Battling Food-borne Illness: One Significant Victory, One Major Defeat

By Ethel Tiersky

Dec 31, 2010

The Good News:

The Food Safety Modernization Act has finally passed both Houses of Congress! Its provisions should eventually decrease the amount of food-borne illness that occurs in the U.S. each year. The latest (revised ) estimates are that about 1 person out of 6 becomes ill with a food-borne illness each year. That’s 48 million people!

To learn more about this legislation, click on the following links on this site: http://shelflifeadvice.com/content/food-safety-act-passes-senate-now-it-gets-passed-back-house and http://shelflifeadvice.com/content/food-safety-takes-2-steps-forward—still-way-go

To learn more about the new food-borne illness estimates, click here: http://www.ocala.com/article/20101216/ARTICLES/101219768/1402/NEWS?Title=CDC-changing-how-they-estimate-number-of-food-borne-illness-cases

The Bad News:

To rephrase a well-known proverb, bakers who make gingerbread houses shouldn’t spread germs. But, unfortunately, they did. As a result, ironically, the day before Xmas, Whole Foods Market announced a recall of gingerbread produced by Rolf’s Patisserie and sold in Whole Foods stores in 23 states after products produced at Rolf’s had already been connected to 4 food-borne illness outbreaks of Staphylococcus aureas (commonly referred to as “staph”).

Rolf’s problems this holiday season began when its products were linked to 100 cases of food-borne illness from 4 separate events, 3 in Illinois and 1 in Wisconsin, leading to closure of the store by the Illinois Department of Public Health.

Rolf’s sells its products in both retail and wholesale markets, online, and to institutions. Not all of them carry a Rolf’s label. However, retailers and restaurants that purchased from Rolf’s were contacted and asked to remove Rolf’s products from their shelves and discard them.

The Whole Foods recall included all assembled gingerbread houses made in Rolf’s after November 1, 2010. Some were sold under the Whole Foods label; some listed Rolf’s Patisserie as part of the description. So far, there have been no reported illnesses from gingerbread houses sold by Whole Foods Market. For a list of the states in which these products were sold, click here: http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm238112.htm

Also on December 24^th, Whole Foods Market announced that it was recalling other Rolf’s Patisserie items sold in their stores in 7 states—Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, and Wisconsin. The recalls items items that had used Rolf’s products as an ingredient in Whole Foods’ prepared food and bakery department products and repackaged and sold under the Whole Foods Market label. The products included pies, tarts, cakes, quiches, and pot pies. For a complete list of the specific products, click here: http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm238111.htm To contact Whole Foods by phone regarding Rolf’s products, call 512-542-0878.

The FDA, the CDC, and the State of Illinois and Cook County departments of public health are investigating the situation. Meanwhile, Rolf’s has discontinued production and distribution, and the store has been closed.

The source of the contamination of Rolf’s products is probably still unknown. However, food consumer.org explains in general where staph comes from. “Staph is found on the skin and hair as well as in the noses and throats in up to 50 percent of people and even a higher percent of people with skin, eye, nose or throat infections.” Food processing equipment can also be a source of contamination.

The symptoms of a staph infection usually develop within 1-6 hours after consuming contaminated food. They include diarrhea, stomach pain, vomiting, and nausea and generally last 1-3 days. Most people recover without medical intervention, but young children, the elderly, and those with weakened immune systems may require treatment for dehydration or other medical problems.

Here are some ways to avoid spreading staph in your kitchen:

• Wash hands and under fingernails well before preparing or consuming food and/or wear disposable gloves labeled for use in food preparation.

• Don’t prepare food if you have an eye or nose infection or a skin infection or wound on your hands or wrist.

• Keep your kitchen and utensils that touch food clean.

• Staph grows rapidly at room temperature, so don’t leave perishable foods out of the refrigerator for more than 2 hours. When perishables are kept out of the fridge for longer than that, hold hot foods should be kept above 140°F and cold perishables below 40°F. to avoid the risk of food-borne illness.

For me (your Shelf Life Advice guru), the Rolf recalls hit very close to home. No, I didn’t ignore the warning of Hansel and Gretel and devour fragments from a gingerbread house. However, I live about three blocks from Rolf’s Patisserie and have purchased their products many times in the past. I, like so many other members of our small suburban community (Lincolnwood, Illinois), were shocked and saddened by this incident.

Source(s):

FDA “Whole Foods Market Announces a Recall for Ginger Bread Houses…”

http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm238112.htm

Whole Foods Announces A Recall of Products Which Were Produced by Rolf’s Patisserie…”

http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm238111.htm

foodconsumer.org “Rolf’s Patisserie Voluntarily Recalls Desserts”

http://www.foodconsumer.org/newsite/Shopping/Alerts/rolf_s_patisserie_2412100445.html

newsinferno.com “Staph Outbreak Prompts Reall of Rolf’s Patissier Desserts”

http://www.newsinferno.com/defective-products/staph-outbreak-prompts-recall-of-rolfs-patisserie-desserts/

Ocala.com “CDC changing how they estimate number of food-borne illness cases”

http://www.ocala.com/article/20101216/ARTICLES/101219768/1402/NEWS?Title=CDC-changing-how-they-estimate-number-of-food-borne-illness-cases

Link(s):