The E. coli O157:H7 romaine outbreak has grown, according to an update posted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Since the last update posted in November 26, 2018, an additional nine patients have been added to the total for 52 sick. Those patients live in 15 states. Nineteen people have been hospitalized.
Posted in E.coli, E.coli O157, E.coli O157:H7, food bourne outbreak, food contamination, food death, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Pathogen, Food Poisoning, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Food Toxin, foodborne disease, Foodborne Illness, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Uncategorized
Cucumbers are frequently consumed raw and have been implicated in several recent foodborne outbreaks. Because this item may become contaminated at the farm, it is vital to explore the fate of attenuated Salmonella Typhimurium or Escherichia coli O157:H7 sprayed onto foliage, flowers, and fruit in fields and determine whether pre- or postcontamination spray interventions could minimize contamination. After spraying cucumber plants with contaminated irrigation water (3.8 log CFU/mL of Salmonella Typhimurium and E. coli O157:H7), 60 to 78% of cucumber fruit were not contaminated because the plant’s canopy likely prevented many of the underlying fruit from being exposed to the water. Subsequent exposure of contaminated cucumber plants to a simulated shower event did not appear to dislodge pathogens from contaminated foliage onto the fruit, nor did it appear to consistently wash either pathogen from the fruit. Spraying flowers and attached ovaries directly with a pathogen inoculum (4.6 log CFU/mL) initially led to 100% and 65 to 90% contamination, respectively. Within 3 days, 30 to 40% of the flowers were still contaminated; however, contamination of ovaries was minimal (≤10%), suggesting it was unlikely that internalization occurred through the flower to the ovary with these pathogen strains. In another study, both pathogens were found on a withered flower but not on the fruit to which the flower was attached, suggesting that this contaminated flower could serve as a source of cross-contamination in a storage bin if harvested with the fruit. Because pre- and postcontamination acetic acid–based spray treatments failed to reduce pathogen prevalence, the probability that fruit initially contaminated at 1.3 to 2.8 log CFU of Salmonella Typhimurium or E. coli O157:H7 per cucumber would be positive by enrichment culture decreased by a factor of 1.6 and 1.9 for Salmonella Typhimurium and E. coli O157:H7, respectively, for every day the fruit was held in the field (P ≤ 0.0001). Hence, to reduce the prevalence of Salmonella Typhimurium on cucumbers below 5%, more than 1 week would be required.
Posted in E.coli, E.coli O157, E.coli O157:H7, Salmonella, Uncategorized
Tomatoes are one of the major fresh produce commodities consumed in the United States. Harvesting tomato fruit at a later stage of development can enhance consumer acceptance but can also increase damage due to bruising. Bruising can affect the quality of whole tomatoes by causing an unacceptable appearance and accelerating decay. Bruising may also facilitate bacterial attachment to the fruit surface and support growth of pathogens. This study evaluated the survival and/or proliferation of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella on the surface of artificially bruised and unbruised tomatoes at three ripeness stages (breaker, pink, and red) and two storage temperatures (10 and 20°C). A total of 1,440 tomatoes, 720 for each organism, were analyzed. Both E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella counts declined significantly (P < 0.05) on the bruised and unbruised tomatoes over the 7-day storage period, by approximately 2.5 and 2.0 log, respectively. E. coli O157:H7 was not detected on pink tomatoes on day 7, whereas Salmonella persisted on the tomato surfaces throughout the 7-day study at all ripeness stages. Bruising had no significant effect (P > 0.05) on the survival of E. coli O157:H7 (CFU per tomato) compared with the unbruised tomatoes, in most cases. Tomatoes from the red ripeness stage showed a significant effect (P < 0.05) of bruising on Salmonella survival at both 10 and 20°C. Similar to the colony count results, the frequency (presence or absence) of inoculated tomatoes with detectable levels of inoculated bacteria decreased significantly (P < 0.05) over time. At the lower temperature, E. coli O157:H7 was recovered from significantly higher (P < 0.05) numbers of breaker and pink tomatoes, whereas there was no effect of temperature on the overall survival of E. coli O157:H7 on red tomatoes. Results from this study are essential for understanding the effects of bruising on produce safety and for producers and packers to develop mitigation strategies to control pathogenic and spoilage organisms.
A subtype of E. coli O157 found in cattle may be responsible for higher rates of severe human infection in Scotland, report suggests.
E. coli O157 is a bacterium carried by cattle, which can cause life-threatening human infections when it enters the food chain. Scientists found that cattle in Scotland have a higher level of a subtype of E. coli O157 – PT21/28, which is known to cause more severe human infection.
It may be that local exposure to this particular subtype is a potential factor for the rates of people infected by E. coli O157 in Scotland being around three times higher than in England and Wales.
Researchers used Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) to define which specific subtypes of E. coli caused an outbreak. For example, data obtained from WGS helped to understand whether a human infection is likely to have arisen from local farm animals or by a strain present in imported food or as a consequence of travel abroad.
The team have also combined WGS data with machine learning to predict which subtypes of E. coli O157 pose the greatest threat to human health.
JBS USA, a unit of the world’s largest meat processor, has recalled nearly 100,000 pounds of ground beef due to concerns it may be possibly tainted with E. coli.
According to CBS News, this is the unit’s second largest meat recall in as many months. In early October, Swift Beef, part of JBS USA, recalled 6.9 million pounds of beef tied to a 25-state salmonella outbreak that affected more than 200 people. Swift Beef is part of JBS USA.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced Swift Beef Co. recalled 99.260 pounds of ground beef that may be contaminated with E. coli. Swift Beef shipped the recalled meat to retail distributors for further processing and food service providers for institutional use in the following five states: California, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington.
The bulk ground beef was produced on October 24, the FSIS said.
The Public Health Agency of Canada is collaborating with provincial public health partners, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Health Canada, as well as the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S. CDC) and the United States Food and Drug Administration (U.S. FDA), to investigate an outbreak of E. coli infections in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and several U.S. states.
In Canada, based on the investigation findings to date, exposure to romaine lettuce has been identified as a source of the outbreak, but the cause of contamination has not been identified.
The current outbreak appears to be ongoing as illnesses linked to romaine lettuce continue to be reported. These recent illnesses indicate that contaminated romaine lettuce may still be on the market, including in restaurants, grocery stores and any establishments that serve food. At this time, the investigation evidence in Ontario, Quebec, and New Brunswick suggests that there is a risk of E. coli infections associated with eating romaine lettuce.
RASFF-enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (stx2- /25g) in chilled lamb meat from the United Kingdom in the Netherlands
RASFF-too high count of Escherichia coli (1100 MPN/100g) in live mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) from Spain in Italy
| Issue Date | 22.11.2018 |
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| Source of Information | Centre for Food Safety |
| Food Product | Romaine lettuce |
| Product Name and Description | All romaine lettuce imported from the US and Canada |
| Reason For Issuing Alert |
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| Action Taken by the Centre for Food Safety |
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| Advice to the Trade |
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| Advice to Consumers |
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| Further Information | The CFS press release |
FoodWorld 