Yahoo... (Reuters) - Five people have died and 21 others have been hospitalized in recent weeks in a listeria outbreak linked to caramel apples, federal health officials said on Friday. A total of 28 people infected with listeria have been reported from 10 states, according to a statement from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.
The CDC warned consumers not to eat any pre-packaged, commercially-produced caramel apples, including those with other toppings such as nuts, chocolate or sprinkles, until more information is available.
Of the 28 victims, 26 were hospitalized and five of those people died, the CDC said, adding that listeriosis contributed to at least four of the deaths. Nine of the cases involved a pregnant woman or her newborn infant, it said.
Listeriosis is an infection that primarily affects older adults, pregnant women, newborns and people with weakened immune symptoms. Symptoms include fever, muscle aches, headache, confusion and convulsions.
No illnesses related to the outbreak have been linked to apples that are not caramel-coated and are not prepackaged, or to caramel candy, the CDC said.
The states include Missouri and New Mexico, which each had five cases; Minnesota, Texas and Arizona, with four cases each; Wisconsin, with two cases; and Washington, California, Utah and North Carolina, with one case each.
The cases were diagnosed in late October and November, the CDC said, adding that cases after December 3 might not yet be reported.
In Minnesota, those who fell ill bought caramel apples from Supervalu Inc's Cub Foods, Kwik Trip and Mike's Discount Foods, which carried Carnival brand and Kitchen Cravings brand apples, state health officials said. These two brands are no longer being sold, but health officials are concerned that people who bought them may still have them in their homes.
(Reporting by Mary Wisniewski; Editing by Susan Heavey and Bernadette Baum)
Poster Comment:
Moderate Independent As a food safety auditor (3rd party, not regulatory) with training in food microbiology, I'd like to add a few comments. 1) It's not known what the source of the contamination is. Listeria is found on improperly washed fruits and vegetables, so there's that possibility. However, companies that process apples rarely only ship to a single customer, so if it were the apples, we would expect cases not related to candy apples, as well. That indicates a site specific issue at the company producing the candy apples. 2) Listeria is a common contaminate of improperly sanitized food contact surfaces, especially around moisture. Possible growth sites include drains, dripping pipes, condensation or any areas of standing water. Normally, it would be a direct contamination issue such as product being stored under a cooling unit that's dripping in the cooler. These would be the first areas to check after they determine which company produced the product. 3) Unfortunately, candy companies often are lax in their sanitation practices due to the low water activity of most of their products. Bacteria normally won't grow in their product, however many types, such as salmonella and listeria can survive for a long period of time. It doesn't take a large number of cells to cause an infection after consumption. 4) Listeria can actually grow at refrigerated temperatures, which make this pathogen unique. This is why it's important to follow the expiration dates on cold cuts and other ready to eat products. If anyone has any questions, I'll be glad to answer them.28-4
[JRodinMN] Where can I get some of those for my wife? 6-22
Catherine Ever since the Listeria outbreak in CO (mostly involving melons), I scrub all melons, avocados, pineapples with a brush and mild soap. You would not believe the filth that comes off of them. If you don't clean the outsides of these, when you cut into them, you're dragging anything on the skin into the fruit. Everything else, I soak in warm water with Apple cider vinegar. Again...filthy water left over. Don't always trust that prepared foods are clean and safe.38-1
Clinton good post. I scrub the 7734 out of my pineapples because I put the whole thing in my Vitamix. but I'm sure a lot of people don't think about the knife going from the outside to the inside. not all of us were raised with good pa.ents like you were & I was5-5
[Alexandria] Alexandria Give me a break, Clinton. This doesn't have anything to do with being raised by good parents. If your parents were all that, they apparently didn't teach you proper grammar like in your last sentence. The correct tense is "you are I were". If you can be petty, so can I. 4-9
Moderate Independent Apple Cider Vinegar will help remove dirt residue but it is not a sanitizer. There are a few sanitizers you can purchase for fruits and vegetables, nothing is 100% effective.3-1
HEY RED! I always wash the cold cut drawer in the refrigerator with a bleach solution and keep lunch meats, cheeses separately wrapped , I always rinse them after purchase and re-wrap them in wax paper. also, good idea to pre-wash all fruits & veggies and wipe bottom of milk cartons bottles, etc, BEFORE placing them in the frig as well. sound a bit much but getting sick is much more than that 17
Kazuti A lot of the major brand apple juice is made from concentrate that comes from China. In 2011 the FDA found levels of arsenic 5x what is permitted in our public water supplies. Has that changed? I don't know, but if you really examine those plastic jugs of apple juice on store shelves, you'll probably find "concentrate from China" printed somewhere where it's difficult to see. I don't know about any of you, but I don't trust Chinese exports. 6-1 !
Samantha Well, I get about 50 dollars worth of vegetables and fruits and I can make several glasses of juice (20-30 oz from just 2 apples, 2 small sticks of celery, 1 cucumber, 1 small lemon, 1 thumb-size piece of ginger root, and 2 leaves of romaine lettuce or one bowl of assorted, small cuts of greens like collard greens or kale, plus one other small fruit like a pear or slices of pineapple or mango) each day for a week and then some. I make about 2 liters a day (which is like four 16 oz glasses), sometimes. (I actually went on a juice fast for 7 days and drunk nothing but juice and water, and still had plenty of produce left out of that). I'm not really sure how much a gallon of juice costs at the store, and I'm not quite sure how much each individual glass I make is worth. Though you don't have to spend so much. I spent 29 dollars yesterday and got plenty of produce for some simple juices to make throughout the week. I just like to throw a bunch of different stuff in there because I don't eat as much vegetables as I should, so it's a great and fast way to consume a plate full of vegetables and fruits in one 16 oz cup of juice for breakfast. And I only paid 60 dollars for the juicer. It originally cost 140 dollars but I got mine from an Ebay auction for less in like new condition. It's a Breville.