Monthly Archives: May 2017

Belarus News

PARIS, 28 April (BelTA – Xinhua) – More than 300 students were taken ill on Thursday due to suspected food poisoning in Rouen, a city in northeastern France, regional authorities said.

Children, aged between 3 and 12, reported symptoms of vomiting and nausea after eating school lunches prepared at the same central canteen.

“The children were treated by a group of one hundred healthcare workers including, doctors, nurses and rescue teams in 41 schools and 6 nurseries,” Jean-Marc Magda, director of Normandy and Seine prefect’s office, was quoted as saying by local media.

Twenty five kids were sent to emergency services while the others were undergoing treatment at their schools after noting that many were stricken.

“The children are cared for, then comes the time of the investigation. At this stage, one can imagine everything: insufficient cooking, bad handling, rules of hygiene not respected,” Magda said.

Food Poisoning Bulletin

King County Public Heath is investigating an outbreak of gastroenteritis with abdominal cramps and diarrhea associated with Rancho Bravo Tacos at 1001 East Pine Street on Capitol Hill in Seattle, Washington. Four people from one party got sick soon after eating food at the restaurant on April 22, 2017. None of the patients was hospitalized.

Botulism Blog

CDC Photo

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) warns against consuming local deer- antler tea due to botulism risk. Public Health has recently identified one confirmed and one suspected case of botulism occurring in adults. Preliminary investigation suggests that these cases may be associated with the consumption of a deer-antler tea product (photos attached) that was acquired during the month of March. Pending further investigation, Public Health recommends that all persons who purchased product similar to this (i.e., deer-antler tea provided in a sealed pouch similar to the attached photographs) during the month of March, immediately dispose of it.

Public Health will provide more information as it becomes available.

Outbreak News Today

NHS Lanarkshire’s Department of Public Health along with North Lanarkshire Council Environmental Health and other agencies are investigating nine confirmed and nine suspected cases of hepatitis A in North Lanarkshire.

Patients have either been discharged or are currently in Monklands Hospital. All are well and responding to treatment.

Initial investigations indicate that there could be a possible link to the JB Christie bakery in Airdrie and as a precaution, and in line with public health guidance, environmental health and public health staff are working with the bakery to carry out further investigations.

Dr Josephine Pravinkumar, NHS Lanarkshire consultant in Public Health Medicine said: “Our initial investigations have indicated that there may be a link between these cases and the bakery.

Journal of Food Protection

A multiyear interagency Listeria monocytogenes Market Basket Survey was undertaken for selected refrigerated ready-to-eat foods purchased at retail in four FoodNet sites in the United States. Food samples from 16 food categories in six broad groups (seafood, produce, dairy, meat, eggs, and combination foods) were collected weekly at large national chain supermarkets and independent grocery stores in California, Maryland, Connecticut, and Georgia for 100 weeks between December 2010 and March 2013. Of the 27,389 total samples, 116 samples tested positive by the BAX PCR system for L. monocytogenes, and the pathogen was isolated and confirmed for 102 samples. Among the 16 food categories, the proportion of positive samples (i.e., without considering clustering effects) based on recovery of a viable isolate of L. monocytogenes ranged from 0.00% (95% confidence interval: 0.00, 0.18) for the category of soft-ripened and semisoft cheese to 1.07% (0.63, 1.68) for raw cut vegetables. Among the 571 samples that tested positive for Listeria-like organisms, the proportion of positive samples ranged from 0.79% (0.45, 1.28) for soft-ripened and semisoft cheese to 4.76% (2.80, 7.51) for fresh crab meat or sushi. Across all 16 categories, L. monocytogenes contamination was significantly associated with the four states (P < 0.05) but not with the packaging location (prepackaged by the manufacturer versus made and/or packaged in the store), the type of store (national chain versus independent), or the season. Among the 102 samples positive for L. monocytogenes, levels ranged from <0.036 most probable number per g to 6.1 log CFU/g. For delicatessen (deli) meats, smoked seafood, seafood salads, soft-ripened and semisoft cheeses, and deli-type salads without meat, the percentage of positive samples was significantly lower (P < 0.001) in this survey than that reported a decade ago based on comparable surveys in the United States. Use of mixed logistic regression models to address clustering effects with regard to the stores revealed that L. monocytogenes prevalence ranged from 0.11% (0.03, 0.34) for sprouts (prepackaged) to 1.01% (0.58, 1.74) for raw cut vegetables (prepackaged).

Journal of Food protection 

The lethal and sublethal effect of a dielectric barrier discharge atmospheric cold plasma on Staphylococcus aureus were investigated by nonselective and selective media. The inactivation level and sublethally injured proportions of S. aureus cells by dielectric barrier discharge atmospheric cold plasma depended on the treatment times (0, 5, 15, and 45 s), applied input powers (40, 50, and 60 W), and gap distances (2, 4, and 6 mm). Under weak conditions (e.g., 5 s, 40 W, and 6 mm), the occurrence of inactivation and sublethal injury of S. aureus showed a relatively low level. Strong treatment (e.g., 45 s, 60 W, and 2 mm) resulted in highly an inactivated rate, but with small fractions of sublethally injured S. aureus cells. Mild action of cold plasma induced both a large inactivation and a sublethal injury of S. aureus. Therefore, it is significant to optimize the processing of cold plasma sterilization in practice to ensure food safety.

CFIA

Ottawa, April 28, 2017 – The food recall warning issued on April 25, 2017 has been updated to include additional product information. This additional information was identified during the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s (CFIA) food safety investigation.

Mom’s Pantry is recalling Mom’s Pantry / Jim & Leonie brand 3″ Unsweetened Tart Shells and 9″ Unbaked Pie Lids from the marketplace due to possible E. coli O121 contamination. Consumers should not consume the recalled products described below.