The botulism outbreak in Sacramento, California, that left nine people hospitalized has been linked to cheese sauce sold on nacho crisps at a family-run petrol station.
Health officials have stopped Valley Oak Food and Fuel selling food.
Cases of botulism, a rare and sometimes fatal form of food poisoning, were first reported on May 5 and in total nine people are confirmed to have it.
Image source CBS News
One of the victims is reportedly so ill she cannot speak or keep her eyes open.
Dr. Oliva Kasirye of the Sacramento County Public Health Department told reporters that preliminary testing showed the cheese was carrying botulism.
The family of one of the affected patients has already filed a lawsuit against the petrol station, claiming neglect.
Botulism poisoning is caused by toxins released by a type of bacteria called Clostridium botulinum.
Human digestive processes cannot break down the toxic chemical, which moves to the nervous system. Symptoms emerge in adults 18-36 hours after eating contaminated food.
In this case, it is thought the nacho cheese sauce may have been canned. Tinned food is a risk for botulism because the bacterium grows best when there is no oxygen around.
In adults, symptoms – including difficulty walking or swallowing, impaired vision and potential convulsions or paralysis – will emerge between 18 and 36 hours after eating the contaminated food.
Depending on how quickly botulism is detected and how much of the bacterium has been swallowed, botulism may be treated with an anti-toxin drug.
Empire star Taraji P. Henson has revealed she was hospitalized on Friday, June 19.
The actress took to Instagram to post a photo of herself in a hospital with an IV in her arm, assuring her fans that she is doing fine.
Taraji P. Henson captioned the picture: “God has a way of saying <<you’re doing too much! SAT DOWN SOMEWHERE>>.
“I’m listening Father!! I am taking several seats!!! Don’t worry y’all I’m a tough cookie! HA! I will be just fine.”
The 44-year-old also wrote on Instagram that her mother and close friends are en route to the hospital: “My momma and best friends are flying in to check on me. I AM FINE!!!!!!! Just need to SAT ALL THE WAY DOWN for a bit. #listentoyourbody.”
While Taraji P. Henson didn’t get into specifics as to why she’s been hospitalized, her post alludes to some form of exhaustion.
Meanwhile, TMZ reported that Taraji P. Henson has been hospitalized for a bad case of food poisoning.
Eric and Ryan Jensen, owners of the Colorado cantaloupe farm linked to a 2011 food poisoning outbreak which killed 33 people and sickened 147, have been arrested and charged with selling contaminated food.
Eric and Ryan Jensen face up to six years in prison and up to $1.5 million in fines.
The brothers did not adequately wash the melons before selling them, US officials say.
The Jensens called the outbreak a “terrible accident”.
The outbreak of listeriosis stretched from California to Virginia.
The brothers, owners of Jensen Farms, surrendered to US marshals and appeared briefly in federal court on Thursday afternoon.
Eric and Ryan Jensen, owners of the Colorado cantaloupe farm linked to a 2011 food poisoning outbreak which killed 33 people and sickened 147, have been arrested and charged with selling contaminated food
They pleaded not guilty to misdemeanour charges and were released pending trial in December.
The Jensens called the outbreak a “terrible accident” after their court appearance, the Associated Press news agency reported.
A spokesman for the federal prosecutors told the Associated Press they leveled the “most serious” charges they could, as stricter felony counts would required proof the contamination was intentional.
An FDA inquiry found the Jensens installed a new cantaloupe cleaning system – designed to clean potatoes – in 2011.
The system included a chlorine spray meant to remove bacteria, which was never used.
“The defendants were aware that their cantaloupes could be contaminated with harmful bacteria if not sufficiently washed,” the office of the US Attorney for Colorado said in a statement.
“Food processors… bear a special responsibility to ensure that the food they produce and sell is not dangerous to the public,” Attorney John Walsh said in the statement.
The Jensens’ actions resulted in at least six shipments of contaminated cantaloupe being sent to 28 states, officials said.
If convicted, Eric Jensen, 37, and Ryan Jensen, 33, face up to one year in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 for each of the six counts against them.
New Zealand dairy firm Fonterra has apologized for the distress caused to parents because of a scare over contaminated products.
Fonterra CEO Theo Spierings was speaking in China after it emerged on Saturday that batches of whey protein contained bacteria that can cause botulism.
Contaminated products, including infant formula, were exported to a number of countries, including China.
Botulism is an extremely dangerous form of food poisoning.
“We regret the distress and anxiety which this issue could have caused,” Theo Spierings told reporters in Beijing.
“Parents have the right to know that infant nutrition and other products are safe.”
Theo Spierings added that Fonterra was committed to China and was working with regulators to address the problem.
China and Russia have moved to ban imports of the contaminated products.
Fonterra said it had received confirmation that China had not imposed a blanket ban on its products.
Fonterra has apologized for the distress caused to parents because of a scare over contaminated products
Earlier on Monday, New Zealand PM John Key questioned why Fonterra, the world’s largest dairy exporter, delayed raising the alarm over the contaminated products.
John Key said concerns were raised after a series of tests in May 2012.
“When you’ve got a company that’s our largest company, our largest brand, our largest exporter that is the flagship for New Zealand and your whole business is about food safety and food quality you think they’d take such a precautionary view to these things and say if it’s testing for some reason in an odd way that it would just be discarded until they were absolutely sure that its right,” John Key said.
However, Theo Spierings addressed this by saying that the first sign of a problem only came to light after tests in March this year.
Fonterra said the bacteria came from a dirty pipe at a processing plant for whey protein concentrate.
It said the bacteria had been found in three batches of whey protein which had been used in Nutricia Karicare for infants.
Fonterra has exported the contaminated whey protein concentrate to China, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand and Saudi Arabia.
So far, there have not been any illnesses reported related to the contaminated products.
China relies heavily on New Zealand for its imports of milk powder. The country experienced a tainted milk scandal in 2008 that killed six babies and made about 300,000 ill.
According to Chinese state media, nearly 80% of dairy products imported by China come from New Zealand.
New Zealand is the world’s largest dairy exporter.
At least 22 children have died and dozens more have fallen sick in India’s eastern state of Bihar after eating a tainted school meal.
The poisoning occurred at a government school in the village of Masrakh in Saran district.
India’s Mid-Day Meal Scheme provides free food to try to boost attendance, but often suffers from poor hygiene.
Angry parents joined protests against the deaths, setting at least four police vehicles on fire.
An inquiry has begun and 200,000 rupees ($3,370) in compensation offered to the families of each of the dead.
Twenty-eight sick children were taken to hospitals in the nearby town of Chhapra and the state capital, Patna, after the incident.
A total of 47 students of a primary school in Dharmasati Gandaman village fell sick on Tuesday after eating the free lunch.
There are fears the number of dead could rise as some of the children, all below the age of 12, are critically ill.
Mid-Day Meal is the world’s largest school feeding programme, reaching 120 million children in 1.2 million schools across India
The father of one sick child, Raja Yadav, said his son had been vomiting after returning from school and had to be rushed to hospital.
The state education minister, PK Shahi, said a preliminary investigation indicated that the food was contaminated with traces of phosphorous.
“The doctors who have attended are of the tentative opinion that the smell coming out of the bodies of the children suggests that the food contained organo-phosphorus, which is a poisonous substance,” he said.
“Now the investigators have to find out whether organo-phosphorus was accidental or there was some deliberate mischief.”
Earlier, doctors treating the patients had said “food poisoning” was the cause of the deaths.
“We suspect it to be poisoning caused by insecticides in vegetable or rice,” said Amarjeet Sinha, a senior education official.
A doctor treating the children at a hospital in Patna said contaminated vegetable oil could have led to the poisoning.
Patna-based journalist Amarnath Tewary says villagers told local reporters that similar cases of food poisoning after having Mid-Day Meals had taken place in the area previously.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar called an emergency meeting and ordered a team of forensic experts to the school.
Bihar is one of India’s poorest and most populous states.
The Mid-Day Meal is the world’s largest school feeding programme, reaching 120 million children in 1.2 million schools across the country, according to the government.
PK Shahi acknowledged “that food is not being checked before it is being served”.
He added that “the scale at which the operation is being carried out, serving food to 20 million children every day and that too in remotest village schools, checking food before it is served – that itself is a challenge”.
The Mid-Day Meal was first introduced for poor and disadvantaged children in the southern city of Chennai in 1925.
Investigating the horrifying bacteria hidden in restaurants’ most unlikely places, Anderson Cooper has revealed the top three dirtiest culprits are beverage lemons, lettuce wedges and the condiment racks found on tables.
“I get self conscious with the salt things,” Anderson Cooper said.
“How many people with dirty hands and snotty noses have been playing with the salt on the condiments rack? And I doubt they clean it.”
Howard Cannon, a restaurant consultant for insurance companies investigating claims of food poisoning, replied: “They’ll clean it, but they’ll take a wet towel and rub the top of it which makes flies attracted to it, because it brings residue from other things onto it.”
“A fly lands on top of the condiment dispensers, and what do you think the fly is doing there? Laying eggs,” he added.
“Eggs drop into the condiments, which gives the little babies something to eat.”
Anderson Cooper visibly cringes, and asks about the lemon wedges offered with beverages in bars, restaurants, and even on planes.
“The outside of the lemon doesn’t get washed,” said Howard Cannon.
“The wedges are cut well in advance for high volume, and they’ll squeeze the lemon into the water, rub it around the edge of the glass.
“It’s just moving bacteria from lemon into the water,” he said.
Restaurants’ horrifying hidden germs revealed by Anderson Cooper
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 76 million cases of food poisoning were recorded last year, and 3,000 were fatal.
Surprisingly, iceberg lettuce is a top germ trap.
“Restaurants let it sit at room temperature because it’s busy,” Howard Cannon said.
“They clean the outside of the lettuce, but if you look at the inside, it’s porous and it never gets cleaned.
“You order, you get your dressing, also sitting at room temperature, with bacteria growing on all of it. Then you move the bacteria from the dressing onto the bacteria on lettuce; you go home, and a few hours later you’re sick.”
Anderson Cooper also investigated the dangers found at restaurant indoor play areas for children.
After Erin Carr-Jordan took her toddler to a McDonald’s playground, she said she was shocked and appalled at the amount of old food, trash and excess dirt hiding in the playground’s cracks and corners.
She decided to swab the areas and run lab tests, which showed traces of meningitis and gonorrhea.
Now the executive director of Play Safe, the mother has taken her study to over 20 states and more than 70 locations.
Erin Carr-Jordan explained: “What we’ve found is beyond concern… the bacteria problems can cause illness, infection, and potentially death.”
Tara Reid’s holiday in France has come to an abrupt halt after she was hospitalized earlier this week.
The American Pie actress has spent the last several days in a medical facility.
According to TMZ.com, Tara Reid was taken in after suffering from acute pancreatitis.
The news comes just days after she was photographed looking uncomfortable as she clutched her stomach during a stroll.
Tara Reid's holiday in France has come to an abrupt halt after she was hospitalized earlier this week
But Tara Reid has now taken to her Twitter page she reassure fans she was in fact suffering from food poisoning, and then hurt her back during a jet ski ride.
The actress wrote: “Don’t worry everyone I’m all good and heathy (sic) I got a seafood poisening (sic) and hurt my back on the jetski but I’m all better thanks for caring!
“Jetski’s are fun but you have to be safe they can be very dangerous!”
Tara Reid has been spotted several times sunning herself on a yacht or partying the nights away over the last few weeks.
But she’s not been seen since Tuesday, when she wore an unflattering bright pink tracksuit looking miserable as she walked along with a friend.
It now seems her unhappy demeanour is a result of her being in pain from food poisoning.
Photos seem to show she was partying and letting her hair down a fair bit before the hospitalization, while she’s looked happy and relaxed in Twitter photos she’s shared with her fans.
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