Category Archives: Food Hygiene

Canada – CFIA Updated Recall – Listeria monocytognes

Posted on October 25, 2013 by | Leave a comment

CFIA

The public warning issued on October 23, 2013 has been updated to correct some product information.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Reser’s Fine Foods Inc. are warning the public not to consume the salad products described in the link above, because they may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

There have been no reported illnesses associated with the consumption of these products.

The manufacturer, Reser’s Fine Foods Inc., Beaverton, Oregon, USA, is voluntarily recalling the affected products from the marketplace. The CFIA is monitoring the effectiveness of the recall.

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Posted in Bacteria, CFIA, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Pathogen, Recall

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USA – Shigella and Legionella Outbreaks

Posted on October 24, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Shigella Blog

Health officials at the Florida Department of Health in Broward County are advising parents, schools and daycare centers to take precautionary action to prevent the spread of Shigellosis. Shigellosis is a highly contagious form of diarrhea caused by Shigella bacteria. Shigella can spread through person to person contact and may cause severe diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps. Parents of children, or anyone with symptoms of Shigellosis should contact their healthcare provider for diagnosis and treatment.

Food Posioning Blog

October 23, 2013  by Leave a Comment

To date, one person has died and several others have been sickened in an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease linked to Glenwood Nursing Home in Florence, Alabama. Legionnaires’ is a form of pneumonia caused by inhaling water mist containing Legionella bacteria.

All confirmed and suspected cases have been either residents or visitors to the nursing home. The one person who has died in the outbreak was a woman who visited the facility with two family members. She later developed respiratory symptoms and was hospitalized. Tests confirmed Legionnaires disease (Legionella pneumonia). The other family members were also sickened.

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Posted in Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Hand Washing, Legionella, Microbiology, Pathogen, Shigella

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USA Research – New Clostridium botulinum Strain

Posted on October 24, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Scientific AmericanClost

Scientists have discovered a new strain—the first in 40 years—of Clostridium botulinum, the bacterium that is ultimately responsible for causing botulism. And although they have reported their findings in a scientific journal, the investigators have taken the extraordinary step of withholding key details of the discovery. That’s because the toxins made by C. botulinum are the most dangerous known to humankind and currently there is no antidote for a toxin generated by the new strain. The fear is that malevolent organizations or rogue governments might use the information to reverse engineer their own version of the new bug, making it a potent and real bioterrorism threat.

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Posted in Clostridium botulinum, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Safety, Food Testing, Microbiology, Pathogen, Research

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USA – Cyclospora Outbreak Update

Posted on October 24, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Food Poisoning Journal

As of September 20, 2013 (5pm EDT), CDC has been notified of 643 ill persons with of Cyclospora infection from 25 states: Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York (including New York City), Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

Most of the illness onset dates have ranged from mid-June through mid-July.

Public health officials in Iowa and Nebraska performed investigations within their states and concluded that restaurant-associated cases of cyclosporiasis in their states were linked to a salad mix produced by Taylor Farms de Mexico.

Epidemiologic and traceback investigations conducted in Texas by state and local public health and regulatory officials, the FDA, and CDC indicated that some illnesses among Texas residents were linked to fresh cilantro from Puebla, Mexico.

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Posted in CDC, Cyclospora, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Hygiene, Laboratory, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen

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USA – Lean Ground Meat Recalls – E.coli O157

Posted on October 23, 2013 by | Leave a comment

E.coli Blog

Costco, in Coon Rapids, Minn., is recalling an undetermined amount of lean fresh 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 product subject to recall is 383 units of 88% lean fresh ground beef (88/12). It bears the Costco item number 33724 under the Costco label. This product was sold directly to 342 consumers in a Costco located at 12547 Riverdale Blvd., Coon Rapids, Minn., between Sept. 4 and Sept. 7.

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

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Research – Breastmilk Sold Online – Microbiology

Posted on October 22, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety News

An estimated three-quarters of breast milk samples available to purchase through the Internet may be contaminated with high levels of bacteria and even pathogens, according to a new study led by researchers at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

Following a growing trend of sharing breast milk via websites, authors of the study released online Monday in the journal Pediatrics tested samples from two major human milk-sharing sites.

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Posted in Bacteria, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Safety, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Microbiology, Research

RASFF Alerts Salmonella – Sweet Basil – Sweet Pepper- Chicken – Clams – Cheese –

Posted on October 22, 2013 by | Leave a comment

RASFF – Salmonella Lexington (present /25g) in sweet basil from Laos in Norway

RASFF -Salmonella Mbandaka (in 2 out of 5 samples) in ground sweet pepper with raw material from Spain, packaged in Slovakia

RASFF -Salmonella enteritidis (in 1 out of 5 samples /25g) in chilled chicken wings from Poland in Czech Republic

RASFF -Salmonella enteritidis (in 1 out of 5 samples /25g) in chilled chicken breast fillets from Poland

RASFF -Salmonella spp. (presence /25g) in clams (Tapes semidecussatus) from Italy

RASFF -Salmonella spp. (presence /25g) in frozen cooked clams from Vietnam

RASFF -Salmonella enteritidis (presence /25g) in cheese from the Czech Republic, with raw material from Poland

RASFF -Salmonella enteritidis (presence /25g) in chilled chicken filet from Poland in the Czech Republic

RASFF – Salmonella spp. (presence /25g) in frozen chicken meat preparations (Gallus domesticus) from Brazil in the Netherlands

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Posted in Bacteria, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Laboratory, Microbiology, Pathogen, RASFF, Recall, Salmonella

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RASFF Alerts – Aflatoxin – Groundnuts – Dried Figs – Peanuts – Ochratoxin – Dried figs

Posted on October 22, 2013 by | Leave a comment

RASFF -aflatoxins (B1 = 89; Tot. = 105 / B1 = 18; Tot. = 20 µg/kg – ppb) in groundnuts from India in the Netherlands

RASFF -aflatoxins (B1 = 9.3; Tot. = 12 / B1 = 30; Tot. = 33 µg/kg – ppb) in groundnut kernels from India in the Netherlands

RASFF -ochratoxin A (23 µg/kg – ppb) in dried figs from Turkey in the Netherlands

RASFF -aflatoxins (B1 = 5.2; Tot. = 7.7 µg/kg – ppb) in groundnut kernels from Brazil, via the Netherlands in Germany

RASFF -aflatoxins (B1 = 18.4; Tot. = 19.1) in dried figs from Turkey in Italy

RASFF -aflatoxins (B1 = 15.5; Tot. = 19.1 µg/kg – ppb) in peanuts in shell from China in Italy

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Posted in Aflatoxin, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Mycotoxin, Ochratoxin, RASFF, Recall, Toxin

RASFF Alerts – Histamine – Tuna

Posted on October 22, 2013 by | Leave a comment

RASFF -histamine (2850 mg/kg – ppm) in tuna loins (Thunnus albacares) from Spain in Italy

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Posted in Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Histamine, RASFF, Recall, Toxin

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RASFF Alerts – E.coli – Beef and Parsley

Posted on October 22, 2013 by | Leave a comment

RASFF -high count of Enterobacteriaceae (17000 CFU/g) in dried parsley from Egypt in Italy

RASFF -shigatoxin-producing Escherichia coli (presence /25g) in fresh vacuum packed boneless beef (Bos taurus) from Argentina in Italy

RASFF -shigatoxin-producing Escherichia coli (presence /25g) in frozen boneless beef (Bos taurus) from Brazil in the Netherlands

RASFF -shigatoxin-producing Escherichia coli (presence /25g) in chilled beef (Bos taurus) from Brazil in the Netherlands

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

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