Update: I want to share this update sent to me by a personal injury lawyer/blogger. Now 99 are sick and 10 are hospitalized.

Agromod Produce, Inc. of McAllen, Texas is recalling all papayas, because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.

The papayas were imported from Mexico and are possibly linked to 97 reported cases of Salmonella Agona, including 10 hospitalizations, in 23 states throughout the United States. Fresh whole papayas were distributed nationwide and to Canada through retail stores and wholesalers.

Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis.

According to the Salmonella blog, some unfortunate folks in Arizona have fallen victims to various kinds of salmonella.

For instance:

–As of July 18, 2011, a total of 241 individuals infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Typhimurium have been reported from 42 states since April 1, 2009; there have been 10 cases in Arizona from Blue Lobster Farms African Frog Salmonella Typhimurium Outbreak.

–As of June 20, 2011, a total of 20 ill people infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Panama have been reported including one person in Arizona from Costco and Del Monte Salmonella Panama cantaloupe outbreak.

–As of April 1, 2011, 12 people infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Hadar have been reported from 10 states including one case in Arizona from Jennie-O ground turkey burgers.

According to the Yuma County Health District, as of July 2011, there have been six confirmed cases and one pending case of GBS in Yuma County. GBS or Guillain-Barre’ Syndrome is a rare disorder where the body’s immune system begins to attack its nervous system. Symptoms begin with a light tingling in the fingers and toes and then progresses to muscle weakness evolving to paralysis. Normally, there are three to four cases yearly.

The pre-cursor of GBS is campylobacter infection which has also demonstrated an increase.

According to the Yuma County Health District:

“(In June) we started noticing an increase in the campylobacter infection first,” Brooks said. “And then we started hearing about a syndrome they call acute flaccid paralysis. There had been some people who had gone to (the Yuma hospital) and had been sent to Phoenix.

“Once we started hearing those names a few times, we started checking into it. That’s when we contacted the state, and the state then contacted the CDC.”

The investigation is focused on finding if a connection exists between GBS and campylobacter and discovering the source for the increase in both conditions.

According to the CDC website, campylobacter is contracted by consuming raw or undercooked poultry meat or from cross-contamination of other foods by these products. Symptoms include diarrhea, abdominal pain, cramping and fever and last about a week.

from the Cornucopia press release

Largest Organic Milk Bottler Accused of Misrepresenting Products

Consumers Cautioned to Choose Organic Milk without Dubious, Illegal Ingredients

Cornucopia, Wis.—The Cornucopia Institute filed a formal request with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) today, asking for an investigation into Dean Foods’ advertisements for its Horizon milk with Omega-3 DHA, alleging the nation’s largest dairy conglomerate with consumer fraud in misrepresenting the nutritional benefits of its products.

The dairy giant’s White Wave division, which markets the Horizon organic milk brand, recently launched a major nationwide marketing campaign that focuses on purported benefits to children’s brain development from drinking milk with added DHA oil, which is highly processed from fermented algae.

According to The Cornucopia Institute’s complaint, Dean Foods’ claims that their proprietary DHA oil “supports brain health” are not based on credible scientific evidence, and are therefore misleading consumers.

“DHA is one of many naturally occurring omega-3 fatty acids, which scientists believe is beneficial when consumed through real, wholesome foods such as fish, flax seeds, nuts or grass fed milk and meat. But the DHA in Horizon’s milk comes from a highly processed oil, extracted from fermented algae,” says Charlotte Vallaeys, Director of Farm and Food Policy at The Cornucopia Institute, a non-profit research group based in Wisconsin. “There is little scientific evidence to support the claim that adding these manufactured oils to foods is in any way beneficial to children’s cognitive development,” she adds.

The algal oil is manufactured and marketed by Martek Biosciences Corporation, based in Maryland. The Cornucopia Institute has charged that food processors adding Martek’s algal oils to organic foods are in violation of the Organic Food Production Act and USDA organic standards, which prohibit unapproved non-organically produced ingredients in organic foods.

As reported in the Washington Post, a former administrator at the USDA’s National Organic Program, during the Bush administration, allowed these oils in organics after she was contacted by a corporate lobbyist who asked her to reinterpret the federal rules governing organic foods. Last year, the new director of the National Organic Program, which regulates organic foods on the US market, publicly stated that ingredients like Martek’s oils have been allowed in organic foods due to an “incorrect” interpretation of the federal organic standards.

Under current organic standards, food processors may add essential nutrients to organic foods if they are covered under the Food and Drug Administration’s official fortification rule. Essential nutrients that have been proven to benefit public health, like folic acid, which prevent birth defects, can legally be added to organic foods. But both the FDA and organic advocates advise against indiscriminate fortification of foods.

Earlier this week, on April 18, the National Organic Program made public a document by the Food and Drug Administration that clearly states that DHA oils are not “essential nutrients” and are not covered under the FDA’s fortification policy. Cornucopia stated that its research indicates that 90% of all organic milk brands are supplied by ethical family-scale farmers and do not include any questionable additives.

“These highly processed, novel ingredients do not belong in organic foods, and it is important to remember that very few processors are adding them. Companies like Dean Foods/Horizon realize that these are valuable marketing tools, designed to create a competitive advantage, even if science does not back up their marketing claims,” states Mark Kastel, Senior Farm Policy Analyst with Cornucopia.

The FTC, the government agency charged by Congress for ensuring that companies advertise truthfully in the marketplace, has already sent a dozen warning letters to companies that use DHA algal oil as the basis for claims that their products benefit children’s brain development.

To read the entire press release, please click here.

Watch a video about what happens when the same DHA is added to infant formula.

Should additives be added to organic products?
Does this dumb down organic products?
If you buy organic products, why? What are your expectations from the corporations marketing them?

The Cornucopia Institute, a Wisconsin-based nonprofit farm policy research group, is dedicated to the fight for economic justice for the family-scale farming community. Their Organic Integrity Project acts as a corporate and governmental watchdog assuring that no compromises to the credibility of organic farming methods and the food it produces are made in the pursuit of profit.