In case you haven’t been keeping up with the news, you might want to be wary of your eggs. There may be bacteria lurking in your eggs Benedict due to a recent suspected salmonella contamination at Hillandale Farms and Wright County Eggs in Galt, Iowa.

Wright County Eggs issued the initial recall nearly two weeks ago (Aug. 13) when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration alerted the company of salmonella contamination at one of its farms. The FDA encountered salmonella enteritidis during a routine inspection, at which point the company voluntarily sounded the alarms.

Salmonella bacteria can cause infections that may result in fever, nausea/vomiting, chills, muscle cramps and pain, and/or diarrhea. Symptoms usually pass within a few days, but can last much longer in children and people with weakened immune systems. Salmonella is more likely to be found in undercooked eggs or those stored above 45 degrees Fahrenheit.

As of now, there may be as many as 1,500 cases of food poisoning related to contaminated eggs. Wright County Eggs cautions consumers to be on the lookout for the following:

Eggs sold under the brands Lucerne, Mountain Dairy, Ralph’s, Boomsma’s, Albertson, Sunshine, Hillandale, Farm Fresh, Trafficanda, Lund, Shoreland, Kemps and Dutch Farms.

Six-, eight-, or 18-egg cartons with labels starting with the letter P; containing code numbers 1026, 1413 or 1946, and Julian dates between 136 and 225. A label would appear as “P-(Code Number)-(Julian Date)”

The recall only affects shell eggs,  and Wright County Eggs assures consumers that its other egg products are safe. The company continues to work with the FDA to investigate possible sources of contamination. They have further taken steps to destroy any potentially affected eggs.

In the meantime, you can keep up with the latest egg updates from the Egg Safety Center or the Food and Drug Administration.

Keep on the lookout if you like to gorge yourself on guacamole or stuff yourself with salsa. These two popular dips may be behind a growing pattern of foodborne illness.

Researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education analyzed CDC data on foodborne illness outbreaks. They noticed a trend beginning in the late 1990s.

From 1998 to 2008, roughly one in 25 of all restaurant-related illnesses was a result of guacamole or salsa. This translated into 3.9 percent of all foodborne illness cases and contributes to billions in annual healthcare dollars.

"Salsa and guacamole often contain diced raw produce, including hot peppers, tomatoes and cilantro, each of which has been implicated in past outbreaks," researcher Magdalena Kendall of Oak Ridge said in a press release. "[These foods] are often made in large batches, so even a small amount of contamination can affect many customers."

Eating contaminated food can cause nausea, diarrhea, headache and fever. Foods such as guacamole and salsa have lots of vegetables and lots of possibilities for salmonella or E. coli contamination, which is why safety is a must.

"We want restaurants and anyone preparing fresh salsa and guacamole at home to be aware that these foods containing raw ingredients should be carefully prepared and refrigerated to help prevent illness," Kendall said.

Learn more about foodborne illnesses from the CDC, or visit Reuters for more information.

Uh-oh SpaghettiO! Campbell's  has recalled several SpaghettiO products due to the possibility of undercooked meat.

Roughly 15 million pounds of SpaghettiOs were recalled after a cooker malfunction was discovered in a Paris, Texas plant. The recall is voluntary, but spokesman Anthony Sanzio says it’s better safe than sorry.

Consuming undercooked meat can cause food poisoning. Symptoms include nausea/vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain or cramping, fatigue, and/or fever. Symptoms may appear within a few hours or several days later, and can last as long as ten days.

Contact your doctor immediately if you experience severe symptoms and believe you may have food poisoning. You should also check your SpaghettiOs labels to make sure they are not affected by the recall.

Here’s What to Look For:

·       SpaghettiOs products containing meat—SpaghettiOs with Meatballs, SpaghettiOs A to Z with Meatballs and SpaghettiOs Fun Shapes with Meatballs.

·       SpaghettiOs products containing meat produced between December 2008 and June 2010.

·       SpaghettiOs products on which “EST 4K” appears on the label.

·       SpaghettiOs products with a “Use By” date betweene June 2010 and December 2011.

Campbell’s urges customers to return these products to the store for a full refund or exchange.

Get more information about the recall by calling Campbell’s Customer service line (1-866-495-3374) or visiting the Campbell’s Soup website.

This Black Friday, millions of Americans will hit the malls in search of tantalizing deals. But in the refrigerator at home something far less appealing may be lurking. That’s because failing to properly refrigerate those Thanksgiving leftovers can increase the risk of developing food-borne illness. 

A lack of understanding of proper food safety leads to many cases of illnesses each year during the holidays. Although most cases are mild and cause symptoms only for a day or two, it can be a very unpleasant few days.

One common food storage mistake people make is overfilling the refrigerator, which prevents it from circulating air to properly cool the food. This is necessary to keep food safe and ensure Thanksgiving leftovers eaten on Black Friday and beyond don't make anyone sick.

Another mistake is leaving out food for too long before refrigerating or freezing the leftovers. To best keep food-borne bacteria from growing, put away the food within two hours of cooking it. The best way to store leftover turkey is by cutting into small pieces and placing it in a separate container from the stuffing and potatoes. Using containers that are two inches high or less also helps limit bacterial growth.

A good way to prevent from making these mistakes is to prepare for storing the leftovers before cooking the meal. Clean out the fridge ahead of time to make enough space and make sure you have enough clean, shallow containers available. After cooking all day then stuffing yourself, you may be tempted to cut corners when storing leftovers. Preparing ahead of time can make safe storage of your leftovers easy and make your Black Friday leftover experience a good one. And you won’t even have to wait in line.

For more information on food safety, see the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. If you have questions about food-borne illness, ask the experts on Healia Health Communities.

 

_{Adapted from UPI release}

_{Photo: Tokyofoodcast, Flickr, Creative Commons}

According to the National Turkey Federation, about 46 million turkeys will be the main entrée this year at Thanksgiving Day dinners across the United States. To keep this family meal a healthy and pleasant memory for all, make sure your turkey is prepared safely and properly to prevent Salmonella and other bacterial foodborne diseases. Thaw a frozen turkey in your refrigerator, in cold water or in a microwave oven, and not at room temperature, then cook the turkey immediately after thawing.

The US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) has issued 4 critical turkey preparation tips called "Clean, Separate, Cook and Chill" in order to help prevent Salmonella and other foodborne infections at Thanksgiving:

• Before and after you handle food, wash your hands with plenty of soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds. Also wash any surfaces or utensils that come into contact with raw poultry including cutting boards, kitchen counters and other food preparation objects.

• Use separate cutting boards, knives and utensils for preparing raw poultry and for foods that will not be subsequently cooked such as salads and vegetables. 

• Use a meat thermometer to make sure that all parts of the turkey and any stuffing reach an internal temperature of at least 165 °F.

• Refrigerate any leftover foods after 2 hours. Make sure your refrigerator is set at 40 °F or below to prevent bacteria from growing on food.

For more information about proper preparation of turkey and other foods, see the USDA’s Be Food Safe campaign Web site or read our previous blog about healthy eating tips during Thanksgiving.

If you have a tip for healthy Thanksgiving, please share it with the Healia Health Community.

 

_{Source: USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service Web site}

_{Photo:bucklava, Flickr, Creative Commons}

How dangerous is the chemical known as bisphenol A (BPA)? According to an independent panel of scientific advisers, it’s much more dangerous than a recent Food and Drug Administration (FDA) report suggested.

BPA is a chemical used to harden plastics and is found in several products including baby bottles, plastic food packaging, and the lining of food cans.

The panel charges that the FDA ignored scientific evidence and used flawed methods when it issued its draft risk assessment of BPA in August stating that an “adequate margin of safety” existed for BPA exposure. The FDA stated that the small amounts of BPA that migrate from food containers into the food they hold are not dangerous to infants or adults.

The panel, set up specifically to review the FDA's risk assessment of BPA, said that the FDA had relied on industry-funded studies and ignored a mountain of data including more than 100 scientific studies that have linked BPA to health problems in laboratory animals including breast and prostate cancers, diabetes, hyperactivity and reproductive problems. The panel also questioned the methods used in the FDA studies to determine the levels of BPA in infant formula, concluding that the FDA report "creates a false sense of security” and recommending that the agency redo its risk assessment.

Environmental groups want to ban BPA in infant products because the chemical can mimic the effects of the hormone estrogen and interfere with their development. Infants may be at increased risk of exposure because their kidneys do not eliminate the chemical from the body as fast as adults. Babies can be exposed to BPA through bottles and through baby formula packaged in containers made with the chemical, including cans.

If you want to lessen your family’s exposure to BPA, you can avoid eating foods from plastic containers labeled with the number 7 (usually found on the bottom of the container, inside the recycle symbol), which often contain BPA. You can also limit your use of canned foods and infant formula, most of which come in cans lined with BPA.

Have more questions about BPA and other food contaminants? The members and health experts of Healia Health Communities are waiting to help you.

 

_{Photo: iMorpheus, Flickr, Creative Commons}

The number of American children with food allergies has increased by 18% in the past decade according to a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The report shows that about 3 million kids and teens in the U.S. suffered from at least one type of food allergy in 2007, up from 2.3 million in 1997. Overall, nearly 4% of American children under the age of 18 (3.8 percent of boys and 4.1 percent of girls) had food allergies.

According to the CDC, eight types of foods account for 90% of these allergies: milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, soy and wheat. Allergic reactions to foods can cause a mild tingling sensation in the lips, hives and may even cause death in severe cases.

Children who have food allergies are also more likely to suffer from asthma and other types of allergies. According to the CDC report, in 2007, 29 percent of children with a food allergy also had asthma and 30 percent also had some type of respiratory allergy; comparatively, only 12 percent of children without food allergies have asthma and 9 percent have a respiratory allergy.

Researchers do not really understand how or why someone develops a food allergy. On the positive side, the majority of children tend to “outgrow” food allergies as the number of adults who suffer from them is far lower.

If you are concerned that your child may have a food allergy, contact your doctor right away. It is not a good idea to eliminate certain foods from your child’s diet without the supervision of a doctor.

Find out more about allergies from the Healia Health Guide: Allergies.

 

_{Photo: Gaetan Lee, Flickr, Creative Commons}

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning to avoid any infant formula imported from China because of potential contamination with melamine. Melamine was the chemical that contaminated pet food last year, resulting in thousands of poisoning cases in dogs and cats. There is no evidence that any tainted formula is being sold in the U.S. In China, the implicated formula has been associated with dozens of cases of kidney stones in infants and one death.

Manufacturing of baby formula is strictly regulated in the U.S. and it is illegal to import baby milk from China or any unapproved sources. But several years ago, in at least one case, a Chinese brand of formula was found in a New York store.

To be safe, parents should only purchase infant formula from reputable retail sources.

Have questions about about infant formula? Healia Communities members can help.

The month of July is National Hemocromatosis Awareness and Screening Month. Hemochromatosis is an inherited disorder which causes people to absorb extra iron from their diet. Because the body has no efficient way to excrete iron, excess iron builds up in the liver, heart, pancreas, pituitary, and joints.

According to the Iron Disorders Institute, an advocacy organization for people with iron disorders, body organs with excessive iron eventually fail to function and disease or premature death occurs. Excess iron levels can be reduced by removing blood through blood donations and chelation therapy using special medicines.

Chronic fatigue and joint pain are among the first and most common symptoms reported by people with hemochromatosis. Subsequent symptoms and findings may include abdominal pain, irregular heart rhythm, loss of period loss of interest in sex, hair loss, and skin color changes.

Do you have a question about hemochromatosis? Make sure to search healia.com for more information.

hemochromatosis iron disorder National Hemocromatosis Awareness and Screening Month

More than 350 people have now fallen ill in a Salmonella outbreak linked to certain types of tomatoes. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 383 people in 30 states have been infected with Salmonella Saintpaul, a rare strain of the bacteria.

Food safety experts have linked the outbreak to tainted raw round, plum, and Roma tomatoes and have not yet identified the source of contamination. The Chicago Department of Public Health told the Chicago Tribune on Wednesday that it reported a cluster of nine Salmonella cases at Adobo Grill restaurants in two parts of the city. Investigators are focusing on Mexico and central and southern Florida, which were the two largest suppliers of tomatoes at the time of the Salmonella outbreak.

An outbreak update and description of tainted tomatoes and areas are posted on the FDA's Web site. For more information about Salmonella, see Healia’s previous blog on the topic, Nine States Affected by Salmonella Food Poisoning, or ask a Healia Health Expert a question about Salmonella.

Salmonella tomatoes food poisoning