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Source: http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-persp...an-jul-17-2013
Food Safety Scan for Jul 17, 2013
Salmonella in pet food; More hepatitis cases
Filed Under:
Hepatitis; Foodborne Disease; Salmonella
New FDA Salmonella policy stricter on pet food than livestock feed
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced a new policy on Salmonella that takes a stricter approach for pet food than for livestock feed, citing the greater risk for humans from contaminated pet food.
Under the FDA's new Compliance Policy Guide (CPG), any pet food or pet food ingredient contaminated with Salmonella is considered potentially harmful if it isn?t intended to undergo a subsequent treatment to kill bacteria. Pet foods include dog and cat foods, aquarium fish foods, treats, chews, nutritional supplements, and other pet products.
For livestock and horse feeds, the CPG outlines a risk-based enforcement policy for Salmonella, focusing on the strains that can cause disease in the animals for which the feed is intended, the agency said. The guide gives examples of Salmonella strains that have caused disease in specific species.
The agency said it has a zero-tolerance policy for Salmonella in pet food because of the risk to humans who are exposed to the food, especially children, the elderly, and those with weak immunity. It commented that people are much less likely to be directly exposed to livestock feed.
The FDA said it also revoked a 1967 advisory opinion that described a zero-tolerance policy for any Salmonella strain in certain animal feed ingredients, even if it couldn't sicken the relevant animals.
Jul 16 FDA statement
Hepatitis outbreak tied to berry mix reaches 147 cases
The case count in a multistate hepatitis outbreak tied to a frozen berry mix containing pomegranate seeds from Turkey has reached 147, an increase of 4 since Jul 9, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced yesterday.
The latest illness onset in the outbreak was Jul 1, the CDC said. The affected states, with case tallies, are California, 71; Colorado, 28; Arizona, 21; Hawaii and New Mexico, 8 each; Nevada, 6; Utah, 3; and Wisconsin, 2. The Wisconsin cases resulted from product exposure in California, the CDC said.
The outbreak has put 63 people in hospitals, but none have died.
All patients in the outbreak reported eating Townsend Farms Organic Antioxidant Blend bought at Costco stores, though the same product was sold at Harris Teeter stores. Investigators determined that the most likely source of contamination in the product was pomegranate seeds from Goknur Foodstuffs, a Turkish company.
Jul 16 CDC update
Jul 10 CIDRAP News item
Food Safety Scan for Jul 17, 2013
Salmonella in pet food; More hepatitis cases
Filed Under:
Hepatitis; Foodborne Disease; Salmonella
New FDA Salmonella policy stricter on pet food than livestock feed
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced a new policy on Salmonella that takes a stricter approach for pet food than for livestock feed, citing the greater risk for humans from contaminated pet food.
Under the FDA's new Compliance Policy Guide (CPG), any pet food or pet food ingredient contaminated with Salmonella is considered potentially harmful if it isn?t intended to undergo a subsequent treatment to kill bacteria. Pet foods include dog and cat foods, aquarium fish foods, treats, chews, nutritional supplements, and other pet products.
For livestock and horse feeds, the CPG outlines a risk-based enforcement policy for Salmonella, focusing on the strains that can cause disease in the animals for which the feed is intended, the agency said. The guide gives examples of Salmonella strains that have caused disease in specific species.
The agency said it has a zero-tolerance policy for Salmonella in pet food because of the risk to humans who are exposed to the food, especially children, the elderly, and those with weak immunity. It commented that people are much less likely to be directly exposed to livestock feed.
The FDA said it also revoked a 1967 advisory opinion that described a zero-tolerance policy for any Salmonella strain in certain animal feed ingredients, even if it couldn't sicken the relevant animals.
Jul 16 FDA statement
Hepatitis outbreak tied to berry mix reaches 147 cases
The case count in a multistate hepatitis outbreak tied to a frozen berry mix containing pomegranate seeds from Turkey has reached 147, an increase of 4 since Jul 9, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced yesterday.
The latest illness onset in the outbreak was Jul 1, the CDC said. The affected states, with case tallies, are California, 71; Colorado, 28; Arizona, 21; Hawaii and New Mexico, 8 each; Nevada, 6; Utah, 3; and Wisconsin, 2. The Wisconsin cases resulted from product exposure in California, the CDC said.
The outbreak has put 63 people in hospitals, but none have died.
All patients in the outbreak reported eating Townsend Farms Organic Antioxidant Blend bought at Costco stores, though the same product was sold at Harris Teeter stores. Investigators determined that the most likely source of contamination in the product was pomegranate seeds from Goknur Foodstuffs, a Turkish company.
Jul 16 CDC update
Jul 10 CIDRAP News item