RASFF-norovirus (GII /25g) in blackberries from Mexico in Italy
RASFF-norovirus (GII /25g) in strawberries from Spain, packaged in the Netherlands in the Netherlands
RASFF-norovirus (GII /g) in live oysters (Crassostrea gigas) from France in Italy
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RASFF-sunflower meal from Ukraine infested with moulds in Poland
Posted in Moulds, RASFF, Uncategorized
JustFoodForDogs LLC has recalled three frozen dog food flavors after laboratory tests confirmed the presence of Listeria monocytogenes in a sample of one of its products. Test results suggest “human-grade” green beans are the contaminated ingredient.
The company, headquartered in Los Alamitos, CA, posted the recall notice on its Facebook page, reporting it had notified customers directly “via email, direct mail and in-store signage.”
As with all pet food recalls for pathogen contamination, there is a risk to pet owners and others who handle the food. Hands, utensils, food bowls, countertops and other surfaces can become cross-contaminated from contact with the pet food.
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We developed a risk assessment of human salmonellosis associated with consumption of al-falfa sprouts in the United States to evaluate the public health impact of applying treatments to seeds (0–5-log 10 reduction in Salmonella) and testing spent irrigation water (SIW) during production. The risk model considered variability and uncertainty in Salmonella contamina- tion in seeds, Salmonella growth and spread during sprout production, sprout consumption, and Salmonella dose response. Based on an estimated prevalence of 2.35% for 6.8 kg seed batches and without interventions, the model predicted 76,600 (95% confidence interval (CI) 15,400 – 248,000) cases/year. Risk reduction (by 5 – to 7-fold) predicted from a 1-log 10 seed treatment alone was comparable to SIW testing alone, and each additional 1-log 10 seed treat- ment was predicted to provide a greater risk reduction than SIW testing. A 3-log 10 or a 5-log 10 seed treatment reduced the predicted cases/year to 139 (95% CI 33 – 448) or 1.4 (95% CI < 1 – 4.5), respectively. Combined with SIW testing, a 3-log 10 or 5-log 10 seed treatment reduced the cases/year to 45 (95% CI 10–146) or < 1 (95% CI < 1 – 1.5), respectively. If the SIW cover- age was less complete (i.e., less representative), a smaller risk reduction was predicted, e.g., a combined 3-log 10 seed treatment and SIW testing with 20% coverage resulted in an estimated 92 (95% CI 22 – 298) cases/year. Analysis of alternative scenarios using different assumptions for key model inputs showed that the predicted relative risk reductions are robust. This risk assessment provides a comprehensive approach for evaluating the public health impact of various interventions in a sprout production system.
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Pathogenic infection has been implicated in the chronic inflammation seen in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. Yang et al. show that recurrent, low-level, and fully resolving Salmonella enterica Typhimurium (ST) infections can precipitate severe colonic inflammation in mice. ST-induced TLR4 activation resulted in increased neuraminidase 3 (Neu3) production and activity in the duodenum. This led to intestinal alkaline phosphatase (IAP) desialylation and degradation. IAP deficiency caused a marked increase in commensal bacteria-generated lipopolysaccharide-phosphate in the colon, provoking inflammation. Treatment with calf IAP or the antiviral drug zanamivir (which inhibits Neu3 activity) prevented this inflammatory cascade. This pathway may serve as an effective target for future human IBD therapies.
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There is an ongoing public health threat from frozen, shredded coconut linked to a Salmonella outbreak that has sickened people in the United States and Canada.
In the U.S., 25 people from nine states have been confirmed with infections from two outbreak strains of Salmonella. In Canada, one person has salmonellosis from a strain matching one of the outbreak strains identified by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Six of the U.S. victims had symptoms so severe that they required hospitalization.
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Very little published information exists for the presence of Campylobacter spp. on processed quail. Most of the studies involve cloacal swabs and ceca from samples obtained from hunters. This study involves sampling processed quail carcasses from a large commercial integrated company and also determined the species and antibiotic resistance profile of the Campylobacter isolates. There is considerable debate concerning the ecology of Campylobacter on poultry and perhaps our data can be used by the broiler industry to develop a better understanding of the ecology and to assist in the application of effective intervention strategies. Presently, there is slightly under 100,000 million commercially processed and domestically grown quails in the United States each year, most of which is marketed in Europe as a frozen product. So the presence of an important foodborne pathogen on this food is significant information.
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Recalled: JustFoodForDogs
Maker: JustFoodForDogs, LLC
Cause: Potential for contamination with listeria in products containing green beans
Announcement: Company letter to customers, Jan. 15, 2018
What was recalled: Only these specific JustFoodForDogs products:
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Researchers from the Quadram Institute have identified genes encoding a previously undiscovered version of the botulinum neurotoxin in bacteria from a cow’s gut.
This is the first time that an intact cluster of genes for making botulinum neurotoxin have been found outside of the bacterium Clostridium botulinum or its close relatives, and only the second report of a new botulinum toxin in the past 40 years.
Clostridium botulinum is a dangerous pathogen that forms the highly potent botulinum toxin, which when ingested causes botulism, a deadly neuroparalytic disease. But botulinum neurotoxin is now also used in a range of medical procedures, as well as for cosmetic purposes. The discovery of this new type of botulinum neurotoxin, from an unexpected source, has the potential to widen the range of medical uses even further.
The genes that encode the botulinum toxin protein along with accessory proteins that protect the botulinum toxin and ensure it functions, are organised as a gene cluster. In new research, published in the journal FEBS Letters, scientists at the Quadram Institute carried out a search of the National Centre for Biotechnology Information’s Whole Genome Sequence database. Using bioinformatics techniques, Dr Jason Brunt and Dr Andrew Carter, working with Professor Mike Peck and Dr Sandra Stringer, screened this database for other entries that were similar to the predicted proteins that the botulinum toxin gene would produce. The study was funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.
This search identified a previously undiscovered gene cluster encoding a new botulinum neurotoxin and accessory proteins in the genome of a species of Enterococcus bacteria isolated from cow faeces.
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Health Canada says that the E. coli O157 outbreak linked to romaine lettuce in that country is over. At least 42 people in 5 provinces were sickened in this outbreak.
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