Monthly Archives: January 2017

RASFF – foodborne outbreak suspected to be caused by live oysters from France in the Netherlands

RASFF -Salmonella (presence /25g) in meat meal for petfood from Poland in Italy

Food Safety News

European experts have noted an increasing trend of listeriosis illnesses since 2008, except for a stabilization of infections from the pathogen from 2014 to 2015. Most infected people were over 64 years of age.

The findings are included in the most recent annual report by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). The report on zoonotic diseases includes the latest data on trends for salmonellosis, campylobacteriosis and foodborne outbreaks in the European Union.

CFS

Food Alert – A batch of anchovy paste suspected to contain histamine

Food Safety Tech

Last month we introduced several food genomics terms including the microbiome. Recall that a microbiome is the community or population of microorganisms that inhabit a particular environment or sample. Recall that there are two broad types of microbiomes, a targeted (e.g., bacteria or fungi) or a metagenome (in which all DNA in a sample is sequenced, not just specific targets like bacteria or fungi). This month we would like to introduce the reader to uses of microbiomes and how they augment standard plate counts and move us into a new era in food microbiology. Before providing examples, it might be useful to review a diagram explaining the general flow of the process of determining a microbiome

Food Poisoning Bulletin 

The Center for Science in the Public Interest has stated that the FDA has denied their petition to control Vibrio in shellfish. Every year, Americans are sickened, and some die, after eating raw shellfish contaminated with Vibrio vulnificus.

The Telegraph 

Supermarkets must provide plastic bags in meat aisles to stop the spread of potentially deadly bugs, the chairman of the Food Standards Agency has said.

In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, Heather Hancock revealed the FSA wants shoppers to be handed free disposable bags when buying raw chicken, with special reminders to use them at self-service checkouts.

As bacteria can lurk on the outside of packaging as well as on the inside, she said, an extra plastic bag layer is the “only way” shoppers can be sure they are not spreading bugs onto other food in their shopping baskets. 

Deccan Chronicle

Visakhapatnam: About 800 villagers of K. Kotapadu mandal in Visakhapatnam suffered from suspected food poisoning on Sunday midnight. According to District Medical and Health Officer Dr. J. Sarojini, about 2,000 people from about 40 surrounding villages, including Pathavalasa, Kothabhoomi, Srungavaram and others, had lunch at Mr Gokada Govinda’s house in Marrivalasa on Sunday.

The guests consumed non-vegetarian dishes like biryani etc. At about 11 pm, some villagers started experiencing abdominal pain, vomiting and loose motions. As the number of victims grew into hundreds in the ensuing hours, they were all shifted to hospitals in K Kotapadu, Kothavalasa and Pendurti for treatment in ambulances.

Not completely in my view!

Acoura

With the burger market set to reach a value of £3.8billion by 2020, burgers are a staple item on any menu.  But with 48% of consumers expecting to choose how their gourmet burger is cooked, operators must know their facts.  Is it safe to eat a rare burger?

Test

CCLCLi