NBC17 is reporting this afternoon that several customers have notified the 42nd Street Oyster Bar that they became ill after eating oysters at the longtime Raleigh restaurant. Brad Hurley, a partner with 42nd Street Oyster Bar, told NBC17 that the restaurant received calls on Monday and Tuesday from customers who reported becoming sick over the weekend.

A rat issue in Honolulu's Chinatown market has led to politicians to blame the situation on a shortage of state food safety inspectors and environmental health officers.

Keeping pets healthy can reduce infection risks for people who have received solid organ transplants and veterinarians should be seen as an integral part of the healthcare team. That’s just one of the recommendations in a new supplement in the American Journal of Transplantation. Dr Robin K Avery from the Cleveland Clinic, Ohio, said,

The Tomah Journal writes: In most circumstances, the test of whether an activity should be illegal isn’t whether it creates harm, but whether the cost of eradicating the harm is exceeded by enforcement costs.

One of my graduate students, Manoelita Warkenten, did a great job this morning presenting a departmental seminar about the use of gross-out information to increase handwashing compliance rates in various settings.

That’s host Sammy Maudlin, as Dave Thomas’ drink-loving Captain Kangaroo answers the phone during the 1978 Second City TV (SCTV) satire of TV telethons. Once a year, I ask for money to support the 2-3 X daily distribution of food safety news to tens of thousands, with consecutive posts dating back to 1994. The funding is no longer there.

During a drive to Kansas City, MO I remember Doug telling me about the abundance of methamphetamine labs in the Midwest, and to keep an eye out for stray bathtubs on the side of the highway – I guess that’s where the meth is made.

An Assembly bill would make Lactococcus lactis -- which converts milk into cheese -- the official state microbe in honor of the emerging biotech industry.

The FSSAI (Food Safety and Standard Authority of India) has released a pilot project on “Safe Food and Tasty Food.” The project will be launched in Delhi and NCR in the 2000 identified eating establishments. The pilot project aims at voluntary participation of food establishments of Delhi/NCR to ensure food safety and to upgrade the hygienic conditions of the eating establishments.