Monthly Archives: February 2017

RASFF – Listeria monocytogenes (1500 CFU/g) in raw goat milk cheese from France in France

RASFF-Listeria monocytogenes (300 CFU/g) in chilled beef fillets from Chile in Germany

RASFF -Bacillus cereus (1.3x10E3 CFU/ml) and Bacillus cereus diarrheal enterotoxin (NHE) in whole milk from Germany in Germany

RASFF – Salmonella enterica (2 positive /25g) in fish meal from Cape Verde in Portugal

RASFF-Salmonella enterica ser. Derby (presence /25g) and Salmonella enterica ser. Infantis (presence /25g) in dog spaghetti from the Czech Republic in Germany

RASFF-suspicion of Salmonella enterica in rapeseed meal from Germany in Germany

RASFF – aflatoxins (B1 = 169 µg/kg – ppb) in groundnut kernels for birdfeed from Senegal in the UK

Eurosurveillance

CDC Photo

Between 2014 and 2015, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control was informed of an increase in numbers of Salmonellaenterica serotype Chester cases with travel to Morocco occurring in six European countries. Epidemiological and microbiological investigations were conducted. In addition to gathering information on the characteristics of cases from the different countries in 2014, the epidemiological investigation comprised a matched case–case study involving French patients with salmonellosis who travelled to Morocco that year. A univariate conditional logistic regression was performed to quantify associations. The microbiological study included a whole genome sequencing (WGS) analysis of clinical and non-human isolates of S. Chester of varied place and year of isolation. A total of 162 cases, mostly from France, followed by Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Denmark and Sweden were reported, including 86 (53%) women. The median age per country ranged from 3 to 38 years. Cases of S. Chester were more likely to have eaten in a restaurant and visited the coast of Morocco. The results of WGS showed five multilocus sequence types (ST), with 96 of 153 isolates analysed clustering into a tight group that corresponded to a novel ST, ST1954. Of these 96 isolates, 46 (48%) were derived from food or patients returning from Morocco and carried two types of plasmids containing either qnrS1 or qnrB19 genes. This European-wide outbreak associated with travel to Morocco was likely a multi-source outbreak with several food vehicles contaminated by multidrug-resistant S. Chester strains.

Food Poisoning Bulletin

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture is issuing a consumer advisory for products made by Dukarani Food Processing because they may be contaminated with Clostridium botulinum. The toxin produced by this bacteria can cause paralysis and death. An issue with two fish- and vegetable-based sauces were identified during a routine inspection. No illnesses have been reported to date.

MDA can’t verify that the sauces were processed properly, creating a potential botulism risk. In addition, a dry sesame seed and ground fish product (Benniseed) was made through an unapproved process and with an unapproved ingredient source.

The recalled products are 8 ounce glass jars of Pepper Sauce and Ketele Sauce, and plastic lidded cups of Benniseed. They were produced and sold by Dukarani Food Processing. These products were made and sold through Friday, February 10, 2017.

FDA

Saputo Inc. (Saputo), is voluntarily recalling certain Gouda cheese products in the United States after having been notified by Deutsch Kase Haus, LLC of Middlebury, Indiana that some specialty Gouda cheese products that it supplied to Saputo’s Green Bay, Wisconsin facility may have been contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

The affected retail products are the Great Midwest® Applewood Smoked Gouda cheeses listed in the table below. As a precautionary measure, Saputo is also recalling the Dutchmark® Smoked Gouda cheeses listed in the table below, which were packaged on the same line. Consumers should not consume the recalled products.

No illnesses due to consumption of these products have been reported. Anyone concerned about an injury or illness should contact a healthcare provider.

Food Safety News

Increasing demand in the U.S. for year-round access to all foods means more foreign food in grocery stores and that means more foodborne illness outbreaks from imported food.

Writing for the March edition of Emerging Infectious Diseases, a journal of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, four researchers take a deep dive into outbreak trends involving imported foods.

In “Outbreaks of Disease Associated with Food Imported into the United States, 1996-2014,” the four report there’s “a small but increasing number of foodborne disease outbreaks associated with imported foods, most commonly fish and produce.”

Food Poisoning Bulletin

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is tracking the mcr-1 gene in bacteria. This gene can make bacteria resistant to colistin, an antibiotic that is the “last resort” drug for some multidrug-resistant pathogens. Colistin is considered an old drug and is rarely used because it can damage the kidneys. The gene was found in China for the first time in November 2015.

Food Protection Journal

Listeria monocytogenes, a lethal foodborne pathogen, has the ability to resist the hostile food processing environment and thus frequently contaminates ready-to-eat foods during processing. It is commonly accepted that the tendency of L. monocytogenes‘ to generate biofilms on various surfaces enhances its resistance to the harshness of the food processing environment. However, the role of biofilm formation in the transferability of L. monocytogenes EGDe remains controversial. We examined the growth of Listeria biofilms on stainless steel surfaces and their effect on the transferability of L. monocytogenes EGDe. The experiments were a factorial 2 × 2 design with at least three biological replicates. Through scanning electron microscopy, a mature biofilm with intensive aggregates of cells was observed on the surface of stainless steel after 3 or 5 days of incubation, depending on the initial level of inoculation. During biofilm development, L. monocytogenes EGDe carried out binary fission vigorously before a mature biofilm was formed and subsequently changed its cellular morphology from rod shaped to sphere shaped. Furthermore, static biofilm, which was formed after 3 days of incubation at 25°C, significantly inhibited the transfer rate of L. monocytogenes EGDe from stainless steel blades to 15 bologna slices. During 7 days of storage at 4°C, however, bacterial growth rate was not significantly impacted by whether bacteria were transferred from biofilm and the initial concentrations of transferred bacteria on the slice. In conclusion, this study is the first to report a distinct change in morphology of L. monocytogenes EGDe at the late stage of biofilm formation. More importantly, once food is contaminated by L. monocytogenes EGDe, contamination proceeds independently of biofilm development and the initial level of contamination when food is stored at 4°C, even if contamination with L. monocytogenes EGDe was initially undetectable before storage.