December 10, Meat & Poultry – (International) Japan halts beef imports from Brazil on BSE fears.
Japan has stopped importing beef from Brazil after the World Animal Health Organization (OIE) discovered a protein believed to cause bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in a cow, Meat & Poultry reported December 10. OIE conducted tests on tissue from the Brazilian cow and confirmed the presence of prions, the protein linked to BSE. The OIE report stated that the animal was a beef breeding cow almost 13 years old when it died, according to information obtained during the epidemiological investigations. “The epidemiological investigation shows that the animal’s death was not caused by BSE and suggests that it may be an atypical case of the disease occurring in the oldest animals,” OIE said in its findings. “Information collected during the epidemiological investigation shows also that the animal was reared in an extensive system on grazing.” OIE added that Brazil is still recognized as having a negligible BSE risk.
Source: http://www.meatpoultry.com/News/News Home/Global/2012/12/Japan halts beef imports from Brazil on BSE fears.aspx
16. December 10, Food Safety News – (Pennsylvania)
Raw milk linked to illnesses in Pennsylvania. Raw milk produced by the Kimberton arms Dairy and distributed by the four-store Kimberton Whole Foods is making people sick with “severe gastro enteric symptoms,” Pennsylvania’s Chester County Health Department announced December 10. The department said Kimberton Whole Foods has removed the raw milk products from its shelves in Kimberton and Downingtown, Pennsylvania. The milk was packaged under the Camp Hill Village and Kimberton Hills brands. The Pennsylvania Departments of Agriculture and Health joined the investigation into the as-yet- unnamed pathogen making people sick. Chester County health officials are also getting help from adjoining counties. Anyone experiencing diarrhea, vomiting, bloody stool, and /or abdominal pain within two weeks of drinking raw milk is urged to contact a physician.
Source: http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/12/raw-milk-is-making-people-sick-in- pennsylvania-stores-pull-it-from-shelves/#.UMesEK7kGok