Category Archives: E.coli

USA – Beef Recall – E.coli O157

Posted on August 1, 2013 by | 1 comment

E.coli BlogEcoli Istock

National Beef Packing Company, a Liberal, Kan., firm, is recalling approximately 50,100 pounds of ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.

The following products are subject to recall:

  • 10 lb. chub of “National Beef” 93/ 7 Fine Ground Beef, Product Code 0707
  • 10 lb. chub of “NatureSource” 80/20 Fine Ground Chuck, Product Code 7031
  • 10 lb. chub of “NatureSource” 85/15 Fine Ground Beef, Product Code 7054
  • 10 lb. chub of “NatureSource” 90/10 Fine Ground Beef, Product Code 7344
  • 10 lb. chub of “NatureSource” 93/ 7 Fine Ground Beef, Product Code 7004
  • 10 lb. chub of “NatureWell 80/20 Fine Ground Chuck, Product Code 7484
  • 10 lb. chub of “NatureWell” 85/15 Fine Ground Beef, Product Code 7454
  • 10 lb. chub of “NatureWell” 90/10 Fine Ground Sirloin, Product Code 7577
  • 10 lb. chub of “NatureWell” 93/7 Fine Ground Beef, Product Code 7404

All these products bear the establishment number “EST. 208A” inside the USDA mark of inspection. The products were produced on July 18, 2013 and were shipped in 40 to 60 pound cases to retailers, wholesalers, and food service distributors nationwide.

The problem was discovered through routine FSIS monitoring which confirmed a positive result for E. coli O157:H7. An investigation determined National Beef Packing Co. was the sole supplier of the source materials used to produce the positive product. FSIS and the company have received no reports of illnesses associated with consumption of these products.  Individuals concerned about an illness should contact a healthcare provider.

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Posted in Bacteria, E.coli, E.coli O157, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, FSIS, Hygiene, Microbiology, Pathogen, Recall

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RASFF Alerts – STEC – Beef

Posted on July 23, 2013 by | Leave a comment

RASFF – Shigatoxin-producing Escherichia coli (presence /25g) in chilled boneless beef (Bos taurus) from Argentina in the Netherlands

RASFF – Shigatoxin-producing Escherichia coli (present /25g) in chilled bovine meat (Bos taurus) from Uruguay in the Netherlands

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Posted in Bacteria, E.coli, EHEC, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Microbiology, Pathogen, RASFF, Recall, STEC

Research – Microbiological Quality of Fresh-Cut Carrots and Process Waters

Posted on July 10, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Ingenta ConnectSalmonella

Fresh vegetables may be contaminated by pathogens in different ways after harvest. Pathogenic microorganisms associated with fresh vegetables can cause severe outbreaks of foodborne disease. We discuss here the results of microbiological analysis of carrot samples, as well as of washing, processing, and wastewater samples. Washed, unpeeled carrots generally contained the highest aerobic plate counts (mean, 5.5 log CFU/g). Escherichia coli was not detected in any carrot or water sample examined. The amounts of coliform bacteria and enterobacteria were higher in carrot samples taken from the first steps in the processing line than in samples taken in later phases of the process. Yersinia pseudotuberculosis was not detected in any of the samples by the cultivation method; however, nonpathogenic Yersinia enterocolitica was detected from most carrot samples and almost all washing water and wastewater samples but only from 2 of 10 process water samples. Using a more-sensitive real-time PCR method, pathogenic Y. enterocolitica was found from several carrot samples, and when these positive samples were cultivated, no pathogenic Y. enterocolitica strains were detected.

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Posted in Bacteria, E.coli, Food Hygiene, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Safety, Food Technology, Food Testing, Hygiene, Microbiology, Pathogen, Research, Yersinia

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RASFF Alerts -Salmonella – Poultry – STEC – Deer Meat- Norovirus – Oysters- Ochratoxin – Raisins – Afaltoxin – Groundnuts

Posted on July 9, 2013 by | Leave a comment

RASFF -Salmonella Minnesota (presence /25g) in frozen chicken meat (Gallus gallus) from Brazil in Spain

RASFF -Shigatoxin-producing Escherichia coli (E. coli  VT2 and EAE positive) in frozen deer meat from Austria in Italy

RASFF – Shigatoxin-producing Escherichia coli (VT2, EAE positive) in frozen deer meat from Austria in Italy

RASFF – Norovirus (G I) in oysters from France in Italy

RASFF – Ochratoxin A (111.65 µg/kg – ppb) in raisins from South Africa in Poland

RASFF – Aflatoxins (B1 = 5.9 µg/kg – ppb) in groundnuts from China in the Netherlands

 

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Posted in Aflatoxin, Bacteria, E.coli, EHEC, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Food Virus, Hygiene, Microbiology, Mycotoxin, Norovirus, outbreak, Pathogen, RASFF, Recall, STEC

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Research – Safer Spinach – E.coli O157

Posted on July 9, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Science Dailyspinach

University of Illinois scientists have found a way to boost current  industry capabilities when it comes to reducing the number of E. coli 0157:H7 cells that may live undetected on spinach leaves.

“By  combining continuous ultrasound treatment with chlorine washing, we can  reduce the total number of foodborne pathogenic bacteria by over 99.99  percent,” said Hao Feng, a U of I professor of food science and human  nutrition.

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Posted in Bacteria, E.coli, E.coli O157, Food Hygiene, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Safety, Food Technology, Food Testing, Microbiology, Pathogen, Research

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Research – Olive Powder Combatting E.coli in Hamburgers

Posted on July 9, 2013 by | Leave a comment

FeedStuffs FoodLink

The potential of olive powder to keep foods safe to eat is getting a fresh look from Albany chemist Mendel Friedman and colleagues at the University of Arizona-Tucson.

An olive processing co-product, olive powder was one of about two dozen plant extracts, spices, and herbs that the team evaluated for their potential to combat Escherichia coli O157:H7 and to retard formation of heterocyclic amines during cooking of hamburger patties.

E. coli O157:H7 is a leading cause of food sickness in the U.S. and is blamed for more than 73,000 cases of illness annually. In recent years, many E. coli outbreaks have been traced back to ground beef and have led to the introduction of stringent new food safety rules designed to reduce the occurrence of this microbe, and six of its relatives, in meats, poultry, and other foods.

The ability of olive extracts to kill foodborne pathogens has been reported in earlier studies conducted at Albany, Tucson, and elsewhere. However, the E. coli and amines study, reported in a 2012 issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, may be the first to show olive powder’s performance in concurrently suppressing three targets of concern — two major amines and a pervasive E. coli.

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Posted in E.coli, E.coli O157, Food Hygiene, Food Microbiology, Food Safety, Food Technology, Food Testing, Hygiene, Methods, Pathogen, Research

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RASFF Alerts – Shigatoxin E.coli – Beef

Posted on July 5, 2013 by | Leave a comment

RASFF – Shigatoxin-producing Escherichia coli in frozen beef (Bos taurus) from Brazil in Germany

RASFF – Shigatoxin-producing Escherichia coli in chilled deboned bovine meat from Argentina in Italy

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Posted in Bacteria, E.coli, EHEC, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Microbiology, Pathogen, RASFF, Recall, STEC

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Research – Safer Spinach – E.coli O157

Posted on July 4, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Science Daily

University of Illinois scientists have found a way to boost current  industry capabilities when it comes to reducing the number of E. coli 0157:H7 cells that may live undetected on spinach leaves.

“By  combining continuous ultrasound treatment with chlorine washing, we can  reduce the total number of foodborne pathogenic bacteria by over 99.99  percent,” said Hao Feng, a U of I professor of food science and human  nutrition.

According  to Feng, the USDA is looking for proposed technologies that can achieve  a 4 to 6 log reduction in pathogen cells (a 6 log reduction would  achieve a million-fold reduction in pathogenic bacteria). The food  processing industry can now achieve a 1 log or tenfold reduction. In  comparison, the U of I technique yields a 4 log reduction.

 

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Posted in Bacteria, E.coli, E.coli O157, Food Hygiene, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Technology, Food Testing, Pathogen, Research

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Europe – Laboratory Preparedness for Detection and Monitoring of Shiga Toxin 2-producing Escherichia coli O104:H4 in Europe and Response to the 2011 Outbreak

Posted on June 21, 2013 by | 2 comments

Eurosurveillance

A hybrid strain of enteroaggregative and Shiga toxin 2-producing Escherichia coli (EAEC-STEC) serotype O104:H4 strain caused a large outbreak of haemolytic uraemic syndrome and bloody diarrhoea in 2011 in Europe. Two surveys were performed in the European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA) countries to assess their laboratory capabilities to detect and characterise this previously uncommon STEC strain. Prior to the outbreak, 11 of the 32 countries in this survey had capacity at national reference laboratory (NRL) level for epidemic case confirmation according to the EU definition. During the outbreak, at primary diagnostic level, nine countries reported that clinical microbiology laboratories routinely used Shiga toxin detection assays suitable for diagnosis of infections with EAEC-STEC O104:H4, while 14 countries had NRL capacity to confirm epidemic cases. Six months after the outbreak, 22 countries reported NRL capacity to confirm such cases following initiatives taken by NRLs and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) Food- and Waterborne Disease and Zoonoses laboratory network. These data highlight the challenge of detection and confirmation of epidemic infections caused by atypical STEC strains and the benefits of coordinated EU laboratory networks to strengthen capabilities in response to a major outbreak.

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Posted in Bacteria, E.coli, E.coli O104, EHEC, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Laboratory, Microbiology, Pathogen, Research, STEC

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USDA – STEC E.coli Testing in Raw Meats Data 2013

Posted on June 21, 2013 by | Leave a comment

USDAEurofins Food Testing UK

Microbiological Testing Program for E. coli O157:H7 and non-O157 Shiga Toxin-Producing E. coli: Individual Positive Results for Raw Ground Beef (RGB) and RGB Components

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Posted in Bacteria, E.coli, E.coli O103, E.coli O104, E.coli O121, E.coli O145, E.coli O157, E.coli O26, EHEC, Food Hygiene, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Testing, Microbiology, Pathogen, Poisoning, STEC, USDA

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