| Reason For Issuing Alert |
*Updated on 21 May 2018
*Updated on 4 June 2018
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| Action Taken by the Centre for Food Safety |
*Updated on 21 May 2018
*Updated on 4 June 2018
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| Advice to the Trade |
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| Advice to Consumers |
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| Further Information |
*Updated on 21 May 2018
Updated on 4 June 2018 The CFS press release (4 June 2018) |
We developed a quantitative risk assessment model to assess the risk of human nontyphoidal salmonellosis from consumption of pistachios in the United States and to evaluate the impact of Salmonella treatments (1- to 5-log reductions). The exposure model estimating prevalence and contamination levels of Salmonella at consumption included steps in pistachio processing such as transport from grower to huller, removal of the hull through wet abrasion, separation of pistachio floaters (immature, smaller nuts) and sinkers (mature, larger nuts) in a flotation tank, drying, storage, and partitioning. The risks of illness per serving and per year were evaluated by including a Salmonella dose-response model and U.S. consumption data. The spread of Salmonella through float tank water, delay in drying resulting in growth, increased Salmonella levels through pest infestation during storage (pre- and posttreatment), and a simulation of the 2016 U.S. salmonellosis outbreak linked to consumption of pistachios were the modeled atypical situations. The baseline model predicted one case of salmonellosis per 2 million servings (95% CI: one case per 5 million to 800,000 servings) for sinker pistachios and one case per 200,000 servings (95% CI: one case per 400,000 to 40,000 servings) for floater pistachios when no Salmonella treatment was applied and pistachios were consumed as a core product (>80% pistachio) uncooked at home. Assuming 90% of the pistachio supply is sinkers and 10% is floaters, the model estimated 419 salmonellosis cases per year (95% CI: 200 to 1,083 cases) when no Salmonella treatment was applied. A mean risk of illness of less than one case per year was estimated when a minimum 4-log reduction treatment was applied to the U.S. pistachio supply, similar to the results of the Salmonella risk assessment for almonds. This analysis revealed that the predicted risk of illness per serving is higher for all atypical situations modeled compared with the baseline, and delay in drying had the greatest impact on consumer risk.
Herbs derived from roots, leaves, flowers, or fruits of plants are unavoidably contaminated with fungi and mycotoxins during growth, harvest, and storage, thereby posing a health threat to humans. Especially, root herbs (RHs) are more easily contaminated with fungi and mycotoxins because the roots are in direct contact with the soil. Here, we investigated the occurrence of fungi, aflatoxins (AFs), and ochratoxin A (OTA) in eight RHs that are used as medicines, beverages, dietary supplements, and functional foods in China and other countries. Morphological observation and MultiGeneBlast (β-tubulin and calmodulin) were used to identify the potentially toxigenic fungi. Of the 48 samples tested, all were contaminated by fungi, and 1,844 isolates belonging to 25 genera were detected. The genera Aspergillus and Penicillium, which contain potentially toxigenic fungal species, represented a frequency of 10 and 25%, respectively. Thirty-three isolates of Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus parasiticus, Aspergillus niger, and Penicillium polonicum were arbitrarily selected for analysis of their toxigenic potential. Five of 13 isolates of A. flavus and 1 isolate of A. parasiticus produced AFs, whereas OTA production was not detected for any of the isolates of A. niger and P. polonicum. The occurrence of AFs and OTA in the 48 samples of eight RHs was tested by ultraperformance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry; 37.50% of samples from six RHs were contaminated with AFs and 16.67% of samples from four RHs were contaminated with OTA. Seven (14.58%) and four (8.33%) samples of ginseng, polygala, and liquorice exceeded the permissible limits of aflatoxin B1 and AFs, respectively. Because ginseng, polygala, and liquorice are widely used as herbs, dietary supplements, and functional foods, the high frequency of AF contamination of these herbs indicated by our current study warrant attention to raise public awareness.
The objective of this work was to analyze the hygienic and sanitary conditions of 52 school kitchens and to investigate the microbiological contamination of surfaces that contact food. A specific checklist was used to classify the units’ health risk. Microbiological samples were collected from utensils, bench, and equipment in 10 units to evaluate the contamination levels of these surfaces. In total, 3.8% of the evaluated units had a very low health risk, and 61.5% had a low sanitary risk, indicating that most of the sites were adequately sanitary. Important failures have been identified in the block of buildings and facilities. Inadequacies related to hand hygiene, the absence of the manual of good practices and environmental hygiene were also highlighted. Microbiological analyses resulted in high counts of aerobic mesophiles and enterobacteria. Intervention with the involvement of all the actors of the National School Feeding Program is suggested for improving the situation.
This study is important, since it carried out the survey of the information regarding the adoption of good practices and sanitary conditions in the food production in the school environment, considering the relevance of the subject and vulnerability of the attended public. In this way, such information may guide corrective and preventive actions in the face of observed situations.
RASFF-aflatoxins (Tot. = 16.6 µg/kg – ppb) in groundnuts in shell from Egypt in Germany
RASFF-aflatoxins (Tot. = 45.8 µg/kg – ppb) in groundnuts in shell from Egypt in Germany
RASFF-aflatoxins (B1 = 40.7; Tot. = 44.1 µg/kg – ppb) in almonds from the United States in Italy
RASFF-aflatoxins (B1 = 825; Tot. = 1279 µg/kg – ppb) in groundnuts from Togo in Belgium
RASFF-aflatoxins (B1 = 9.1 µg/kg – ppb) in hazelnuts from Turkey in the UK
RASFF-aflatoxins (B1 = 5.13 µg/kg – ppb) in basmati rice from Pakistan in Italy
RASFF-aflatoxins (B1 = 24 µg/kg – ppb) in pistachios from Iran in Spain
RASFF-Listeria monocytogenes (presence /25g) in chilled bacon from Poland in Poland
RASFF-ochratoxin A (31 µg/kg – ppb) in paprika powder from unknown origin in Germany
RASFF-ochratoxin A (15.2 µg/kg – ppb) in raisins from Turkey in Poland
RASFF-ochratoxin A (16 µg/kg – ppb) in dried raisins from the United Arab Emirates in Portugal
RASFF-ochratoxin A (460, 440 µg/kg – ppb) in pistachios from the United States in the Netherlands
RASFF-broccoli salad from the Netherlands infested with moulds in Denmark
RASFF-Salmonella (presence in 25g /25g) in salmonella in paprika powder from China in Spain
RASFF-Salmonella (presence /25g) in ground cumin from Spain in Belgium
RASFF-Salmonella (presence /25g) in sesame seeds from Sudan in Greece
RASFF-Salmonella (present /25g) in sprouts from France in the Netherlands
RASFF-Salmonella (presence /25g) in food supplement from France in France
RASFF-Salmonella (presence /25g) in sesame seeds from Sudan in Greece
RASFF-Salmonella (presence /25g) in frozen raw whiteleg shrimps (Penaeus vannamei) from Vietnam in the Netherlands
RASFF-Salmonella (in 1 out of 5 samples) in frozen salted chicken half breasts from Brazil in the UK
RASFF-Salmonella enterica ser. Lisboa (presence /25g) in sesame seeds from Sudan in Greece
RASFF-Salmonella (present /10g) in frozen pork burgers from Belgium in Belgium
RASFF-Salmonella (presence /25g) in black pepper from Vietnam in Spain
RASFF-Salmonella (in 1 out of 3 samples) in paprika powder from China in Spain
RASFF-Salmonella enterica ser. Newport (presence /25g) in frozen chicken breast fillet whith inner from Poland in Italy
RASFF-Salmonella (presence /25g) in sesame seeds from Nigeria in Cyprus
RASFF-Salmonella enterica ser. Indiana (presence /25g) in frozen chicken meat preparation from the Netherlands, via Germany in France
Frozen broccoli contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes bacteria has been found at Stop & Shop’s store on Ellington Road in South Windsor, and the chain is recalling the product. State food inspectors found the listeria-tainted, 16-ounce “Private Brands Frozen Broccoli Cuts” during a routine test of sample products at the store and the supermarket chain issued the recall on Monday. The product code for this broccoli is “UPC 068826700926” and the packages’ use-by code is “BEST BY MAR 15 2020.” Stop & Shop issued a voluntary recall on the frozen broccoli based on the results of tests done by the state Department of Consumer Protection.
