A Listeria monocytogenes outbreak has been announced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Twenty-four people in 13 states are sick. Twenty-two people have been hospitalized, and two people have died.
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USA – Listeria Monocytogenes Outbreak Announced; No Food Identified
Posted in food bourne outbreak, food contamination, food death, food handler, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Pathogen, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, foodborne disease, Foodborne Illness, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Uncategorized
Viet Nam – Vietnam reports more food poisoning deaths in 5 months
HANOI, June 2 (Xinhua) — In the first five months of this year, 694 people in Vietnam suffered from food poisoning, of whom 15 died, according to the country’s Preventive Health Department on Tuesday.
In the same period last year, 806 people were affected by food poisoning, of whom five died.
Between January and May, Vietnam spotted 26,900 dengue fever patients, including three fatalities, 4,921 foot-and-mouth disease cases and 186 viral encephalitis sufferers.
Vietnam currently has 210,500 HIV carriers, of whom 97,154 have become AIDS patients. To date, 98,705 people in the country have died of AIDS-related diseases, the department said. Enditem
Hong Kong – Not to consume a batch of bottled apple juice drink contaminated with patulin
| Issue Date | 29.5.2020 |
|---|---|
| Source of Information | Routine Surveillance Programme of the Centre for Food Safety |
| Food Product | A bottled apple juice drink imported from Australia |
| Product Name and Description | Product name: Cold Pressed Granny Smith Apple
Brand: Presha Fruit Country of origin: Australia Importer/Distributor: A.S. Watson Group (HK) Ltd. Volume: 350ml per bottle Best-before date: August 7, 2020 |
| Reason For Issuing Alert |
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| Action Taken by the Centre for Food Safety |
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| Advice to the Trade | Stop using or selling the affected products immediately if they possess them. |
| Advice to Consumers | Not to consume the affected products. |
| Further Information | The CFS press release
Members of the public may call the distributor’s hotline at 2606 8658 for enquiries about the recall during office hours. |
Malaysia – 99 Food Poisoning Cases in Malaysia Attributed to Spoiled Eggs in Pudding
In the city of Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia, there have been 99 food poisoning cases as a result of the consumption of ‘puding buih’ which contained eggs that were two weeks past their expiration date. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), refrigerated raw eggs in the shell are safe to eat for up to 3 to 5 weeks. After investigation, the State Local Government, Housing, Health and Environment Committee Chairman, Dr Alias Razak, said that the supplier of the spoiled pudding is a private, small-scale food trader, operating out of his or her own home, like many others who are trying to make an income during this time.
The spoiled ‘puding buih’ was consumed on or around May 22, 2020, by those who reported adverse effects from it. The pudding affected around 20 families and even caused some of them to seek medical attention from nearby public and private hospitals. Most of the people affected by the pudding reported experiencing mild symptoms like stomach aches and diarrhea. However, one person was admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU), but was declared stable shortly after.
Posted in food contamination, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Pathogen, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Toxin, Food Virus, Poisoning, Uncategorized
Research – Survival of Salmonella in Bathrooms and Toilets in Domestic Homes Following Salmonellosis
Image CDC
The survival and environmental spread of Salmonella bacteria from domestic toilets was examined in homes, where a family member had recently suffered an attack of salmonellosis. In four out of six households tested, Salmonella bacteria persisted in the biofilm material found under the recess of the toilet bowl rim which was difficult to remove with household toilet cleaners. In two homes Salmonella bacteria became incorporated into the scaly biofilm adhering to the toilet bowl surface below the water line. Salmonella enteritidis persisted in one toilet for 4 weeks after the diarrhoea had stopped, despite the use of cleaning fluids. Salmonellas were not isolated from normally dry areas such as, the toilet seat, the flush handle and door handle. Toilet seeding experiments were set up with Salmonella enteritidis PT4 to mimic environmental conditions associated with acute diarrhoea. Flushing the toilet resulted in contamination of the toilet seat and the toilet seat lid. In one out of three seedings, Salmonella bacteria were also isolated from an air sample taken immediately after flushing, indicating that airborne spread of the organism could contaminate surfaces in the bathroom. In the seeded toilet Salmonella bacteria were isolated from the biofilm in the toilet bowl below the waterline for up to 50 d after seeding, and also on one occasion from the bowl water. The results suggest that during diarrhoeal illness, there is considerable risk of spread of Salmonella infection to other family members via the environment, including contaminated hands and surfaces in the toilet area.
Luxembourg – SEA SNAPPER STEAKS – (LUTJANUS BOHAR) FROM THE SEAPRO BRAND – CIGUATERA POISONING
Product recalls • Alerts
Information Source: European Commission Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF)
Distribution in Luxembourg: Tandoori Market
The Luxembourg food safety authorities inform about the following recall:
Danger : ciguatera poisoning
| Last name | Snapper steaks (Lutjanus bohar) |
| Mark | Seapro |
| Aspect | Plastic packaging |
| Lot | 85205-2217 |
Only the products listed in the table are affected.
The information provided does not exclude that part of the products have been sold to the end consumer.
Ciguatera usually involves a combination of gastrointestinal, neurological and, sometimes, cardiovascular disorders. The symptoms defined in these general categories vary depending on the geographic origin of the toxic fish and, to some extent, the species of fish. People who have consumed the products mentioned above and who present this type of symptoms are invited to consult a doctor and report this consumption.
Research – Prevalence of E. coli , Salmonella , and Listeria spp. as potential pathogens: A comparative study for biofilm of sink drain environment
Abstract
Since knowledge and understanding of waterborne pathogens and their diseases are well illuminated, a few research publications on the prevalence of pathogenic microorganisms in various household sink drain pipes are often not extensively examined. Therefore, this study aims to (a) assess and monitor the densities of the bacterial community in the different natural biofilm that grow on plastic pipelines, (b) to detect Escherichia coli , Salmonella , and Listeria spp. from natural biofilm samples that are collected from the kitchen (n = 30), bathroom (n = 10), laboratories (n = 13), and hospital (n = 8) sink drainage pipes. Three bacterial species selected were assessed using a culture‐dependent approach followed by verification of isolates using both BIOLOG GEN III and polymerase chain reaction. The estimated number of each bacterium was 122 isolates, while 60, 20, 26, and 16 isolates were obtained from the natural biofilm samples, kitchen, bathroom, laboratories, and hospital, respectively. As for the tests, in all types of biofilm samples, the overall bacterial counts at low temperature (22°C) were higher than those at high temperature (37°C). Meanwhile, E . coli had the most significant number of bacterial microorganisms compared to the other two pathogens. Additionally, the most massive cell densities of E . coli , Salmonella , and Listeria species were discovered in the biofilm collected from the kitchen, then the hospital. Statistically, the results reveal that there is a positive correlation (p ≥ .0001) with significance between the sources of biofilm. This work certainly makes the potential of household sink drain pipes for reservoir contagious pathogens more explicitly noticeable. Such knowledge would also be beneficial for prospective consideration of the threat to human public health and the environment.
Research – Modeling dependence of growth inhibition of Salmonella Typhimurium and Listeria monocytogenes by oregano or thyme essential oils on the chemical composition of minced pork
The aim of this study was to compare the antimicrobial effect of selected essential oils (EOs) at concentration of 1% in minced pork from five different meat cuts (loin, ham, shoulder, neck, and belly) and to assess the influence of the chemical parameters of meat on EO efficiency, determined by the decrease of pathogens in comparison to a control in samples after storage at 3°C/7 d in a vacuum. The inhibition was significant (p < .05) only in minced pork from meat cuts with a fat content lower than 5% (leg, loin and shoulder). Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium was more sensitive than Listeria monocytogenes and oregano was more effective than thyme (p < .001). The inhibition of S . Typhimurium depended mainly on the fat content (logarithmic dependence) and to a lesser degree on the pH, whereas pH was not found to be a significant predictor in the case of L. monocytogenes . The results of this study show that only lean minced meat (with a fat content max. 5%) is a suitable matrix for pathogen control by EOs.
