According to a local report, a caravan of 10 tour buses departing from New York City’s Chinatown district en route for the Woodbury Common outlet shopping center in Orange County. The shopping area is a haven for those in search of discounts but by the time at least 20 of the people aboard those buses arrived, they were greeted by emergency medical personnel and local police, all riders complaining and suffering from food poisoning symptoms.

Several of those suffering from food poisoning symptoms were taken to area hospitals for further treatment.

The tour bus reportedly stopped at an undisclosed location in Putnam County, N.Y., before arriving at the shopping center. The shopping center’s management were quick to offer their sympathy to the victims but even quicker at deflecting blame for infecting the shoppers through food served anywhere at Woodbury Common.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have added two new cases to a previously reported total. Among the 16 people confirmed in the outbreak, a total of 5 have required hospitalization for their symptoms.

The recalled dry dog food in question was manufactured and distributed by Diamond Pet Foods, a Missouri company operating a facility in South Carolina. Diamond Pet Food is often re-packaged by retailers as a store brand product. According to a report, Costco is one such national retailer that sells Diamond Pet Foods as its own.

The victims have all been confirmed with a specific and rare strain of Salmonella bacteria, Salmonella Infantis. Three cases have been reported in North Carolina and Missouri. Two have been reported in Ohio and Pennsylvania, each, and individual cases in Alabama, Connecticut, Michigan, New Jersey, and Virginia.

Diamond Pet Foods has issued three separate recalls on its dry dog food. All food manufactured at its Gaston, S.C., facility from Dec. 9, 2011, and April 7, 2012. Contaminated dog food poses similar health risks to people and pets. Children are most likely to experience more severe symptoms and more likely among people to contract poisoning through contact with the food.

According to Moon Fishery Ltd., a company based in India, it has recalled 22 pound cases of “Tuna Strips” Product of India AA or AAA GRADE because it also may be contaminated with Salmonella bacteria. The recall was ordered after Food and Drug Administration testing on a Lot not in public distribution was found to have contained the pathogen. The company then agreed to issue a recall on products currently available on the U.S. market to avoid any potential escalation of the outbreak.

The product included in this latest recall was only distributed to four wholesalers in the U.S., in Georgia, New Jersey, New York, and Massachusetts. It is likely the product affected by the recall was sold to companies in many other states. As was the case with the Nakaochi scrape product recalled by the California-based importer of Moon Fishery products, it was likely sold to numerous distributors before it reached its final customer.

According to the recall, “The frozen raw yellow fin tuna product was originally packaged in white boxes with black writing naming the importer as Moon Marine USA Corporation, a separate and independent company, and identifying the contents as Tuna Strips AA or AAA, Product of India. The boxes contain several vacuum-wrapped packages with no further labeling.”

There is no indication whether this product has also contributed to a growing nationwide outbreak of Salmonella poisoning linked to raw tuna.

According to a Boston Globe report, a study published in Journal of Infectious Diseases provides evidence but no solid proof that the increasingly popular reusable grocery bag is spreading infectious diseases, including a recent outbreak of Norovirus among a traveling Oregon girls’ soccer team.

The study notes this outbreak and linked it to a contaminated grocery bag which contained the team’s snacks for post-game eating. While the bag was beings stored in a hotel bathroom, one of the team members inadvertently spread norovirus through the bag when she was forced to use that bathroom to deal with symptoms of a Norovirus infection.

This is the latest study to highlight the dangers consumers face at the grocery store, namely due to cross-contamination of products. Previous studies have shown that packages of raw meats are usually covered in food-borne bacteria and should be stored or bagged separately to contain the spread of bacteria that could result in food poisoning.

Previous studies have also suggested consumers thoroughly wash their reusable grocery bags before their next trip to a grocery store. If a bag is not thoroughly washed and has been exposed to bacteria, it still have a strong potential to spread illness.

According to a release from Cleveland Beansprouts Co., the company is recall all Lots of its Alfalfa Sprouts because testing by federal and state health and food officials discovered the presence of Listeria bacteria.

No illnesses have been linked specifically to this company’s Alfalfa Sprouts but consumption of affected products could be life-threatening to some individuals. Listeria poisoning has been the cause of several recent deadly food poisoning outbreaks, including an outbreak involving contaminated cantaloupe last year deemed as the deadliest in the last quarter century in the U.S.

The company believes its product was only distributed in Ohio but affected produce has no identifying marks or codes. That will make determining whether or not anyone’s current stock of Alfalfa Sprouts is affected by the recall.

Alfalfa Sprouts and other varieties of sprouts have been the source of many food recalls in recent years. It seems nearly every bunch sold in stores could be contaminated based on the frequency of recalls. Many recalls involving Alfalfa Sprouts have been linked to either dirty processing facilities, their growing fields’ proximity to areas where waste is stored or treated at a farm, or to tainted seeds.

No illnesses have been associated with this recall but E. coli poisoning can be life-threatening to certain victims and may require hospitalization for treatment.

According to a release from FunFresh Foods Inc., of San Clemente, Calif., the recall includes about 500 six-ounce packages of its FunFresh Foods™ World Berries™ Organic “Cacao Nibs”. They were distributed between April 12-17. At least 263 of the 500 packages included in the recall have been retrieved from retailers.

The company distributed this product to health and natural food stores in numerous states: Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin, and West Virginia.

Affected product can be identified by codes on the packaging: UPC code 632474929022, Lot code 161104 and the Use By date for products for the affected lot 04/14. These identifiers are laser etched on the vertical edge of the back panel.

Contamination of the products was detected through testing conducted by the Food and Drug Administration.

According to a Reuters report, at least 14 confirmed cases of Salmonella poisoning have been reported by people who had contact with a dog or who could recall the specific dog food brand they held or may have come into contact with a week before getting sick. The report only indicates human cases of Salmonella poisoning. There is no indication if pets have also fallen ill due to the contaminated food.

Cases included in this outbreak have been reported in Alabama, Connecticut, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Five people have required hospitalization for treatment of their Salmonella poisoning symptoms.

This outbreak is being identified by the specific strain of the bacteria found in contaminated samples of food distributed by Diamond Pet Foods, Salmonella infantis. The company has issued three recalls on products that may be contaminated. This has included the following brands of dry dog food bags: Diamond Naturals Lamb Meal & Rice dry dog food, Diamond Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul Adult Light Formula dry dog food and Diamond Puppy Formula dry dog food.

According to a report from The Fairfax (Va.) News, Henry’s Farm has updated a recall it first announced on April 27 related to contaminated Soybean Sprouts products it markets and distributes through the southern Mid Atlantic states Virginia, Maryland, and District of Columbia.

The recall now includes Natto Soybean Sprouts. The report details the products included in the expanded recall:

1. All clear plastic packages containing 1.5 lbs. Grown in Natural Spring Water Soybean Sprouts. The packages were not coded.
2. All bulk (approximately 10 lbs.) plastic bags of Soybean Sprouts. The packages were neither coded nor labeled.
3. All clear plastic packages containing 1 lb. Grown in Natural Spring Water Natto Soybean Sprouts. The packages were not coded.

Inspections by the Virginia Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Services first discovered the presence of Listeria bacteria in packages of Soybean Sprouts from Henry’s Farm Inc. There have been no reports of illness linked to the consumption of these products.

Listeria poisoning poses serious risks to some, especially children, the elderly, and pregnant women. Listeria poisoning among pregnant women has been linked to recent stillbirths and miscarriages and the severity of some symptoms could require hospitalization for treatment of others most at risk.

Despite this being the third recall statement from Diamond Pet Foods, there have been no reports of sick pets or people who ate or came into contact with the product in the recalls.

According to the updated recall statement from Diamond Pet Foods, the recall includes the following products:

Description Size Production Code Best By Date
Diamond Puppy Formula dry dog food                 40 lb. DPP0401B22XJW      6-Apr-2013
Diamond Puppy Formula dry dog food                 40 lb. DPP0401A21XAW     6-Apr-2013
Diamond Puppy Formula dry dog food                 40 lb.                DPP0101C31XME      11-Jan-2013
Diamond Puppy Formula dry dog food                 40 lb.                DPP0401B21XDJ       7-Apr-2013
Diamond Puppy Formula dry dog food                 20 lb. DPP0401B22XJW      6-Apr-2013
Diamond Puppy Formula dry dog food                 20 lb.                DPP0101C31XME      11-Jan-2013
Diamond Puppy Formula dry dog food                 20 lb.                DPP0101C31XRB       11-Jan-2013
Diamond Puppy Formula dry dog food                 8 lb. DPP0401B2XALW      7-Apr-2013
Diamond Puppy Formula dry dog food                 6 oz. samples DPP0401

The potentially contaminated products were distributed to stores in the following states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. The company recognizes that affected products may have been sold to stores in states not listed in the latest recall statement.

Contaminated pet food poses dangers to pets but also people, particularly children who are more likely to handle pet food with their hands.

According to a recall statement from Smiling Hara, the recall involves 12-ounce packages of soybean tempeh it manufactured between Jan. 11 and April 11 of this year. Affected containers of the product are marked with a Best By date of 7/11/12 through 10/25/12.

This product is used often as a meat-substitute by vegetarian dieters.

“Anyone with this product in their possession should not eat it,” said North Carolina’s Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. “Smiling Hara launched the recall after samples collected by the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services during a routine inspection tested positive for salmonella.”

As indicated earlier, this contaminated product has been implicated in a statewide Salmonella outbreak which has sickened at least 37 people to date. Anyone living or traveling to Buncombe County, N.C., and ate a vegetarian dish that used this product as a meat alternative may be at risk. This area of North Carolina is a popular tourist destination and the first cases of Salmonella were reported Feb. 28.

The victim total in this outbreak rose sharply over the last weekend, according to a report from Associated Press. It is likely more people have been affected by the contaminated product and more reports will be filed in coming weeks. Only about one-fourth of all food poisoning cases are eventually reported to authorities tracking outbreaks.