Canada: Amira brand Tahiti Sauce Recalled Due to Salmonella

Amira Enterprises Inc. is recalling Amira brand Tahini Sauce from the marketplace due to possible Salmonella contamination. Consumers should not consume the recalled product described below.

Brand Name	Common Name	Size	UPC
Amira	Tahini Sauce	750 g	0 69467 40101 0

Check to see if you have recalled products in your home. Recalled products should be thrown out or returned to the store where they were purchased.

Food contaminated with Salmonella may not look or smell spoiled but can still make you sick. Young children, pregnant women, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems may contract serious and sometimes deadly infections. Healthy people may experience short-term symptoms such as fever, headache, vomiting, nausea, abdominal cramps and diarrhea. Long-term complications may include severe arthritis.

Childrens Health :Hand Washing Your Dishes Better For Kids' Health ♦ Baby formula poses higher arsenic ♦ Breastfeeding, shape immune system early in life

Hand Washing Your Dishes Could Be Better For Kids' Health   Doing dishes the old-fashioned way -- by hand -- might help curb a modern-day problem: Rising rates of childhood allergies, a new study suggests.Researchers in Sweden found that children living in families that hand-washed their dishes were about 40 percent less likely to develop allergies compared with kids in homes that used a dishwasher Continue Reading

Baby formula poses higher arsenic risk to newborns than breast milk  In the first US study of urinary arsenic in babies, researchers found that formula-fed infants had higher arsenic levels than breast-fed infants, and that breast milk itself contained very low arsenic concentrations Continue Reading

Experimenting preteens may have different brain processes   Preteens who experiment or explore new things may have brain processes that work differently than those of preteens who do not, according to a new study. Continue Reading

Teens from single-parent families leave school earlier   Individuals who live in single-parent families as teens received fewer years of schooling and are less likely to attain a bachelor's degree than those from two-parent families, a study concludes. Continue Reading

Breastfeeding, other factors help shape immune system early in life Researchers say that breastfeeding and other factors influence a baby's immune system development and susceptibility to allergies and asthma by what's in their gut.Continue Reading

2/26/15 Health News: Salmonella Outbreak Grows to 59 Cases ♦ E. coli Vaccine Effective ♦ 120 treated after meningitis death ♦ Treatment for drug-resistant tuberculosis discovered

TEXAS SALMONELLA OUTBREAK GROWS TO 59 CASES   At least 59 people have been found ill in a Salmonella outbreak connected in part to the Ten in Texas steakhouse in Dalhart, TX. One of the restaurant’s customers who was sickened, Frances Childers, is filing a lawsuit against the restaurant. Her attorneys say that she suffered from kidney failure alongside abdominal pains, nausea and muscle aches. Childers Continue Reading

STUDY: E. COLI VACCINES ARE EFFECTIVE BUT ECONOMIC INCENTIVE NEEDED Despite the proven effectiveness of vaccines designed to decrease the presence of E. coli bacteria in cattle by as much as 98 percent, beef producers are not likely to widely adopt the practice of vaccinating their herds until there is a clear economic incentive,Continue Reading

120 treated after meningitis death in Brevard jail. The Florida Department of Health in Brevard County confirmed the week of February 16 that a teenager died from meningitis at the Brevard Regional Juvenile Detention Center in Cocoa prompting health officials to treat 120 potentially exposed children and staff for the disease February 21. Continue Reading

Tissue engineering: Scientists grow leg muscle from cells in a dish  Scientists have generated mature, functional skeletal muscles in mice using a new approach for tissue engineering. The scientists grew a leg muscle starting from engineered cells cultured in a dish to produce a graft. The subsequent graft was implanted close to a normal, contracting skeletal muscle where the new muscle was nurtured and grown  Continue Reading

Potential treatment for drug-resistant tuberculosis discovered  A new small molecule drug has been discovered that may serve as a treatment against multidrug resistant tuberculosis, a form of the disease that cannot be cured with conventional therapies. While standard anti-tuberculosis drugs can cure most people of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection, improper use of antibiotics has led to new strains of the bacterium resistant to the two most powerful medications, isoniazid and rifampicin. Continue Reading

Canada: Blue Menu Bran Flakes Cereal,Recalled

Loblaw Companies Limited is voluntarily recalling PC Blue Menu brand Bran Flakes Cereal from the marketplace due to possible plastic contamination. Consumers should not consume the recalled product described below.

Recalled products

Brand Name	Common Name	Size	Code(s) on Product	UPC
PC Blue Menu	Bran Flakes Cereal	775 g	Best before dates 2015 AU 26 up to and including 2016 JA 07	0 60383 74782 4

Check to see if you have recalled products in your home. Recalled products should be thrown out or returned to the store where they were purchased.

Canada: Sliced Mortadella Recalled due to listeria Contamination

Lady York Foods is recalling sliced Mortadella, product of Italy, sold on February 11, 2015 from the marketplace due to possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination. Consumers should not consume the recalled products described below.

This recall applies to Italian Mortadella products sliced and sold from the deli counter at Lady York Foods on February 11, 2015. Consumers who are unsure if they have purchased the affected products are advised to contact the retailer.

Brand Name	Common Name	Code(s) on Product
None	Ferrarini Mortadella – Prod. of Italy	PACKED ON 2015.FEB.11
None	Mortadella Regular – Prod. of Italy	PACKED ON 2015.FEB.11

Check to see if you have recalled products in your home. Recalled products should be thrown out or returned to the store where they were purchased.

Food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes may not look or smell spoiled but can still make you sick. Symptoms can include vomiting, nausea, persistent fever, muscle aches, severe headache and neck stiffness. Pregnant women, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems are particularly at risk. Although infected pregnant women may experience only mild, flu-like symptoms, the infection can lead to premature delivery, infection of the newborn or even stillbirth. In severe cases of illness, people may die.

This recall was triggered by findings of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), Toronto Public Health, Public Health Ontario and other public health and food safety partners as part of an ongoing food borne illness outbreak investigation in Ontario. TheCFIA continues to conduct a food safety investigation, which may lead to the recall of other products.

There have been no confirmed illnesses associated with the consumption of these products sold on February 11, 2015. The recalled products are undergoing analysis to determine if they are linked to any illnesses.

More information

Lady York Foods: Deanne Carno, 416-781-8585, deanne@ladyyorkfoods.com

For more information, consumers and industry can contact the CFIA by filling out the online feedback form.

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New CDC Study and Blog: National Burden of Clostridium difficile Infections 

Clostridium difficile (C. difficile), a germ that causes major colon inflammation and deadly diarrhea, caused almost half a million infections in the United States in a single year, according to a study released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  Approximately 29,000 patients with a C. difficile infection died within 30 days of initial diagnosis from illnesses such as sepsis. Of those, about 15,000 deaths were estimated to be directly attributable to C. difficile infections. 

“C. difficile infections cause immense suffering and death for thousands of Americans each year,” said CDC Director Tom Frieden, M.D., M.P.H.  “These infections can be prevented by improving antibiotic prescribing and by improving infection control in the health care system. CDC hopes to ramp up prevention of this deadly infection by supporting State Antibiotic Resistance PreventionPrograms in all 50 states.” More details about the study, including effect on certain age groups, are available at http://www.cdc.gov/media/dpk/2015/dpk-deadly-diarrhea.html. Prevention progress of C. difficile in hospitals by state and hospital were previously published and can be found at http://www.cdc.gov/hai/progress-report/index.html and http://www.medicare.gov/hospitalcompare, respectively.

C. diff survivor and advocate shares her story

Nancy Caralla

Guest Author: Nancy C Caralla

Founding Executive Director,

President of the C Diff Foundation.

My name is Nancy Caralla, and I know all too much about Clostridium difficile (C. diff).  I am a nurse and contracted C. diff while caring for patients suffering from this horrible infection. Now, I am a C. diff survivor. Tragically, our family lost my father from C. diff, too. I know how fighting a C. diff infection can be exhausting on so many levels. It is a physically, mentally, and financially debilitating infection. It has the ability to steal away a loved one, tear away dreams, create added stress on families, diminish financial nest eggs, eliminate employment opportunities, build geographic mobility limitations, and create tears in even the strongest individuals. All aspects of one’s being are involved in fighting a C. diff infection. This is why I have dedicated myself to “Raising C. diff Awareness” worldwide.

The C diff Foundation was brought to fruition in 2012 with a mission to provide education and advocate for C. diff infection prevention, treatment, and environmental safety worldwide. It provides Antibiotic News, Nutrition Support, Government and private Scientific Research and Development Studies, and a CDF Volunteer program. The C diff Foundation hosts a 24-hour hotline to support patients, families, and health care providers through the difficulties of a C. diff infection (1-844-FOR-CDIF).

Our hotline now gets 20-30 calls a day from individuals impacted by this germ. These are some of the most common questions we get asked:

How do antibiotics cause C. diff?

The antibiotics cause a disruption in the normal intestinal flora which leads to an overgrowth of Clostridium difficile bacteria in the colon. In November 2012, CDC shared a public announcement regarding antibiotic use: colds and many ear and sinus infections are caused by viruses, not bacteria. Taking antibiotics to treat a “virus” can make those drugs less-effective when you and your family really need them. Limiting the usage of antibiotics will also help limit new cases of C. diff infections. Always discuss the symptoms and medications with the treating physician. Get smart about antibiotics by looking at CDC’s materials online.

What can we do to stop C. diff?

We can all fight acquiring a C. diff infection beginning with prevention, and C. diff is a preventable infection.

Hand-washing (aka hand-hygiene) practiced and repeated frequently with correct technique aids removes harmful germs, provides patient safety, and adheres to infection control policies.

Environmental safety: Utilizing EPA registered products with “C. diff kill” claim will aid in eradicating Clostridium difficile Gram-positive, anaerobic spores, found to be capable of surviving outside of the body for long periods of time.

As a healthcare professional, how do I protect myself from C. diff?

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): During the care of a patient diagnosed with a C. diff infection, following infection-control policies, healthcare and environmental service professionals are to wear PPE to minimize exposure to serious workplace illnesses (acute care, long-term care, and home care environments). PPE may include items such as gloves, shoe coverings, and gowns.

Communication:  Contacting and alerting other healthcare facilities, prior to transferring a patient, to report an active C. diff infection to implement and follow contact precautions and isolation policies.

C. diff Foundation

We can all fight acquiring a C. diff infection. C. diff is preventable, and together we can stop its spread.

For more information please visit the Foundation’s website:www.cdifffoundation.org.