Monthly Archives: October 2015

Food Poisoning Journal

Adolf’s Meat Products, a Hartford, Conn. establishment, is recalling approximately 224 pounds of assorted meat that may be adulterated with Listeria monocytogenes, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.

Food Poisoning Journal

The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development today issued a consumer advisory for Uncle John’s Old Fashioned Apple Cider produced by Uncle John’s Cider Mill located at 8614 US-127 in St. Johns, MI, because it has the potential to be contaminated with Shiga-toxin producing E. coli bacteria. Consumers who have purchased this product at Uncle John’s Cider Mill are urged not to consume it and dispose of the product immediately.

A routine, random sample collected by an MDARD food inspector tested positive for the Shiga-toxin producing E. coli by the department’s Geagley Laboratory. No illnesses have been reported to date. Uncle John’s has voluntarily ceased sales of cider awaiting further test results.

Infection Control Today

A phage — viruses that infect only bacteria — showed strong antimicrobial activity against a type of food-borne bacterium that often kills infants after infecting them via infant formula. The research was published Oct. 23 online in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

In the study, the phage, called “CR5,” showed high antimicrobial activity against the bacterium, Cronobacter sakazakii, as well as against several other species of Cronobacter, which can also cause dangerous illness, says coauthor Sangryeol Ryu, professor in the Department of Agricultural Biotechnology at the Research Institute of Agriculture and Life Sciences based at Seoul National University in Korea.

The research was conducted using infant formula that had been contaminated with C. sakazakii. “Interestingly, CR5 killed C. sakazakii quickly, and no C. sakazakii was detected in the infant formula after 10 hours had passed,” said Ryu.

Ryu said that the phage is safe for humans, noting that his analysis of its genome revealed neither toxin gene nor virulence factor. In 2006, the US Food and Drug Administration approved the use of bacteriophages as biocontrol agents in foods. But the agency does not allow the use of antibiotics in infant formula.

Bacteriophages are abundant in the environment, which means they are ecologically friendly, said Ryu. “They infect and kill only bacteria, which means they could be used as novel biocontrol agents and even as natural food preservatives,” he added, noting that other food-borne pathogens could also be controlled, by other types of phages.

Cronobacter, the target bacterial genus of the phage, CR5, is a family of closely related species that cause illness in people of all ages. While infection is rare in the US, these bacteria kill up to 40 percent of infected infants. Additionally, those that survive can face long-term neurological problems, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Heretofore, C. sakazakii-contaminated infant formula has been considered an unsolved problem because antibiotics cannot be used,” said Ryu, adding that C. sakazakii has been known to have multiple antibiotic resistance genes. “In this study, we proved that C. sakazakii-phage CR5 is an efficient biocontrol agent in infant formula. Therefore, this bacteriophage treatment is a promising approach to solve this problem.”

Source: American Society for Microbiology

Food Poisoning Bulletin 

Vis Seafoods of Washington is recalling all canned salmon and smoked salmon with any codes beginning with “OC” because they may be contaminated with Clostridium botulinum bacteria. These bacteria can grow in anaerobic conditions and produce botulism toxin, a tasteless, odorless, and flavorless toxin that can cause serious illness and death. No illnesses have been reported to date in connection with the consumption of these products.

Food Poisoning Bulletin

The Spot of Oregon is recalling all canned salmon and tuna with any codes that begin with “OC” because they may be contaminated with botulism toxin. The products were produced by Skipanon, which has triggered the secondary recall of eight other brands because the cans may have been under processed. No illnesses have been reported to date.

Food Poisoning Bulletin

Josephson’s Smokehouse of Astoria, Oregon is the tenth secondary recall of canned seafood products for possible botulism contamination. The products were processed by Skipanon Brand Seafood. They were under-processed, which means the possibility of Clostridium botulinum bacteria producing spores and the botulism toxin is increased. No illnesses have been reported to date. Do not eat these products even if it does not look or smell spoiled.

Food Poisoning Bulletin

Seaquest Seafood Corp of California is recalling its dehydrated and marinated uneviscerated fish because they may be contaminated with botulism toxin. No illnesses have been reported to date in connection with the consumption of these products.

Food Poisoning Bulletin

Canned seafood processed by Skipanon Brand Seafood in the Pacific Northwest is being recalled. The original recall, on October 9, 2015, has been followed by seven secondary recalls, for a total of eleven recalls so far. We are gathering all of the recalls in one place for easy reference. We will update this story if more recalls are announced.

Botulism Blog

Josephson’s Smokehouse of Astoria, Oregon is latest US company to recall products packed by Skipanon Brand Seafood. Josephson’s Smokehouse is the tenth secondary recall of companies where Skipanon was co-packing.

These others are Dungeness Seaworks; Brigham Fish Market; Northwest Wild Products; Bornstein Seafood; The Spot; Pacific Oyster Co., dba The Fish Peddler; Garibaldi Cannery; Ecola Seafoods; and Vis Seafoods.

Shigella Blog 

As of Monday, October 26, 2015, the number of outbreak-associated cases of Shigella reported to Santa Clara County Public Health Department (SCCPHD) now stands at 188; 150 of these cases are Santa Clara County residents and 38 reported cases are people who live in other counties. Of the 188 total cases, 85 are lab confirmed; 65 of which are Santa Clara County residents. There are 20 confirmed cases from other jurisdictions, including the counties of San Mateo, Alameda, Santa Cruz, Marin and Merced. Nearly all of the cases have reported that they ate at Mariscos San Juan #3 restaurant on Friday October 16th or Saturday October 17th.

CFIA

Les Produits Bio-Sphère is recalling Les Produits Bio-Sphère brand Sprouted Trail 4 Flavours from the marketplace due to possible Salmonella contamination. Consumers should not consume the recalled product described below.

Epidemiology and Infection

Enteric viruses including norovirus and rotavirus are leading causes of gastroenteritis in Canada. However, only a small number of clinical cases are actually tested for these pathogens leading to systematic underestimation of attributed hospitalizations in administrative databases. The objective of this analysis was to estimate the number of hospitalizations due to norovirus and rotavirus in Canada. Hospitalization records for acute gastroenteritis-associated discharges at all acute-care hospitals in Canada between 2006 and 2011 were analysed. Cause-unspecified gastroenteritis hospitalizations were modelled using age-specific negative binomial models with cause-specified gastroenteritis admissions as predictors. The coefficients from the models were used to estimate the number of norovirus and rotavirus admissions. The total annual hospitalizations for rotavirus were estimated to be between 4500 and 10 000. Total annual hospitalizations for norovirus were estimated to be between 4000 and 11 000. The mean total annual cost associated with these hospitalizations was estimated to be at least $16 million for rotavirus and $21 million for norovirus (all figures in Canadian dollars). This study is the first comprehensive analysis of norovirus and rotavirus hospitalizations in Canada. These estimates provide a more complete assessment of the burden and economic costs of these pathogens to the Canadian healthcare system

Epidemiology and Infection

Between 1 January 2009 and 31 December 2012 in England, a total of 3717 cases were reported with evidence of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) infection, and the crude incidence of STEC infection was 1·80/100 000 person-years. Incidence was highest in children aged 1–4 years (7·63/100 000 person-years). Females had a higher incidence of STEC than males [rate ratio (RR) 1·24, P < 0·001], and white ethnic groups had a higher incidence than non-white ethnic groups (RR 1·43, P < 0·001). Progression to haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS) was more frequent in females and children. Non-O157 STEC strains were associated with higher hospitalization and HUS rates than O157 STEC strains. In STEC O157 cases, phage type (PT) 21/28, predominantly indigenously acquired, was also associated with more severe disease than other PTs, as were strains encoding stx2 genes. Incidence of STEC was over four times higher in people residing in rural areas than urban areas (RR 4·39, P < 0·001). Exposure to livestock and/or their faeces was reported twice as often in cases living in rural areas than urban areas (P < 0·001). Environmental/animal contact remains an important risk factor for STEC transmission and is a significant driver in the burden of sporadic STEC infection. The most commonly detected STEC serogroup in England was O157. However, a bias in testing methods results in an unquantifiable under-ascertainment of non-O157 STEC infections. Implementation of PCR-based diagnostic methods designed to detect all STEC, to address this diagnostic deficit, is therefore important.

ABC News

South Australians are being warned to take care when using home rotisseries or spits after they were linked to more than 20 people falling ill last financial year.

Health Minister Jack Snelling said SA Health investigations identified home cooked pig and lamb on the spit as the main causes of salmonella outbreaks at two separate home gatherings in 2014-15.

“The use of home rotisseries and spits is becoming increasingly common across the state as a fun way to feed large groups, especially with the weather warming up and people wanting to cook outside,” Mr Snelling said.

Western Gazette

POLICE have asked residents to be on the lookout for meat acquired through illegal poaching and have warned that eating such meat can result in diseases such as Tuberculosis and E.coli.

In an effort to curb illegal poaching, police have joined forces with a number of agencies including South Somerset District Council to combat poaching in the region head on.