She thought she was dying.
That’s what New York real estate agent Penny Penzner felt last summer when she became violently ill from what she thought was cut fruit she had purchased at a nearby grocery store.
Late that night, she woke up feeling sick, very sick. She rushed to the bathroom with what she immediately realized was severe diarrhea. Worse, she started vomiting. While still on the toilet, she picked up the nearby trash can and started throwing up into it. Her whole system was exploding. It scared her. To top it all off, she was suffering from painful cramps. What could this be? Was she dying?
In the early morning, she still felt bad but she managed to get dressed and ready to go to the emergency room. But the diarrhea hit her again and she had to turn back. But later that afternoon, she managed to get there.
The doctor told him it would be difficult to say what had caused his “stomach ache,” but recommended he get plenty of rest and drink plenty of fluids.
When she got home, she called the grocery store where she had bought the fruit and asked to speak to the manager. He told her he had not received any complaints from customers. When she told him how sick she was and suggested he throw away all the cut fruit, he told her he was too busy “to deal with that” and hung up on her.
A few days later, when she called a friend to tell her how her digestive system had “exploded,” she explained that it could be a foodborne pathogen, perhaps E. coli, Salmonella, Listeria, or norovirus. She explained that any of these pathogens could have gotten into the packaging of fruit that had been cut in a variety of ways. The person handling the fruit, for example, might not have washed their hands before cutting it. Or maybe the cutting board had been used for something like meat and wasn’t washed before being used to cut the fruit. Maybe the knife that had been used to cut the fruit hadn’t been cleaned properly. Or maybe the fruit itself had arrived with pathogens on it.
Or maybe it wasn’t even the fruit.
Turning to Google, she quickly discovered that she would likely never know what germ had invaded her system, mainly because some of the foodborne illnesses had the same symptoms she had experienced.
She was scared and confused.
That’s exactly what happened to two Washington State University students after eating raw oysters at a high-end restaurant. Instead of enjoying their vacation, they spent their time in bed, seriously ill. Plus, it took them at least a week to start feeling better.
When they called the restaurant manager to ask if anyone else had gotten sick, he said he had not received any complaints.
Well done to FINS
Both students and the real estate agent agree that the Washington State Department of Health’s recent launch of its Foodborne Illness Online Reporting System (FINS), which makes it easier to report potential foodborne illnesses and file food safety complaints, is an important step.
“This is awesome,” said one of the students, who asked that her name not be used. “I can’t believe they don’t have something like this already.”
As for calling a manager to ask if other customers have called to complain, she said she doesn’t think you can always count on an honest answer.
That’s why she’ll encourage people to use the new site. “Absolutely,” she said.
The New York real estate agent said another big benefit of a site like this is that it can help other people. “I was so seriously ill,” she said. “I wouldn’t want that to happen to anyone else.”
She also said it was important that the site respects users’ privacy.
Beginning this week, health officials are encouraging all Washingtonians to share their food safety concerns through the state’s Foodborne Illness Online Reporting System (FINS).
Submit a concern
Here’s how to submit a food safety concern through the FINS website if you have these symptoms or concerns:
° A known or suspected case of foodborne illness. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain, abdominal cramps, or fever.
° A food-related issue involving an establishment such as a restaurant, grocery store, food truck, group event, or food delivery service. You can anonymously report what you have seen, such as improper food handling, pests or rodents, a sick food worker, a sewage issue at an establishment, or intentional contamination.
FINS will forward your concern to local authorities. Once you submit your report using the form on the FINS webpage, an email notification will be sent to the local health jurisdiction.
From there, the local health authority will review your FINS report. All concerns are reviewed. Local health authorities have different methods for analyzing reports to determine if further action is needed.
Outbreak response may involve contacting the food establishment, interviewing food workers, conducting an inspection, or contacting the person who reported the problem to gather additional information.
State health officials say foodborne illnesses can cause serious illness and even death, but outbreaks often go unreported. That’s why using FINS is the best way to ensure that action can be taken quickly to promote food safety in Washington.
Health officials describe FINS as “a one-stop shop to help local health jurisdictions identify the source of foodborne illnesses and respond more quickly to outbreaks.”
They also caution that FINS is not a substitute for medical care. If you have vomiting or diarrhea, be sure to drink plenty of fluids to avoid dehydration. See a doctor if you have bloody diarrhea or diarrhea that lasts more than three days, a high fever (over 102 degrees F), or vomiting so frequently that you can’t keep fluids down, or if you show signs of dehydration, including infrequent urination, a dry mouth and throat, and/or dizziness when you stand up. You may also have severe cramping.
Learn more about food safety on the Department of Health website (https://doh.wa.gov/you-and-your-family/food-safety) and get tips to protect yourself and your loved ones from foodborne illness.
Why did the state do this?
Several states have similar online reporting systems for foodborne illnesses. What’s unique about Washington State’s reporting tool is that it also supports food safety complaints that didn’t result in illness within the same system.
Foodborne illness affects one in six Americans each year, and many of these cases go unreported. By establishing a centralized platform for the public to report these illnesses, Washington State aims to achieve four main goals:
• Increase reporting: Encourage more people to report foodborne illnesses.
• Rapid response: enable rapid action on reported complaints.
• Disease prevention: Prevent further cases of foodborne illness by taking timely action.
• Outbreak control: Take measures to stop outbreaks, such as additional cleaning, temporary closures, addressing food handling violations, and educating food establishments.
Ultimately, one state official said, these measures ensure a more robust and responsive public health system, helping protect the community from foodborne illness.
This system serves as a central point for the public to report all illnesses and food safety concerns in Washington State, eliminating any confusion about where to report the situation. Once a complaint is received, local county health departments, in conjunction with the Washington Department of Health, will determine the appropriate response.
Expected benefits include:
• Early detection of outbreaks: Identify outbreaks earlier, allowing local and national public health authorities to take faster action, such as investigating the facility.
• Disease prevention: Preventing the occurrence of additional diseases through timely interventions.
• Proactive safety measures: Address food safety complaints before they lead to illness, thereby preventing potential outbreaks.
• Educational opportunities: Provide training to food establishments to improve food safety practices.
These efforts aim to improve public and consumer health by ensuring a more effective and proactive approach to managing foodborne illness and safety issues.
Why it matters
Foodborne illnesses, commonly called food poisoning, are caused by eating contaminated food or drinks.
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, there are approximately 48 million cases of foodborne illness each year, resulting in approximately 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths.
Although the disease is preventable, one in six Americans gets food poisoning each year. People over 65, children under 5, and people who are pregnant or immunocompromised are at increased risk for serious illness.
Many people who aren’t familiar with food poisoning think of it as a “24-hour bug,” and they often feel better after 24 hours. But the FDA stresses that a severe case of food poisoning can make a person very sick…or even kill them.
Patrick Quade, Founder and CEO of iwaspoisoned.com, congratulates Washington State on the launch of FINS.
“There are thousands of individual reporting systems in the United States,” he said. “We hope that the expense and effort that went into creating another system will yield the results that Washington state is hoping for, and we wish them well.”
He stressed that consumers are still attracted to the transparency, community and sharing aspects of platforms like iwaspoisoned.com.
“We will continue to partner and support the more than 500 health agencies we work with across the United States…
News Source : www.foodsafetynews.com
Gn Health
