Following a fatal Escherichia coli outbreak linked to organic carrots that has sickened people in multiple U.S. states, the Government of Canada is warning consumers not to eat recalled products distributed by California-based Grimmway Farms.

A multistate outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O121:H19 infections linked to organic carrots has sickened 39 people, resulting in 15 hospitalizations and one death.

The number of patients reported in the ongoing Escherichia coli outbreak linked to onions served at McDonald’s restaurants has grown to 104 people across 14 states. A patient has recently been reported in North Carolina.

A recent study found the majority of vegan meat and dairy alternatives available in England to be of satisfactory microbiological quality. Tofu from one producer had a Listeria problem.

The UK Food Standards Agency’s National Food Crime Unit has made an arrest as part of an ongoing investigation into a case of suspected food fraud.

A Purdue University professor has been awarded $10 million in funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to extend the work of the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Food Safety (FSIL) for another five years.

In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Johanna Velez, Vice President of Quality Assurance for Monin Americas, about how she encourages modernization, solves non-conformances, upholds an “Excellent” food safety rating, and reinforces a culture of continuous improvement and collaboration. Bob Ferguson also discusses his latest “Food Safety Insights” column on processors' adoption of testing technologies at the international level.

Between 2017 and 2019, Canadian public health laboratories transitioned to whole genome sequencing (WGS) for foodborne illness outbreak surveillance. A recent study shows the positive impact of this transition of national outbreak detection and response for important foodborne pathogens. 

A recent study of salmon sold at Seattle, Washington grocery stores and sushi restaurants found 18 percent of samples to be mislabeled overall, with one-third of “wild-caught” salmon sold at sushi establishments being mislabeled. 

Although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was investigating a grower of interest in Washington state, the agency has been unable to definitively implicate a grower in the Escherichia coli outbreak linked to onions supplied by Taylor Farms and served at McDonald’s.