“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.”
A group of French tourists returned home from Turkey last autumn with diarrheal illnesses, and two of them developed a life-threatening kidney disease linked to the foodborne pathogen E. coli.
A silver ion-laced silicone material that absorbs and destroys pathogens such as E.coli and Salmonella will ensure safety standards are met in the dairy sector, its developer has claimed.
Posted in E.coli, E.coli O157, Food Hygiene, Food Testing, Microbiology, Salmonella
A mother whose five-year-old son died in Wales’ largest E. coli outbreak has won an award for improving food safety.
Sharon Mills was named Tesco Campaigning Mum of the Year for her work leading to a “scores on the doors” system forcing Welsh restaurants and takeaways to display hygiene ratings.
A report in the above publication has stated that a team looking at street food in one of the cities in the Philippines has found that many of the samples had Salmonella and E.coli present, the study is ongoing and no reports of illness have been reported from the street food.
Posted in E.coli, Food Hygiene, Food Testing, Microbiology, Salmonella
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded a $25m research grant to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) to tackle Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) in the beef supply chain.
As reported on this blog last year the US have decided to ban six E.coli serotypes from the food chain and if the proposal goes through testing will need to begin in March 2012, this is still a very controversial proposal in the US. (link)
Evidence is emerging that sprouted seeds could present an unacceptable risk to human health unless effective control measures such as irradiation can be used to make them safer.
Would the European market really want irradiated products?
Organic Pastures Dairy in Fresno, California.
The investigation was initiated because of a cluster of illnesses in five children from four counties throughout California infected with E. coli O157:H7 having an identical, uncommon PFGE pattern. Illness dates for these cases extends from August 25 through October 25, 2011….
The sickened children ranged in age from one to five years. Three of the children developed the potentially fatal complication of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS).
A Tenino dairy says it’s recalling its fluid raw milk products because of the danger of contamination with potentially harmful E. coli bacteria.
There have been no reported illnesses related to the recalled products, the dairy said.
A short burst of low voltage alternating current can effectively eradicate E. coli bacteria growing on the surface of even heavily contaminated beef, according to a study published in the International Journal of Food Safety, Nutrition and Public Health. The technique offers an inexpensive and easy to implement approach to reducing the risk of food poisoning, which can occur despite handlers complying with hygiene standards.
Posted in E.coli, E.coli O157, Food Testing, Microbiology
FoodWorld 