Canada's food safety authorities is said to have warned against the consumption of Barrie Bros. Fresh Broccoli Soup for fear of contamination with the bacteria that causes botulism.

The public have been told about the consequences which are likely to be caused following the consumption of this soup.

The Fresh Broccoli Soup (Barrie's Pressure Sealed Natural), sold in a 744 milliletre Mason glass jar with a metal lid is likely to contain Clostridium botulinum, which could lead to a life-threatening illness.

This soup also does not contain UPC or lot code and not even a best before date. Though this soup has been distributed in Ontario yet so far no illnesses have been reported in association with the soup, the CFIA asserted.

However the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, in conjunction with Cambridge, Ont.-based Barrie Bros have warned about the potential danger.

Botulism is a rare but deadly form of food poisoning that can be caused by consuming tiny quantities of botulinum neurotoxin. The botulinum neurotoxin is the most potent toxin known (just 30ng of neurotoxin is sufficient to cause illness and even death), and the consumption of as little as 0.01g of food in which C. botulinum has grown can result in botulism.

The majority of cases of foodborne botulism are caused by two bacteria known as non-proteolytic C. botulinum and proteolytic C. botulinum. A major difference between these two bacteria is that non-proteolytic C. botulinum is able to grow and produce toxin at 3°C, whilst proteolytic C. botulinum will not grow at temperatures less than 12°C. This ability to grow at form toxin at refrigeration temperatures makes non-proteolytic C. botulinum a major hazard in minimally heated refrigerated foods, such as chilled ready meals.

The production incorporates practices and risk assessments based on the latest scientific information, such as spore heat resistance, growth properties of non-proteolytic C. botulinum, and the incidence of these spores in food. The new method of detecting non-proteolytic C. botulinum is providing high quality information on the incidence of spores in food. An important feature of the new method is that it is specific, and enumerates only non-proteolytic C. botulinum spores. Some previous techniques were not optimised to distinguish between non-proteolytic C. botulinum and proteolytic C. botulinum. The new method is very sensitive with a low detection limit that has been achieved by the use of a selective enrichment and large test samples, and importantly this has been confirmed using carefully structured control samples.

The robust method was developed as a collaboration between the Nestlé Research Centre, Switzerland and IFR, an institute of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and is designed to provide the data the food industry needs for quantitative microbial risk analysis and the implementation of food safety objectives. This allows the total risk from spores of non-proteolytic C. botulinum in the final meal to be calculated. Modelling the risk of this total spore count rising above safe levels and the frequency that this event occurs will allow the management and control of the process more accountably.

Delores H. Campbell and Winston A. Fearon and their company, Juices Incorporated (also known as Juices International and Juices Enterprises), are charged with violating the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act by failing to have a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) plan for certain juice products, such as the company's carrot and beet juice products. The FDA requires all juice processors to have and implement HACCP plans that identify and control food hazards associated with their juices.

Among the violations observed by FDA investigators were failures to:

* properly clean food-contact surfaces
* maintain plumbing in a manner that avoids a source of possible food and water contamination.

Failure to identify and control food hazards could lead to the formation of Clostridium botulinum (C. bot.) bacteria that can germinate in the carrot and beet juices made by the company. The neurotoxin formed by C. bot., when ingested in even very small amounts, could cause paralysis, difficulty breathing and potentially death from asphyxiation. In 2006, six cases of botulism in the United States and Canada were linked to refrigerated carrot juice. However, the FDA is not aware of illnesses associated with Juices Incorporated's juice products.

The complaint also charges Juices Incorporated, Campbell and Fearon with failing to conform to current good manufacturing practice (GMP) requirements for making, packing, or holding human food. Juice products that are produced under conditions that do not comply with HACCP or GMP requirements are considered adulterated under the Act.

The FDA's most recent inspection of the Juices facility in March 2010 found the same or similar violations observed during previous inspections of the company. The agency issued warning letters to the company in April 2008 and October 2009, and the company promised to bring its operations into compliance but did not make the necessary changes.

"Today's action shows that FDA will seek enforcement action to make sure that those companies that must have preventative controls in place to ensure the safety of their products adhere to all applicable requirements," said Associate Commissioner for Regulatory Affairs Dara A. Corrigan.

"Consumers must have a comfort level that the products they buy in their markets are safe to eat and to drink," said Loretta E. Lynch, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. "We will continue to act with the FDA to ensure that companies that produce food and juice under dangerous conditions take corrective action."

The company purchases ingredients, such as carrots and beets, that originate outside of New York and sells products to food service establishments primarily in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania.

Various violations involved the following brands: Double Trouble Carrot Punch, Carrot Juice Drink, Carrot & Ginger Drink, Beet Carrot Juice Drink, Agony Peanut Punch, Cashew Punch, and Irish Sea Moss. Other company products stored at the facility during FDA visits were: Front End Lifter Magnum Punch, Ginger Beer, Sorrell Drink, Pineapple Twist and Soursop Juice.

Warning Letters:

http://www.fda.gov/ICECI/EnforcementActions/WarningLetters/2008/ucm1048346.htm

http://www.fda.gov/ICECI/EnforcementActions/WarningLetters/ucm201860.htm

Botulism:

http://www.foodsafety.gov/poisoning/causes/bacteriaviruses/botulism.html

Causes of Botulism

Clostridium botulinum, a bacteria found in contaminated or incompletely cooked,
canned foods, is the cause of Botulism. This bacteria produces a powerful poison (toxin) that is absorbed from the digestive tract and spreads throughout the central nervous system. Likely foods to cause botulism include: home-canned vegetables and fruits, fish, meat, undercooked sausage, smoked meats and milk products. With infants under 1 year, raw honey or other uncooked foods may be the cause. The bacteria also may infect a wound and produce the toxin.

Signs and Symptoms of Botulism

Symptoms of Botulism usually appear suddenly 18 to 36 hours after eating contaminated food. They include blurred or double vision, drooping eyelids, dry mouth, slurred speech, swallowing difficulty, vomiting, diarrhea, weakness of the arms and legs. As the condition progresses, paralysis may develop. There is not direct effect on mental abilities and there is no fever associated with Botulism. Symptoms appearing in infants include severe constipation, feeble cry, and the inability to suck.

A team of scientists at the University of Leeds found that the protein, called Glypican-1, boosts abnormal and infectious proteins in the brain called prions, which are known to cause mad-cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy. When the researchers reduced Glypican-1 in infected mouse cells, abnormal prion levels also declined, they wrote in the online journal.

Glypican-1 may act as a scaffold that brings together the two forms of the prion protein, causing normal prions to mutate into infectious ones, Nigel Hooper, one of the authors, said in a telephone interview.

“It’s bringing the normal prion protein and the infectious molecule together and allowing them to interact,” said Hooper, a professor of biochemistry at the university in northern England. “The infectious molecule will then allow the normal one to convert, setting up a cascade.”

In the mid-1990s, scientists found a possible link between bovine spongiform encephalopathy and a variant of the fatal human illness, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, which destroys brain tissue. An estimated 166 people in the U.K. may have died from variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob since 1995, according to the National Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Surveillance Unit in Edinburgh.
Infected Animals

People are believed to develop the disease by eating meat from infected animals or after transfusions of infected blood. Early symptoms include depression or psychosis, unsteadiness and involuntary movements. By the time of death, patients become immobile and mute.

Researchers may be able to use the Leeds team’s finding about Glypican-1 to design drugs that disrupt the disease process and treat mad-cow disease or variant CJD, Hooper said. He said his team next plans to study the effect of removing Glypican-1 from mice.

“We’re going into animal models to look at what happens if you take the Glypican-1 out,” Hooper said.
The Wellcome Trust and the U.K.’s Medical Research Council funded the research published today.

Botulism is a nasty bug. It produces a potent neuro-toxin that causes paralysis. It has produced some of the most gruesome illnesses, hospitalizations, and deaths of all clients at Marler Clark.

But botulism (i.e. the bacteria from which the toxins are produced) is also extremely prevalent in the environment.  It is a naturally occuring bacteria in the earth; in fact, if you were to go outside and pick up a handful of dirt from your backyard garden, you'd likely be picking up a bunch of botulism spores as well.  These are not harmful unless they are allowed to incubate at the right temperature for the right period of time, but they are there nonetheless.

To bring me back to the point with respect to the Stater Bros soup recall, the real risk here is that botulism spores in the low-acid, hermetically sealed soup containers might germinate and begin to produce the harmful botulism toxins.  The soup contains lots of vegetables, and lots of the vegetables probably came from dirt that contained lots of botulism spores. 

Thus, Bay Valley Foods/Stater brothers, should be commended for recalling the potentially contaminated (or "underprocessed") soup.  But it is equally important for consumers of this product to know the risks they face.  It's not that your beef might be a little undercooked, or the carrots a little hard.  It's botulism.

• 18.6 - oz. metal cans of Stater Bros. brand, "CHUNKY GRILLED SIRLOIN STEAK WITH VEGETABLES" Ready to Serve Soup. The front of each label bears the USDA mark of inspection. Additionally, the "Use By/Sell By" date "11/10/10," and the establishment number, "EST. 108," are printed on the top of each can. Each case contains a total of twelve (12) cans and may be identified by the code "70411108."

The canned soup products were produced on November 10, 2008 and were distributed to retail establishments in California. If available, the retail distribution list(s) will be posted on the FSIS website at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/
FSIS_Recalls/Open_Federal_Cases/index.asp
 

Lest we be lulled into a false sense of security, however, botulism is every bit as prevalent in our human environments as it ever was, and it remains a virtually unparalleled threat to public health--at least as judged by the devastating, brutal nature of the illnesses that it causes.  We have represented victims of many major botulism outbreaks, including the Castleberry Chili sauce outbreak, and the Bolthouse Farms carrot juice outbreak, and the horrific nature of the illnesses that these people suffered is testament to the signficant threat that botulism is, and remains. 

Here's a botulism primer:

Botulism is a rare but serious paralytic illness caused by a nerve toxin that is produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. Clostridium botulinum is the name of a group of bacteria commonly found in soil. It is an anaerobic, gram-positive, spore-forming rod that produces a potent neurotoxin. These rod-shaped organisms are intolerant of oxygen. The bacteria form spores, which allow them to survive in a dormant state until exposed to conditions that can support their growth. The organism and its spores are widely distributed in nature. They occur in both cultivated and forest soils, bottom sediments of streams, lakes, and coastal waters, in the intestinal tracts of fish and mammals, and in the gills and viscera of crabs and other shellfish.
Four types of botulism are recognized: foodborne, infant, wound, and a form of botulism whose classification is as yet undetermined. Foodborne botulism is the name of the disease (actually a foodborne intoxication) caused by the consumption of foods containing the neurotoxin produced by C. botulinum.

In the United States an average of 110 cases of botulism are reported each year. Of these, approximately 25% are foodborne, 72% are infant botulism, and the rest are wound botulism. Outbreaks of foodborne botulism involving two or more persons occur most years and are usually caused by eating contaminated home-canned foods. The number of cases of foodborne and infant botulism has changed little in recent years, but wound botulism has increased because of the use of black-tar heroin, especially in California.

Foodborne botulism (as distinct from wound botulism and infant botulism) is a severe type of food poisoning caused by the ingestion of foods containing the potent neurotoxin formed during growth of the organism. The toxin is heat labile and can be destroyed if heated at 80°C for 10 minutes or longer. The incidence of the disease is low, but the disease is of considerable concern because of its high mortality rate if not treated immediately and properly. Most of the 10 to 30 outbreaks that are reported annually in the United States are associated with inadequately processed, home-canned foods, but occasionally commercially produced foods have been involved in outbreaks. Sausages, meat products, canned vegetables and seafood products have been the most frequent vehicles for human botulism.
 

Sometimes the home canning experts tell consumers what to do, but do not explain why.   That’s why we like the approach taken by Kathleen Riggs, who is the Utah State University Extension Family and Consumer Sciences Agent for the Bee Hive State’s Iron County.

Take her advice on canned quick breads, for example. She says:

Although no cases of botulism have been identified as being caused specifically by a home canned quick bread, the potential is there. The product meets all the criteria for the organism to grow.

Fact: The organism C. botulinum itself is harmless; however, when conditions are right, it can form an extremely potent toxin. Three factors determine if C. botulinum will grow or not: a nonacid pH, adequate moisture and an airless environment. Canned breads meet all these requirements.

Normally these products are not being held under vacuum and therefore botulism is not a concern. However, sealing the bread in a jar provides he necessary airless condition.

Ms. Riggs writes about other “common practices that are not safe” for eggs in the shell, canned butter, canned wheat, and canning dried beans.  We found her column in The Spectrum in George, Utah.  More of her work can be found at Utah State University.

Although cases of foodborne botulism are rare in the United States these days, they do still occur. Botulinum toxin occurs in seven different forms, known as serotypes A through G, although serotypes A and B are the culprits in about 90 percent of the foodborne botulism cases in the United States. (Botulism is the reason why your mother warned you to never, ever eat food from a can that’s dented, swollen or–heaven forbid–leaking.)

Botulinum is a protein that acts like a neurotoxin, interfering with the neurological system that otherwise transmits vital signals throughout your body. In particular, it can cut off normal messaging to muscles, causing paralysis. Worst-case scenario: The toxin paralyzes the muscles of your diaphragm and you die of suffocation.

Unfortunately, there is no federally approved vaccine against botulinum. An injection of horse antiserum can help remove the toxin from your bloodstream, but that treatment can cause serious side effects.

Its worth going to her site and reading the rest.

Today’s issue of Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) published by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) carries an article that dissects all the food-borne disease outbreaks that occurred in 2006.

In “Surveillance for Foodborne Disease Outbreaks --- United States, 2006;” CDC looks at all 1,270 Food-borne Disease Outbreak (FBDOs) that were reported during that year, resulting in 27,634 confirmed illnesses and 11 deaths.

Only one of the 11 deaths was from Clostridium botulinum or botulism. That fatality was attributed to the C. botulinum toxin being transmitted by carrot juice.

Writing on his personal blog last December, Seattle food safety attorney Bill Marler told us what happened:

"For those that do not recall, in September 2006, three people living in Georgia developed food-borne botulism that was eventually traced to commercial carrot juice from a single bottle. Soon thereafter an additional case in Florida and two in Ontario, Canada surfaced. One of the 6 botulism patients died 90 days after illness onset. One year later, two others were still on ventilators. The remaining three were taken off ventilator support after 54, 90, and 129 days. Two survivors were at home, two were in rehabilitation facilities, and one was still hospitalized. All the patients had consumed carrot juice from the same manufacturer.

"Now, here is the interesting part, according to Dr. Anandi N. Sheth at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia and colleagues, an investigation eventually determined that inadequate refrigeration probably led to botulinum toxin production. As the investigators pointed out, the pasteurized carrot juice had no protection against the bacterium Clostridium botulinum other than refrigeration. "This investigation demonstrates that carrot juice and other processed foods with no natural barriers to C. botulinum germination require additional chemical or thermal barriers," the investigators wrote in the medical journal Clinical Infectious Diseases. Accordingly, they report, "In June 2007, the FDA modified its guidance for refrigerated low-acid juices to recommend adding a validated juice-treatment method, such as acidification or appropriate thermal treatment, to decrease the risk of C. botulinum contamination, should any breaches in refrigeration occur."

Its comforting to know FDA may have addressed the problem and implemented the fix for the 2006 carrot juice outbreak.  However, it also shows that botulism from food products remains a concern.

Dr. George Marble says 3 horses were already dead on April 10th and when he went to the ranch he found two more that weren't able to walk. Within two days, all twelve the of the rancher's horses were dead or euthanized. Almost all the horses suffered paralysis of the legs and tongue which are both classic signs of botulism. The vet says no other pastures were affected by the toxin.

The veterinarian told KCWY-13, "the animals that were upstream so to speak from this particular pasture cause there was a little creek that ran through and those downstream from those horses and those that bordered on a fence line are all unaffected."

An equine health site associated with Horse Magazine says: "Horses usually become infected with botulism by ingesting the neurotoxin produced by the anaerobic bacterium Clostridium botulinum in contaminated feed or water. Feed contamination can occur when the decomposing carcass of a rodent or bird is baled in hay. This is seen more often in round bales. Feed can also be contaminated through improper storage or poor fermentation. Rarely, horses can get botulism when C. botulinum from the soil gets into an open wound."

KCWY-13 said it is extremely important for ranchers to check the hay before feeding, especially in the summer.

The Veep also said the facility keeping Speaker Nancy Pelosi's stock of botox was given a nick-name by Congress: Fort Botulism.

We know a lot of stuff on the internet isn't true, but wanted you to know how the name "Fort Botulism" became associated with the Golden Gate Bridge. It is true, however, that the Vice President today spoke to 1,046 graduating cadets at the United States Air Force Academy.

A new, improved test for detecting what's known as "serotype A" of the toxin has now been developed by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) biologist Larry H. Stanker and colleagues at the ARS Western Regional Research Center in Albany, Calif.

The new test relies on laboratory built molecules known as monoclonal antibodies, which can bind to the toxin. Assisting the work are biologist Luisa W. Cheng and research associate Miles C. Scotcher.

The botulinum toxin that causes botulism occurs in seven different serotypes--A through G. A and B are culprits in most of the foodborne botulism cases in this country, according to Stanker.  The research team now expects to complete assays for detecting serotypes B and E sometime this year.

Safeguard Biosystems, Inc., of San Diego, CA., is packaging two of the serotype A antibodies into a dipstick-style test kit that looks and operates much like a home pregnancy test. The botulinum kit is intended for testing liquids, such as beverages, or clinical specimens, such as blood or urine.

That should be much quicker than waiting around for those lab mice.

ARS, a unit of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), has much more about this in its May/June magazine here.

"Home canning and bottling of fish and other seafood is a popular activity for Canadians, especially in Atlantic Canada. However, improper preparation, canning or storage of these foods can cause serious illness, such as botulism."

Ottawa went on with this advice:

If you are home canning or bottling your own low-acid foods (including clams, lobster and whelks), the following steps will help to reduce the risk of contamination or the presence of C. botulinum:

- Use a pressure canner and strictly follow the manufacturer's instructions for canning or bottling foods considered to be low-acid, such as fish and other shellfish.

- Clean and sanitize your hands, all work surfaces, food, utensils, and equipment and keep them clean during all stages of the canning process.

- Do not substitute ingredients, amounts or the jar size that is in the recipe because this can cause the time or pressure needed during pressure canning to change. This can lead to bacteria remaining in the food. Use the final product within one year.

- Once the container has been opened, refrigerate leftovers immediately.

- If you are buying home canned products, ask the vendor if they have followed proper safety steps.

Always remember, never eat canned foods if you suspect the item has been tampered with, if the closure/seal has been broken, or if the container is swollen or leaking. If in doubt, throw it out!

The entire statement designed to prevent botulism can be found here.

Consumers who do home canning are advised to check with their state or county Extension Service to see if where tests can be conducted. Some local Extension Services offer the tests for free.

Pressure canners must be used to home can any low acid food including meats and poultry, vegetables and seafood.

You are in danger of botulism poisoning if using a pressure canner with a dial gauge that’s not reading accurately.

Only the pressure canner lid and dial gauge needs to be tested. 

The Alabama Department of Public Health last summer banned the sales of any good prepared in home kitchens at the popular farmers market. Now health officials have issued a new regulation allowing foods like baked goods to be sold, but not the more potentially hazardous like canned beans and the like.

According to the Tuscaloosa News:

The Alabama Farmers Market Authority and the Alabama Department of Public Health worked together to create the amendment to the state’s food establishment sanitation regulations.

Under the amendment, food prepared for sale at farmers markets or at charitable, religious, civic or not-for-profit events is permissible as long as it’s not potentially hazardous and a label or visible sign indicates that it was prepared at a location not inspected by the health department.

These include items such as baked breads, rolls, cookies, cakes, brownies, fudge, double-crust fruit pies, fruit jams, jellies, marmalades and relishes, candy, spices or herbs and snack items such as popcorn, caramel corn and peanut brittle.

Prohibited are low-acid foods, such as green beans or tomato-based products, sold in hermetically sealed containers that can lead to deadly botulism if they’re not prepared at a high enough temperature or with a strong enough seal.