E. coli sickens at least 19 people, 3 critical

Lettuce sold in 23 states and the District of Columbia have been recalled due to E.coli

Freshway Foods of Sidney, Ohio, is recalling romaine lettuce sold under the Freshway and Imperial Sysco label due to possible link to an E.coli outbreak.

The lettuce is being recalled from 23 states and the D.C. because an E. coli outbreak has sickened at least 19 people, 3 of them in critical condition.

At least 12 people had been hospitalized, with 10 other cases linked to the outbreak, the FDA said.

“College students at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Ohio State in Columbus and Daemen College in Amherst, N.Y., are among those affected, according to local health departments in those states.” AP reported.

The FDA is suspects that lettuce grown in Arizona may be a possible source for the outbreak.

The lettuce was sold in Alabama, Connecticut, the D.C., Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

• FDA: http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm211145.htm
• CDC: http://www.cdc.gov/ecoli/2010/ecoli_o145/index.html
• Freshway Foods: http://www.freshwayfoods.com/recall/

Related Links:

• Food Recall
  

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Naples Garbage: First Commercial Dividends

Fouling your own doorstep!

Don’t foul your own doorstep, nor someone else’s! Surely the first thing Italian mothers should now teach their children.

Japan and South Korea blocked imports of mozzarella cheese, one of Italy’s best known culinary products, after larger than “permitted” levels of the lethal dioxin compound, a carcinogen, was found in the mozzarella and milk at 25 out of 130 cheese factories in the southern Campania region near Naples.

The mozzarella di bufala campana known best for flavor and quality (now dioxin) Mozzarella is a generic term for Italian fresh cheeses that are made by spinning and then cutting. (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Italy’s Foreign Minister Massimo D’Alema said the alarm was “totally exaggerated and unjustified”.

Italian health officials finally sealed off 83 dairy farms were the cancer-causing dioxin contaminations were found.

“The sealed-off farms are in the southern Campania region around Naples where officials believe a garbage crisis earlier this year is linked to the higher dioxin levels. With dumps in the area full, locals burned piles of rubbish in the streets and in open fields. Health officials say industrial waste was also set ablaze, spreading fumes that in some cases contained dioxin, a toxic chemical.”

Mountains of rubbish lies uncollected in Naple. Photo Credit: AFP (image may be subject to copyright) See: FEWW Fair Use Notice

Experts believe that mozzarella sales in Italy and abroad may fall by more than 60 percent in the near future.

Stats:

• A quarter of a million Italian buffalo produce 33,000 tons of mozzarella each year.
• About 16 percent of mozzarella produced is exported.
• The sector employs 20,000 people at home.

“Buffalo mozzarella, which costs at least twice as much as mozzarella made with cows’ milk, is best known abroad for its use on pizza, although purists eat it on its own or with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil.”

Italian Pizza with Buffalo Mozzarella Topping

An authentic Neapolitan Pizza Margherita. Photo: ElfQrin (Valerio Capello). This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 1.2 or later version.

Original and related reports

• Italy seals off 83 farms over mozzarella scare
• Japan suspends imports of Italian mozzarella: official
• Buffalo herds produce the best milk for mozzarella

Related Links:

• Hermaphrodite Lamb Born With Seven Legs

• Naples: The Triangle of Death
• The Swiss Solution

What’s Up Next, the E.coli Contaminated Swiss Cheese?

Diseased Food

Warning! Do Not Feed Your Children New Zealand Food Imports!

See Report: Toxic Country – Diseased Food

Tuna Sushi, and Hold the Mercury!

Oceana Report: Hold the Mercury

Oceana.org’s new report on mercury levels in popular fish and sushi, Hold the Mercury, includes the results of mercury tests on 94 fish samples obtained from sushi bars and grocery stores from cities across the country.

Below is a summary of their key findings concerning high mercury levels found in tuna and swordfish and their recommendations:

Key Findings

• Mercury levels in tuna were much higher than the FDA data suggest
• Two-thirds of swordfish tested contained mercury above the FDA “action level”, which would permit the administration to remove these fish from sale
• The FDA lacks data on bluefin tuna and other popular sushi tuna species
• Average mercury levels of swordfish exceeded the FDA “action level”

Recommendations

• Grocery companies should post the FDA advice about mercury in fish on signs at seafood counters
• The FDA should increase the frequency of its testing for commonly consumed fish
• The FDA should consider including fresh tuna on its “Do Not Eat” list
• The FDA should require warnings to be posted where fish covered by the U.S. government advisories are sold

Related links:
Fish, Antibiotics, Pesticides, Toxic Materials
Pregnant Women, Eat Fish! Don’t Eat Fish!
Sustainable Lifestyles & Healthy Food,
UPDATE & New Links
Fish Farming: The Hazards & Environmental Impacts 
The Aquaculture Dilemma

Cat Suicide Dance
The Poisoning of Minamata
Minamata Disaster
1 in 6 American women have unsafe levels of mercury in their blood
Still Ill
Mercury Rising: The Poisoning of Grassy Narrows
Mercury Exposure
Mercury poisoning: 1 in 6 babies are at risk of developmental problems