An Outbreak Investigation of Vibrio parahaemolyticus Infections in the United States Linked to Crabmeat Imported from Venezuela: 2018.

Vibrio parahaemolyticus is the leading cause of seafood-related foodborne illness globally. In 2018, the U.S. federal, state, and local public health and regulatory partners investigated a multistate outbreak of V. parahaemolyticus infections linked to crabmeat that resulted in 26 ill people and nine hospitalizations. State and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) laboratories recovered V. parahaemolyticus, Salmonella spp., and Listeria monocytogenes isolates from crabmeat samples collected from various points of distribution and conducted phylogenetic analyses of whole-genome sequencing data. Federal, state, and local partners conducted traceback investigations to determine the source of crabmeat. Multiple Venezuelan processors that supplied various brands of crabmeat were identified, but a sole firm was not confirmed as the source of the outbreak. Travel restrictions between the United States and Venezuela prevented FDA officials from conducting on-site inspections of cooked crabmeat processors. Based on investigation findings, partners developed public communications advising consumers not to eat crabmeat imported from Venezuela and placed potentially implicated firms on import alerts. While some challenges limited the scope of the investigation, epidemiologic, traceback, and laboratory evidence identified the contaminated food and country of origin, and contributed to public health and regulatory actions, preventing additional illnesses. This multistate outbreak illustrates the importance of adhering to appropriate food safety practices and regulations for imported seafood.

Foodborne Outbreak Rates Associated with Restaurant Inspection Grading and Posting at the Point of Service: Evaluation Using National Foodborne Outbreak Surveillance Data.

ABSTRACT: A previously conducted national survey of restaurant inspection programs associated the practice of disclosing inspection results to consumers at the restaurant point of service (POS) with fewer foodborne outbreaks. We used data from the national Foodborne Disease Outbreak Surveillance System (FDOSS) to assess the reproducibility of the survey results. Programs that participated in the survey accounted for approximately 23% of the single-state foodborne illness outbreaks in restaurant settings reported to FDOSS during 2016 to 2018. Agencies that disclosed inspection results at the POS reported fewer outbreaks (mean = 0.29 outbreaks per 1,000 establishments) than those that disclosed results online (0.7) or not at all (1.0). Having any grading method for inspections was associated with fewer reported outbreaks than having no grading method. Agencies that used letter grades had the lowest numbers of outbreaks per 1,000 establishments. There was a positive association (correlation coefficient, R2 = 0.29) between the mean number of foodborne illness complaints per 1,000 establishments, per the survey, and the mean number of restaurant outbreaks reported to FDOSS (R2 = 0.29). This association was stronger for bacterial toxin-mediated outbreaks (R2 = 0.35) than for norovirus (R2 = 0.10) or Salmonella (R2 = 0.01) outbreaks. Our cross-sectional study findings are consistent with previous observations that linked the practice of posting graded inspection results at the POS with reduced occurrence of foodborne illnesses and outbreaks associated with restaurants. Support for foodborne illness surveillance programs and food regulatory activities at local health agencies is foundational for food safety systems coordinated at state and federal levels.