Category Archives: Bacteria

USA – Shigella Outbreak –

Posted on November 18, 2013 by KSW | Leave a comment

There is a regional outbreak of shigella related illnesses throughout Stanly, Cabarrus, Rowan, Union, and Mecklenburg counties. Cabarrus County has over 40 lab confirmed cases reported which is the highest number of reported cases in all these counties,” said Cindy Russell, Stanly County Health Department communicable disease nurse.

“We want to call your attention to this outbreak as many Stanly County residents participate in activities that cross county lines. As of this week, Stanly County has had two reported cases of shigella and one probable case.”

Shigella is a highly infectious disease. Most of those that are infected with shigella develop watery stools, fever and stomach cramps starting a day or two after they are exposed to the bacteria, according to the health department. The watery stools are often bloody. Shigellosis usually resolves in five to seven days.

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Posted in Bacteria, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Laboratory, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen, Shigatoxin, Shigella

Tagged Cabarrus, Mecklenburg counties, Shigella, Stanly, Stanly County, Stanly County Health Department

Research – MRSA Treatment

Posted on November 18, 2013 by KSW | Leave a comment

News Northeastern

Recent work from University Distinguished Professor of Biology Kim Lewis promises to overcome one of the leading public health threats of our time. In a groundbreaking study published Wednesday in the journal Nature, Lewis’ team presents a novel approach to treat and eliminate methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, a potent bacterium whose resistance to antibiotics has kept it one step ahead of researchers. That is, until now.

Bacteria such as MRSA have evolved to actively resist certain antibiotics, a fact that has generated significant interest among the scientific and medical communities. But Lewis, Director of Northeastern’s Antimicrobial Discovery Center, suspected that a different adaptive function of bacteria might be the true culprit in making these infections so devastating. –

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Posted in Bacteria, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Hand Washing, Illness, Laboratory, Microbiology, MRSA, Pathogen, Research, Staphylococcus aureus

UK News Items – Unpaid Work – Hairy Bikers – Undercooking Meat

Posted on November 18, 2013 by KSW | 5 comments

Consumer Food Safety

The boss of the Ocean Grill in Alexandra Parade, Servet Cicek, UK, has been ordered to do 250 hours of unpaid work after he admitted 10 food safety offences at North Somerset Magistrates Court.

He was also given a 12 month community, six-month curfew and told to pay costs of £2,658.92.

Council food safety officers made an unannounced inspection of the takeaway last December, the court heard, finding a build-up of dirt, grease and food throughout the premises.

Raw meats were stored next to and on top of salads and cans of drinks, allowing bacteria and blood to contaminate the food.

Consumer Food Safety

A south Indian restaurant has been closed until further notice until tests confirm the source of an outbreak which has claimed 19 victims in total.

The restaurant, in Leicester, has received five-star ratings in its last three council inspections – the most recent of which was just last month. It has also won awards for its service and standards and has featured on Hairy Bikers’ Best Of British BBC2 show.

Consumer Food Safety

The UK Food Standards Agency says the undercooking of meat products, such as burgers and sausages, continues to be a significant concern, particularly for enforcement officers responsible for assessing the safety of practices used by food businesses.   Meat products, such as burgers, have been associated with food poisoning and they can pose a risk of illness because of the way they are prepared if they are then undercooked. For example, with whole pieces of meat, bacterial contamination is usually present on the outer surfaces. Internal (deep muscle) contamination is unlikely unless the meat has been pierced. External contamination can become spread throughout the meat during mincing, such as in the preparation of burgers, kebabs, sausages and other products.

There are indications that consumers and caterers are showing a preference for serving burgers undercooked and in a variety of settings. Local authority enforcement officers are concerned about the risk posed by such practices. A number of bacterial hazards may be associated with meat of which verocytotoxin-producing E.coli and salmonella are considered to be the most important.

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Posted in Bacteria, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Spoilage, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen, Research

Tagged Consumer Food Safety, Consumer Food Safety The UK Food Standards Agency, Food Safety, Meat products, Servet Cicek

Research – What is Clostridium difficile

Posted on November 15, 2013 by KSW | Leave a comment

Food Poisoning Journal

Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) is a spore-forming, gram-positive anaerobic bacillus that produces two toxins: toxin A and toxin B. These toxins typically cause gastrointestinal disease, often with severe complications. In rare cases, C. difficile-associated disease can be fatal. Although C. difficile bacteria can be present in human intestinal tracts and cause no clinical symptoms (a condition called colonization), some individuals with C. difficile colonization are at increased risk of becoming ill. The most common risk factor for C. difficile-associated disease is exposure to antibiotics, especially those with broad-spectrum activity. Although less common, exposure to agents that suppress the immune system may also increase the risk of illness. Advanced age, severe underlying illness, gastrointestinal surgery, use of nasogastric tubes, and gastrointestinal medications (such as gastrointestinal stimulants or antacids) have also been associated with an increased risk of colonization. Most cases are acquired in hospitals or nursing homes, but an increased incidence of community–acquired C. difficile has been reported as well.

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Posted in Bacteria, Clostridium difficile, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Safety, Food Testing, Microbiology, Research

Tagged C. difficile, Clostridium difficile, colonization, gastrointestinal disease, gastrointestinal surgery

USA – FDA Recall – Listeria monocytogenes – Apple Slices

Posted on November 15, 2013 by KSW | Leave a comment

FDA

Crunch Pak® of Cashmere, Washington is voluntarily recalling 5,471 cases of
Crunch Pak® Apple Slices due to a possible health risk from Listeria
monocytogenes.

No illnesses have been reported in association with this recall to date. No other Crunch Pak® products are affected by this recall. FDA is aware that the company is undertaking this voluntary action.

Listeria monocytogenes is an organism that can cause serious
and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and
others with weakened immune systems. Although healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, Listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.

The company sold the recalled product to retail customers and because, in some cases, the recalled product was shipped to regional distribution centers, Crunch Pak is taking the extra precautionary measure of issuing this recall nationwide to assure that consumers who may have purchased the product are properly alerted.

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Posted in Bacteria, FDA, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Safety, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen, Recall

Tagged Apple Slices, Crunch Pak, fda, listeria infection, listeria monocytogenes, Listeria monocytogenes

USA – FDA Food Code 2013

Posted on November 15, 2013 by KSW | Leave a comment

FDA

Food Code 2013

The Food Code is a model for safeguarding public health and ensuring food is unadulterated and honestly presented when offered to the consumer. It represents FDA’s best advice for a uniform system of provisions that address the safety and protection of food offered at retail and in food service.

This model is offered for adoption by local, state, and federal governmental jurisdictions for administration by the various departments, agencies, bureaus, divisions, and other units within each jurisdiction that have been delegated compliance responsibilities for food service, retail food stores, or food vending operations. Alternatives that offer an equivalent level of public health protection to ensure that food at retail and foodservice is safe are recognized in this model.

The FDA Food Code marks it’s 20th anniversary with the release of the 2013 edition. The 2013 Food Code (8th edition) reflects the agency’s continued commitment to maintaining cooperative programs with state, local, tribal, and territorial governments. Enhancements in this edition reflect the input of regulatory officials, industry, academia, and consumers that participated in the 2012 biennial meeting of the Conference for Food Protection (CFP).

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Posted in Bacteria, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Testing, Hygiene, Laboratory, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen, Recall

Tagged fda, FDA Food Code, Food Code, food service

Australia Petting Zoo – More E.coli Cases

Posted on November 14, 2013 by KSW | Leave a comment

Brisbane Times

Nearly 50 Queenslanders have contracted E. coli in an outbreak linked to the Ekka’s petting zoo.

Queensland Health said 49 people, including 31 children aged between one and 15, had contracted the Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC).

A 33-year-old Brisbane woman and three children, aged six, 11 and 12 – all from different families living in different suburbs – were the first to test positive to the potentially deadly bacteria on August 23.

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Posted in Bacteria, E.coli, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Microbiology, Pet Food, Recall

Tagged E. coli, Queensland Health

USA – E.coli Outbreaks Updates

Posted on November 14, 2013 by KSW | Leave a comment

Food Poisoning Bulletin

Salads and sandwich wraps linked to a multistate E. coli outbreak were sold at Walgreens stores in Northern California and Trader Joe’s stores in California, Washington, Oregon and Arizona, according to a retail distribution list compiled by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA FSIS). At least 26 people who ate the salads or sandwich wraps containing the salads, have become ill. Six of them have been hospitalized

Food Poisoning Bulletin

More salads have been recalled in the wake of an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak in western states. The FDA and Whole Foods Market are recalling ready-to-eat Artichoke Wheatberry Salad and Southwest SooFoo Salads as a preventive measure after the large Glass Onion Catering recall because they may be contaminated with the pathogenic bacteria.

The salads have expiration dates between November 9 and November 13, 2013. They were sold in California Whole Foods Stores. The PLU numbers for the Artichoke Wheatberry Salad are 28563300000 and 28563400000. The PLU numbers for the Southwest SooFoo Salad are 28563700000 and 28563800000. The salads were sold during an unspecified time period.

Food Poisoning Bulletin

Two strains of E. coli that have never been seen before are the source of two separate, ongoing food poisoning outbreaks in California, health officials told Food Poisoning Bulletin today. One of these new strains is the source of the multistate outbreak linked to ready-to-eat salads produced by Glass Onion Catering of Richmond, CA and sold at Trader Joe’s and other grocery stores in several states. The other new strain has sickened four people in Humboldt County, in Northern California