Abbie Coleman from WSLS report that The Virginia Department of Health is investigating complaints of gastrointestinal illness in people who attended the Blue Ridge Rock Festival.
10 News has spoken with several attendees who say they became sick after going to the festival, including one woman who said she tested positive for something she never expected.
Posted in Uncategorized
Listeria monocytogenes is a ubiquitous bacterium found in food, livestock and wild animals, soil, water and vegetation. The European ListAdapt project focused on the ability of strains of this bacterium to adapt to these different environments. It found that this ability is independent of the strains’ environments of origin or their belonging to a given sub-group.
When two outbreaks occur in the same institution within a short period of time, an important health and social concern is generated. Two gastroenteritis outbreaks occurring a week apart in the same facility were reported in Lleida, Spain, in 2018. The objective of this study was to describe the clinical, epidemiological and microbiological investigation carried out and to determine the risk factors. Demographic data, food consumption and symptoms were collected. Health inspections of the facility were carried out. Risk ratio and their 95% confidence intervals were estimated for the implication of each food consumed. The attack rate was 89.7% in the first outbreak and 69.6% in the second outbreak. The most frequent symptoms in the first and second outbreak were abdominal pain (88.5% and 100%, respectively), vomiting (80.8% and 87.5%, respectively) and nausea (69.2% and 81.3%, respectively). The first outbreak was associated with the consumption of a salad and the second with a cheese omelet. Norovirus GII.6 was detected by RT-PCR and sequenced in both groups of students and in the food handlers who prepared the meals. These results highlight the importance of exclusion from work of food handlers with gastroenteritis, the adequate availability of mechanisms for correct hand washing and the correct cleaning of surfaces.
TOKYO, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) — A boxed meal maker in northeastern Japan has been banned by public health authorities from operating due to hundreds of food poisoning cases caused by its products, local media reported.
Yoshidaya, a local maker of boxed meals, commonly known as “bento” in Japanese, voluntarily suspended operations starting Sunday, after being banned from operations on Saturday by public health authorities in Aomori Prefecture.
Nearly 300 people from 24 prefectures in the country, more than half the number of prefectures across Japan, reported symptoms such as diarrhea and vomiting after eating bento meals supplied by the company based in Hachinohe city, Aomori Prefecture.
The number of patients might further increase, a public health official in Hachinohe said.
Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus, which cause food poisoning, were detected in the feces of the patients who ate bento meals as well as unopened products made by the company, Japan’s Jiji Press reported, citing Hachinohe public health officials.■
Researchers have highlighted increased foodborne outbreaks in Switzerland in the past 15 years.
Foodborne outbreaks in the country are identified by cantonal authorities and reported to the Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (FSVO). Between 2007 and 2021, 200 outbreaks were recorded. The highest amount during the study period was in 2021, and the lowest was in 2012.
At least 4,668 people fell ill, 303 were hospitalized, and 18 died. The top pathogens detected were Salmonella, Campylobacter, norovirus, and coagulase-positive staphylococci. Other incidents were caused by Scombroid poisoning, Bacillus, Listeria, and Clostridium perfringens.
Outbreaks took place in restaurants, canteens and catering sites, private households, kindergartens and schools, and takeaway establishments, according to the study published in the Journal of Consumer Protection and Food Safety.
Food items reported concerning outbreaks included mixed products (such as composite meals), fish and fish products, milk and milk products, and meat and meat products.
Brand : Fiorani & CSpa
Name : Meat tartare
Reason for reporting : Recall due to microbiological risk
Publication date : 22 September 2023
Posted in food contamination, food handler, Food Hazard, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Pathogen, Food Quality, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Safety Management, Food Safety Regulations, Food Testing, Salmonella
The globalization of food trade and the emergence of disease outbreaks involving several foodborne pathogens and foods has focused the attention of both the research community and consumers on food safety. Microbial contamination can involve different stages of food processing and distribution, with a potentially dramatic impact on human health and food business. Several methods, involving culture-dependent and -independent techniques, were developed to detect foodborne pathogens in the food supply chain. In this respect, gold-standard reference methods are currently available for most pathogens, but some of them are time-consuming and expensive. Moreover, routine controls carried out by manufacturers and food safety authorities are normally focused on bacteria and not on viruses and fungi, which can have a significant impact on food safety. In the European Union, the number of human cases caused by Noroviruses and other Caliciviruses increased sharply in 2021 [1]. Therefore, based on the evidence given by an increasing amount of research, control strategies show a clear trend towards molecular techniques, such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR), multiplex PCR, real-time PCR (qPCR), reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR), DNA microarrays, nucleic acid sequence-based amplification (NASBA), isothermal DNA amplification techniques, and next-generation sequencing (NGS) [2]. Moreover, to expand the knowledge on the behaviour of pathogens in food environments, proteome profiling and biosensors shed light on how these microorganisms interact and prevail in food systems [3].
The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (September 25) urged the public not to consume a kind of prepackaged cheese sauce imported from the Netherlands due to possible contamination with Bacillus cereus. The trade should stop using or selling the affected batches of the product immediately if they possess it.
Product details are as follows:
Product name: DIP NACHO CHEESE STYLE
Brand: Santa Maria
Place of origin: The Netherlands
Net weight: 250 grams
Batch code: 2329019 and 2329231
Best-before date: June 7, 2025 and June 20, 2025
Importer: Pear & Carrot Limited
“The CFS received a notification from the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed of the European Commission that the above-mentioned batches of product might have been contaminated with Bacillus cereus and are being recalled. Upon learning of the incident, the CFS immediately contacted the concerned local importer for follow-up. A preliminary investigation found that the above-mentioned importer had imported into Hong Kong and ordered the affected batches of the product concerned,” a spokesman for the CFS said.
The importer concerned has stopped sales, has removed the imported affected product from shelves and has initiated a recall according to the instructions of the CFS. Enquiries about the recall can be made to the importer’s hotline at 3616 0248 during office hours. The CFS will also mark and seal the product ordered by the importer upon its arrival to Hong Kong and ensure that the product will not enter the local market.
“Bacillus cereus is commonly found in the environment. Unhygienic conditions in food processing and storage may give rise to its growth. Consuming food contaminated with excessive Bacillus cereus or its heat-stable toxins may cause gastrointestinal upset such as vomiting and diarrhoea,” the spokesman said.
The spokesman urged consumers not to consume the affected product if they have bought any. The trade should also stop using or selling the product concerned immediately if they possess it.
The CFS will alert the trade to the incident, and will continue to follow up and take appropriate action. The investigation is ongoing.
Posted in Bacillus, Bacillus cereus, food contamination, food handler, Food Hazard, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Pathogen, Food Quality, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Safety Management, Food Safety Regulations, Food Testing, Food Toxin
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – September 22, 2023 – Largo, Florida, VistaPharm LLC is voluntarily recalling one (1) lot of Sucralfate Oral Suspension, 1g/10mL, to the consumer level, due to Bacillus cereus contamination in the product.
Risk Statement: In the population most at risk, the immunocompromised population, there is a reasonable probability that microbial contamination of the oral suspension can result in disseminated, life threatening infections such as endocarditis and necrotizing soft tissue infections. To date, VistaPharm LLC has not received any reports of adverse events related to this recall.
The product is used as an antiulcer therapeutic and is packaged in a 16oz (414mL) PET Bottle with NDC 66689-305-16. The affected Sucralfate Oral Suspension lot is number 810300 with an expiration Date of October 31, 2023. The product can be identified with its product name Sucralfate Oral Suspension 1g per 10mL, which the product Lot No 810300 and expiration date of October 31, 2023, at the bottom right side of label. This Sucralfate Oral Suspension Lot was distributed Nationwide to three (3) distributors by wholesale.
A Contractor, Inmar, will perform this recall process, which is notifying its distributors by recall packet delivered by FEDEX Next Day Delivery and will receive an email notification as well. In addition, Inmar is arranging for the return of all recalled products. Distributors that have any bottles remaining from Sucralfate Oral Suspension Lot 810300, which is being recalled, should return to Inmar via instructions provided.
Consumers with questions regarding this recall can contact Inmar at 1-800-967-5952 or by email to rxrecalls@Inmar.com.Office hours 9am to 5pm EST Monday thru Friday. Consumers should contact their physician or healthcare provider if they have experienced any problems that may be related to taking or using this drug product.
Adverse reactions or quality problems experienced with the use of this product may be reported to the FDA’s MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program either online, by regular mail or by fax.
This recall is being conducted with the knowledge of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
FoodWorld 