Dole Salads Recalled For Listeria; One dead in listeria outbreak

The listeria outbreak has claimed the life of one person and it has downed 11 others after they ate a packaged salads linked to a listeria outbreak.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention the packaged salads were sold under a variety of names and came from a processing facility in Springfield, Ohio, run by Dole.

The 11 person who were hospitalized are from Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Indiana. The fatality was in Michigan. Reports about these infections started coming in July.

An investigation began in September, the CDC said, but the source of the infections was unknown until this month when lab tests confirmed listeria in salads collected from the Springfield facility.

The CDC warns the public to stop eating salads packaged under the name Dole, Fresh Selections, Simple Truth, Marketside, The Little Salad Bar and President’s Choice. The salads are sold to restaurants as well. If you have one of these packaged salads in your fridge look for the letter “A” at the beginning of the manufacturing code. Those are the ones you want to throw away.

Listeria, known by its scientific name of Listeria monocytogenes, is the bacterium that causes listeriosis, an infection that affects the gastrointestinal tract. This is a serious infection with Symptoms include flu-like fever and muscle aches, upset stomach or diarrhea, stiff neck, headache, loss of balance, confusion, and convulsions. Awareness of the problem is your best defense.

Unfortunately, these symptoms are similar to many other illnesses, including the flu and illnesses caused by other bacteria and viruses. It’s best to contact your doctor and ask him or her about your symptoms if you do feel ill. Tell him you ate the recalled salads.

McDonald’s Chocolate Fries

Almost everyone I know dip their fries in frosty at Wendy's so why not fries drizzled with brown and white chocolate. McDonald’s unveiled their “McChoco Potato”, it's just regular fries with chocolate on top. 

However, the McChoco Potato is just available for a limited time only in Japan.

A Police Officer Breastfed an Abandoned Newborn Baby

Police Officer Luisa Fernanda Urrea of Colombia saves the life of a newborn baby girl who was abandoned in a remote forest in Colombia. She was called in when a local woman, Edinora Jimenez, found the crying baby in the undergrowth of the forest. Jimenez said she was collecting some oranges when she heard someone crying. She thought it was a cat but upon looking closely she realized that it was an infant.

The infant's umbilical cord was still attached and she was starving and facing hypothermia, so Urrea, the police officer breastfed her, saving her life. She said to the local news that she was a "new mother and I have milk, and I recognized the needs that this poor little creature had,”  “I think any woman would have given her nourishment in the same circumstances”, she added.

The baby is now in the care of the Colombian Family Welfare. The authorities are now looking for her mother who may face criminal charges.



She's a real hero!

Latest Study: Drinking Coffee Make People Live Longer

A recent study done by American Heart Association said that people who drink one to five cups of coffee a day can lower their risk of death, compared to those who do not drink coffee. However, there's a limit, it should only be five cups or you won’t get the health benefits if you go over it.

“In our study, we found people who drank 3 to 5 cups of coffee per day had about a 15% lower risk of premature mortality compared to people who didn’t drink coffee,” nutrition researcher Walter Willett of the Harvard School of Public Health said.

The study included those drinking decaffeinated coffee. Both the decaf and the original coffee give
similar benefits which only suggests that caffeine is not a factor for the benefits.

“We’re not sure exactly how coffee is linked to all these benefits. The coffee bean itself is loaded with many different nutrients and phytochemicals. And my guess is that they’re working together to have some of these benefits,” Willett said.

Certainly a good news for a coffee addict like me!