Here is the latest from the FDA on active investigations ..read more

The FDA has reported that the lead was likely added to the cinnamon to increase its weight and therefore its commercial value. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is continuing to monitor the outbreak of lead poisoning and most recently reported 519 children impacted in the outbreak. The outbreak stretches across 44 states. The FDA has collected 90 “adverse incident” reports in the outbreak. The two agencies use different reporting methods, so their numbers may overlap somewhat and should not be added together. The CDC continues to add patients to its count. Cases are reported to t ..read more

Outbreaks of salmonellosis (infection with non-typhoidal Salmonella) involving young children associated with keeping backyard poultry,* including descriptions of high-risk practices such as keeping poultry inside households and kissing birds, have been well documented (1). During 2023 (as of October 19), backyard poultry–associated salmonellosis outbreaks were reported to CDC from 48 States and Puerto Rico; these outbreaks accounted for 1,072 cases of illness, including 247 hospitalizations (2). Several of these outbreaks involved multiple states and included serotypes Braenderup, Enteritidis ..read more

Cyclospora is a parasite composed of one cell, too small to be seen without a microscope. The organism was previously thought to be a blue-green alga or a large form of Cryptosporidium. Cyclospora cayetanensis is the only species of this organism found in humans.  Cyclosporiasis is an intestinal illness caused by the parasite Cyclospora cayetanensis, which is transmissible by ingestion of fecally contaminated food or water.[1] Cyclosporiasis is most common in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. In the United States, foodborne outbreaks of cyc ..read more

Summary Public Health is investigating an outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O157:H7 (also known as STEC). Three of the five people who got sick had testing that matched by genetic fingerprinting. This means they most likely got sick from the same source. Based on information collected, we found one common source for all sick people which was a store-made guacamole purchased at PCC Community Markets – West Seattle Co-op on February 10, 2024. Even though we think this is the most likely source of illness, we do not know for certain. We did not find out how the guacamole might have been c ..read more

CDC, public health and regulatory officials in several states, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS), and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) investigated a multistate outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes infections. Epidemiologic and laboratory data showed that meat and cheese from deli counters made people sick. A single deli or food source was not yet identified. A total of 16 people infected with the outbreak strain of Listeria were reported from 6 states. Sick people’s samples were collected from April 17, 2021, to S ..read more

According to Food Safety News, the outbreak strain has been found at a farm that supplied the milk used to make Mrs Kirkham’s unpasteurized cheese, which was linked to an E. coli outbreak in the UK. In total, 36 confirmed and one probable Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) O145 infections have been reported, with 29 in England and eight in Scotland since late July 2023, with most falling ill in November. The last reported primary patient had symptom onset on Dec. 23, 2023. Twenty patients were female, with ages of all cases ranging from 7 to 81. Of the 31 patients with available information ..read more

Summary On October 3, 2023, the Tennessee Department of Health (TDH) Northeast Regional Office was notified of two cases of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC). Over the next two weeks a total of ninepatients with STEC infections were reported, seven (78%) were hospitalized, and four (44%) developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a type of kidney failure. TDH initiated an outbreak investigation in collaboration with colleag ..read more

The Food and Drug Administration has issued a warning about certain mussels from Allen’s Fisheries in Newfoundland, Canada, that were imported to the United States. On March 1 the New Jersey Department of Health advised the FDA of an outbreak of illness associated with consumption of the mussels. The patients experienced symptoms including nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.  The advisory includes mussels from Allen’s Fisheries (NL0047SP) in Newfoundland, Canada, harvested on Feb. 7 (Julian date 24038), from harvest area AQ # 15 Newfoundland, with final harvest date of Feb. 18 (Julian date 240 ..read more

What is the problem? Through product testing, the FDA has determined that the ground cinnamon products listed in the table below contain elevated levels of lead and that prolonged exposure to these products may be unsafe. The FDA is advising consumers to throw away and not to buy these ground cinnamon products.  The FDA has recommended that the firms voluntarily recall these products, with the exception of the MTCI cinnamon. The FDA has been unable to reach MTCI to share our findings and request that the company initiate a recall. The FDA will update this notice with the communications fr ..read more