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A German risk assessment agency has issued an opinion after STEC was frequently found in flour samples.
Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) was detected in multiple flour samples (wheat, spelt and rye) from mills during routine food monitoring in Germany in 2018.
The Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) asked the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) to assess the sources, risk and prevention of STEC in flour.
Fifty STEC-positive samples were detected in 328 wheat, spelt and rye flour samples analyzed in 2018 as part of the Federal Monitoring Plan. A product recall in November 2019 of ready-made dough for short pastry biscuits shows STEC can occur in such a product.
Investigations of flour samples from mills in Germany for STEC have shown between 10 and 21 percent have positive samples. Viable STEC of different serogroups are detectable in flour for more than 50 weeks.
FoodWorld 