DOVER, Del. (March 12, 2021) – Delaware fruit and vegetable growers who receive a passing score on their third-party food safety audits and agricultural water tests are eligible to receive cost-share to help cover the expense through the Delaware Department of Agriculture.

Many wholesale produce buyers require farms to pass third-party food safety audits to purchase the food to sell in retail establishments such as grocery stores. Audits verify that fruits and vegetables are produced, packed, handled, and stored safely to minimize microbial food safety hazards. Testing agricultural water ensures the water used in crop production and post-harvest activities is safe.

The cost-share program will pay 80 percent of the costs of a successful USDA-AMS or commercial third-party audit with a maximum reimbursement of $1,000 per year for each farm. Also, producers can be compensated for 80 percent of the cost associated with annual water testing, with a maximum reimbursement of $500 per year for each farm. If USDA has covered 100 percent of an applicant’s successful audit, the applicant is still eligible to be reimbursed for water testing under the cost-share program.

To be eligible for assistance, Delaware fruit and vegetable growers must meet the following requirements:
• Growers must have completed and passed a third-party USDA-AMS or other commercial audits before July 31.
• Growers must submit receipts for the water tests performed.
• All paperwork must be submitted to DDA no later than July 31, 2021, to be eligible for reimbursement.

Any growers who have not submitted receipts and paperwork from their food safety audit or water test that was successfully completed between November 15, 2018, and December 31, 2020, may still apply for the cost-share program for reimbursement with DDA by submitting all required documents no later than June 1, 2021.

To schedule a USDA-AMS food safety audit, email Brenda Clements, Food Products Inspection Field Supervisor at Brenda.Clements@delaware.gov.

Funding is provided on a first-come, first-serve basis. Delaware growers must fully complete the necessary application and forms and show verification of successful audit completion, billing, and proof of payment for the audit. For questions regarding the Food Safety Audit Cost-Share Program, contact Anna Wicks at 302-698-4583 or via email at Anna.Wicks@delaware.gov.

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DOVER  – For many, this year’s Fourth of July activities will span the entire week and weekend, and include picnics, barbecues, beach days and other gatherings spent with friends and family (including our four-legged family members). The Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) is providing the following tips to keep everyone safe.

Prevent foodborne illness:
As temperatures rise, so do your chances of contracting a foodborne illness if you do not properly handle and sanitize your food. Be mindful of keeping food out in the hot sun too long and follow the proper procedures for cooking meats and poultry. When bringing food to a picnic or cookout:

• Use an insulated cooler filled with ice or frozen gel packs. Frozen food can also be used as a cold source.

• Foods that need to be kept cold include raw meat, poultry, and seafood; deli and luncheon meats or sandwiches; summer salads (tuna, chicken, egg, pasta, potato or seafood); cut up vegetables and fruits, especially melons; and perishable dairy products.

• A full cooler will maintain its cold temperature longer than a partially filled one. When using a cooler, keep it out of the direct sun by placing it in the shade or shelter. Avoid opening the cooler repeatedly so that your food stays colder longer when hosting an outdoor event.

• Before cooking, keep meats and eggs in a container under 40 degrees F, keeping ice for beverages in a separate container.

• Refrigerate cold foods until they’re ready to be served, keeping them on ice once they are out in the open.

• Have a food thermometer on hand so you can be sure you are cooking meats to their required temperature.

• Burgers and sausage should be cooked to 160 degrees F; chicken and turkey should be cooked to 165 degrees F; and steaks should be cooked to 145 degrees F with a three-minute rest time.

• Food should not be left out longer than two hours (one hour if the temperature is above 90 degrees F).

For more food safety tips, visit www.dhss.delaware.gov/dph/hsp/foodsafety.html or Foodsafety.gov.

Stay sun safe:
Sunburn slows the skin’s ability to cool itself, and is linked to skin cancer. Protect your, and your children’s, skin by taking the following steps:

• Use a broad-spectrum sunscreen with SPF 30+ and reapply regularly every two hours or after swimming.

• Wear UV-blocking sunglasses to protect your eyes. Wear wide-brimmed hats to cover your head, face, neck, and ears. Wear long-sleeved shirts and pants for optimal protection against the sun’s rays.

• Limit sun exposure when UV rays are most dangerous, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

For more sun safety tips, visit https://www.protectyourskinde.com/.

Avoid bug bites:
Mosquitoes and ticks are active in the summer, and both can transmit serious illnesses through their bites. While spending time outdoors, prevent mosquito and tick bites.

• Use Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-registered insect repellents. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for reapplication times. When using sunscreen, apply it first and insect repellent second. Adults: Spray insect repellent onto your hands and then apply to the child’s face. Do not apply insect repellent onto a child’s hands, eyes, mouth, or on cut or irritated skin. Do not use insect repellent on babies younger than 2 months of age.

• Wear light-colored, long-sleeved shirts and pants. Mosquito netting can protect one’s face and neck, and infants in carriages, strollers and playpens.

• Prevent mosquitoes from entering the house by using screens and keeping windows and doorways tightly sealed.

Protect your pets from fireworks and loud noises:
The DPH Office of Animal Welfare (OAW) advises pet owners to be aware that fireworks cause many pets to run away, and that holiday foods and heat can be harmful to our four-legged family members. The following tips from the American Veterinary Medical Association can help keep pets safe from harm during Independence Day celebrations:

• If your pet is sensitive to noises like fireworks or thunder, consult your veterinarian for recommendations on how to ease anxiety caused by fireworks and loud parties. Anxiety medications and treats, “thunder” shirts and behavioral training are all tools to help keep pets calm.

• Leave pets at home if attending gatherings elsewhere. In addition to fireworks, strange places and crowds can spook an animal and cause them to flee. Utilize a crate or escape-proof area of the home during parties and fireworks.

• Those who expect guests during the holiday, or any celebration, should inform their company to be mindful of pets when entering or exiting a home or yard to avoid accidental escapes. Place signs on doors and gates that alert guests to be vigilant about pets.

• Tell guests to refrain from sharing food meant for people as these can upset your pets’ stomach, or worse. After any in-home celebrations, check yards for food scraps and fireworks debris that animals may ingest.

• Make sure sparklers, glow sticks, fireworks, charcoal and skewers are out of your pets’ reach.

• Stay vigilant about times when pets are outdoors. Pets are safest inside on hot and humid days. If they must be outside, ensure they have access to fresh water and secondary shade apart from dog and cat enclosures, which can become dangerously hot inside.

• Make sure your pets have identification tags with current owner contact information. Have your pet microchipped, if they aren’t already. A microchip is an affordable device with owner information to ensure pets can return home if they get out and are found by someone else. Make sure the microchip is registered with up-to-date owner contact information.

• If a pet does escape, post its photo and identifying information on the Office of Animal Welfare’s statewide Lost & Found Pet Registry, at animalservices.delaware.gov. Review found pet notices there as well. Your pet may have been found by a neighbor or taken to a local animal shelter.

A person who is deaf, hard-of-hearing, deaf-blind or speech-disabled can call the DPH phone number above by using TTY services. Dial 7-1-1 or 800-232-5460 to type your conversation to a relay operator, who reads your conversation to a hearing person at DPH. The relay operator types the hearing person’s spoken words back to the TTY user. To learn more about TTY availability in Delaware, visit http://delawarerelay.com.

The Delaware Department of Health and Social Services is committed to improving the quality of the lives of Delaware’s citizens by promoting health and well-being, fostering self-sufficiency, and protecting vulnerable populations. DPH, a division of DHSS, urges Delawareans to make healthier choices with the 5-2-1 Almost None campaign: eat 5 or more fruits and vegetables each day, have no more than 2 hours of recreational screen time each day (includes TV, computer, gaming), get 1 or more hours of physical activity each day, and drink almost no sugary beverages.

DOVER, Del. – The Delaware Department of Agriculture (DDA) Food Products Inspection was granted statutory authority on June 11, 2019 to enforce compliance with the Produce Safety Rule in the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). The Food Safety Modernization Act is a proactive approach to prevent foodborne illnesses by strengthening the food supply.

These regulations, 3 Del. C. § 101(1), (3) & (5), establish procedures for farm registration; produce inspection; on-farm produce and environmental sampling; and addressing non-compliance of regulated farms. Specifically, the new regulations address the following:

• Requires all Delaware farms that grow produce to register with DDA.
• Allows DDA personnel to enter any farm or facility that grows, harvests, packs, or holds produce for human consumption to conduct inspections, request and review records, and secure and test samples as needed to verify compliance with the Produce Safety Rule.

These regulations are meant to support Delaware’s mission to implement the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Produce Safety Rule, under FDA authority. For additional information on the Produce Safety Rule, to access education and outreach resources, or to register a farm, visit https://de.gov/producesafety.

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Media Contact: Stacey Hofmann, 302-698-4542, stacey.hofmann@delaware.gov

DOVER – The Division of Public Health (DPH) is providing updated information regarding a potential Hepatitis A exposure at a Buffalo Wild Wings food establishment in Middletown, which was announced on Thursday, April 11, 2019. New information indicates that potential exposures began earlier at the Middletown restaurant than previously reported, therefore the time frame for which DPH is providing guidance to restaurant staff and diners has been updated. As part of its ongoing investigation, DPH has also determined that exposure to the Hepatitis A virus may have also occurred at a second Buffalo Wild Wings location in Bear, as well as the Stone Balloon Ale House in Newark.

DPH is taking steps to protect anyone who might have been exposed to the virus. Staff who worked at these food establishments during the indicated timeframes should contact their health care provider to receive post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), which may include the hepatitis A vaccine or a shot of immune globulin to prevent severe illness.

· Stone Balloon, 115 E. Main St., Newark – Potential exposures began on March 20, 2019 and ended with a cleaning of the facility on April 3, 2019. The timing of the cleaning at this facility was not related to the potential exposures, but would have ended the exposure window.

· Buffalo Wild Wings, 1887 Pulaski Highway, Bear – Potential exposures began on March 21, 2019 and ended with the voluntary closure and cleaning of the facility on April 12, 2019.

· Buffalo Wild Wings, 540 W. Main St., Middletown – New information indicates that potential exposures began earlier than previously reported. Potential exposures began on March 28, 2019 and ended with the voluntary closure and cleaning on April 10, 2019.

Diners who ate at these food establishments during the indicated timeframes, and who fall into a high-risk category should contact their primary health care provider for further risk assessment and guidance. Though the risk of diners contracting Hepatitis A after dining at the establishments is low, post-exposure treatment may be considered for high-risk individuals in these categories:

· People with chronic liver disease, including cirrhosis, Hepatitis B, or Hepatitis C
· People who are immunocompromised
· Women who are pregnant
· Anyone with jaundice or symptoms compatible with Hepatitis A
· People who use drugs (injection or non-injection)
· People experiencing homelessness
· Men who have sex with men (MSM)
· People who are, or were recently, incarcerated

“We understand that this information may be concerning to individuals who dined or worked at any of the restaurants during this timeframe,” said DPH Medical Director Dr. Rick Hong. “However, we want to stress that the risk of transmission of the virus to those who dined at these restaurant locations is low. Because DPH’s mission is to protect and promote the health of all people in Delaware, we are recommending those who visited these restaurants during the exposure timeframe, contact their health care provider to discuss their individual risk factors.” DPH’s Office of Food Protection and Office of Infectious Disease Epidemiology continues to work with restaurant management on the investigation to ensure staff at these locations are aware of the recommendations to receive PEP.

Those with health insurance who have concerns, need a risk assessment, and do not have a primary health care provider should visit a local walk-in medical center (not an emergency room) or call the DPH Office of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at 302-744-4990 or 1-888-295-5156.

If a restaurant staff member or a high-risk individual who dined at the one of the food establishments needs vaccine and is uninsured or underinsured, they should contact one of the following DPH health clinics Monday through Friday at:

· Porter State Service Center, 509 W. 8th St., Wilmington, DE 19801 302-777-2860
· Hudson State Service Center, 501 Ogletown Road, Newark, DE 19711 302-283-7587, option 2
· Kent County Health Unit, River Road, Dover, DE 19901, 302-857-5140
· Sussex County Health Unit, 544. S. Bedford St., Georgetown, DE 19947, 302-515-3220

Hepatitis A is a viral infection of the liver and usually spreads when a person unknowingly ingests the virus from objects, food, or drinks contaminated by small, undetected amounts of stool from an infected person. The virus can spread when an infected person does not wash his/her hands adequately after using the toilet, prepares food or shares utensils with others while eating, or engages in other behaviors that increase risk of infection. Symptoms may include:

· Loss of appetite
· Nausea
· Tiredness
· Fever
· Stomach pain
· Brown-colored urine and light-colored stools
· Yellowing of the skin of eyes

Symptoms can appear up to 15 to 50 days after exposure to the virus. If anyone develops these symptoms, they should stay at home and contact their health care provider immediately. There is no specific treatment for Hepatitis A infection aside from rest, fluids, and good nutrition. Those with Hepatitis A should avoid drugs and alcohol.

Careful hand washing, including under the fingernails, with soap and water, is an important tool to prevent the spread of this disease.

For more information about Hepatitis A, visit www.cdc.gov/hepatitis, https://www.dhss.delaware.gov/dhss/dph/dpc/hepa.html or call the DPH Office of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at 302-744-4990 or 1-888-295-5156.

A person who is deaf, hard-of-hearing, deaf-blind or speech-disabled can call the DPH phone number above by using TTY services. Dial 7-1-1 or 800-232-5460 to type your conversation to a relay operator, who reads your conversation to a hearing person at DPH. The relay operator types the hearing person’s spoken words back to the TTY user. To learn more about TTY availability in Delaware, visit http://delawarerelay.com.

The Delaware Department of Health and Social Services is committed to improving the quality of the lives of Delaware’s citizens by promoting health and well-being, fostering self-sufficiency, and protecting vulnerable populations. DPH, a division of DHSS, urges Delawareans to make healthier choices with the 5-2-1 Almost None campaign: eat 5 or more fruits and vegetables each day, have no more than 2 hours of recreational screen time each day (includes TV, computer, gaming), get 1 or more hours of physical activity each day, and drink almost no sugary beverages.

DOVER – The Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) is advising Delawareans of a multistate outbreak of E. coli infections linked to romaine lettuce. The lettuce could be contaminated with Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O157:H7 and could make people sick. To date, there have been no confirmed cases reported in Delaware, but DPH urges consumers to take precautions to prevent illness.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is advising consumers, food establishments and retailers to not eat, serve or sell any romaine lettuce while the agency investigates the E. coli outbreak linked to romaine. Consumers who have any type of romaine lettuce at home – including whole heads of romaine, hearts of romaine or bags and boxes of precut lettuce and salad mixes that contain romaine – should not eat it and instead throw it away, even if some of it was eaten and no one has gotten sick. If you do not know if the lettuce is romaine or whether a salad mix contains romaine, do not eat it and throw it away.

Restaurants and retailers should not serve or sell any romaine lettuce, including salads and salad mixes containing romaine lettuce.

The CDC, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Government of Canada and multiple states are investigating the outbreak. According to the CDC, no common grower, supplier, distributor or brand has been identified at this time.
• 32 people infected with the outbreak strain of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O157:H7 have been reported from 11 states. According to the CDC, nearby New Jersey has reported three cases and Maryland has reported one case.
• 13 ill people have been hospitalized, including one person who developed kidney failure. No deaths have been reported.
• Ill people in this outbreak were infected with E. coli bacteria with the same DNA fingerprint as the E. coli strain isolated from ill people in a 2017 outbreak linked to leafy greens in the United States and to romaine lettuce in Canada. The current outbreak is not related to a recent multistate outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 infections linked to romaine lettuce earlier this year.

People usually get sick from Shiga toxin-producing E. coli two to eight days (average of three to four days) after swallowing the bacteria. Most people infected with E. coli O157 develop diarrhea, severe stomach cramps and vomiting. Most people recover within one week. Some illnesses last longer and can be more severe, resulting in a type of kidney failure called hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). HUS can occur in people of any age but is most common in young children under 5 years, older adults, and people with weakened immune systems.

Symptoms of HUS can include fever, abdominal pain, pale skin tone, fatigue and irritability, small, unexplained bruises or bleeding from the nose and mouth, and decreased urination. People who experience these symptoms should seek emergency medical care immediately. Medical providers should report suspected cases of E. coli O157:H7 to the DPH Office of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at 302-744-4990 or 24/7 at 888-295-5156.
For more information about this outbreak, visit https://www.cdc.gov/ecoli/2018/o157h7-11-18/index.html.

A person who is deaf, hard-of-hearing, deaf-blind or speech-disabled can call the DPH phone number above by using TTY services. Dial 7-1-1 or 800-232-5460 to type your conversation to a relay operator, who reads your conversation to a hearing person at DPH. The relay operator types the hearing person’s spoken words back to the TTY user. To learn more about TTY availability in Delaware, visit http://delawarerelay.com.

The Department of Health and Social Services is committed to improving the quality of the lives of Delaware’s citizens by promoting health and well-being, fostering self-sufficiency, and protecting vulnerable populations. DPH, a division of DHSS, urges Delawareans to make healthier choices with the 5-2-1 Almost None campaign: eat 5 or more fruits and vegetables each day, have no more than 2 hours of recreational screen time each day (includes TV, computer, gaming), get 1 or more hours of physical activity each day, and drink almost no sugary beverages.