Monthly Archives: November 2020

Canada – Sarnia – Bad hummus most likely source of Salmonella outbreak

Posted on November 16, 2020 by KSW | 2 comments

The exact source of a food poisoning outbreak that sickened about 200 people may never be known, although contaminated hummus has been fingered as the most likely suspect, Lambton Public Health said.

Forty-five people were lab-confirmed to be infected with Salmonella and another 185 reported feeling sick after eating at the Barakat restaurant in Sarnia and Barakat food truck in Corunna in late October.

An investigation involving local, provincial and federal officials did not identify a specific food, but officials suspect cross-contamination of multiple dishes with hummus the most likely source of contamination, the health unit said.

“Many of these foodborne investigations are not conclusive in their cause, and this is one of those,” said Dr. Sudit Ranade Ranade, Lambton’s medical officer of health.

When the restaurant and food truck are ready to reopen they will be re-inspected.

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Posted in Bacteria, bacterial contamination, food bourne outbreak, food contamination, food handler, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Pathogen, Food Poisoning, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, outbreak, Salmonella

France – Product recall: Saint Azay brand straight and curved dry sausages – Salmonella

Posted on November 16, 2020 by KSW | Leave a comment

Oulah

Product recall: Saint Azay brand straight and curved dry sausages

ENCOUNTERED PROBLEM

Presence of salmonella

PROPOSED SOLUTION

Those in possession of this product are asked not to consume it and to return it to the point of sale where it was purchased.

Foodborne illness caused by Salmonella results in gastrointestinal disturbances, diarrhea, vomiting and abdominal pain, often accompanied by fever; these symptoms may be more serious in young children, immunocompromised people and the elderly. The incubation period can range from 6 to 72 hours.
People who have consumed the products mentioned below and who have these symptoms are invited to consult their doctor, notifying him of this consumption.

FURTHER INFORMATION

▸ Barcode
• 3564700012246 (Dry sausage straight 250g)
• 3564700012253 (Dry sausage curved 300g)

▸ DDM
All DDM until 08/12/20 included

▸ Health
stamp FR 69.238.010 CE

▸ Consumer service contact
0 800 86 52 86 Free service and call

▸ Source
https://www.e-leclerc.com/

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Posted in Bacteria, bacterial contamination, food contamination, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Pathogen, Food Poisoning, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, microbial contamination, Microbiology, Oulah, Salmonella

USA – Hundreds sick, 1 dead in nationwide Salmonella outbreak linked to chicks, ducklings

Posted on November 16, 2020 by KSW | Leave a comment

USA Today

Chicks and ducklings kept in backyards are the likely source of a nationwide Salmonella outbreak that has sickened nearly 1,000 people and killed one person, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday.

The outbreak nearly doubled in size since the CDC’s last report on June 24. Sick people range in age from 1 to 94-years-old, and more than 150 people have been hospitalized.

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Posted in Bacteria, bacterial contamination, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology Blog, microbial contamination, Microbiology, Salmonella, Salmonella in Chicken

Research – Microbiological Survey of Wheat Flour Sold at Retail in Canada, 2018-2019

Posted on November 15, 2020 by KSW | Leave a comment

Journal of Food Protection

Following two O121 STEC outbreaks linked to wheat flour, this study was conducted to gain baseline information on the occurrence of bacterial pathogens and levels of indicator organisms in wheat flour in Canada. A total of 347 pre-packaged wheat flour samples were analyzed for Salmonella spp., Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli (STEC), Listeria monocytogenes ( L. monocytogenes ) , aerobic colony count (ACC), total coliforms, and generic Escherichia coli ( E. coli ) . Salmonella spp. and O157 STEC were not detected in any of the samples. L. monocytogenes was identified in two samples (0.6%) at levels below the limit of detection (<0.7 log CFU/g). Non-O157 STEC were isolated from six samples (1.7%) and were characterized for the presence of STEC virulence genes: stx 1, stx 2 and subtypes, eae , hlyA, and aggR . One O103:H25 STEC isolate carried virulence genes ( stx 1 a + eae ) that are known to be capable of causing diarrhea and/or bloody diarrhea in humans. Of the five remaining non-O157 STEC isolates, four carried single stx 2a or stx 2c genes and were considered to have the potential of causing diarrhea. The remaining non-O157 STEC isolate ( stx 2 ), while not a priority non-O157 STEC was not available for sequencing and thus its potential to cause illness is unknown. ACC, total coliforms, and generic E. coli were detected in 98.8%, 72.6% and 0.6% of the flour samples. The mean counts of ACC were greater in whole-wheat flour as compared to the other flour types tested ( p <0.001). The results of this study suggest that the occurrence of O157 STEC and Salmonella is low, but the occurrence of non-O157 STEC in wheat flour with the potential to cause human illness of diarrhea is relatively common. Therefore, the consumption of raw flour could increase the likelihood of STEC infections. Further research is merited for potential risk mitigation strategies within the food production system and with consumers.

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Posted in Coliforms, E.coli, E.coli O103, E.coli O121, E.coli O157, E.coli O157:H7, eae, food bourne outbreak, Food Microbiology Research, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, outbreak, Research, Salmonella, STEC, STEC E.coli, STX 1, STX 2, Total Viable Count

Research – UVC and Foodborne Pathogens

Posted on November 15, 2020 by KSW | Leave a comment

Recently Heard

It really works when UVC runs. When used properly, it can kill up to 99 percent of pathogens. This is why UVC treatment has been used for sterilizing equipment in clinical and laboratory settings for many years. It’s only in the last few years that UVC has started to take off for personal use, especially given the current COVID-19 pandemic.

But in various contexts, there are a lot of legitimate questions and concerns about the safety of using UVC disinfection. And so rightfully. UVC is an exceptionally strong form of ultraviolet radiation that, when not used correctly, can be dangerous to humans. We are almost never exposed to these high-frequency light waves because almost all the UVC emitted by the sun is blocked by the atmosphere. However, in mere minutes, exposure to artificial UVC light can cause sunburn.

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Posted in Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Pathogen, Food Technology, microbial contamination, Microbiology, Pathogen, Research, Technology, UV Microbiology

Research – Microbial analysis and factors associated with contamination of ready-to-eat chili pepper sauce in Buea municipality, Cameroon

Posted on November 14, 2020 by KSW | Leave a comment

AJFS

Chili peppers sauce is a dietary complement largely consumed in Cameroon. It is consumed in a powder or wet (pepper sauce) form or directly introduced into cooked food. In this study, the microbiological quality of chili pepper sauce used as food complement in the Buea municipality was assessed. The study was an observational and cross-sectional study involving 70 chili pepper sauce samples from food vendors. The samples were cultured on Salmonella-Shigella agar, violet red bile agar, plate count agar and the colonies isolated were enumerated and identified using the Enterosystem 18R. Factors associated with microbial count were identified using a multiple linear regression model. Bacteria isolate from chili pepper sauce were mainly Entrobacter cloacae (31.57%), Citrobacter freundii (15.78%) and Klebsiella pneumonia (15.78%) and other Enterococcal species. Factors associated with bacteria count were: age of the vendor, number of customers served, types of food and food storage conditions (covering, heating, type of storage containers). Chili pepper sauce used as food complement in Buea Municipality were contaminated with Enteric microorganisms and may represents a potential public health hazard to consumers. The presence of these microorganisms from chilli pepper sauce could result from poor handling.

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Posted in Citrobacter, Citrobacter freundii, Enterobacter cloacae, Enterococcus, Food Microbiology Research, Klebsiella, Research

Research – A Comparison of Three Methods for Determining Thermal Inactivation Kinetics: A Case Study on Salmonella enterica in Whole Milk Powder

Posted on November 14, 2020 by KSW | Leave a comment

Journal of Food Protection

Different methods for determining the thermal inactivation kinetics of microorganisms could result in discrepancies of the resulting thermal resistance values. This study determined the thermal resistance of Salmonella in whole milk powder using three methods (Thermal death time (TDT) disk in water bath, pouches in water bath, and TDT Sandwich). Samples from three separate production lots of whole milk powder were inoculated with a five strain Salmonella cocktail and equilibrated to 0.20 a w . The samples were then subjected to three isothermal treatment methods at 75, 80, or 85 °C. Samples were taken out at six timepoints and enumerated for survivors. The inactivation data were fitted to two consolidated models consisting of two primary models (log-linear and Weibull) and one secondary model (Bigelow). Normality testing indicated that all the model parameters were normally distributed. None of the model parameters for both consolidated models were significantly different (α=0.05). The amount of inactivation during the come-up time phase was also not significantly different among the methods (α=0.05). In terms of magnitude, however, the TDT Sandwich showed less inactivation during the come-up time phase and overall less variation in model parameters. The survivor data from all three methods were combined and fitted to both consolidated models, with the Weibull having lower root mean square error and a better fit according to corrected Akaike’s Information Criterion. These results suggest that the three thermal treatment methods are not significantly different from each other and are interchangeable, at least in the case of Salmonella in whole milk powder. Comparisons with more methods, other microorganisms, and larger varieties of food products using the same framework presented in this study could provide guidance for standardizing thermal inactivation kinetics studies for microorganisms in foods.

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Posted in Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, microbial contamination, Microbiology, Research, Salmonella

UK – Investigation – STEC E.coli O157- 2017 Frozen Beef Burgers

Posted on November 13, 2020 by KSW | Leave a comment

Cambridge Press

In November 2017, Public Health England identified an outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O157:H7 in England where whole genome sequencing results indicated cases were likely to be linked to a common source, and began investigations.

Hypothesis generation included a review of enhanced surveillance data, a case-case study and trawling interviews. The hypothesis of interest was tested through the administration of focussed questionnaires and review of shopping history using loyalty card data. Twelve outbreak cases were detected, eight were hospitalised and four developed haemolytic uraemic syndrome. Frozen beef burgers supplied by a national retailer were identified as the vehicle of the outbreak. Testing of two left-over burger samples obtained from the freezers of two separate (unlinked) cases and a retained sample from the production premises were tested and found to be positive for the outbreak strain. A voluntary recall of the burgers was implemented by the retailer. Investigations at the production premises identified no contraventions of food safety legislation. Cooking guidance on the product packaging was deemed to be adequate and interviews with the cases/carers who prepared the burgers revealed no deficiencies in cooking practices at home. Given the long-shelf life of frozen burgers, the product recall likely prevented more cases.

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Posted in E.coli O157, E.coli O157:H7, food contamination, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Pathogen, Food Poisoning, food recall, Food Safety, Haemolytic Uremic Syndrome, HUS, Research, STEC, STEC E.coli, Uncategorized

UK – Dynamo sues KFC for £200,000 over ‘uncooked chicken’ he claims gave him food poisoning

Posted on November 13, 2020 by KSW | Leave a comment

Evening Standard

TV magician Dynamo is suing the owners of a north London KFC for more than £200,000 over an alleged bout of food poisoning that left him in hospital.

The 37-year-old Magician Impossible star says he was left doubled over in pain and needing urgent treatment after eating a meal at the Belsize Park eatery in summer 2017.

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Posted in food contamination, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Food Toxin, Poisoning