Category Archives: Campylobacter

USA Research – Whole Chickens from Farmers Markets – Higher Pathogen Risk

Posted on July 12, 2013 by | Leave a comment

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Raw, whole chickens purchased from farmers markets throughout Pennsylvania contained significantly higher levels of bacteria that can cause foodborne illness compared to those purchased from grocery stores in the region, according to a small-scale study by researchers in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences

Of 100 whole chickens purchased from farmers markets, 90 percent tested positive for Campylobacter and 28 percent harbored Salmonella.

By comparison, during the same period, 20 percent of raw, whole, organic chickens purchased from grocery stores were found to contain Campylobacter bacteria, and 28 percent tested positive for Salmonella. Just 8 percent of raw, whole, nonorganic, conventionally processed chickens from the grocery stores tested positive for Campylobacter and 52 percent of those contained Salmonella.

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Posted in Bacteria, Campylobacter, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Hygiene, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Safety, Food Testing, Microbiology, Pathogen, Research, Salmonella

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Research – New Zealand Controlling Campylobacter in Poultry Flocks

Posted on July 10, 2013 by | Leave a comment

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An analysis of the cost-effectiveness of interventions to control Campylobacter in the New Zealand poultry supply examined a series of interventions. Effectiveness was evaluated in terms of reduced health burden measured by disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). Costs of implementation were estimated from the value of cost elements, determined by discussions with industry. Benefits were estimated by changing the inputs to a poultry food chain quantitative risk model. Proportional reductions in the number of predicted Campylobacter infections were converted into reductions in the burden of disease measured in DALYs. Cost-effectiveness ratios were calculated for each intervention, as cost per DALY reduction and the ratios compared. The results suggest that the most cost-effective interventions (lowest ratios) are at the primary processing stage. Potential phage-based controls in broiler houses were also highly cost-effective. This study is limited by the ability to quantify costs of implementation and assumptions required to estimate health benefits, but it supports the implementation of interventions at the primary processing stage as providing the greatest quantum of benefit and lowest cost-effectiveness ratios.

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Posted in Bacteria, Campylobacter, Food Hygiene, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Safety, Food Technology, Food Testing, Microbiology, Pathogen, Research

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USA – Raw Milk Outbreaks -Campylobacter

Posted on July 2, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Food Poisoning Bulletin Campylobacter

A Campylobacter outbreak associated with raw milk produced on a farm in Cambridge, MN is the fourth Campylobacter raw milk outbreak in four months.  The outbreak, which has sickened at least six people,  prompted officials to temporarily halt on-farm sales of raw milk while they investigate and issue a statewide consumer advisory.

Campylobacter is a bacteria that is transfered via the fecal-oral route, meaning those who develop Campylobacter infections have ingested microscopic amounts of animal feces. Pasteurization kills bacteria that cause disease, but raw mik is not pasteurized

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Posted in Bacteria, Campylobacter, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Laboratory, Microbiology, Pathogen, Recall, Technology

Netherlands- May Put Limits on Campylobacter on Chicken

Posted on June 20, 2013 by | Leave a comment

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A report from the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment in the Netherlands states that the Dutch government “intends to limit the level of Campylobacter bacteria on chicken meat, a so-called process hygiene criterion.” That means that if higher levels of the bacteria are found repeatedly in a particular slaughterhouse, that facility will need to evaluate their processing hygiene. The government has been focusing on “farm to fork” hygiene, looking at everything from slaughterhouse conditions to consumer food preparation standards.

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Posted in Bacteria, Campylobacter, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Technology, Food Testing, Laboratory, Microbiology, Pathogen, Research, Uncategorized

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USA – More Than Just Burgers and Beer – Campylobacter

Posted on June 18, 2013 by | Leave a comment

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Bacterial contamination was being blamed Monday for an outbreak of foodborne illness following the popular Burger & Beer Bash in Westchester County earlier this month.

The county Health Department said Monday that the campylobacter bacterium was to blame for the outbreak at the June 6 outdoor food festival at the Kenisco Dam in Valhalla.

The bacterium was identified through tests on samples from several people who got sick at the event. The department did not specify exactly how many people were sickened.

But health officials have not determined the source of the bacteria, since most attendees ate food from many of the 30 different vendors at the event, the department said. The department has launched an investigation and has been interviewing people in an effort to trace the source.

 

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

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UK – Food Poisoning Begins at Home?

Posted on June 17, 2013 by | Leave a comment

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Most cases of food poisoning happen when cooking at home, according to Haringey Borough Council.

The authority’s food safety teams, part of the Food Standards Agency, investigated 210 complaints of food poisoning but found no evidence to link them to eating out.

This suggested that most incidents were a result of poor food hygiene while cooking at home.

According to council figures, 40 per cent of the cases were caused by Campylobacter – a bacterium commonly found in raw or undercooked meat, especially poultry, unpasteurised milk, untreated water and domestic pets with diarrhoea.

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Posted in Bacteria, Campylobacter, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Hygiene, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen, Salmonella

Research – Microbiological Criteria as a Decision Tool for Controlling Campylobacter in the Broiler Meat Chain

Posted on June 17, 2013 by | Leave a comment

NIPHE

Report

Substantiation of the standards for Campylobacter on chicken meat

Campylobacter bacteria are among the most important causes of foodborne disease in the Netherlands. Approximately 30 per cent of all cases of illness are attributed to the consumption and preparation of broiler chicken meat.

This mainly concerns cross-contamination in the kitchen from chicken meat to product that are consumed raw, like salads, and to a lesser extent under cooked meat. Research by RIVM has shown that a large point of these illnesses can be prevented if the number of bacteria on chicken meat after industrial production is reduced.

Recently there is increased attention for hygiene in the farm to fork production check including slaughterhouses. In this context, the Dutch government intends to limit the level of Campylobacter bacteria on chicken meat, a so-called process hygiene criterion. If higher levels are repeatedly found, the slaughterhouse needs to improved processing hygiene RIVM has evaluated the impact of different (more or less stringent) criteria, both on public health and on the costs for the poultry industry.

A critical limit of 1000 Campylobacter bacteria per gram would reduce the number of human disease cases by two-thirds. The costs to the poultry industry to meet this criterion (estimated at 2 million euro per year) are considerably lower than the averted costs of illness (approximately 9 million euro per year).

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Posted in Bacteria, Campylobacter, Food Hygiene, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Laboratory, Microbiology, Pathogen, Research

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Research – Investigators Link Poultry Contamination on Farm and at Processing Plant

Posted on June 3, 2013 by | Leave a comment

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Researchers at the University of Georgia, Athens, have identified a strong link between the prevalence and load of certain food-borne pathogens on poultry farms, and later downstream at the processing plant. They report their findings in a manuscript published ahead of print in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

“This study suggests that reducing foodborne pathogen loads on broiler chicken farms would help to reduce pathogen loads at processing, and may ultimately help to reduce the risk of foodborne illness,” says Roy Berghaus, an author on the study. “This is important because most of our efforts towards reducing foodborne pathogens are currently focused on what happens during processing. Processing interventions are effective but they can only do so much.”

 

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Posted in Campylobacter, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Safety, Food Technology, Food Testing, Pathogen, Research, Salmonella

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USA – Raw Milk Issues Again – Campylobacter

Posted on May 30, 2013 by | 1 comment

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The Pennsylvania Departments of Agriculture and Health today advised consumers to discard raw milk produced by The Family Cow in Chambersburg, Franklin County, because of potential bacterial contamination.

Agriculture and Health Department laboratory tests and several recent illnesses indicate the raw milk may contain Campylobacter bacteria.

The Department of Health has confirmed five cases of confirmed Campylobacter infection in people who consumed milk from the farm at 3854 Olde Scotland Road.

Based on the reported illnesses, the Department of Agriculture collected samples of raw milk during an investigation of The Family Cow, on May 17. Positive tests for Campylobacter were confirmed Tuesday.

The packaged raw milk is sold under The Family Cow label in plastic gallon, half-gallon, quart and pint containers. It is labeled as “raw milk.” Raw milk is milk that has not been pasteurized

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Posted in Campylobacter, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Illness, Laboratory, Microbiology, Pathogen, Recall

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RASFF Alerts – Campylobacter in Dill – Listeria monocytogenes in Sushi and Mackarel – Histamine in Achovies – E.coli in Clams

Posted on May 28, 2013 by | Leave a comment

RASFF – Campylobacter (presence /25g) in fresh dill from Italy in Norway

RASFF – Listeria monocytogenes (<100 /g) in chilled sushi from Germany in the Netherlands

RASFF– Listeria monocytogenes (presence /25g) in chilled vacuum-packed smoked mackerel from Poland

RASFF -Histamine (290; 4200 mg/kg – ppm) in anchovies in olive oil from Spain in Switzerland

RASFF – Too high count of Escherichia coli (1.300 MPN/100g) in chilled clams from Portugal in Spain

RASFF – Too high count of Escherichia coli (13000 MPN/100g) in chilled clams (Venus gallina) from Italy

RASFF – Too high count of Escherichia coli (330 MPN/100g) in chilled clams (Venus gallina) from Italy

 

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Posted in Allergic Reaction, Campylobacter, E.coli, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Histamine, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen, Poisoning, RASFF, Recall

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