Europe Cancels Consumer Caution About Sprouts
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) Tuesday dropped its consumer advisory against eating raw sprouts and growing sprouts from seed at home, and recommended consumers refer to the various national...
View ArticleEurope Open to Egypt Peas and Beans
Restrictions imposed against Egypt during this year’s E. coli O104:H4 outbreaks in Germany and France have been lifted by the European Commission (EC). Fresh and chilled peas and beans from Egypt may...
View ArticleEU Ban on Egyptian Fenugreek Seeds Extended
Last week the European Commission lifted import restrictions on fresh and chilled podded peas and green beans and other fresh produce from Egypt. The ban had been an emergency action imposed in July,...
View ArticleProfile of Germany’s Catastrophic ‘Sproutbreak’
As health authorities raced to find the source of the unprecedented E. coli epidemic sweeping through Germany this past spring, epidemiology was faulted when the first case-control study erroneously...
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Top Food Safety Stories of 2011: No. 1
The epidemic of E. coli O104:H4 centered in Northern Germany was 2011′s most important food safety story. The top story of the year involved a rare serotype of dangerous bacteria that in May and June...
View ArticleClues to Deadly EU ‘Sproutbreak’ in New Genome Study
In one of the first uses of genome sequencing to trace the path of a foodborne illness outbreak, a team led by scientists from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and the Broad Institute looked at...
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An Outbreak Like Germany’s Could Happen Here
I am interested in how major foodborne outbreaks and their investigations are interpreted and analyzed: to prevent future outbreaks, minimize the harm from outbreaks that occur, and frame the debates...
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Another Clue to E. Coli O104:H4?
Scientists in Oslo say sequencing of a particular virulent strain of E. coli O103:H25, which caused an outbreak in Norway in 2006, revealed a resemblance to the 2011 German outbreak strain of E. coli...
View ArticleAntibiotic May Reduce Time Patients Carry E. Coli
Antibiotics are not usually recommended for treating E. coli infections; however one of these drugs showed promising results when given to victims of last year’s massive European outbreak linked to...
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Food Safety Compromised As Global Trade Expands
As the web of global food trade becomes more and more complex, humans become increasingly vulnerable to prolonged foodborne illness outbreaks, says a team of international researchers. The...
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Spanish Farmers Paid a Price for Europe’s E. coli O104 Outbreak
The Murcia region in southeastern Spain, where the Segura River is found, is known as Europe’s orchid because of its abundant production of fruits, vegetables and flowers. But Murcia is coming off a...
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EU Tallies Human & Economic Damages From O104 Outbreak
Bureaucrats in Brussels have tallied up the damage last year’s E. coli O104:H4 outbreak did to the European fruit and vegetable business and threatened to use European Union law to make sure it does...
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European E. coli Outbreak Sheds New Light on Treatment Strategies
It is an accepted fact among medical experts that an E. coli infection should not be treated with antibiotics, as these drugs may worsen illness. But a new review of strategies used to treat victims of...
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Research Could Lead to E. coli O104 Treatments
Last year’s German E. coli outbreak made headlines around the world in May and June as it sickened nearly 3,800 people and killed 50, distinguishing it as the single deadliest foodborne illness...
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Food Source Might Be Responsible for 10,000 German Illnesses
As many as 10,000 German school children stricken since Friday by a vomiting virus may be suffering from eating cafeteria food, health authorities say. While the investigation is far form over,...
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Emerging Pathogens: Is E. Coli O104:H4 the Next Strain to Watch?
In May 2011, a virtually unknown strain of E. coli, known as O104:H4, made worldwide headlines when an outbreak in Germany sickened approximately 4,000 people and killed 50, including one American....
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Emerging Pathogens: Is E. Coli O104:H4 the Next Strain to Watch?
In May 2011, a virtually unknown strain of E. coli, known as O104:H4, made worldwide headlines when an outbreak in Germany sickened approximately 4,000 people and killed 50, including one American....
View ArticleNaming Names in EU E. coli Outbreak: Fair Game?
Seed company threatens to sue American news sites for naming it as suspect in European E. coli outbreak. The investigation into the European E. coli crisis linked to sprouts has been closing in on...
View ArticleNotes, Observations on Europe's Epidemic
What are the lessons learned so far from the O104:H4 outbreak? German medical and public health authorities are burdened by the equivalent of more than 10 normal years worth of case loads occurring in...
View ArticleNearly 4,180 Sickened in E. coli O104:H4 Outbreak
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) reported Monday that the European toll in the outbreak of E. coli O104:H4 in Germany and France linked to sprouts had risen to 4,173...
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