Almost 230,000 pounds of Robert’s cut leaf curly spinach is being recalled in 30 pound totes because of possible contamination with E. coli 0157:H7. The recall was announced only to the company’s customers by snail mail. (post)
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Category Archives: E.coli O157
Cut Leaf Spinach – E.coli O157
Posted in E.coli, E.coli O157, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Microbiology, outbreak
Tagged contamination, e coli, food poisoning
USDA – Extends Deadline for the Start of Testing for Six STEC E.coli
A major meat safety initiative by the USDA under the Obama Administration will be delayed three months to give the industry extra time to validate their test methods for detecting six additional types of toxic E. coli.
E.coli O157 Outbreak Canada – Beef
One person has been confirmed infected with E. coli O157:H7 linked to ground beef now being recalled in Canada.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and New Middleast Supermarket of Ottawa, ON are warning the public not to consume finely ground beef used for kibbeh that was sold by the stores on Dec. 28 and 29, 2011.
Kibbeh is a Middle Eastern dish of minced meat shaped into balls or patties.
The ground beef, which may still be in home freezers, was served from the supermarket’s fresh meat counter in plastic bags wrapped with paper. The packages may be unlabeled.
Canadian CIFA Recall – E.coli O157 – Ground Beef
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and New Middleast Supermarket, 1755 Bank Street, Ottawa, ON are warning the public not to consume the finely ground beef described below because the product may be contaminated with E. coliO157:H7.
The affected ground beef is a finely ground raw beef known to be used for Kebbeh. This product was sold on December 28 and 29, 2011from the New Middleast Supermarket, 1755 Bank Street, Ottawa, ON. This product was likely served from the fresh meat counter in plastic bags wrapped with paper. The packages may not bear a label identifying store name and other information. Consumers are advised to contact the retailer if you are unsure as to whether you have the affected beef product stored in your home freezer.
There has been one confirmed illness associated with the consumption of this product.
Turkish Cheese – Listeria monocytogenes Study
In this study, the presence of Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp., Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli were investigated in a total of 200 traditional food samples sold in the province of Balikesir in Turkey. L. monocytogenes was detected in 5% of Mihalic cheese samples and 3% of Hosmerim dessert samples. Salmonella spp. was not detected in any of foods. The high prevalence and contamination levels of S. aureus were found in Mihalic cheese (100% and mean 2.69 log CFU/g) and Hosmerim dessert (64% and mean 2 log CFU/g) samples. E. coli was not found in Hosmerim dessert samples while the prevalence and contamination level of E. coli in Mihalic cheese samples were 43% (mean 1.23 log CFU/g). The isolation of L. monocytogenes and other foodborne pathogens from Mihalic cheese and Hosmerim dessert samples indicates that these foods could create serious risk to the public health.
Non – O157 Shiga Toxin Producing E.coli in Vension
We investigated an outbreak of non-O157 Shiga toxin–producing Escherichia coli at a high school in Minnesota, USA, in November 2010. Consuming undercooked venison and not washing hands after handling raw venison were associated with illness. E. coli O103:H2 and non-Shiga toxin–producing E. coli O145:NM were isolated from ill students and venison.
HPS -Scotland E.coli Report 2011
Health Protection Scotland (HPS) said it had recorded 253 positive cases of E.coli during 2011, up from 212 the previous year.
The agency blamed the increase on a UK-wide outbreak believed to have originated from contaminated vegetables. The outbreak, between December 2010 and July 2011, saw 250 cases of E.coli infection throughout England, Wales and Scotland and 74 victims treated in hospital.
The agency blamed the increase on a UK-wide outbreak believed to have originated from contaminated vegetables. The outbreak, between December 2010 and July 2011, saw 250 cases of E. coli infection throughout England, Wales and Scotland and 74 victims treated in hospital.
However, the HPS report also noted that the apparent spike in E. coli between 2010 and 2011 was partly due to the unusually low rate of E. coli infection in 2010.
The report also noted decreases in salmonella and campylobacter.
In 2011, HPS received reports of 736 cases of salmonella infection – a decrease of almost 22% on the 941 reported in 2010.
Cases of campylobacter were also down 3.6% to 6366 last year, although the figure remains “one of the highest on record.”
High Pressure Processing and Pathogens
This is some copy from the article in Food Safety News which is quite extensive and has links to videos of HPP in practice.
“Pascalisation,” commonly known in the food industry as HPP, or high pressure processing. Has only been used on the commercial level for the past 2 decades or so, the technology has been around far longer than that.
This process doesn’t rely on heat, such as pasteurisation; or chemicals, such as preservatives; or irradiation to kill the harmful bacteria on food. And while heat and cooking are good ways to kill bacteria, they can also impair the flavor, texture, color and nutrition of the food. For the most part, the same is true of irradiation.
Under high pressure processing, already packaged products such as fresh hamburger and turkey; processed fruit such as apple sauce; oysters; fish; guacamole; and ready-to-eat meats such as sliced turkey, pastrami and beef are put inside a pressure chamber. Water is then added to the chamber before it is sealed. From there, the pressure is increased to the maximum desirable level and sustained for a set period of time. The chamber is then decompressed and drained and the packaged products are removed.
E.coli O113 – Child Hospitalised in Norway
The one-year-old was infected with the bacteria and was hospitalised two weeks ago, and is now recovering.
Just four serious incidents following O113 infection have ever been recorded in Europe. Antibiotics are not prescribed for the bacteria, but fluids are the best course of action to combat it instead.
The Brattås nursery in Nøtterøy, Vestfold, where the child attends has been asked to tighten up its hygiene policy.
Assistant General Manager Stig André Kragnes told Tønsbergs Blad, Saturday, “All door handles and other contact surfaces are to be cleaned. This is in addition to the other extraordinary hygiene measures we have initiated. We are collaborating with community health services.
Vaccines for E.coli O157?
“For those who have been working on food safety for years — even decades — the promise of a quick-fix holds no allure. Experts know that food safety is multi-faceted, and no silver bullet exists to wipe the scourge of E. coli 0157:H7 from existence. But where promising new technologies could — in combination with common-sense approaches — make serious contributions to public health, they should be advanced. Pre-harvest vaccines for E. coli O157:H7 could very well be one of them.”
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