Category Archives: E.coli

USA – CDC Reports Romaine Lettuce Outbreak Over – E.coli

Food Safety Tech Eurofins Food Testing UK

Although FDA is continuing its investigation into the source of the E.coli outbreak involving romaine lettuce grown in California, the CDC has declared the outbreak over. Contaminated romaine that caused illnesses should no longer be available, FDA stated in an outbreak update. Consumers will not need to avoid romaine lettuce, and retailers and restaurants do not need to avoid selling or serving the product, according to the agency. Suppliers and distributors need not avoid shipping or selling any romaine that is on the market either.

RASFF Alert- STEC E.coli – Raw Sausage

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RASFF -shigatoxin-producing Escherichia coli in raw sausage from Austria in Austria

Research – Discerning microbial and quality attributes of differently slaughtered and dead poultry meat

Wiley Online

Abstract

Globally, various methods of slaughtering have been practiced for the production of chicken meat. Among these methods, Halal slaughtering is implemented to produce Halal chicken. This method involves cutting the throat to bring the animal toward quick death without anguishing. Additionally, Halal slaughtering also favours rapid blood flow and more bleeding. Slaughtering methods are concorded with composition, quality, and microbial safety of meat, mediated by varied blood retention. Accordingly, the present work was aimed to explicate the effect of various slaughtering methods on quality and safety of broiler meat. Results revealed that significant compositional changes were observed in meat obtained from different slaughtering methods. Additionally, Halal‐slaughtered meat showed less nitrogenous losses (TVBN = 9.81 mgN/100 g), high water holding capacity (72.02%), better shear‐force value (21.37 g), and normal color (L* = 48.59, a* = 0.85, b* = 11.56) as compared to other slaughtering methods and dead meat. Additionally, Halal‐slaughtered meat contained less number of total plate count (4.28 log10CFU/g), Enterobacteriaceae count (3.12 log10CFU/g), Salmonella (2.74 log10CFU/g), and E. coli (2.78 log10CFU/g) counts in comparison with the other slaughtering methods and dead meat samples. Findings of the study indicate that slaughtering methods significantly influence the quality and microbial status of broiler meat.

Practical applications

In recent years, the international market for meat obtained from animals/birds slaughtered by using various religious methods has become important for supplying the desired meat globally. Although several studies have been conducted in this domain but most of the published data mainly emphasise the work related to the use of conventional slaughtering methods with limited comparison to religious slaughtering methods. However, some projects have also addressed the issues related to the impact of slaughtering methods on meat quality. Discussion related to religious slaughtering has been in progress around the world. Accordingly, the present study was conducted in this regard for providing some more information and facilitating the existing and upcoming discussions on the merits and demerits of several slaughtering methods with special reference to meat quality and safety.

Canada -Raw milk believed to be source of E. coli contamination in cheese: BCCDC

Cowichan Valley Citizen

The BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) believes raw milk was the likely source of an E. coli contamination in Little Qualicum Cheeseworks’ Qualicum Spice cheese.

On Nov. 13, five people in B.C. became sick after consuming products from Little Qualicum Cheeseworks, prompting a warning from the BCCDC.

For several months, the BC Centre of Disease Control and Vancouver Island Health Authority worked with Little Qualicum Cheeseworks, going through the cheese-making process with the company, checking procedures, ingredient and equipment, said Sion Shyng, food safety specialist with the BCCDC.

UK – UK family still waiting for answers one year after E. coli poisoning

Barf Blog

The Yorkshire Post reports parents of two boys who be­came se­ri­ously ill af­ter con­tract­ing E.coli 0157 sus­pected to be from beef burg­ers are still wait­ing for an­swers from su­per­mar­ket gi­ant Sains­bury’s more than a year later.

Al­fie and Oliver Maude, then seven and three, from Rich­mond, North York­shire, came down with up­set stom­achs two days af­ter eat­ing the Taste the Dif­fer­ence Aberdeen An­gus burg­ers in Oc­to­ber 2017. Al­fie was ad­mit­ted to Dar­ling­ton hos­pi­tal two days later with ex­cru­ci­at­ing stom­ach pain and se­vere de­hy­dra­tion.

Research – Detection, Isolation, and Characterization of Shiga Toxin–Producing Escherichia coli in Flour

Journal of Food Protection

Wheat flour has recently been described as a novel vehicle for transmission of Shiga toxin–producing Escherichia coli (STEC). Very recently, an outbreak of STEC O121 and STEC O26 infections was linked to flour in the United States. The aim of the present study was to generate baseline data for the occurrence of STEC in flour samples from different retailers in Switzerland. In total, 70 flour samples were analyzed. After enrichment, the samples were screened for stx1 and stx2 by the Assurance GDS MPX ID assay. STEC strains were isolated and serotyped by the E. coli SeroGenoTyping AS-1 kit. The determination of stx subtypes was performed with conventional PCR amplification. Screening for eae, aggR, elt, and estIa/Ib was performed by real-time PCR. Nine (12.9%) of the flour samples tested positive for stx by PCR. STEC was recovered from eight (88.9%) of the positive samples. Two isolates were STEC O11:H48 harboring stx1c/stx1d, two were O146:H28 containing stx2b, one was O103:H2 containing stx1a and eae, and three were O nontypeable: Ont:H12 (stx2a), Ont:H14 (stx2a/stx2g), and Ont:H31 (stx1c/stx1d). STEC O103 belongs to the “top five” serogroups of human pathogenic STEC in the European Union, and STEC O146 is frequently isolated from diseased humans in Switzerland. Our results show that flour may be contaminated with a variety of STEC serogroups. Consumption of raw or undercooked flour may constitute a risk for STEC infection.

USA – Notable Outbreaks and Recalls of 2018 – A Busy Year!

Food Safety Tech

 

As stated by CDC’s John Besser, Ph.D. last month at the Food Safety Consortium, “It’s been quite a year for outbreaks.” Here’s a not-so-fond look back at some of the noteworthy outbreaks and recalls of 2018.

Romaine Lettuce –E.coli O157:H7

Raw Beef Products – Salmonella

Shell Eggs – Salmonella

Pre-cut Melon – Salmonella

Vegetable Trays – Cyclospora

Salad Mix – Cyclospora

Raw Turkey – Salmonella

Honey Smacks Cereal – Salmonella

Duncan Hines Cake Mix – Salmonella

Johnston County Hams – Listeria monocytogenes

UK – Drinking raw milk – has led to a dangerous rise in food poisoning and killed TWO people, experts warn

The Daily Mail

Drinking raw milk has led to a dangerous rise in food poisoning, say experts   

  • A child fed raw milk in Wales died from a type of E. coli poisoning, while a man died of listeriosis after eating cheese made with raw milk 
  • Unlike pasteurised milk, which is heat-treated to kill bacteria, raw milk can harbour dangerous germs

 

Research – Assessment of Microbial Populations in the Manufacture of Vacuum-Packaged Ready-to-Eat Roast Beef and in a Related Production Plant

Journal of Food Protection

Some microbiological criteria were monitored for 6 months in vacuum-packaged roast beef (15 production batches), raw beef (10 batches), and other meat products (12 batches) produced in an Italian small to medium-size enterprise. Fifty-five environmental swab samples also were analyzed. The main bacterial groups were identified by cultural methods according to International Organization for Standardization standards. Listeria monocytogenes was enumerated with the most-probable-number protocol, and species identification was confirmed with a specific PCR assay. Immediately after vacuum packaging, all ready-to-eat (RTE) products had low mean aerobic colony counts (<102 to 2.4 × 102 CFU g−1), anaerobic colony counts (1.6 to 6.5 × 101 CFU g−1), Enterobacteriaceae counts (1.1 to 1.4 × 101 CFU g−1), and Escherichia coli counts (generally below the detection limit). Nevertheless, the prevalence of L. monocytogenes in these samples was 3.7%. In roast beef samples, the aerobic and anaerobic colony counts reached unacceptable levels (>106 CFU g−1) after 14 days of refrigerated storage. Because the prevalence of L. monocytogenes increased to 13.3% during storage, a substantial reduction in the shelf life of these products is recommended. Surfaces without direct contact with food (floors and drains) had the highest mean counts for aerobic colonies (8.0 × 103 to 9.5 × 105 CFU/cm2), anaerobic colonies (2.9 × 103 to 3.2 × 104 CFU/cm2), Enterobacteriaceae (1.5 × 101 to 8.4 × 101 CFU/cm2), and E. coli (6.0 to 7.7 CFU/cm2). The levels of L. monocytogenes on direct food contact surfaces were below the detection limit, but more than 25% of floor samples were contaminated. These results reveal the persistence of L. monocytogenes in food processing environments, although at very low levels, posing a high risk of postcooking recontamination for RTE products. To improve hygienic conditions and reduce cross-contamination, an increase in operator awareness and a reassessment of surface sanitization protocols are needed.

RASFF Alert – E.coli – Live Mussels

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RASFF -too high count of Escherichia coli (940 MPN/100g) in live mussels (Mytilus edulis) to be purified from Ireland in Ireland