Category Archives: Campylobacter

USA – Preliminary Incidence and Trends of Infections Caused by Pathogens Transmitted Commonly Through Food — Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network, 10 U.S. Sites, 2022

CDC

The figure is a photo of a worker in a produce section with information about foodborne illnesses.

Summary

What is already known about this topic?

Campylobacter and Salmonella are the leading causes of bacterial enteric infections transmitted commonly by food. Reported incidence of enteric infections was lower during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020–2021) compared with previous years.

What is added by this report?

During 2022, FoodNet identified higher incidences of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coliYersiniaVibrio, and Cyclospora infections compared with 2016–2018. Campylobacter, Salmonella, Shigella, and Listeria incidences did not change.

What are the implications for public health practice?

Progress in reducing enteric infection incidence was not observed during 2022, as influences of the COVID-19 pandemic subsided. Collaboration among food growers, processors, retail stores, restaurants, and regulators is needed to reduce pathogen contamination during poultry slaughter and to prevent contamination of leafy greens.

USA – Sandwiches recalled because product was made with uncooked chicken

Food Safety News

Compass USA, of Charlotte, NC, is recalling over 2,000 Fresh To You Chicken Filet Sandwiches because the chicken sandwich was made with uncooked chicken.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), raw chicken is often contaminated with Campylobacter bacteria and sometimes with Salmonella and Clostridium perfringens bacteria, all of which can lead to serious food poisoning.

According to the details posted online by the FDA, the recall was initiated on June 8, 2023, and is ongoing.

UK retailers share Campylobacter in chicken results

Food Safety News

Supermarkets in the United Kingdom have reported their Campylobacter in chicken results for late 2022.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) maximum target level is up to 7 percent of birds with more than 1,000 colony-forming units per gram (CFU/g) of Campylobacter.

Data from the retailers covers October to December 2022 on high findings of Campylobacter in fresh, shop-bought, UK-produced chickens.

Results at Waitrose, Morrisons and Lidl went up while Marks and Spencer, Aldi, Asda, and Sainsbury’s recorded lower levels of contamination than the previous quarter. Figures for Co-op stayed the same.

Campylobacter is the most common cause of bacterial food poisoning in the UK and the dose needed to make people sick can be as low as a few hundred cells.

Tesco has stopped publishing data as it has changed the way it monitors the pathogen in chicken so findings are not comparable with other retailers.

New Zealand – Lindsay Farm brand Organic Raw Milk (unpasteurised) – Campylobacter

MPI

28 June 2023: Lindsay Farm HB Ltd is recalling specific batches of its Lindsay Farm brand Organic Raw Milk (unpasteurised) as the product may contain Campylobacter.

Product identification
Product type Raw (unpasteurised) drinking milk
Name of product (size) Lindsay Farm brand Organic Raw Milk (unpasteurised) 2L
Batch marking Lot Numbers : 0806, 0906,1006, 1106,1206, 1306, 1406, 1506, 1606, 1906, 2006, 2106, 2206, 2306, 2406, 2506, 2606, 2706
Date marking Use by date between 12.06.2023 and up to and including 01.07.2023.
Package size and description The product is sold in a plastic 2L bottle.
Distribution The product is sold in the Hawke’s Bay region via home deliveries and the following registered depots:

  • Betta Electrical, 46 – 48 Ruatainwha Street, Waipukurau
  • Chantal Shop, 45 Hastings Street, Napier
  • Cornucopia – The Organic Shop, 221 Heretaunga Street East, Hastings
  • Dawnacres Florist, 208 Havelock Road, Akina, Hastings
  • Nature’s Nurture – The Organic Grocer, 100 High Street, Waipawa
  • Tangaroa Seafoods, 7 Tangaroa Street, Ahuriri, Napier
  • Unichem Taradale Pharmacy, 288 Gloucester Street, Taradale, Napier.

The product has not been exported.

Notes This recall does not affect any other batches of Lindsay Farm brand Organic Raw Milk (unpasteurised) or any batches of Lindsay Farm brand Organic Pasteurised Whole Milk.

Point of sale notice for retailers

If you are a retailer of the products in this recall, download a copy of the point of sale notice. You need to display it in your store for one month.

Point of sale notice [PDF, 68.4KB]

Consumer advice

Customers are asked to check the lot number and Use by date printed on the bottle.

If you have purchased any of the affected product listed on this notice, do not consume it. Customers should return the product to their retailer for a full refund. Alternatively, consume after heating to 70°C and holding at this temperature for one minute. If you don’t have a thermometer, heat the milk until it nearly reaches a boil (or scald the milk) before drinking it.

There have been no reports of associated illness in New Zealand. If you have consumed any of this product and have any concerns about your health, seek medical advice.

Customers should return the product to their retailer for a full refund.

How to reduce the risk of illness if you drink raw unpasteurised milk

Campylobacter infection: symptoms and advice

Who to contact

If you have questions, contact Lindsay Farms HB Ltd:

  • Phone: 06 858 5333
  • Address: Lindsay Road, Waipukurau, Central Hawke’s Bay.

Denmark – More sick from Salmonella and Campylobacter in 2022

SSI

Campylobacter was the cause of 5,142 registered cases of illness in Denmark in 2022, and salmonella was the cause of 899 cases. This is an increase for the second year in a row and thus at the same level as before the covid-19 pandemic. This appears from the annual report on the occurrence of zoonoses in Denmark for 2022.

Research – Food poisoning can be passed on through sex -Campylobacter

New Telegraph

Interesting headline as Campylobacter is not a food poisoning organism.

Researchers in the United States (U.S.) have found that Campylobacter infection, the most common foodborne illness in the Western world, can also be spread through sexual contact. To this end, the researchers from the University of Oklahoma had called on doctors to talk to their patients about risks associated with sexual contact amid a bout of food poisoning. Some Campylobacter species can infect humans, sometimes causing campylobacteriosis, a diarrhoeal disease in humans. While campylobacter infection was rarely serious, it can cause vomiting and diarrhoea, and can pose an additional risk for people with underlying health conditions. In the study, the team set out to understand whether Campylobacter infection can be spread through sexual contact. Dr. Katrin Kuhn, who led the study, said: “This research is important for public health messaging and for physicians as they talk to their patients about risks associated with sexual contact. “Although Campylobacter infection is usually not a serious disease, it causes diarrhoea, which can result in people missing work, losing productivity or perhaps losing their job.”

Researchers estimate Campylobacter costs in Germany

Food Safety News

Campylobacter infection and related illness is associated with a substantial economic burden in Germany, according to a study.

Researchers analyzed the use of health care and direct and indirect costs of Campylobacter and care-intensive long-lasting health issues of patients from health insurance data with 26 million members in Germany.

Claims data of insurants with at least one Campylobacter diagnosis in 2017 were provided, of which 9,945 were included in the analysis published in the journal Plos One.

This showed a lower rate of Campylobacter diagnoses than German surveillance data for 2017 but with similar age, gender, and regional distribution. According to both the surveillance and claims data, rates were lowest in the 5 to 14 age group and highest for females aged 20 to 24.

Some people developed post-infectious reactive arthritis, Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and/or irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

RASFF Alert – Campylobacter – Chicken Inner Breast Fillet

RASFF

Salmonella spp., Campylobacter spp. in chicken inner breast fillet from Romania in Hungary

Research – Austria reveals results showing pathogens in raw milk and meat

Food Safety News

Recent controls in Austria have found Campylobacter in raw milk, Salmonella in chicken, and Hepatitis E in raw pork liver.

Earlier this year, a campaign checked raw milk from vending machines for germs and residues of cleaning agents.

The Austria Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES) said that raw milk could contain pathogens despite hygiene measures during milking. The advice is to boil it before drinking. For products sold directly to consumers via vending machines or in the farm shop, the note: “Raw milk, boil before consumption” must be present.

Sixty samples from across Austria were examined and 23 were rejected. Overall, 21 did not comply because the total bacterial count was too high. One sample was contaminated with Campylobacter. Two samples were non-compliant because of a lack of information on the vending machine about boiling the product.

Raw milk from vending machines had been examined for microbiological quality in two previous campaigns in 2017 and 2020. In these actions, milk from 112 different farms was checked. Samples from 40 companies were non-compliant, including five firms on two occasions.

USA – Missoula County Health Officials issue warning about raw milk following possible Coxiella burnetii exposure

Food Poison Journal

Following potential exposure to bacteria from unpasteurized milk sold at a farmers’ market in Missoula County, the Missoula City-County Health Department is warning residents of the dangers of consuming unpasteurized, or “raw,” milk.

Milk that was recently sold at a local farmers market came from a herd where two cows tested positive for Coxiella burnetii, which is the bacteria that causes Q fever. While one of those cows had not yet produced milk, the other produced about 10% of the farmer’s yield.

“We don’t know if the cow was shedding the bacteria at the time it was milked, or if that cow’s milk was sold at the farmers market,” said Environmental Health Director Shannon Therriault. “So, we can’t say for sure whether anyone was exposed. However, what we do know is that unpasteurized milk can contain harmful bacteria that can make you and your loved ones sick.”

Unpasteurized milk products have been linked to outbreaks of E. coli, campylobacter, salmonella, brucella, listeria and cryptosporidium. In the case of Q fever, symptoms can take two or three weeks to present following exposure. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, symptoms of Q fever include fever, chills, fatigue, headache, muscle aches, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, chest pain, stomach pain, weight loss and a non-productive cough.