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Author Topic: Texas closes celery plant linked to four Listeria deaths  (Read 2271 times)
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MuffyBee
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« on: October 21, 2010, 07:32:28 PM »

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2010-10-22-celery22_ST_N.htm
Texas closes celery plant linked to four Listeria deaths
October 21, 2010

Texas officials have ordered a plant that makes cut-fresh produce to close after its chopped celery was linked to at least four deaths and two other illnesses in the state over the past eight months.

There have been five deaths and five illnesses due to listeriosis in the state during that time, says Texas Department of State Health Services spokeswoman Carrie Williams. Health officials don't yet know if the other illnesses and deaths are linked to the plant, Sangar Fresh Cut Produce.
The San Antonio factory was ordered Wednesday to shut down and recall everything it has shipped since January, after laboratory tests of its celery showed the presence of Listeria monocytogenes, a bacterium that can cause fever, muscle aches, diarrhea and vomiting. It is most dangerous in seniors, pregnant women, newborns and people with weakened immune systems.

The plant appears to have shipped product only within Texas, Williams says. However, the website for Sangar Produce and Processing, at the same address as Sangar Fresh Cut Produce, says its products are shipped "indirectly through several of our customers" into Oklahoma. Health officials in that state are investigating.

Sangar primarily sold cut, fresh produce in sealed packages that were distributed to restaurants and institutional entities such as hospitals and schools, not to grocery stores, as far as health services can tell. The state is contacting companies believed to have received the recalled products. Sangar customers are advised to discard or return the product.

The first listeriosis case was detected in January, Williams says. The illnesses all occurred in Texas and were in people with serious underlying health problems.

Texas inspectors said they found sanitation issues at the plant. Officials believe Listeria may have contaminated other food there as well. The company chopped other produce "on the same line as the celery using the same equipment," Williams says.

The plant had been inspected by state inspectors in June 2009 but had only minor violations at the time, says Williams.

In a statement released to the Associated Press on Wednesday, Sangar president Kenneth Sanquist Jr. said that the state's claim that tests on Oct. 12 confirmed the presence of Listeria monocytogenes contradicted independent testing by the company. "This independent testing shows our produce to be absolutely safe, and we are aggressively fighting the state's erroneous findings."

Texas originally asked the company to close voluntarily, but it refused, Williams says. At that point, officials ordered the closure and recall under a Texas law that allows such orders when conditions exist that pose "an immediate and serious threat to human life or health."

The company did not return phone calls Thursday seeking comment.
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« Reply #1 on: October 21, 2010, 07:33:19 PM »

http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/news/releases/20101020.shtm
News Release
October 20, 2010
DSHS Orders Sangar Produce to Close, Recall Products

The Texas Department of State Health Services today ordered Sangar Fresh Cut Produce in San Antonio to stop processing food and recall all products shipped from the plant since January. The order was issued after laboratory tests of chopped celery from the plant indicated the presence of Listeria monocytogenes, a bacterium that can cause severe illness.

State law allows DSHS to issue such orders when conditions exist that pose “an immediate and serious threat to human life or health.”

The recalled products – primarily cut fresh produce in sealed packages – were distributed to restaurants and institutional entities, such as hospitals and schools, and are not believed to be sold in grocery stores.

The testing was done as part of a DSHS investigation into 10 listeriosis cases, including five deaths, reported to the department over an eight-month period. Six of the 10 cases have been linked to chopped celery from the Sangar plant. The illnesses occurred in Bexar, Travis and Hidalgo counties. All of the illnesses were in people with serious underlying health problems.

Health officials said pinpointing a Listeria source is often difficult due to the small number of cases, the illness’ long incubation period and difficulty collecting complete information about what people ate.

DSHS inspectors also found sanitation issues at the plant and believe the Listeria found in the chopped celery may have contaminated other food produced there. The department found a condensation leak above a food product area, soil on a preparation table and hand washing issues. DSHS food safety personnel are contacting distributors, restaurants and institutions believed to have received the recalled products to ensure they are taking appropriate action to protect consumers.

DSHS continues to investigate possible sources of contamination and where the products were distributed. Sangar’s customers are advised to discard or return the products. Cooking the products is not recommended.

Symptoms of listeriosis can include fever, muscle aches, diarrhea and vomiting. People with these symptoms should consult a physician. Symptoms typically occur three to 70 days after exposure. The disease affects primarily older people, pregnant women, newborns and people with weakened immune systems.

The order prohibits the plant from reopening without DSHS approval.
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« Reply #2 on: October 21, 2010, 07:39:53 PM »

http://www.statesman.com/news/texas/tainted-celery-sickens-at-least-6-in-texas-983990.html?srcTrk=RTR_95649
Tainted celery sickens at least 6 in Texas; 4 die
October 21, 2010

SAN ANTONIO — Texas health officials have shut down a processing plant linked to contaminated celery that sickened at least six people this year, four of whom died, and ordered the recall of all of the produce that passed through the plant since January.

SanGar Produce & Processing Co. issued the recall Wednesday after its plant in San Antonio was shuttered. The Texas Department of State Health Services traced six of 10 known cases of listeriosis in the state during an eight month period to celery processed there. The agency is investigating the origins of the other four cases, which include one death.

Health inspectors found problems with sanitation at the plant, including a condensation leak over a food production area. The health department is trying to determine who the now-recalled produce was sold to and whether it was used in other products. The agency recommends that customers throw out or return all SanGar products.

The Food and Drug Administration is also looking into the contamination and may decide to expand the recall once it learns more, Don Kraemer, the deputy director in the FDA's Office of Food Safety, told The Associated Press on Thursday.

Texas health department spokeswoman Carrie Williams said that the state asked the company to close voluntarily but it refused.

"They refused, so we shut them down and ordered a recall," she said.

Kenneth Sanquist Jr., the company's president, said in a statement Thursday that the state used flawed methods to collect its samples. The sample at the plant "appears" to have been taken by someone not wearing proper lab attire and proper gloves, and was transported in a nonrefrigerated container, he said.

"We question the validity of the state's lab results," Sanquist said, adding that the company offered use of a refrigerated container but the state declined.

Williams said the agency stands by its analysis and lab results.

"Our experts are well-trained and pull samples according to protocol," she said. "We would not have taken this serious action had we not been certain."

Health officials are trying to determine how much potentially tainted produce passed through the plant since January and whether it could have ended up in other products. Some of the celery was grown in California, but there appeared to be no problem with it until it reached the SanGar plant, Williams said.

Health officials the produce was sold to restaurants, schools and hospitals, but that they don't believe it was sold in grocery stores.

"We know their customers include schools and hospitals. It was absolutely crucial that we protect these populations," Williams said.

The 10 people who contracted listeriosis were in Bexar, Travis and Hidalgo counties, in central and southern parts of the state. Williams said the agency has no information so far that the recalled produce — which also includes lettuce, pineapple and honeydew — were distributed outside of Texas.

"We know other products are chopped at the plant on the same line," Williams said.

On its website, SanGar says that "indirectly through several of our customers, our products are distributed in the Rio Grande Valley, Houston, Dallas and Oklahoma."

There have been three reported cases of listeriosis in Oklahoma this year, but the state is not aware of any cases connected to the recall, Oklahoma State Department of Health spokesman Larry Weatherford said.

"We have not seen an increase related to this recall," Weatherford said.

In an earlier statement, Sanquist Jr. defended the company's safety record.

"The state's claim that some of our produce now fails to meet health standards directly contradicts independent testing that was conducted on the same products," Sanquist said in a statement. "This independent testing shows our produce to be absolutely safe, and we are aggressively fighting the state's erroneous findings."

Sanquist declined to comment to the AP on Thursday and referred all questions to attorney Jason Galvan, who did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

All 10 people who contracted the disease in Texas already had seriously underlying health problems, the health department said.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 500 people die of listeriosis each year in the U.S., and about 2,500 people become seriously ill.

Those with weaker immune systems — including pregnant women, young children, the elderly and those battling serious illness — are most at risk of becoming seriously ill or dying because of listeriosis, the CDC says. Healthy adults and children occasionally are infected with the disease but rarely become seriously ill.

The health department prohibited SanGar from reopening the plant without agency approval.

Williams said the agency found "relatively minor sanitation" issues during a routine inspection last year but took no action. She said the company assured the agency it would correct the issues.

SanGar has been licensed by the state since May 2008, Williams said.
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« Reply #3 on: October 23, 2010, 01:56:45 PM »

omg...I glanced quick at this and thought it was Listerine. I went running to my bathroom to look....phew.
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« Reply #4 on: October 23, 2010, 10:30:07 PM »

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/produce_company_seeks_to_reopen_early_105571348.html
Food plant presses to reopen
October 22, 2010


 These bags of Sangar salad mix and other produce are to be discarded at the Southwest Independent School District's Child Nutrition Services warehouse. Southwest and the San Antonio, Edgewood and Somerset districts have temporarily stopped serving salad items. Edward A. Ornelas/Express-News

A San Antonio produce company whose celery was linked to a deadly outbreak of listeriosis is pushing to reopen its doors ahead of schedule, requesting an expedited hearing before state health officials next week.

Sangar Produce & Processing Co., which was ordered to stop doing business Wednesday and recall all products shipped since January, continues to maintain it did nothing wrong.

It provided documents from a private lab that show negative test results for listeria from the same batch of celery that the Texas Department of State Health Services labs found contaminated on the same date.

The company's lawyer also provided security video of the plant from Oct. 11 that seems to show the female inspector did not wear gloves, mask and gown, and transported the samples in a nonchilled container — all of which might have contaminated the samples, the firm contends.

That charge was disputed by state health officials.

“Gloves and lab coats are not necessary when collecting sealed food packages,” DSHS spokeswoman Carrie Williams said. “Our inspector transported the products in a sealed, iced cooler. The samples were properly collected, handled and stored, and we stand by our findings.”

Williams added, “It's disappointing that the company appears to be using time and energy to promote a video to the news media that shows nothing of significance. With four deaths linked to the plant, we would hope their total focus is on cleaning and continuing to work with us on the recall.”

Williams said health officials first discovered listeria contamination in Sangar celery not at the plant, but six days earlier at an unidentified food establishment that used the product. The tests at the factory confirmed the source of contamination.

The outbreak of listeria infected 10 people in Bexar, Travis and Hidalgo counties — five of them fatally — since the beginning of the year. Six of the 10 were conclusively linked to the celery, health officials said. Three of the deaths were Bexar County residents, and a fourth, who lived in Guadalupe County, died here.

All were frail and elderly with underlying health problems. One had brain cancer. The oldest was 93.

“The biggest thing to take away is that this company has never failed an inspection in the past,” said Daniel Sandoval, a spokesman for the Jason Galvan law firm, which represents the company. “They've always been at the forefront of technology in regards to produce and how to clean it.”

Meanwhile, a number of the plant's institutional customers said Friday they were discarding products from the company.

San Antonio, Edgewood, Somerset and Southwest independent school districts said they also had temporarily stopped serving salads or salad items. San Antonio ISD said it received some produce but not celery from Sangar; Edgewood said it didn't have any but withdrew all salads as a precaution. Although the company's customer list was not released, Methodist Hospital and Christus Santa Rosa Health System both said they had discarded Sangar products, as did Wilford Hall Medical Center.

Health officials said the products also were sold to local restaurants.

Sandoval said Sangar has an aggressive food safety program, with a cleansing system using chlorine dioxide built into the plumbing. Employees wear protective gear and independent testing is done on a regular basis.

Arun Bhunia, professor of food science at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., who studies listeria, said it's a big problem for food companies because it is commonly found in soil and is resistant to heat and cold, and accurate testing now requires growing large quantities over several days in Petri dishes — although a less-accurate rapid test also is used. He has been working on an electronic test that can detect very small amounts.

“The worst thing about this bacterium is, we call it ubiquitous,” Bhunia said. “You find it in soil, in plant vegetation. The transmission from soil to vegetables is very common.”

In healthy people, listeria rarely causes serious illness. But it can be deadly in those with weakened immune systems such as the elderly, the very young and pregnant women.

Sandoval said the company has been thoroughly cleaning the plant while it's closed, and has requested a scheduled hearing on its reopening to be moved up from Nov. 17. Williams confirmed it could take place next week.

“We obviously want to get Sangar back up and running quickly,” Sandoval said. “Most of their employees are living paycheck to paycheck. If you're out for too long, you're going to start losing customers and you'll lose your business all together.”

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