Canadian Dog Treat Recalled - Salmonella

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has alerted consumers to the presence of Salmonella in Rollover Pork Tenders Premium Dog Treats. One illness has been associated with this product.

The treats, which are manufactured by Rollover Premium Pet Food Ltd. of High River, Alberta, are sold in 50 gram packages labeled with UPC 0 60766 88138 1. All packages dated up to and including 07 MAR 10 are being recalled. Further details can be obtained by contacting the manufacturer directly at info@rolloverpetfood.com or by telephone at 1-800-616-9267.

There's not much detail available officially. Rollover has not posted any information on its web site. I "Google'd" the product and found a question on Yahoo Answers that might have been posted by the one confirmed victim. The author of the post became seriously ill with Salmonella, resulting in a three-day hospital stay. According to the posting, the victim did not taste the treat, but was infected either by handling it or as a result of being licked by his dog.

These treats are sold across Canada. If you have purchased this product, please discard it or return it to the store for a refund. I'll post more information as it becomes available.

People, Pets And MRSA

MRSA – methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus – has been making news recently. A particularly virulent strain of this common bacterium is credited with turning relatively minor cuts and abrasions into difficult-to-cure pimples, boils and abscesses.

Staphylococcus aureus is a common microbe. According to the CDC, approximately 32% of the population carry S. aureus without ill effect, usually in the nasal passages or on the skin; roughly 0.8% carry MRSA.

Most transmission of MRSA is person-to-person, either by direct contact or by touching a surface that has been contaminated by someone else. Careful cleaning and frequent hand-washing are usually the best ways to break the infection chain. In the last few years, however, another possible mode of MRSA transmission has raised its head – the family pet.

Today's issue of the New England Journal of Medicine describes just such a situation. An otherwise healthy adult woman was suffering from recurring MRSA-infected abscesses. Her husband and two of her three children were carriers of MRSA, but had no active infections. To remove the likely source of the woman's recurring infections, her husband and all three children were treated with nasal ointments and antiseptic washes.

But, even though her family members no longer carried MRSA, the patient continued to experience repeated infections. So her doctors decided to test the three apparently-healthy family cats. One of the cats proved to be carrying the offending MRSA strain.

All three cats were subjected to an antimicrobial treatment, which eliminated the MRSA. Four weeks later, the woman's abscesses had cleared up permanently. She, her husband, and her three children were retested and were all negative for MRSA. The family declined to retest the cats.

This is not the first time that a family pet has been reported to carry MRSA. In 2005, Dutch researchers reported a similar situation involving a family and their dog. And a 2006 report described the transmission of a strain of MRSA between animals and veterinary staff at a clinic in the UK.

Transmission of MRSA from family pets to their human companions is uncommon, but not unheard of. If you are struggling with a mysterious recurring MRSA infection, it might be worth testing the family pets.

Raw Goat Milk Recall In Australia

The Australian government has alerted consumers in the state of Queensland to a recall of unpasteurized frozen goat milk by Gaybill's Goat Dairy. The milk is contaminated with Salmonella.

The recalled milk was sold in two locations only, and has been on the market for three weeks. If you purchased unpasteurized frozen goat milk with a "Use By" date of 28/05/08 at either Ironwood Cottage Sandgate or Four Seasons Samford, please return the milk to the place of purchase for a refund.

Hallmark Meat - Finally, The Truth

Yesterday, I noted that Steve Mendell's written testimony to Congress stated that the downer cows never entered the food supply. I ended my post with a question:

"So, if Mendell is being truthful with the House Sub-Committee, why did the company recall 143 million pounds of beef?"

Now, we know the answer - Mendell lied in his written testimony.

According to a New York Times report, Mendell's initial oral testimony supported his written submission. Then he was asked to watch a video that clearly showed a downer cow being shot with a bolt gun and dragged to the kill box. And he admitted that this cow, at least, had entered the food supply.

Mendell claimed that he has asked for, but had been denied a copy of this video. According to the Humane Society, however, the video had been available on the Society's web site since February 19th.

Thanks, Steve Mendell, for answering my question.

Hallmark Meat Story: Curiouser and Curiouser

Steve Mendell, the President of Hallmark/Westland Meat Company, testified today – under subpoena – before a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee that is looking into "downer cow" debacle.

In his written testimony, Mendell admitted that the cows seen in the Humane Society undercover video were not treated humanely. But he said that these cows were euthanized, rather than slaughtered. An Associated Press report published on Yahoo News quotes Mendell as saying that the downer cows "...were not slaughtered, ground or sold. They were euthanized and removed."

According to the AP report, Mendell also stated in his written testimony that

"While these cows should be treated humanely and they were not, these cows were not harvested and they did not enter the food supply."

So, if Mendell is being truthful with the House Sub-Committee, why did the company recall 143 million pounds of beef?

Sekiya Customers Can Smile Again

Sekiya's Restaurant, which was closed late last month by the Hawai'i Department of Health following an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7, has reopened. The DOH reinstated Sekiya's operating permit after the restaurant passed final inspection on March 10th.

Contaminated Pear Juice - Arsenic Alert

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the Hong Kong Centre for Food Safety have issued a health hazard alert to consumers. The notices warn consumers to avoid consuming two brands of pear juice for toddlers that may contain arsenic.

The products being recalled in both Canada and Hong Kong are "President’s Choice Organics Pear Juice from Concentrate for Toddlers" and "Beech Nut Pear Juice from concentrate with Vitamin C added". The pear juice is sold in Canada through Loblaw's supermarkets. There is no mention of the product's country of origin

Please refer to the health hazard alert notices for details of lot code and expiration date. Do not consume these products.

It's A Dog's Breakfast - Part 2: Common Misconceptions

It’s time to set the record straight on some of the most common rationalizations used by people to justify the safety of feeding raw meat and poultry to their dogs.


Misconception #1. A dog’s stomach acid is stronger than a human’s. Therefore, all harmful bacteria will be killed in the dog’s stomach.

Stomach acid is an important defense against food-borne infection. The normal stomach pH* in humans while fasting (that is, with no food in the stomach) is approximately 2. Stomach pH rises (becomes less acid) for a period of time after a meal, because the stomach acid is diluted and buffered by food, then falls again.

The stomach’s digestive juices, which contain a combination of hydrochloric acid and the enzyme pepsin, will kill bacteria within 15 minutes when the pH in the stomach is lower (more acid) than 3. But if the pH rises above 4 for any reason, bacteria can survive – and even multiply – in the stomach.

The pH of digestive juices in the empty canine stomach – as in the human stomach – is approximately 2 at its most acid. As with humans, feeding alters the pH in a dog’s stomach, causing it to shift between strong acid and weak acid or even neutral conditions. But there is one difference.

In dogs, some of the contents of the small intestine are “burped” back into the empty stomach from time to time. This periodic “burp” raises the dog’s stomach pH to nearly 7 (the neutral point) – an ideal pH for bacteria to multiply.

Think about it. Dogs carry bacteria in their intestines, and dog poop is full of bacteria. There is only one way for bacteria to get into the intestines, and that is via the dog’s mouth and stomach.

*Acidity is measured by pH, which ranges over a scale of zero to 14, with zero being the most acid, 14 being the most alkaline, and 7 being exactly neutral.


Misconception #2. A dog’s intestinal tract is short. Stuff passes through too fast for bacteria to take hold.

The essential first step to infection - attachment to the cells that line the intestine wall - is very rapid. Salmonella and other pathogens can attach irreversibly to a susceptible cell immediately upon contact. It doesn’t matter how quickly the food passes through an animal’s intestine. Once attached to its target cell, the pathogen will stick like Krazy Glue and invade the cell at its leisure - usually, within one hour after adhering to the cell.


Misconception #3. A dog’s saliva contains lysozyme, an enzyme that destroys bacteria. Therefore, the bacteria get killed before they are swallowed.

Dog saliva and human saliva both contain lysozyme, an antibacterial enzyme, which is also present in some other body fluids, including tears.

Bacteria are divided into two major groupings – Gram-positive and Gram-negative – based on the chemical structure of their cell walls. Lysozyme destroys the cell walls of Gram-positive bacteria, but cannot harm Gram-negative bacteria, such as Salmonella, E. coli and Campylobacter.


Misconception #4. Dogs don’t get sick from bacteria and, therefore, can’t infect their human companions.

Dog may be less susceptible than humans to becoming sick from Salmonella, but they are not immune. And, just like Typhoid Mary, apparently healthy dogs can shed Salmonella in their feces. Furthermore, Salmonella isn’t the only pathogenic microbe that can infect dogs. Campylobacter, which is prevalent in raw poultry, can also be carried by dogs. Parasites such as Giardia can be spread from dogs to humans, too. I'll provide specific examples in Part 3 of this series.


Sorting through conflicting statements about health and safety issues can be both confusing and frustrating, especially when those statements are not backed up by independent scientific evidence. If you’d like to delve more deeply into the technical details, the links I’ve provided will give you a place to start.


Watch for Part 3 of this series, “Getting Down To Cases”, which will appear on Friday, March 14th.

I Beg To Differ!

In the last few days, food safety bloggers Bill Marler and Amy Derby have suggested that meat from the 143 million pound Hallmark/Westland "downer cow" recall should be tested. In my opinion, the only ones who would benefit from that idea would be the testing labs.

Marler suggests that the meat could be tested for mad cow, Salmonella and E. coli. Screening for mad cow prions is most effective when carried out on brain or nerve tissue, where the prions are most heavily concentrated. It would be far easier to find a needle in a haystack than to find a random few mad cow prions in 143 million pounds of meat. And a "negative" result for Salmonella or E. coli O157:H7 would be equally meaningless.

As Marler pointed out, there is an ethical dilemma here. Is it appropriate to discard meat that is likely safe to eat because some unknown fraction of it came from "downer" cows? I don't know the answer to that question. But I am certain of one thing. The answer won't come from testing.

Yet Another Sesame Seed Recall

The UK Food Standards Agency has issued another consumer alert regarding hulled sesame seeds. TRS Wholesale Co. Limited has announced the recall of one batch of its sesame seeds due to Salmonella contamination.

The 100g packages of seeds carry Batch Code No. L7192, and a Best Before date of July 2009.

Crying Over Spilt Eggs

This is a story that just won't go away. At the end of January, we learned about an outbreak of Salmonella gastroenteritis in the Tasmania, Australia. The outbreak was linked to one or more sauces made using raw eggs. Victims included patrons of the Venus, and mourners at two separate funerals where the catered food had been provided by Venus.

About three weeks later, the Tasmanian health authorities announced that they had traced the source of the raw eggs to Pitt Poultry. According to the news releases, Pitt had been a source of Salmonella-contaminated eggs in the past, but had recently cleaned up its act. Nevertheless, under pressure from the Green Party and others to act, Tasmania decided to require that Pitt apply a safety warning label to its packages of raw eggs. No other egg producer was required to use a warning label.

Nicholas Pitt, the owner of Pitt Poultry, claims that he has been the victim of a smear campaign. In an interview published on March 9th in the Sunday Tasmanian, Pitt insisted that animal rights activists and the Green Party have been making political hay out of the Salmonella incident. He pointed out that the health authorities did not find any Salmonella on his farm.

Now a former member of the Tasmanian Royal Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals (RSPCA) has come forward with the claim that Pitt was "tipped off" about a snap inspection intended to investigate animal welfare issues. According to a report carried by the "Mercury", Angela Ayling learned about the tip-off from Rick Butler, the CEO of the RSPCA. But Mr. Butler later changed his story.

Today, the Tasmanian Green Party was planning to introduce a Bill in the State parliament to ban battery-hen farming in the state. If passed, this would limit Tasmanian hen farming to free-range. The Bill is expected to fail.

This story seems to be an intertwined soap opera of Salmonella and animal welfare issues. While free-range hens might be "happier", they are not Salmonella-free. There is no easy or quick solution to Salmonella in poultry and eggs. In my opinion, confusing the issues of animal welfare and Salmonella will only delay progress on both fronts.

Hartz Recalls Second Lot Of "Vitamin Care for Cats"

FDA is alerting cat owners to the recall of a second production lot of Hartz Mountain Corporation's "Vitamin Care For Cats". Recent testing by FDA revealed Salmonella in bottles of product labelled with lot code SZ 22771.

Cats are susceptible to Salmonella and – just like humans – can suffer from symptoms including diarrhea, fever, nausea and abdominal pain. Please discontinue use of this batch of "Vitamin Care For Cats", and contact your veterinarian if your cat is exhibiting any of these symptoms. If you or a family member are experiencing symptoms of Salmonella, please contact your doctor.

It's A Dog's Breakfast - Part 1

The unprecedented 2007 pet food scandal sent a large number of dog owners on a search for a nutritious, safe alternative to dried or canned pet food. One option that many people investigated, and some people switched to, was a raw meat diet.

Feeding raw meat - either a commercial product or direct from the supermarket meat counter - has become increasingly popular in the last several years. Advocates of “raw feeding” claim that their pets are healthier, live longer, and are free from allergies and chronic diseases.

Poultry is a major component of most noncommercial raw food diets. Dogs are fed chicken wings, breasts, legs, backs and necks - all “on the bone”. Beef and lamb may also be part of a “raw meaty bone” diet, as is venison (especially in deer-hunting season) and other types of meat.

An indication of the increased popularity of raw meat pet diets is the availability of a very large selection of commercial “raw” products - typically in the form of frozen or freeze-dried patties. These are more convenient than do-it-yourself diets, and freeze-dried patties are much more practical when either boarding or traveling with a pet. There’s also comfort in feeding a commercial product - the feeling that the product is consistent in quality and is safe to use. After all, aren’t commercial pet foods regulated?

Unfortunately, in the United States, there are no regulations - other than the usual “truth in labeling” laws and the prohibition against knowingly selling adulterated products - that govern the safety of commercial raw pet foods. All that exists is Guideline #122, a Guidance Document issued in 2004 by the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM). In this document, the FDA states that it “... does not believe raw meat foods for animals are consistent with the goal of protecting the public from significant health risks, particularly when such products are brought into the home and/or used to feed domestic pets."

The CVM hasn’t proposed a formal set of regulations to govern the safety and quality of commercial raw pet food. With just two people within CVM assigned to the entire pet food sector, the agency has neither the money nor the manpower to enforce any new mandates. But there is a much larger problem than the lack of FDA regulation of these products. Raw food diets, whether commercial or homemade, may make your pet and your family ill.

Watch for Part 2 of this series, “Common Misconceptions”, which will appear on Wednesday, March 12th.

The Beijing Olympic Games: China's Potemkin Village?

In 2001, after China was awarded the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, some people questioned whether China's human rights record should have disqualified the country from hosting the Olympics. Little did anyone expect that the focus of China's Olympic preparations would shift to food safety.

That shift began last year, following several incidents of contaminated foods and other Chinese-manufactured products, including melamine in wheat gluten, diethylene glycol in toothpaste, antibiotic residues in seafood, and lead paint in toys.

China reacted in late June 2007 to the series of reports and recalls by announcing a crackdown on contaminated foods. The following month China also blocked the importation of "unsafe" foods from several countries, including the US, Germany and the Czech Republic.

Since last summer, there has been a steady stream of news out of Beijing, all intended to reassure the world community that the 2008 Summer Olympics will be a food-safe venue. In August, the government announced a US$1.2 billion investment to improve China's food safety system over a 3-5 year period. In October, Beijing reported that, during a four-month food safety campaign, it had identified and destroyed 667 tons of "inferior and/or shoddy" food, and had ordered the removal of an additional 446 tons from the market.

But is this progress real, or is it a mirage – a Potemkin village for the benefit of the outside world? Athletes from several countries are holding their pre-Olympic training camps in Japan instead of China. And to Beijing's dismay, the US Olympic Committee announced last month that it has arranged to have much of the food for the US athletes to be shipped to China from the United States.

Since the February announcement by the US Olympic Committee, China has redoubled its public relations efforts. Both the BBC and CNN News have carried reports recently about greenhouse produce growers that have been certified as suppliers for the Olympics. On March 7th, the head of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, told ShanghaiDaily.com that "The safety of Olympic food will be fully guaranteed."

This guarantee, however, likely does not extend to food outside of the Olympic venues. Even some of the "bottled water" might be unsafe, in spite of the Chinese government's recent efforts to crack down on unlicensed vendors. I'll be watching the news between now and August to see how far China's food safety "great leap forward" goes – and where it lands.

Meandering Through Myanmar Markets

As we walked through markets in the different towns and cities, we were struck by both the similarities and the regional differences in the selection of food. Here are a few of the things we encountered.

We saw meat trimmings in just about every market. They are used in soups, stews and curries.

We only saw this blood sausage in Mandalay

I'm happy to report that the only market where dried rat was on sale was in Bagan. Once was enough!

These young monks, begging for their daily food in the Bagan market, were happy to receive whatever was offered.

I'll leave this Bagan image to your imagination. Would anyone care to hazard a guess?

The Yangon city center market was the only place we saw live poultry.

Did these chickens have any premonition of their fate?

Diarrhetic Shellfish Poison Alert In Texas

An algal bloom in three bays has caused the Texas Department of State Health Services to close those bays to shellfish harvesting and to issue a recall of oysters, clams and mussels taken from Aransas, Corpus Christi and Copano bays.

Shellfish taken from these areas look, smell and taste normal, but may contain levels of a heat-stable chemical, okadaic acid that exceed federal guidelines for this naturally occurring toxin. Okadaic acid can cause vomiting, nausea, cramps and diarrhea.

Symptoms of diarrhetic shellfish poisoning can appear from 30 minutes to 12 hours after eating the toxic shellfish, and may last 2-3 days.

Diseases of Disaster - Another Installment

War and famine aren't the only triggers for outbreaks of diseases such as cholera and dysentery. The People's Daily On-Line reported this morning that 20 Bhutanese refugees in a camp in eastern Nepal are suffering from pneumonia and dysentery. The refugees were forced to leave their homes 320 km east of Kathmandu after a fire destroyed the entire village.

Earlier this week, the International Society for Infectious Diseases posted its regular weekly update of cholera, dysentery and diarrhea outbreaks – five cholera outbreaks (4 in Africa and one in Asia) and one outbreak of watery diarrhea.

• Katanga, Congo: There were 5483 cases of cholera and 120 deaths in the first seven weeks of 2008. The outbreak is continuing, but the epicenter appears to be shifting.
• Harare, Zimbabwe: Fourteen cases of cholera have been diagnosed in the last two weeks in and around Harare. Another nine cases, and one death, were reported in the area of Mashonaland Central during February.
• Mandera Province, Kenya: This area has seen 392 suspected cases of cholera, and has reported 7 deaths from the disease.
• Belet Hawo, Somalia: The people living in and around this town in southwestern Somalia have experienced 263 cases of "acute watery diarrhea" since the end of January 2008. The outbreak, which has caused 11 deaths so far, may have been triggered by the cholera outbreak just across the border in Mandera Province, Kenya. The spread of the disease is believed to be due to a severe water shortage, which has forced people to drink unsafe water. The district government has responded by chlorinating all of the wells and is warning residents to avoid drinking unchlorinated water.
• Cunene Province, Angola: Flooding has forced people from their homes in this region, and a cholera outbreak is in progress amongst the displaced population. Five to seven new cases are being reported each day; 82 people have died so far.
• Mon State, Myanmar: 61 people in eastern Myanmar are suffering from cholera; 2 victims have died so far. The affected village is near the Thai border, and is in an area controlled by the New Mon State Party under a cease-fire agreement with the Myanmar government. Local authorities are asking a Thai government hospital in nearby Sangkhlaburi to provide emergency assistance.

Cholera and dysentery spread rapidly in the absence of safe water for drinking, washing and cooking. Recently, a Swiss company introduced the LifeStraw which, according to the device's developer, can be used to decontaminate water "on the spot". I'll review LifeStraw and other approaches to achieving safe drinking water soon.

Philippines Typhoid Outbreak – An Update

According to a report in USA Today, the number of victims of the typhoid outbreak near Manila has risen to 1,477. The authorities have declared a "state of calamity" to facility emergency funding for antibiotics and intravenous fluids.

The outbreak appears to have slowed – at least for now. The number of new cases peaked in late February, and has been dropping in recent days. While the source of the outbreak has not been determined, health officials suspect the bacteria are being spread via contaminated water.

People planning to travel to the Philippines, especially to Calamba, the apparent epicenter of the outbreak, should take all appropriate precautions.

Myanmar Village Scenes

The first village that we visited in Bagan was on the "tourist trail". In fact, we encountered two groups of tourists arriving at this village as we were leaving. Villagers make at least part of their income demonstrating local crafts.

This young woman makes cheroots and demonstrates their use. Notice the deft use of the ashtray.

Villagers dry fruit such as these small plums in the sun, and sell them in the local market.

Peanuts and sesame seeds are also sun-dried, and then pressed to extract cooking oil. The oil press is turned using a "one-ox-power" engine, which was happy to pose for this picture.

The day we visited, peanut oil was on the production schedule.

The oil drizzles out of the bottom of the press and collects in the small container just beside the mill operator's left foot. The peanut meal that remains after grinding is fed to the chickens and oxen.

Peanut oil wasn't the only liquid being produced while we watched. The ox took advantage of a break in the action to engage in some production of its own.

The second village we visited in the area didn't have an oil press, but it boasted both a primary school and a general store. The family that owns the general store is considered "middle class" by Bagan standards, and is the wealthiest family in the village.

We met the proprietor and his wife.

The shelves were well-stocked with a wide variety of packaged foods and other goods.

This was a full-service store. It even had a paint department.

In Myanmar, tourists are not usually permitted to visit the schools. But the day we stopped by this village was a "festival" day and school wasn't in session. We were able to tour the school house, which is divided into five open classrooms. There is just one teacher, and she is responsible for the entire student body (grades one through five).

This is one of the classrooms.

The Myanmar government provides the school building and pays the teacher's (small) salary. It's up to the villagers to pay for school supplies and to find the money to maintain the building. When we visited, the village was gradually accumulating a supply of bricks to repair and enlarge the school.

Discover Cuisine - Strike Three

USDA has alerted consumers to a third recall involving Discover Cuisine "Red Curry Chicken & Jasmine Rice". This time, Inovata Foods of Edmonton, Alberta has issued the recall notice, which covers 3,780 pounds of entrées.

The entrées were exported to the US by Inovata Foods and distributed nationwide. Please check the USDA recall notice for details.

The recalled product carries a risk of Listeria monocytogenes contamination. If you have purchased Discover Cuisine's "Red Curry Chicken & Jasmine Rice", please check the "Best By" date on the package. If it reads "12 18 08", return the package to the store for a refund.