Seriously, offer to vaccinate your employees. According to press reports, a Red Lobster at 10500 East Ulmerton Road in Largo had an employee test positive for hepatitis A last week. On Tuesday, July 30, the Pinellas County Health Department and the Division of Hotels and Restaurants conducted a joint inspection after they received confirmation of that hepatitis A case. During that inspection, the state found almost 40 violations, which included employees not properly washing their…

The state of New York is warning people to not consume unpasteurized raw milk from Churchtown Dairy due to possible contamination of Listeria Monocytogenes. On Friday, the state Department of Agriculture & Markets notified the dairy farm that a presumptive positive detection for Listeria was made from a bottled milk sample pulled from the dairy’s cooler on July 22. Listeria Monocytogenes is a species of bacteria that can cause the infection Listeriosis. No reported cases…

The Maryland Department of Health (MDH) is investigating an increase in reported Cyclospora infections from multiple jurisdictions across the state. Thirty-seven of the 42 lab-confirmed cases reported between Jan.1 and July 20 have been reported over the last two weeks, part of an overall recent rise in reported cyclosporiasis cases in other parts of the U.S. MDH is working with local, state and federal health officials to investigate the increase. No specific source for these…

Hundreds of people have been sickened in Massachusetts, New York, Florida, Michigan and Virginia by cyclospora – what is the source? What is cyclospora?  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. The first known human cases of illness…

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) is urging residents to practice safe food handling practices following an increase in reported infections of Cyclospora, a foodborne illness that causes gastrointestinal symptoms, mainly diarrhea, that can sometimes be severe. Since May 1, 2019, there have been more than 100 reports of Cyclospora infection cases in the state, when, over the past three years, DPH has received between 18 and 33 reported cases. Most cases this year…

GHSW, LLC, a Houston, Texas establishment, is recalling approximately 1,786 pounds of ready-to-eat salad with chicken products that contain a corn ingredient that may be contaminated with Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today. The ready-to-eat salads with chicken were produced from Oct. 1, 2018 through Oct. 18, 2018. The following products are subject to recall: 10-oz. plastic tray packages containing “365 BY WHOLE FOODS MARKET BBQ STYLE…

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is inspected the Del Monte facility that produced vegetable trays Del Monte that the Wisconsin Department of Health Services linked to an outbreak of salmonellosis. The facility is in Kankakee, Illinois. On May 21, 2019, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services announced that vegetable trays produced by Del Monte Fresh Produce Inc. and sold at Kwik Trip convenience stores in Wisconsin and Minnesota are linked to five illnesses total in Wisconsin…