Category Archives: E.coli

Europe – Large E. coli increase recorded for Europe in 2018

Food Safety News

The Shiga toxin-producing E. coli infection rate in Europe jumped by 40 percent in 2018 compared to the previous year, based on data from ECDC’s annual surveillance report.

After a stable period from 2014 to 2017, the rate increased by 41 percent in 2018. This made STEC the third most common zoonosis in Europe after Campylobacter and Salmonella.

A contributing factor may be the shift from culture to culture-independent diagnostic methods, with PCR more commonly used to diagnose cases, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

STEC infection is mainly acquired through eating contaminated food and contact with animals and/or their feces. Adequate cooking of food, particularly beef, and use of pasteurized milk may reduce the risk of foodborne infections, added the agency.

RASFF Alert – STEC E.coli – Chilled Boneless Beef

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RASFF – shigatoxin-producing Escherichia coli (O183:H18, O39:H49 /25g) in chilled boneless beef from Brazil in Germany

Interesting ?? – E.coli Earrings :)

Giant Microbes

E. coli earrings cardboard back

 

USA – Outbreak Investigation of E. coli O103: Clover Sprouts (February 2020) – Completed

FDA

Case Counts

Total Illnesses: 51
Hospitalizations: 3
Deaths: 0
Last illness onset: March 15, 2020

Recommendation

Chicago Indoor Garden recalled all products containing Red Clover sprouts. FDA recommends that consumers not eat the following recalled items with “Best By” dates between 12/1/2019 and 3/12/2020 that were distributed to Coosemans Chicago Inc., Battaglia Distributing, Living Waters Farms, and Whole Foods throughout the Midwest:

  • Red Clover 4oz. clamshell
  • Red Clover 2lb. boxes
  • Sprout Salad 6oz. clamshell
  • Mixed Greens 4oz. clamshell
  • Spring Salad 6oz. clamshell

Recalled products are now past their “Best By” dates and should be thrown away.

Sample Labels of Chicago Indoor Garden Sprout Products

(PDF: 849 KB)

Raw and lightly cooked sprouts are a known source of foodborne illness. We recommend that consumers, restaurants, and other retailers always follow food safety practices to avoid illness from eating sprouts.Generally, it is recommended that children, the elderly, pregnant women, and persons with weakened immune systems should avoid eating raw sprouts of any kind.

Background

FDA, along with CDC and state and local partners, investigated an outbreak of 51 illnesses caused by E. coli O103 in Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, New York, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Wyoming linked to clover sprouts.

FDA’s investigation is now complete, and CDC has declared this outbreak over.

The FDA’s analysis of a sample of Chicago Indoor Garden’s sprouts identified the presence of E. coli O103. Whole Genome Sequencing of this bacteria showed that it matches the current outbreak strain. The sample also matches the outbreak strain from the November-December 2019 outbreak in Iowa, which was associated with sprouts from various Jimmy John’s restaurants.

USA – At least 5 people in NJ hospitalized amid romaine lettuce E. coli outbreak

Grunt Stuff

At least 5 people in New Jersey have been hospitalized after consuming romaine lettuce contaminated with E. coli micro organism, because the nationwide outbreak has now jumped to greater than 100 instances, the state well being division confirmed Thursday.

A complete of seven people from Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cumberland and Ocean counties have been contaminated with the possibly lethal pressure, which brought on 75,233 kilos of bagged salad merchandise in 22 states to be recalled in final month.

Research – Inactivation modeling of microorganisms using organic chlorine and acetic acid solutions and estimation of growth kinetics of adhered Enterobacteriaceae to lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.)

Wiley Online

This study was aimed to evaluate the efficiency of the organic chlorine and acetic acid solutions on the inactivation of adhered cells of Escherichia coliCronobacter sakazakii and Klebsiella pneumoniae to lettuce. Besides, the growth and inactivation of K. pneumoniae adhered to lettuce was modeled. According to the findings, the use of chlorine solution (170 mg/ml of total residual chlorine) caused reductions of 1.8, 1.9, and 1.9 log for E. coliC. sakazakii, and K pneumoniae, respectively, were recorded. In this regard, the organic chloramine was more effective in controlling the adhered microorganisms while compared with 1.5% acetic acid solution, while the addition of 0.5% sodium chloride to 1.5% acetic acid solution increased microbial inactivation. K. pneumoniae RC‐34 inactivation was characterized by the presence of two sub‐populations with different resistances against the proposed sanitizers. Moreover, the growth kinetic parameters of K. pneumoniae RC‐34 adhered to lettuce leaves were very similar to that reported in the literature for nonadhered microorganisms. The predictive data generated can be valuable to assess the growth and inactivation of produce adhered microorganisms in leafy produce.

RASFF Alert- STEC E.coli – E.coli O157 = Sliced Pepperoni

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RASFF – shigatoxin-producing Escherichia coli (O157) in sliced pepperoni from Germany, packaged in the United Kingdom in the UK

USA – Light start for foodborne illness outbreaks in 2020

Food Safety News

Almost one-third of the year is in the rearview mirror at the federal Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta and only two new multistate outbreaks of foodborne illnesses are on the books.

A dangerous outbreak of Listeriosis bubbled up out of Michigan late February involving Enoki mushrooms grown in South Korea. In its latest report on April 8, the CDC reported 36 confirmed cases in 17 states that involve 30 hospitalizations and four deaths.

As of March 19, the second outbreak involving the rare E.coli O103 had sickened 39 people in six states with two hospitalizations and no deaths. Clover sprouts are blamed for the second active outbreak of 2020.

The two foodborne illnesses outbreaks are small potatoes when compared to the COVID-19 outbreak that by April 15 infected 641,315, resulting in 28,386 deaths. By this point in a more typical year, CDC usually is working on a half dozen or more multistate foodborne outbreaks.

UK – Co-op recalls Sliced Pepperoni because of contamination with E. coli

FSA

Co-op is recalling Co-op Sliced Pepperoni because E. coli O157 has been found in the product.

Product details

Co-op Sliced Pepperoni

Pack size 70g
Use by 19 May 2020

Risk statement

The presence of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli in the product listed above.

Symptoms caused by this organism include diarrhoea, abdominal pain, bloody diarrhoea, and haemolytic uremic syndrome, a serious condition that can lead to kidney failure and can be fatal.

Action taken by the company

Co-op is recalling the above product. Point-of-sale notices will be displayed in all retail stores that are selling this product. These notices explain to customers why the product is being recalled and tell them what to do if they have bought the product. Please see the attached notice.

Our advice to consumers

If you have bought the above product, do not eat it. Instead contact 0800 0686 727 or customer.careline@coop.co.uk to arrange a refund. If customers are making an essential trip to the store from where it was bought, they can return the item in-store for a full refund.

Research – Metabolic diversity of the ‘big six’ of E. coli strains

Phys Org

NUS food scientists have discovered that the six major strains of Escherichia coli (E. coli) that cause foodborne illnesses have different metabolisms and tolerance towards acidic conditions.

Pathogenic E. coli are responsible for a number of foodborne disease outbreaks. Among the hundreds of E. coli serogroups (strains), pathogen E. coli O157:H7 is the most widely recognised due to the severity of the  it causes. Apart from E. coli O157, there are another six serogroups that are identified by the United States Food and Drug Administration as emerging pathogens commonly found in foodborne disease outbreaks. These are known as the “big six.” As part of food safety, it is important to be able to characterise these pathogens and understand their behaviour so that proper measures can be developed to keep them at bay.