The case of Almark Foods of Gainesville.
According to McDonald (2018), foodborne illness is caused by taking food or drinks contaminated with pathogens. Further, she highlights that food poisoning can manifest from 30 minutes to several weeks after consumption. While everyone is a risk of contaminated food, people with a compromised immune system or chronic illnesses are a higher risk. She further notes that symptoms from food poisoning are not always a result of what an individual at last, but could be a cause stemming from prolonged exposure to pathogens.
The case of Almark Foods of Gainesville.
According to the research finding of Flyn, (2019), Almark Foods of Gainesville based in Georgia produced boiled eggs and peeled eggs contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes in 2019. The poisoning resulted in seven illnesses and one death in Texas (FDA, 2019). According to the Foods and Drug Administration (FDA), Listeria monocytogenes is a pathogen that can cause fatal infections in young children and frail adults and the elderly with compromised immunity. While healthy adults may suffer mild symptoms such as fever, abdominal pains, diarrhoea or headache, the Listeria monocytogenes bacteria can cause fatalities in high-risk patients within a short duration (Flyn, 2019).
A report released by FDA in 2020 showed that the poisoning was caused by accidental contamination within the environment in one of its egg processing plants. To avert the crisis, the company recalled all hard-boiled and peeled eggs produced by its Georgia Branch 30 days before the reported contamination. Further the organization recalled all the brands retailing by its name and advised the public against consuming such products.
While its branch in Georgia remained closed since the December 23rd 2019 shutdown, Almark Foods of Gainesville appointed a new CEO in 2020 to maintain its customer relationships. According to Sims, (2020). The new CEO will oversee the next stage of the company of the recall of its 200,000 hard-boiled and peeled eggs and its subsequent shutdown. Further, the new CEO was appointed to apply new expertise in the food production and kitchen management strategies. To mitigate future crisis Almark intends to handle the Georgia egg processing plant with more developed kitchen practice. According to their projection, the new CEO would oversee a higher quality brand of fully cooked egg bites and top class omelets.
Food borne diseases are a major concern to the government and families at large. Annually, food borne illnesses cause a number of cases according to CDC: 3000 deaths 48 million cases and a fiscal loss to the tune of $78 billion. These shocking statistics call for a multi- agency plan to mitigate the crisis (Centre for Disease Control). The CDC proposes a raft of measures in preventing food borne disease from bacteria such as Listeria monocytogenes:
- Ensuring contamination-free production of eggs.
- Use of irradiation to kill pathogens during food processing
- Establishing inspection systems at food processing firms.
- Devising proper hand-washing procedures when handling food at the processing factories.
- Training of food workers on sanitation measures.
- Discouraging workers in the food plants from working when they are ill
The case of Almark Foods of Gainesville is an example of common occurrence both domestically and on industrial fronts. To mitigating food poisoning is as good as saving the thousands of lives claimed by these pathogens. The Georgia food plant should ensure more adherence to personal hygiene of the workers handling the food by devising the right working protocols.