NOT SO SWEETWATER

Sweetwater Valley Farms, of Philadelphia Tennessee is recalling another “block” of cheese due to possible listeria contamination, according to the FDA. This block, lot number 604, is mild and sharp cheddar. Last week, the company recalled Southern Cheddar Jack Volunteer Special Cheese, lot number 539.

The cheese was distributed through retail stores in Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, Maryland, and Alabama. However, the company’s online business distributes in all of the Lower 48 states.

ANOTHER E. COLI SUIT SETTLED

A Wisconsin couple, whose child developed a potentially fatal kidney disease from E. Coli-tainted bagged spinach, has settled its lawsuit with Dole Foods as well as the grower and packer linked to the contamination, according to the Salinas Californian newspaper.

Neil and Anne Grintjes are two of the over 100 victims who filed lawsuits. There were over 200 individuals who suffered some form of foodborne illness from the tainted California spinach last year.

For the first time in more than 25 years, Americans aren’t getting any fatter

http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-obesity29nov29,1,7639170.story

MANDATORY REGULATIONS FOUGHT BY SMALLER GROWERS

Though the Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement was a vast improvement over the proposed state and federal regulations, from the beginning there were some flaws in it, which kept some growers from signing on.

Now that the regulations might be adopted nationwide, those same growers are speaking up, claiming that the LGMA is too expensive for small farmers to implement. They also feel that the e. Coli contamination problems are with bagged salads, which come from the big growers and packers, not the smaller ones, according to the Salinas Californian newspaper. My sense is that there will be a few changes made to placate the protesters, but the Marketing Agreement will be widely copied, adopted and used nationwide.

WISCONSIN PACKER RECALLS BEEF

American Food Groups of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is recalling 96,000 pounds of ground beef because of possible E. coli contamination according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service.

The beef was originally packaged on October 10 and shipped to retail establishments and distributors in Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Tennessee, Wisconsin and Virginia. It was the Illinois Department of Public Health that first discovered the contamination, however.

The FSIS website has the full list of recalled products. However, the product codes may have changed due to repackaging. The FSIS is warning consumers in the affected areas to check with their grocers if they still have frozen ground beef.

NOW YOU TELL ME! — How the turkey gets the last laugh (gobble).

Okay. Yesterday you were so stuffed you could barely make it the four feet from the table to the sofa. That’s all well and good. But if today you woke up with something else besides the headache from wine or too much food or backing the wrong football team, you may have gotten a little (or not so little) food poisoning.

You know by now that a turkey is a foodborne illness just waiting to get you. According to health officials, you are a potential victim if you:

* defrosted the turkey on the counter

* resorted to running hot water over the turkey to thaw it faster (bacteria builds up on the surface)

* cooked the stuffing inside of the bird (it may not have reached the bacteria-killing temperature of 165 degrees)

* aren’t a fanatic about washing your hands

* aren’t even more a fanatic about washing your cooking utensils and cutting boards

* use the same surface for preparing cooked and uncooked foods

* love the rarer parts of the bird

* left the foods out too long or didn’t put leftovers in the fridge soon enough

Yes, there are more bacteria out there than you think and they ARE out to get you. So, now you know why you’re not feeling so well. Doesn’t that make you feel better?

A TOWN WITHOUT PITA —

A salmonella outbreak at the University of West Ontario has reached 97, according to the London Free Press, and five people have been hospitalized, mostly for dehydration.

Officials believe the outbreak started at a pita restaurant in the University’s food court and may have spread to other  nearby restaurants. The food court was shut down over the weekend and sanitized. The most recent cases that have been reported are still believed to be from the same source.

ANTI-ANTIBIOTICS — Tyson and USDA battle over labeling

A few months ago, the USDA gave Tyson permission to label its chickens as “antibiotic-free” after the company’s marketing people discovered that meant something to consumers. Now, the federal agency is saying it mistakenly overlooked chemicals called ionophores which Tyson uses in its feed, and it wants Tyson to remove the “antibiotic-free” claim from its packaging. Whatever ionophores are, Tyson is saying they aren’t antibiotics, according to the L.A. Times, and the battle lines are drawn. One would think the USDA would have sorted this out before approving Tyson’s request, but be that as it may.

CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH OFFERS FOOD SAFETY TIPS FOR HOLIDAY FEASTS

Dr. Mark Horton, director of the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), reminded Californians today about the importance of safe food handling during the holiday season to prevent food borne illness, and recommended several food safety practices.

THE MEDICAL CONFERENCE THAT WENT TO THE HOSPITAL — Norovirus outbreak affects 60 attendees

Seascape Resort

Attendees at a medical conference at the Seascape Resort on the Monterey Bay south of Santa Cruz, California, got a lesson in health care a bit different than what they were expecting.

Almost sixty guests and 23 employees were stricken by a highly contagious norovirus, originating from the resort’s Sanderlings Restaurant, and many of them were sent to a hospital.

Health officials can’t pinpoint the exact source, though they know it was from someone who failed to wash his hands, according to the Santa Cruz Sentinel.

The posh restaurant was closed for three days for a thorough scrubbing, inspection and health education for employees and management. Though the resort was not fined, it is undergoing surprise inspections and screenings of all employees.

As the resort’s guests will tell you, even the best restaurants can have an outbreak if just one employee doesn’t wash his hands.