Listeria Blog - Surveillance & analysis on Listeria news & outbreaks

The FDA has ordered Mill Stream Co. to destroy cold smoked salmon product from its facility in Hancock, Maine.   The order came in response to a finding of listeria monocytogenes in the facility and equipment.

According to the FDA:

FDA investigators ordered an administrative detention of the firm's cold-smoked salmon product, a ready-to-eat food, during an inspection in December 2011. Once the food was detained, Mill Stream Corp. agreed to voluntarily destroy the cold-smoked salmon, under FDA supervision.

No illnesses have been reported to date from Mill Stream Corp. products.

Alpine Slicing anc Cheese Conversion of Monroe, Wisconsin has announced that it is voluntarily recalling multiple types of cheese due to possible listeria contamination, according to a report.  The report states: 

The company says testing by an independent laboratory confirmed that some products processed on the shred line contained potentially fatal listeria. Symptoms of listeria include fever, headaches, stiffness and diarrhea.

At this time, there are no reports of connected illnesses.

The products included in the recall are:

• Brennan's Cellars Shredded Premium Fondue Blend.
• Emmentaler Swiss & Gruyere Cheese.
• Brennan's Cellars Shredded Mild Colored Cheddar Cheese.
• Brennan's Cellars Shredded Part Skim Mozzarella Cheese.

The recalled products were distributed to Brennan's Stores in Milwaukee, Dane and Green counties of Wisconsin.

It appears that two cases of listeriosis are linked to the consumption of cheese produces from Green Cedar Fairy in Dearnborn, Michigan, according to a report in the Detroit Free Press.  Following the news of the listeria infections, the dairy recalled packages of cheese bearing the labels "All Natural Ackawi Cheese" and "All Natural Chives Cheese" with a sell by date up to July 1, 2012.

The Michigan Department of Agriculture indicated that at least one sample of "All Natural Chives Cheese" tested positive for Listeria.  the products were distributed in Oakland, Macomb and Wayne Counties. 

According to the CDC, listeria is most often found in:

foods that become contaminated after cooking or processing, such as soft cheeses, processed meats such as hot dogs and deli meat (both products in factory-sealed packages and products sold at deli counters), and smoked seafood.

Of course, this year, we suffered the most deadly foodborne illness outbreak in U.S. history, with 31 deaths connected to listeria in cantaloupe.

Over at Outbreak Database, we have been keeping track of foodborne illness outbreaks – small and large – over the last 12 months.  Here is one of the more interesting Listeria Outbreaks:

Jensen Farms Rocky Ford Cantaloupe October 2011 – 146 Ill.  A multistate outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes was associated with consumption of cantaloupe that had been grown in the Rocky Ford region of Colorado and shipped by Jensen Farms. As of December 8, 2011, a total of 146 persons had been reported to the CDC and were infected with at least one of the four outbreak associated strains. Thirty persons died, and one pregnant woman miscarried her pregnancy. Among persons for whom information is available, reported illness onset ranged from July 31, 2011 through October 27, 2011. Ages of ill persons ranged from less than 1 year of age to 96 years, with the median age of 77 years old. Most ill persons were over 60 years old or had health conditions that weakened their immune systems. Seven of the illnesses were related to pregnancy (three newborns; four pregnant women). Among the 144 ill persons with available information on whether they were hospitalized, 142(99%) were hospitalized. Among the 140 ill persons with available information on what they ate, 131 (94%) reported consuming cantaloupes in the month before illness onset. Several ill persons remembered the type of cantaloupe they had eaten and said they were Rocky Ford cantaloupes, which are grown in the Rocky Ford region of southeastern Colorado. Source tracing of the cantaloupes indicated that they came from Jensen Farms, and were marketed as being from the Rocky Ford region. These cantaloupes were shipped between July 29 through September 10 to at least 24 states with possible further distribution. Laboratory testing by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment identified Listeria monocytogenes bacteria on cantaloupes collected from grocery stores and from ill persons' homes. Laboratory testing by FDA has identified L. monocytogenes matching outbreak strains in samples from equipment and cantaloupe at the Jensen Farms' packing facility in Granada, Colorado. The FDA identified several factors at the packing plant that likely contributed to the introduction, spread, and growth of Listeria monocytogenes in the cantaloupe. This outbreak had several unusual features. This was the first listeriosis outbreak associated with melon. Four widely differing pulse field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) pattern combinations and two serotypes (1/2a and 1/2b) were associated with the outbreak. This outbreak was unusually large and resulted in the highest number of deaths of any U.S. foodborne outbreak since a listeriosis outbreak in 1998 (See Bil Mar Foods Ready-to-eat Meats 1998).

The FDA announced today that the Chicago-area based company Triple A Services Inc. has agreed to stop making its ready-to-eat sandwiches and produce after "FDA investigators repeatedly found unsanitary conditions and bacterial contamination in the facility."

The company and FDA filed what is called a "consent decree" in the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Illinois that included the agreement to stop production.

ACcording to the FDA:  "The terms of the decree would also require Triple A to hire a sanitation expert to help establish an effective sanitation program, to comply with FDA regulations and to eliminate Listeria contamination from company facilities." 

The FDA further stated that Triple A had a "history of operating under unsanitary conditions and Listeria monocytogenes contamination in the processing facility.  FDA took these aggressive actions because Triple A Services continued to violate current good manufacturing practice regulations and allow for conditions that could affect the health of consumers,” said Dara Corrigan, the FDA’s associate commissioner for regulatory affairs.

The FDA had issued warning letters to Triple A in April of this year, and in November  2002. The November, 2002 letter described unsanitary conditions; the presence of "bird/insect fecal matter;" and structural defects among other findings.