4 more people suffer food poisoning from E.coli 0-157 bacteria in potato salad

Food safety, it does appear a topic regularly be it mass poisoning at schools, day care, restaurants or Supermarkets. Might need a reinforcing of laws or change in food culture.

Wow! I used to live near that Marche. Shopped ther a lot.

Wow! Closed for a whopping TWO days! Or maybe it was even THREE at the time! What a horrific punishment for poisoning so many! And once again, health inspectors come out AFTER the incidents. It's no wonder we always here about food poisonings here en masse.

According to :

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escherichia_coli_O157:H7

eColi 157 is often spread via

"distribution of contaminated raw leaf green vegetables, undercooked meat and raw milk."

So given that:

Deli staff then added pieces of ham and apples

It would appear that the source of the outbreak were the "pieces of ham"... if that's the case, then there must surely be other distributions of the same batch of Ham. Would be useful to have a clearer idea of the various sources involved so as to identify and avoid them.

It would appear that the source of the outbreak were the "pieces of ham"... if that's the case, then there must surely be other distributions of the same batch of Ham. Would be useful to have a clearer idea of the various sources involved so as to identify and avoid them.

It's definitely a possibility but by no means the only one. We don't know if the same batch of ham would have been used in both instances at the two different supermarkets. It could come down to cleaning procedures at the specific deli counters, it could be a bad batch of potato salad, it could be a combination of factors... having experienced a serious case of campylobacter poisoning I would hope they don't just look at one thing and say "Yep, that's the source" without investigating all possibilities. Food poisoning of any kind is not something I wish on anybody. Hope you all stay safe out there.

Sold on Aug. 7-8

I bet the people who ate the apple and ham potato salad from the 9th to the 20th are feeling like they dogged a bullet.

Glad the young girl is out of her coma.

Apple and ham potato salad? Why can't people just leave a good thing alone.

Although I have to say most food in Japan is (relatively) safe, it seems that food safety regulations/inspections are quite rare and possibly not mandatory? Certainly the number of mom&pop restaurants I've visited which are filthy or have extremely dusty/dirt encrusted light fittings directly over tables, etc are a slight worry. Is there only an inspection regime for restaurants over a certain size perhaps?

All restaurants are inspected and require a certificate of approval from the hokenjoo. What happens after the inspectors leave? Well, anything can happen.

Have you ever been in a restaurant toilet in Japan and seen someone dressed in white, obviously a member of the kitchen staff, come out of one of the stalls and leave without washing his hands?

The deli said it got the potato salad from a food processing company outside Saitama Prefecture. Deli staff then added pieces of ham and apples.

Let me guess since it is not named....something ....raki or something ...shima, cheap, cheap

The supermarket staff need training in food handling. They should pay the potato salad manufacturer to put in ham and apple, at least they appear to know basic hygeine.

I read, it's also important for workers to always wash hands, after going to bathroom, as a precaution.  I recommend a 99.9% antibacterial soap.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escherichia_coli_O157:H7 

I also read some E Coli may have a "Shiga" like toxin . . . Isn't it interesting that is associated bacteria was first discovered by Kiyoshi Shiga, 1897, a Japanese medical researcher.

I think, Hot Weather increases the chance of bacterial infections through "cold foods"...though maybe I'm wrong, but it always pays to check packaging, and whether products appear to be chilled enough.

If the Pork meat was to blame, then that becomes a serious issue, especially with the pending start of the new School term and School Kids bento's being planned... Ham would/should be off the menu until proven safe. The economic consequence of not doing so would be plainly stupid. i.e. Parents having to stay off work to look after Sick Kids, at home or in Hospital, etc. This outbreak should be considered more seriously than simply an as-side news-story mention upon a (partially)-Foreigners-friendly website.

I have seen some strange food handling practices in Japan.

Remember one local market on a top floor of an old dept store. Summer, no ac and must have been 30C at least. All kinds of foods that should have been refrigerated were just sitting there all day long.

Most Japanese men at my company simply sprinkle the tiniest bit of water on their fingers after taking a dump. I am amazed there isn't more of this type of food poisoning happening.

It's a sad notice. Cross contamination is the more probable cause. EC O157 H7 is very compón bacteria on cow feces. The hands of Service People must be checked