Thursday, August 19, 2010

Issues of contaminated foods doubly hits Oregon

Carol Forsloff - Oregon is faced not only with the widespread egg recall but also the recall of  some milk products , according to recent health warnings.


The
milk products recall involves Umpqua Dairy.  The recall  has been issued
to retailers in Washington, Oregon and Northern California from the
Oregon Health Authority.  It follow reports of 23 people becoming sick
with the same strain of bacteria that laboratory reports declare is
Salmonella Braenderup.

"This
outbreak has unfolded slowly, and it was just recently that we were
able to confirm the matching salmonella strain in the Umpqua milk
plant," said Dr. Paul Cieslak of the Oregon Public Health Division. "We
want to tell consumers that if they have any Umpqua milk at home, they
should discard it or ask for a refund from the store where it was
purchased. The risk to consumers is very low. We have had approximately
one illness reported for every million containers that Umpqua has sold
during this period."

The
products affected include milk, half-and-half, cream, buttermilk,
orange juice and fruit drinks. Products not affected include ice cream,
sour cream and cottage cheese.

Pat
Walsh of the Eugene-based Ulum Group, said the product recall "is well
in process and will be out (of stores) as soon as possible."  Walsh is
Umpqua's public information spokesman.

Walsh
said he did not have a list of specific retailers in the Salem area
that carry the products but the brand names under the Umpqua label
include Cascade, Great Value, Lady Lee, Market of Choice and Sherm's.
The company also supplies milk to Dairy Queen restaurants in Oregon and
Washington.

Umpqua
Dairy temporarily has suspended operation and is working with state
health and agriculture officials to review its processing systems.

Walsh
stressed that Umpqua products are pasteurized, which is 100 percent
effective at removing salmonella. The outbreak, he said, appeared to be
related to exterior product packaging.

In
addition to the recall related to the dairy products, warnings have
been given to Oregon residents about the major egg recall as Oregon is
among the states that potentially received some of the 380 million
contaminated eggs.

Salmonella victims may have signs that show up 12 to 48 hours after eating or drinking infected food or liquids.  Some of these signs
include watery diarrhea or BMs. possibly with blood in it.   The victim
may have diarrhea with mucus or blood in it, abdominal pain, fever,
headache, chills, sweats, or fatigue.   Other signs include nausea,
vomiting or loss of body water or loss of appetite.

Salmonella is found by testing your BMs. Mild cases last 1 to 4 days and can be treated at home.

There
can be, however, significant side effects for young children, seniors
and those with compromised immune systems.  Rare and unusual problems
are reactive arthritis or Reiter's syndrome, which can create visual
problems and joint pain.


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