RASFF – patulin (123, 162, 130 µg/kg – ppb) in clarified apple juice from Spain in Spain
RASFF – patulin (81 µg/kg – ppb) in apple puree from Spain in Spain
KSWFoodWorld
Category Archives: food contamination
RASFF Alert – Mycotoxin – Patulin – Apple Juice – Apple Puree
RASFF Alert – Norovirus – Live Oysters
RASFF Alert- Foodborne Outbreak suspected (norovirus) – Live Oysters
RASFF – foodborne outbreak suspected (norovirus) to be caused by live oysters from France in the Netherlands
Posted in food bourne outbreak, food contamination, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Pathogen, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Food Virus, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Norovirus, outbreak, RASFF, Uncategorized, Virus
RASFF Alert – Ochratoxin A – Dried Figs
RASFF – ochratoxin A (37.66 µg/kg – ppb) in dried figs from Turkey in Germany
RASFF Alert – STEC E.coli – Organic Leak Seeds for Sprouting
RASFF – enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (stx- eae+ /25g) in organic leek seeds for sprouting from China, via Italy in Norway
Posted in E.coli, eae, food contamination, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Pathogen, Food Poisoning, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Food Toxin, RASFF, STEC, STEC E.coli, STX 1, STX 2, Uncategorized
RASFF Alerts – Salmonella – Chilled Turkey Meat – Half Chicken Breast – Frozen Veal and Turkey Doner – Chicken Wings – Chicken Quarters – Frozen Kebab – Whitish Sesame Seeds
RASFF – Salmonella enterica ser. Typhimurium (presence /25g) in chilled turkey meat from Poland in Poland
RASFF – Salmonella (presence /25g) in frozen half chicken breast innerfillet from Brazil in the UK
RASFF – Salmonella enterica ser. Typhimurium (present /25g) in frozen veal and turkey doner from Germany in Germany
RASFF – Salmonella enterica ser. Infantis (presence /25g) in chicken wings from Poland in Lithuania
RASFF – Salmonella enterica ser. Enteritidis (in 1 out of 5 samples /25g) in chilled chicken quarters from Poland in Lithuania
RASFF – Salmonella (presence /25g) in frozen kebab from Slovenia in Italy
RASFF – Salmonella enterica ser. Moroto in whitish sesame seeds from Sudan in Greece
Research – Not-so-dirty birds? Not enough evidence to link wild birds to food-borne illness
When food makes people sick, some blame birds because they hang around farms, and their feces can contain E. coli, Salmonella and Campylobacter, three common pathogens that can cause food-borne illness.
But a recent Washington State University study published in Biological Reviews on Jan. 31 has found scant evidence to support the link between wild birds and human illness involving those three pathogens.
The perceived risk of wild birds can impact their survival, said Olivia Smith, lead author on the study and a recent WSU Ph.D. graduate.
“Farmers are being encouraged to remove wild bird habitat to make their food safer, but it doesn’t appear that these actions are based on data,” Smith said. “When you restrict birds from agricultural settings, you are doing something that can lead to their decline.”
Bird populations have been falling rapidly in recent decades. Scientists estimate that since 1970, North America has lost more than three billion birds. In light of this, the WSU researchers highlighted the need for more definitive research before destroying habitat and banning birds from fields in the name of food safety.
Research – Simple solution to ensure raw egg safety.
Salmonella is a key cause of foodborne gastroenteritis around the world, with most outbreaks linked to eggs, poultry meat, pork, beef, dairy, nuts and fresh produce.
Now Flinders University researchers have found a simple solution for preventing salmonellosis affecting eggs through surface contamination, giving crucial help for food services industries.
Raw eggs are used in many food products such as mayonnaise, mousse, eggnog, and artisanal ice cream. However, a problem is associated with eggshells being contaminated with the bacterium Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (ST).
To address this issue, the Flinders research team aimed to develop a decontamination method that removed ST contamination from the eggshell without impacting the egg’s usability.
Using a method that employed equipment commonly found in commercial kitchens, the researchers decontaminated eggs by placing them in a sous-vide cooker with the water heated to 57C. Complete decontamination of ST was achieved by treating eggs for 9 minutes. The decontamination method uses kitchen equipment commonly used for sous-vide cooking,
The results, published recently in the journal Foodborne Pathogens and Disease, is the first study to look at decontamination of ST on the eggshell.
Mary Ann Liebert – Research Paper
UK – STEC increase for England and Wales in 2018
More than 1,500 confirmed Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) infections were reported in England and Wales in 2018 and five people died, according to Public Health England data.
A total of 1,553 confirmed cases included 607 laboratory-confirmed cases of STEC serogroup O157 and 612 infections where a non-O157 serogroup was isolated. In 2017, 948 confirmed cases of STEC were reported.
For 334 cases, samples tested positive by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) for Shiga toxin (stx) genes, but STEC was not cultured with more than 300 of these in England.
Four STEC outbreaks caused by O157 affecting 55 people were investigated in 2018. It was not possible to find the vehicle and/or source of infection for the two largest and national outbreaks were a foodborne source was suspected. In one of these, 26 people were ill with 10 needing hospital treatment. In the other, 17 people were sick and four were hospitalised. The other two smaller outbreaks involved a petting farm and an outdoor event.
Posted in E.coli, E.coli O157, E.coli O157:H7, food contamination, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Pathogen, Food Poisoning, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Food Toxin, STEC, STEC E.coli, Uncategorized
Research – Survival of Salmonella in spaghetti alla carbonara
Spaghetti alla carbonara is a traditional Italian dish, which the sauce made of raw egg yolks is heated using only the heat of cooked pasta. Concerns about the safety of this preparation have been raised due the possibility of egg yolks be contaminated by Salmonella and the heat treatment may not be sufficient for total Salmonella inactivation. This study was undertaken to analyze the survival of Salmonella in spaghetti alla carbonara in which the only thermal processing of egg yolks was the heat transfer from the pasta. A pool of Salmonella was inoculated in egg yolks reaching 8.8 log10 CFU/g. Contaminated egg yolks were added to the cooked spaghetti, away from the heat source. Results indicated that immediately after cooking and draining, the pasta reached 86.0 °C. After 4.5 min of contact with the egg yolks, the mean temperature of spaghetti alla carbonara decreased to lower than 60 °C. The preparation method was able to inactivate approximately 4.7 log10 CFU/g of Salmonella and the spaghetti alla carbonara processed by this method had a creamy and silky sauce formed by yolks. Based on the results, it should be advisable the use of thermo-processed eggs to ensure the safety of this preparation.
