Author Archives: KSW

Canada – Various parfait and yogurt bowls recalled due to Salmonella

Posted on January 15, 2024 | Leave a comment

CFIA

Summary

Product
Various parfait and yogurt bowls
Issue
Food – Microbial Contamination – Salmonella
What to do

Do not consume, use, sell, serve or distribute recalled products

Distribution
National

Issue

The affected products are being recalled from the marketplace due to possible Salmonella contamination. These products were made using granola recalled by Quaker Canada on January 11, 2024.

List of Loblaw banners:

  • Atlantic: Atlantic Superstore, Dominion, Atlantic Your Independent Grocer, Wholesale Club
  • Quebec: Provigo, Maxi, Wholesale Club
  • Ontario: Superstore, Fortinos, Loblaw, Valu-Mart, Your Independent Grocer, Zehrs
  • Western Canada: Superstore, Your Independent Grocer, Extra Foods, Wholesale Club

List of Sobeys banners:

  • Atlantic: Coop, Foodland, Sobeys
  • Quebec: IGA, IGA Extra, IGA Express, IGA Mini, Tradition, Bonichoix, Bonisoir, Omni, Voisin, Rachelle-Béry
  • Ontario: Foodland, Sobeys
  • Western Canada: IGA, Safeway, Sobeys, Thrifty Foods

What you should do

  • If you think you became sick from consuming a recalled product, contact your healthcare provider
  • Check to see if you have recalled products
  • Do not consume, serve, use, sell, or distribute recalled products
  • Recalled products should be thrown out or returned to the location where they were purchased

Food contaminated with Salmonella may not look or smell spoiled but can still make you sick. Young children, pregnant women, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems may contract serious and sometimes deadly infections. Healthy people may experience short-term symptoms such as fever, headache, vomiting, nausea, abdominal cramps and diarrhea. Long-term complications may include severe arthritis.

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Posted in CFIA, 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 Testing, Salmonella

Quebec -Notice not to consume BBQ meatloaf prepared and sold by the company Boucherie Thibault inc – E.coli

Posted on January 15, 2024 | Leave a comment

Quebec

QUEBEC CITY ,  Jan. 11, 2024 /CNW/ – The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPAQ), in collaboration with the company Boucherie Thibault inc. , located at 1739, avenue des Érables, in Plessisville , advises the population not to consume the product indicated in the table below, because this food is likely to contain the E. coli bacteria .

Product name

Format

Target lot

“BBQ POTATO AND VEGETABLE MEATLOAF”

Unitary

BEST AV

24-JA-14 

The product which is the subject of this warning was offered for sale until January 11, 2024, and only at the establishment designated above. The product was packaged in an aluminum tray with a transparent plastic lid and sold refrigerated.

The operator is recalling the product in question. He agreed with MAPAQ to broadcast this warning as a precautionary measure. In addition, people who have this product in their possession are advised not to consume it. They must return it to the establishment where they purchased it or throw it away. Food contaminated with E. coli bacteria does not necessarily show visible spoilage or a suspicious odor, but can still make a person who consumes it sick. Possible symptoms are: nausea, vomiting, more or less acute abdominal cramps and watery or bloody diarrhea.

It should be noted that no cases of illness associated with the consumption of this food have been reported to MAPAQ to date.

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Posted in E.coli, 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

Research – Prevention and controlof microbiological hazardsin fresh fruits and vegetables Parts 1 & 2: General principle

Posted on January 14, 2024 | Leave a comment

FAO

FAO & WHO. 2023. Prevention and control of microbiological hazards in fresh fruits and vegetables – Parts 1 & 2: General principles. Meeting report. Microbiological Risk Assessment Series, No. 42. Rome.
https://doi.org/10.4060/cc8490

Executive summary
Introduction
The purpose of the meetings was to collect, review and discuss relevant measures
for control of microbiological hazards from primary production to point of sale in
fresh, ready-to-eat (RTE), and minimally processed fruits and vegetables, including
leafy vegetables.
The scope of the meetings included aspects of primary production in open fields
or in protected facilities (such as high and low tunnels, production under cover,
greenhouses and net houses, and address hydroponic and aquaponic systems,
and other systems as required) and post-harvest activities, including activities
performed prior to packing, minimal processing, distribution, maintenance of
the cold chain where applicable, transportation, and handling at point of sale.
Emphasis was placed on the identification and evaluation of solutions to reduce
microbiological risks that result in foodborne illnesses associated with fresh fruits
and vegetables produced in various regions of the world, taking into consideration
their effectiveness and sui

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Posted in Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Safety Management, Food Safety Regulations, microbial contamination, Microbial growth, Microbial Spoilage, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk

Research – Challenges with food safety adoption: A review

Posted on January 14, 2024 | Leave a comment

Wiley Online

Globally, the risk of foodborne diseases is high among the young, old, pregnant and immunocompromised groups. Strategies to improve safe food supply are poorly understood among stakeholders. In this paper, we discuss the importance of the adoption of food safety standards, the effects of non-compliance of food safety protocols, consumer-producer awareness of food safety, and the challenges involved in the adoption of food safety protocols. The major challenges include gaps in dissemination of relevant information, the cost involved in adoption of many food safety programs; low educational levels of food handlers, insufficient food testing laboratories; inadequate funding, equipment, and skilled personnel; and cost of training and education; and lack of coordination among organizations handling food safety issues. Building competencies of food safety personnel, inspectorates, national or regional laboratories and adequate resource support to industry and supporting agencies will enhance safety of the global food supply.

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Posted in Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Safety Management, Food Safety Regulations, food safety training, Online Food Safety

Research – Salmonella in horses at slaughter and public health effects in Italy

Posted on January 14, 2024 | Leave a comment

Science Direct

Abstract

The study assessed the role of equids at slaughter as faecal carriers of Salmonella enterica and the occurrence of contaminated equid carcasses during the slaughter process in Northern Italy (Emilia-Romagna Region). From June to November 2021, 152 equids (146 horses, 5 donkeys and 1 mule) were tested for Salmonella both in caecal contents and through carcass swabs. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) of recovered strains was tested against 15 antimicrobials. Salmonella was detected in 3/152 of the caecal contents (2.0 %), while all carcass samples were negative. S. enterica serovars Enteriditis, Typhimurium and Stanleyville were identified. The only AMR isolate was S. Typhimurium with AMR profile AmCStxT.

Considering the consumption of raw horse meat (i.e., minced raw meat named “pesto di cavallo” and dried and smoked strips named “sfilacci di cavallo”) in different areas of Northern Italy, we also investigated the possible link between horse meat eating and salmonellosis cases in the human population in the same area. Specifically, we compared the Salmonella strains collected during the study with those routinely processed in the laboratory surveillance system for human salmonellosis in Emilia-Romagna (a region with about 4.5 million inhabitants). The comparison was based on whole genome sequencing data through core genome multi-locus sequence typing (cgMLST) used in routine surveillance. A genomic match in cgMLST was found between the strain of S. enterica serovar Enteritidis isolated from a horse caecal content and an enduring outbreak of 17 human cases in Emilia-Romagna during the study period. The consequent epidemiological investigation highlighted that a number of cases with known food history reported the consumption of horse meat and traced different batches of the consumed meat, released weeks apart from each other, to the slaughter investigated in the study. The results of the epidemiological investigation suggested the role of horses in the S. enterica serovar Enteritidis outbreak affecting raw horse meat consumers.

This study shows that, despite the low prevalence on equid carcasses, S. enterica in horse meat can represent a risk to consumers. From the perspective of the slaughter activities, this highlights the need to maintain a high level of hygiene during the entire process, starting from the hygiene at lairage up to the slaughtering phase and dressing of carcasses.

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Posted in Antibacterial, Antibiotic Resistance, antimicrobial resistance, food bourne outbreak, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, MLST, outbreak, Salmonella, WGS, Whole Genomic Sequencing

Research – ECDC – Giardiasis – Annual Epidemiological Report 2018

Posted on January 13, 2024 | Leave a comment

ECDC

In 2018, 21 049 confirmed giardiasis cases were reported in the EU/EEA. The EU/EEA notification rate was 5.6 cases per 100 000 population. The highest notification rates were reported in Belgium, Bulgaria and Sweden. The highest notification rate per 100 000 population was observed in the age group 0–4 years (17.2 for males and 14.4 for females). While the EU/EEA notification rate was stable from 2014 to 2018, the annual number of cases has increased steadily.

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Posted in Food Microbiology Research, Giardia, Research

Research – Measures for the control of non-typhoidal Salmonella spp.in poultry meat

Posted on January 13, 2024 | Leave a comment

FAO

FAO & WHO. 2023. Measures for the control of non-typhoidal Salmonella spp. in poultry meat – Meeting report. Microbiological Risk Assessment Series, No. 45. Rome. https://doi.org/10.4060/cc9026e

Executive summary
Scope and objectives
In response to a request from the 52nd Session of the Codex Committee on Food
Hygiene (CCFH), the FAO/WHO Joint Expert Meetings on Microbiological
Risk Assessment (JEMRA) convened a meeting in Geneva, Switzerland from 12 to 16
September 2022, to collate and assess the most recent scientific information
relating to the control of non-typhoidal (NT)-Salmonella spp. in chicken meat,
including a review of the Codex Guidelines for the Control of Campylobacter
and Salmonella in Chicken Meat (CXG 78-2011). 1 The group of subject matter
experts reviewed the available data on NT Salmonella spp. control in the broiler
production chain, including scientific literature published since 2008 and
data submitted in response to a call for data for this meeting. The experts: 1)
determined the extent to which various control measures, good hygiene practices
(GHPs) or hazard-based control measures (targeted to reduce NT-Salmonella
spp.), provided adequate evidence for assessing their efficacy; 2) evaluated the
impact or efficacy of control measures relevant to NT-Salmonella spp. in the
broiler production chain, noting the variability of the impact reviewed and
recommended revisions to the Guidelines for the Control of Campylobacter and
Salmonella in Chicken Meat (CXG 78-2011), Paragraphs 1 to 114, based on the
evidence currently available (Annex 3).
Based on evaluation criteria such as the number, quality, applicability and
representativeness of reports and research on a particular intervention available
for screening, many control measures lacked sufficient evidence to allow the
experts to assess their effectivness.

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Posted in Food Microbiology Research, Research, Salmonella, Salmonella in Chicken

Research Bio- Mapping Salmonella and Campylobacter Loads in Three Commercial Broiler Processing Facilities in the United States to Identify Strategic Intervention Points

Posted on January 13, 2024 | Leave a comment

MDPI

Abstract

The poultry industry in the United States is one of the largest in the world. Poultry consumption has significantly increase since the COVID-19 pandemic and is predicted to increase over 16% between 2021 and 2030. Two of the most significant causes of hospitalizations and death in the United States are highly related to poultry consumption. The FSIS regulates poultry processing, enforcing microbial performance standards based on Salmonella and Campylobacter prevalence in poultry processing establishments. This prevalence approach by itself is not a good indicator of food safety. More studies have shown that it is important to evaluate quantification along with prevalence, but there is not much information about poultry mapping using quantification and prevalence. In this study, enumeration and prevalence of Salmonella and Campylobacter were evaluated throughout the process at three different plants in the United States. Important locations were selected in this study to evaluate the effect of differences interventions. Even though there were high differences between the prevalences in the processes, some of the counts were not significantly different, and they were effective in maintaining pathogens at safe levels. Some of the results showed that the intervention and/or process were not well controlled, and they were not effective in controlling pathogens. This study shows that every plant environment is different, and every plant should be encouraged to implement a bio-mapping study. Quantification of pathogens leads to appropriate risk assessment, where physical and chemical interventions can be aimed at specific processing points with higher pathogen concentrations using different concentrations of overall process improvement.

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Posted in Campylobacter, campylobacter coli, Campylobacter jejuni, Food Microbiology Research, Research, Salmonella, Salmonella in Chicken

Research – Multinational collaboration in solving a European Salmonella Braenderup outbreak linked to imported melons, 2021

Posted on January 12, 2024 | Leave a comment

Eurosurveillance

Multinational food-borne outbreak investigations require cross-sectoral collaboration not only at the local, regional and national level, but also across countries. This typically involves a number of organisations such as health authorities, regulatory food and veterinary authorities, central and regional laboratories as well as clinicians. Successful outbreak investigation is built on a coordinated approach at all regulatory and administrative levels. This paper presents an example of how a coordinated effort with cross-national collaboration was beneficial in solving a multinational outbreak of  Braenderup in Europe in the spring of 2021.

 Braenderup is a serovar of  subsp.  which causes symptoms of gastrointestinal illness including abdominal cramps, diarrhoea, nausea and fever [1]. . Braendrup ranked 19th among  serovars reported to the European Surveillance System (TESSy) between 2015 and 2019 and around 300 cases of  Braenderup in the EU/EEA are reported each year.

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Posted in food bourne outbreak, Food Illness, Food Microbiology Research, Foodborne Illness, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Illness, outbreak, Research, Salmonella

Italy- Blanched leaf spinach – Enterobacteriaceae

Posted on January 12, 2024 | Leave a comment

Salute

Brand : High quality frozen Pescasseroli

Name : Blanched leaf spinach

Reason for reporting : Recall due to microbiological risk

Publication date : 12 January 2024

Documentation

Documentation

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Posted in Enterobacteriaceae, 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