Monthly Archives: March 2018

USA – Darwin’s pet food owner knew of pathogens in production plant

Posted on March 29, 2018 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety News

The producer of Darwin’s brand raw pet foods knew about Salmonella in its plant, fielded more than 300 consumer complaints about sick or dead pets, and racked up a laundry list of food safety violations in 2017, according to government inspectors.

Investigators from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) identified numerous problems at Arrow Reliance Inc., doing business as Darwin’s Natural Pet Products. They undertook the December 2017 inspection in response to an ongoing pattern of product recalls and a consumer complaint received in October 2017.

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Posted in E.coli, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Pet Food, Salmonella, Uncategorized

Research – Ugly ducklings—the dark side of plastic materials in contact with potable water

Posted on March 29, 2018 by | Leave a comment

Image result for rubber duckNature 

Bath toys pose an interesting link between flexible plastic materials, potable water, external microbial and nutrient contamination, and potentially vulnerable end-users. Here, we characterized biofilm communities inside 19 bath toys used under real conditions. In addition, some determinants for biofilm formation were assessed, using six identical bath toys under controlled conditions with either clean water prior to bathing or dirty water after bathing. All examined bath toys revealed notable biofilms on their inner surface, with average total bacterial numbers of 5.5 × 106 cells/cm2 (clean water controls), 9.5 × 106 cells/cm2 (real bath toys), and 7.3 × 107 cells/cm2 (dirty water controls). Bacterial community compositions were diverse, showing many rare taxa in real bath toys and rather distinct communities in control bath toys, with a noticeable difference between clean and dirty water control biofilms. Fungi were identified in 58% of all real bath toys and in all dirty water control toys. Based on the comparison of clean water and dirty water control bath toys, we argue that bath toy biofilms are influenced by (1) the organic carbon leaching from the flexible plastic material, (2) the chemical and biological tap water quality, (3) additional nutrients from care products and human body fluids in the bath water, as well as, (4) additional bacteria from dirt and/or the end-users’ microbiome. The present study gives a detailed characterization of bath toy biofilms and a better understanding of determinants for biofilm formation and development in systems comprising plastic materials in contact with potable water.

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RASFF Alerts – E.coli – Live Mussels – Raw Milk Cheeses

Posted on March 29, 2018 by | Leave a comment

kswfoodworld food safety poisoning

RASFF-high count of Escherichia coli (1400000 CFU/g) in raw milk cheeses from France in France

RASFF-too high count of Escherichia coli (350; 540; 920; 1600 MPN/100g) in live mussels from Spain in Italy

RASFF-too high count of Escherichia coli (1300 MPN/g) in live mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) from Spain in Italy

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Posted in Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, RASFF, Raw Milk, raw milk cheese, Uncategorized

Research – CDC says some FoodNet Salmonella infections rising

Posted on March 28, 2018 by | Leave a comment

CIDRAP 

 

Though the incidence of foodborne illnesses has held steady over the past several years, a surveillance system geared toward tracking the diseases found that those involving Escherichia coli O157 and certain Salmonella subtypes have been falling over the past decade, which experts say parallels decreased contamination in poultry and ground beef.

Infections involving some Salmonella subtypes, however, are on the rise, with some of them from nonfood sources, such as contact with animals.

Of subtyped Salmonella isolates in 2017, the five most common were Enteritidis, Typhimurium, Newport, Javiana, and I 4,[5],12:i:-, a variant of Typhimurium. For 2017, the incidence of Heidelberg was 65% lower than from 2006 to 2008, with a similar decrease for Typhimurium over the same period.

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Posted in Research, Salmonella, Uncategorized

Australia – Recall: UPDATE Washed Rind Cheeses – Listeria monocytogenes

Posted on March 28, 2018 by | Leave a comment

NSW Food Authority rind_cheese

Updated: additional Best before of 25-03-2018 for Le Vignelait Brillat Savarin.

The NSW Food Authority advises:

Washed Rind Pty Ltd has recalled a variety of cheeses made in France from IGA and Supa IGA in NSW, independent retailers in QLD and ACT, Foodworks and independent retailers in VIC, Foodlands IGA and independent retailers in SA and IGA, Supa IGA and independent retailers in WA due to potential Listeria monocytogenes contamination.

Product details:

  • Saint Simeon 200g, Plastic container, Best before 08-04-2018
  • Brie de Nangis 1kg, Wrapped in cheesepaper/plastic and set in ½ wooden box, Best before 08-04-2018
  • Le Vignelait Brillat Savarin 500g, Plastic container, Best before 25-03-2018 and 8-04-2018
  • Coulommiers Truffe 800g, Wrapped in cheesepaper/plastic and set in ½ wooden box, Best before 08-04-2018 and 22-04-2018
  • Le Coulommiers 500g, Wrapped in cheesepaper/plastic and set in ½ wooden box, Best before 08-04-2018 and 22-04-2018
  • Brie de Brie Pasteurise 2.8kg, Wrapped in cheesepaper/plastic and set in ½ wooden box, Best before 08-04-2018 and 22-04-2018

Consumers should not eat this product and should return it to the place of purchase for a full refund. Listeria monocytogenes may cause illness in pregnant women and their unborn babies, the elderly and people with low immune systems.

If you are concerned about your health you should seek medical advice.

For more recall information, contact Say Cheese Wholesale on (08) 8321 5867.
Updated: additional Best before of 25-03-2018 for Le Vignelait Brillat Savarin.

The NSW Food Authority advises:

Washed Rind Pty Ltd has recalled a variety of cheeses made in France from IGA and Supa IGA in NSW, independent retailers in QLD and ACT, Foodworks and independent retailers in VIC, Foodlands IGA and independent retailers in SA and IGA, Supa IGA and independent retailers in WA due to potential Listeria monocytogenes contamination.

Product details:

  • Saint Simeon 200g, Plastic container, Best before 08-04-2018
  • Brie de Nangis 1kg, Wrapped in cheesepaper/plastic and set in ½ wooden box, Best before 08-04-2018
  • Le Vignelait Brillat Savarin 500g, Plastic container, Best before 25-03-2018 and 8-04-2018
  • Coulommiers Truffe 800g, Wrapped in cheesepaper/plastic and set in ½ wooden box, Best before 08-04-2018 and 22-04-2018
  • Le Coulommiers 500g, Wrapped in cheesepaper/plastic and set in ½ wooden box, Best before 08-04-2018 and 22-04-2018
  • Brie de Brie Pasteurise 2.8kg, Wrapped in cheesepaper/plastic and set in ½ wooden box, Best before 08-04-2018 and 22-04-2018

Consumers should not eat this product and should return it to the place of purchase for a full refund. Listeria monocytogenes may cause illness in pregnant women and their unborn babies, the elderly and people with low immune systems.

If you are concerned about your health you should seek medical advice.

For more recall information, contact Say Cheese Wholesale on (08) 8321 5867.

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Posted in Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Uncategorized, Washed Rind Cheese

Canada – Druxy’s Fresh Deli Revolution brand Seasoned Cooked Roast Beef recalled due to Listeria monocytogenes

Posted on March 28, 2018 by | Leave a comment

CFIA

Ottawa, March 27, 2018 – Erie Meat Products Ltd. is recalling Druxy’s Fresh Deli Revolution brand Seasoned Cooked Roast Beef from the marketplace due to possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination. Consumers should not consume the recalled product described below.

The following product has been sold from Druxy’s Famous Deli restaurant locations in Ontario. This product has been portioned and served at these locations without a label or coding. Consumers who are unsure if they have consumed or purchased the affected product are advised to contact the restaurant.

Recalled products

Brand Name Common Name Size Code(s) on Product UPC
Druxy’s Fresh Deli Revolution Seasoned Cooked Roast Beef Variable Best Before
2018AL09		 None

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Posted in CFIA, Food Hygiene, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, listeriosis, Recall, Uncategorized

UK -Global antibiotic consumption soars feeding spread of UK ‘super-bugs’

Posted on March 28, 2018 by | Leave a comment

The Telegraph 

 

Drug-resistant superbugs are rising in the UK because of lack of regulation of antibiotics in developing countries, experts have warned.

One of the biggest studies of antibiotic use around the world has established that while antibiotic use in Britain has slowed, global consumption jumped by 65 percent, to 34.8 billion daily doses between 2000 and 2015.

The analysis, led by the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy (CDDEP) in Washington DC, found the rise is being driven by skyrocketing use in low to middle income countries such as India, China and Turkey where consumption was up by 114%.

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Posted in Antibiotic Resistance, Uncategorized

Sweden – Salmonella outbreaks in Sweden: Salmonella Kentucky; Cat infections

Posted on March 27, 2018 by | Leave a comment

Outbreak News Today

Officials with the Swedish Public Health Agency, or Folkhalsomyndigheten are reporting two situations of increased numbers of salmonella infections.

Since October 2017, officials report (computer translated) 63 cases of Salmonella Kentucky infection. The majority of cases are found in Västra Götaland (37), but also Uppsala (9), Skåne (3), Stockholm (7), Kronoberg (4) and Värmland (3). Two isolates differ slightly from the others and are therefore reported as Subspecies I (8.20), but sequencing has shown that these also belong to the outbreak.

In all cases the patients lived in elderly homes or have been taken care of at various hospitals during the incubation period.

The investigation continues as officials try to identify a possible common source of infection

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UK – FSA – Test our new beta website

Posted on March 27, 2018 by | Leave a comment

FSA

We’ve been developing our new website to make it much easier for businesses and consumers to find the information they need. Today we’re making it available for you to test, please tell us what you think.

We know that for food to be safe and what it says it is, you need to be able to access the information you need easily, which is why we have been developing the new beta.food.gov.uk.

Over the past year our teams have been working to:

  • Redesign our website to be more engaging and easier to use.
  • Overhaul our consumer and business guidance so that you can find and understand key information.
  • Develop a new contact service, so that your query or report gets to the right team or department first time.
  • Develop a new food and allergy alerts service, powered by APIs, to get information about food recalls and withdrawals to you as quickly as possible.
  • Build the website so that it works as seamlessly whether you are on your phone, tablet or computer.
  • Later this year, we will also be launching the new Food Hygiene Rating service that makes it faster for consumers to find the FHRS rating of a business, and also helps businesses display their food hygiene rating on their own websites and apps.

Tell us what you think

We are confident that you will find the new website much easier to use, but we will not fully know until we have millions of real consumers and businesses using it.

This period, beta public, lets us see how well the website works when you do use it, and helps us identify where we can improve it by allowing us to:

  • Understand if the content meets your needs based on your feedback.
  • See whether you can find information you are looking for first time when searching.
  • Test whether the website seamlessly works on all the devices you use to visit it.
  • See where we need to iterate a service so that it is easier for you to use.

So please do take a look at beta.food.gov.uk, and let us know your comments using the feedback banner on the top of each page.

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Posted in fsa, Uncategorized

UK -Scotland -Europe- Listeriosis outbreak – EU member states

Posted on March 27, 2018 by | Leave a comment

HPS Scotland

On 22 March, the European Centre for the Prevention and Control of Disease (ECDC) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) issued a rapid outbreak assessment concerning an outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes which has affected five EU member states (Austria, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom) since 2015. As of 8 March 2018, 32 cases including six deaths have been reported.

Whole genome sequencing (WGS) was used to define the multi-country outbreak of L. monocytogenes serogroup IVb, multi-locus sequence type 6 and to identify the implicated food source. The investigations pointed towards frozen corn packed in Poland and processed and produced in Hungary. The report (available at https://ecdc.europa.eu/en/publications-data/multi-country-outbreak-listeria…) recommends further investigations to identify the exact point of contamination in the food chain.

Food business operators in Poland, Finland, Sweden and Estonia have withdrawn and recalled the implicated products. However, new cases may be identified due to the long incubation period of listeriosis (up 22 to 70 days), the long shelf-life of frozen corn products and the potential consumption of frozen corn bought before the recall was implemented.

To reduce the risk of L. monocytogenes infection from frozen corn, consumers are being urged to adequately heat frozen vegetables that are not ready-to-eat products. This applies especially to consumers at the highest risk of contracting listeriosis – such as the elderly, pregnant women, new-borns and adults with weakened immune systems. [Source: ECDC News Release, 22 March 2018. https://ecdc.europa.eu/en/news-events/frozen-corn-likely-source-ongoing-lis…]

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