RASFF -aflatoxins (B1 = 171 µg/kg – ppb) in groundnut kernels from the Gambia in the UK
RASFF-aflatoxins (B1 = 482 µg/kg – ppb) in groundnuts for bird feed from the Gambia in the UK
RASFF-aflatoxins (B1 = 34.8 µg/kg – ppb) in groundnut kernels for bird-feed from Nicaragua in the UK
Posted in Aflatoxin, Animal Feed, Mycotoxin, RASFF, Uncategorized
Eighty-seven people fell ill from suspected food poisoning Sunday at a villager’s home in Wushan, a county in southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality, local authorities said.
They were immediately taken to hospitals. As of 11am Monday, 35 people had been allowed to go home and 52 others were still hospitalized, none of them with life-threatening illness.
Authorities in Wushan have detained people related to the incident and taken food samples for further lab work.
Posted in Uncategorized
Frozen broccoli contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes bacteria has been found at Stop & Shop’s store on Ellington Road in South Windsor, and the chain is recalling the product. State food inspectors found the listeria-tainted, 16-ounce “Private Brands Frozen Broccoli Cuts” during a routine test of sample products at the store and the supermarket chain issued the recall on Monday. The product code for this broccoli is “UPC 068826700926” and the packages’ use-by code is “BEST BY MAR 15 2020.” Stop & Shop issued a voluntary recall on the frozen broccoli based on the results of tests done by the state Department of Consumer Protection.
County health officials continue to investigate a Salmonella outbreak linked to a Georgia caterer who provided food for recent events. At least 70 people reported becoming ill after the events, with at least four admitted to hospitals.
The Plain Nuts Catering & Deli of Covington, GA, closed voluntarily, according to the Gwinnett, Newton, & Rockdale County Health Departments. As of Monday evening the caterer’s website did not appear to have any information about the situation.
Sick people reported attending events on April 28 and May 9 that were catered by Plain Nuts. Another group of people who did not attend the events but did eat food from the caterer is also included in the outbreak count.
Reports of the illnesses first reached the health department on May 4. With all of the sick people having attended the same invitation-only event on April 28, public health officials began investigating the caterer. On May 15, the department received word of illnesses among attendees of the May 9 event.
A North Somerset pub, where dozens of people fell ill with food poisoning following Mother’s Day meals, has been given a zero food hygiene rating in an inspection after the sickness outbreak.
Health chiefs identified the cause of the food poisoning at The Old Farmhouse pub in Nailsea, where around 62 diners suffered from sickness and diarrhoea.
Public Health England (PHE) and North Somerset Council also launched an investigation after they became ill on March 11, this year.
A pub has shut its kitchen after 62 diners reportedly fell ill following a Mother’s Day lunch.
Dozens of people reported to be suffering from diarrhoea and vomiting after eating at The Old Farmhouse in Nailsea, north Somerset, on Sunday.
North Somerset Council is understood to have been alerted to 62 confirmed cases so far, the Bristol Post reports.
The pub , which is operated by the Hall and Woodhouse chain, has voluntarily stopped serving meals while investigations continue.
As of May 18, 106 cases (98 confirmed, 3 probable, 5 suspect) have been seen. Three-quarters of the cases required hospitalization and no deaths have been reported.
Most (87%) of those cases in have occurred in Kanawha (59) and Putnam (28) counties, with Cabell at 10, and Boone, Jackson, Lincoln, Wayne and Wyoming counties having less than fivPe cases each.
This increase in cases has primarily been among IV and non-IV drug users, homeless or transient individuals, those who have been recently incarcerated, and are co-infected with hepatitis C. Viral sequencing has linked several cases with outbreaks in Kentucky and California.
Hepatitis A virus is excreted from the body through stool. It can live on surfaces for months. Individuals can get Hepatitis A from close personal contact with someone who has the illness, or from encountering food or surfaces and unknowingly ingesting even microscopic particles of contaminated human waste.
Posted in Hepatitis A, outbreak, Uncategorized
Golden International Corporation of Renton, WA is issuing a public safety notice for 405 cartons of stolen frozen tilapia, because it has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis.
Golden International Corporation also warns consumers, food distributors, grocery stores, and food processors not to consume or sell certain cartons of stolen tilapia.
No illnesses have been reported to date. This notice is being made with the knowledge of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
| ABSTRACT |
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A cheese processing facility seeking to reduce environmental Listeria colonization initiated a regime of ozonation across all production areas as an adjunct to its sanitation regimes. A total of 360 environmental samples from the facility were tested for Listeria over a 12-month period. A total of 15 areas before and 15 areas after ozonation were tested. Listeria isolations were significantly (P < 0.001) reduced from 15.0% in the preozonation samples to 1.67% in the postozonation samples in all areas. No deleterious effects of ozonation were noted on the wall paneling, seals, synthetic floors, or cheese processing equipment. The ozonation regime was readily incorporated by sanitation staff into the existing good manufacturing practice program. The application of ozone may result in a significant reduction in the prevalence of Listeria in food processing facilities.
Posted in Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Research, Uncategorized
On Sunday, May 21, 2000, at 1:30 p.m., the Bruce Grey Owen Sound Health Unit in Ontario, Canada, posted a notice to hospitals and physicians on their web site to make them aware of a boil water advisory and that a suspected agent in the increase of diarrheal cases was E. coli O157:H7.
Ultimately, 2,300 people in a town of 5,000 were sickened and seven died. All the gory details and mistakes and steps for improvement were outlined in the report of the Walkerton inquiry.
On the first day of May, in the afternoon, Ribey lay down next to her brother. It was time. A doctor administered three injections.
“I was lying beside him and holding his hand and he just put his head down on mine and said, ‘How’s my little sister?’ And that’s when I started to cry. Then I said something like, thank you for being such a kind brother and a good brother to me. I’m going to miss you … I told him I loved him.”
She said it was “very, very peaceful and very quick.”
For Schnurr, a man broken beyond repair, the pain stopped.
Posted in Uncategorized
An increase in the number of foodborne outbreaks and recalls due to Salmonella in low-moisture foods has resulted in the need for the development and validation of process controls to ensure their microbiological safety. Furthermore, the Food Safety Modernization Act Preventive Controls for Human Food final rule requires food processors to validate their process controls to ensure food safety. The objective of this study was to develop a response surface model to predict Salmonella inactivation in oat flour, as affected by moisture, fat content, screw speed, and temperature. Oat flour was adjusted to different moisture (14 to 26% wet basis) and fat (5 to 15% [w/w]) contents and was then inoculated with a five-strain cocktail of Salmonella. Inoculated material was extruded through a single-screw extruder running at different screw speeds (75 to 225 rpm) and temperatures (65 to 85°C), without a die. Once steady-state conditions were attained, extruded samples were collected, cooled, and stored under refrigeration, and Salmonella survivors were enumerated. A split-plot central composite second-order response surface design was used, with the central point replicated six times. Temperature showed a significant (P < 0.0005) positive effect on microbial reduction. Moisture content showed significant linear (P = 0.0014) and quadratic (P = 0.0005) effects, whereas higher fat content showed a significant (P < 0.0001) protective effect on Salmonella destruction. The screw speed did not play a major role in inactivating Salmonella, but it had a significant (P = 0.0004) interactive effect with temperature. Results indicated that a >5.5-log reduction was achieved in oat flour extruded at a temperature above 85°C at all moisture and fat contents evaluated at a screw speed of 150 rpm. The developed response surface model can be used to identify the extrusion process conditions to achieve a desired reduction of Salmonella based on the moisture and fat contents of the product.
Posted in Research, Salmonella, Uncategorized
FoodWorld 