbreaks in 27 countries. The data identified that 16% of outbreaks were…
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DOJ Announces Guilty Plea in E. Coli Prosecution
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced that Memet Beqiri had pleaded guilty to “a charge related to his meat processing business’s falsification of numerous E. coli test results,” according to a press release. Beqiri, owner and general manager of New England Meat Packing LLC, allegedly prepared and submitted falsified documents indicating that the…
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CSPI Files FOIA Request on Salmonella Outbreak Sources
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking to identify the poultry-production plants associated with an outbreak of Salmonella. CSPI requested that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) deliver information on the “name, address, establishment number, and date of positive sample(s)” for poultry products…
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FDA Releases Reports and Guidance on Nutritional Panels, Recalls, Serving Sizes, More
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released several reports and guidance documents on food-related issues, including draft guidance on reasonable serving sizes and a report on foodborne illnesses in restaurants. Food Labeling: Serving Sizes of Foods That Can Reasonably Be Consumed At One Eating Occasion, Reference Amounts Customarily Consumed, Serving Size-Related Issues, Dual-Column…
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FDA Issues Update on Cyclospora
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb has issued a statement on testing for Cyclospora as a foodborne pathogen. The statement noted that the testing methods allowed the agency to identify Cyclospora in cilantro, marking the first time it found the parasite in domestically grown produce. “We must continue to put in place…