Food-Borne Pathogens

I need a paper written on these 3 discussions. Please read them and tell what you like dislike, agree or disagree. Please keep them SEPARATE. Write a paragraph or two for each. Assignment: In 300 words or less, discuss any aspect of recent outbreaks of food-borne pathogens and share what you have learned. Discussion 1: My favorite yogurt is Chobani Greek yogurt – I probably eat on average 5 containers of yogurt per week. I wasn't very happy, a few weeks ago when I was surfing the web and saw an article about a voluntary recall of 91 varieties of my beloved yogurt, following reports of bloated, hissing containers and reports of illness. Chobani has reported that the problem was caused by a species of mold, Mucor circinelloides that is not considered a foodborne pathogen by the FDA, such as salmonella or listeria. Interestingly, this type of mold - while it can cause spoilage in plants - isn't likely to cause illness in people except for those who may have compromised immune systems, experts say. It has been documented to cause illness among people after they've had surgery, for example, or gone through chemotherapy. A number of people have reported being sickened by eating Chobani yogurt – as of mid-September over 170 complaints were filed. However consistent with the mold's status of not being considered a foodborne pathogen, experts have expressed doubt that the yogurt is what made them ill. The fungus does not grow when it's refrigerated below 40 degrees Fahrenheit. But in warmer temperature, the organism multiplies and that probably is what caused containers to bulge, experts say. It's comforting to know that Chobani was able to isolate the problem quickly – as they knew which codes to recall and were able to pull the tainted product off shelves relatively quickly. Also good to know that most likely it wasn't the yogurt making people sick, although in any case I'd certainly hesitate to eat a hissing, fizzing, bulging container of yogurt! http://www(dot)oregonlive(dot)com/health/index.ssf/2013/09/chobani_yogurt_recall_more_ill.html http://chobani(dot)com/who-we-are/news/2013/09/05/voluntary-recall/ http://www(dot)oregonlive(dot)com/health/index.ssf/2013/09/chobani_yogurt_recall_company_2.html http://www(dot)nbcnews(dot)com/health/chobani-yogurt-school-lunch-menus-weeks-after-mold-forces-recall-4B11194402 Discussion 2: Vibrio parahaemolyticus- is a rod-shaped, gram-negative bacterium found in saltwater. This specific bacterium belongs to the Vibrio non-cholera group that when ingested through contaminated food such as raw shellfish primarily pertaining to oysters will cause symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, fever, chills, and watery diarrhea. Another less likely route of being contaminated is through an open wound that has been submersed in warm coastal waters. The Centers for Disease Control have been able to track the bacteria since 1998 and in 2007 expanded to a national surveillance for Vibrio caused infections. In 2001, there was an estimated 45,000 estimated cases in the U.S. But CDC has problems with monitoring the bacteria as many cases go undetected due symptoms. Many people who may get sick aren't treated as the symptoms may only last 3 days. Therefore medical treatment is unnecessary. In severe cases where medical treatment is needed usually occurring in people with compromised immune systems an antibiotic treatment is available. But it's not proven as to how long the antibiotic therapy may have to be taken. It is important that if someone feels they have eaten contaminated shellfish and are having symptoms that may be listed above, to contact their states health department. With an average of 4500 cases confirmed yearly. The CDC expects an increase in cases in the United States due to warmer coastal waters. http://www(dot)nlm(dot)nih(dot)gov/medlineplus/foodborneillness.html http://www(dot)everydayhealth(dot)com/digestive-health/1017/shellfish-toxin-spreading-to-eastern-http://www(dot)cdc(dot)gov/nczved/divisions/dfbmd/diseases/vibriop/#treatment Discussion 3: During 2011, more than 100 cases of Listeria monocytogenes resulting in 33 deaths were reported in 28 states (a). This illness caused by this bacterium, listeriosis, results in the death of 20-30% of infected high-risk individuals (b). This high mortality rate is the result of the increased incidence of sepsis and meningitis in infected individuals. These conditions are serious for all patients, but if a person is at-risk (infants, elderly, compromised immune system), the ramifications are even more serious. The epidemic spread of listeriosis was traced to a single cantaloupe farm in Colorado, Jensen Farms. The FDA, along with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, identified the bacterium on equipment and fruit at the farm's packing facility (c). The issue was compounded by the fact that two fruit processing companies purchased cantaloupe from Jensen Farms and produced fresh-pack fruit trays with contaminated fruit. All three companies recalled all of their products that were at risk of contamination. The root cause of the outbreak, which also lead to legal troubles for the farm's owners (d), originated from changes made to the fruit packing process at Jensen farms that did not prevent the spread of bacteria. For example, a critical antimicrobial wash step was removed from the process. Instead, melons were simply placed in a rinse pool of water that actually facilitated the spread of bacteria from one melon to another (c). The fact that this outbreak stemmed from a contaminated fruit source should serve as a reminder to consumers that foodborne illness does not originate only in meat products. For example, E. coli in beef and S. enterica in poultry receive quite a bit of attention with regards to food safety practices. However, fruits and vegetables also require washing and/or careful preparation methods to prevent illnesses. References (a) http://www(dot)cdc(dot)gov/listeria/outbreaks/cantaloupes-jensen-farms/082712/index.html (b) http://www(dot)sochinf(dot)cl/documentos/infectologia/listeria.pdf (c) http://www(dot)cnn(dot)com/2012/05/03/health/listeria-outbreak-investigation/index.html (d) http://www(dot)reuters(dot)com/article/2013/10/16/us-usa-listeria-colorado-idUSBRE99F17M20131016