Seven persons infected with the outbreak strain E.coli O121
The US Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) has found tennis rackets being used to scoop mung
bean sprouts onto the conveyor belt during inspections at a facility linked to
an outbreak of E.coli O121 which has sickened 17 people.
The agency said two employees were seen using tennis
rackets with scratches, chips, frayed plastic, and sponge type handles to
scoop the sprouts from the water in the harvester onto the belt, which fed them
into finished product storage bins.
The same rackets were used the following day in the
bubbler during alfalfa sprout harvesting. FDA inspection findings FDA conducted
three inspections of Evergreen Fresh Sprouts on May 2223, May 2730, and June
6. It is investigating a multistate outbreak of E. coli O121 infections linked to eating raw clover sprouts from
Evergreen Fresh Sprouts, of Moyie Springs, Idaho.
A FDA spokesman told that the product samples taken
did not yield the shiga toxin producing E. coli (STEC) bacteria that caused the
outbreak. "However, microbial contamination in food is not expected to be
uniform but rather clustered and localized. In other words, one can test a
portion from a large batch and find it to be negative, but this does not mean
we can conclude that the rest of the batch is not contaminated," he said.
Although the samples tested by the FDA did not yield
the pathogen that caused the outbreak, this does not necessarily, mean that
there was no contamination present. He added there is strong epidemiology and
traceback evidence connecting Evergreen raw clover sprouts to this outbreak.
Evergreen Fresh Sprouts had ceased the production of
clover sprouts, but mung bean sprouts and alfalfa sprouts were still being
produced. 17 persons infected with the outbreak strain of Shiga toxin producing
E.coliO121 (STEC O121) have been reported from five states, in the June 9
update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The number of people sickened by state is: Idaho (3),
Michigan (1), Montana (2), Utah (1), and Washington (10). 47% of ill persons were
hospitalized but none have developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) or died.
FDA
investigators observed condensate and irrigation water dripping from rusty
valves into sprouting vats containing growing sprouts and a rusty and corroded
mung bean room watering system. They also found a pitchfork with corroded metal
used to transfer mung bean sprouts into plastic tubs during harvest; and a squeegee
with visible corroded metal and non-treated wood also used to agitate mung bean
seeds inside a soak vat.
Traceback
investigation: Epidemiology and traceback investigations indicated
that contaminated raw clover sprouts produced by Evergreen Fresh Sprouts are
the likely source of the outbreak. Illness dates range from May 1, to May 20,
the age of those affected ranges from 11 to 45 years, with a median of 27 years
and seventy-six percent of ill persons were female.
Source: Food Quality News
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