The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is warning the public not to consume the Gills Onions brand Fresh Diced Red Onions, Fresh Diced Yellow Onions, and Fresh Diced Celery & Onions because these products may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.
There have been no reported illnesses associated with the consumption of these products.
Posted in Bacteria, CIFA, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Microbiology, Pathogen, Recall
Tagged canadian food inspection, canadian food inspection agency cfia, food
Two people have died and three others have become ill in a listeria outbreak believed to have originated in hospital food in two different regions.The affected products have also been recalled from shops as they may contain the bacteria causing the disease.The two elderly women died after contracting listeria, a food-transmitted illness found in meat supplied to the Hawkes Bay Hospital.Two other people contracted the disease but recovered.
Posted in Bacteria, E.coli, E.coli O104, E.coli O145, E.coli O157, E.coli O26, EHEC, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Microbiology, Pathogen, Research, STEC, USDA
Tagged food safety and inspection service, food safety news, initial findings
A comparison was made of two approaches to microbiological challenge testing. Sliced cooked ham was challenge tested with Listeria monocytogenes using the protocol detailed in the Technical Guidance Document on shelf life studies for L.monocytogenes in ready-to-eat foods produced by Agence Française de Securité Sanitare des Aliments (AFSSA now known as ANSES) which required testing of three batches of product, an inoculum level of no more than 100 cfu/g, cultures pre-adapted to chill conditions and a storage regime of 7 d at 8 °C followed by 14 d at 12 °C. This was compared to a more standard industry type of approach using a single batch of product, an inoculum level of between 100 and 1000 cfu/g, cultures grown overnight at optimal temperature and a storage regime of 21 d at 8 °C. The results of the trial showed that the standard Industry approach gave similar results to that of the more complex AFSSA approach with regards to growth potential, lag time and time for a 2 log increase.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Sobeys Quebec Inc. are warning the public not to consume the Earth Greens brand Organic Italian Blend salad described below because the product may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.
The affected product, Earth Greens brand Organic Italian Blend salad, product of USA, is sold in a 198 g plastic clamshell package bearing UPC 8 18431 00107 3, Best Before date 2012 JL 13, and lot code 2217915MI.
This product has been distributed in Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario and Nunavut.
There have been no reported illnesses associated with the consumption of this product.
CANADA – A microbiologist with the University of Manitoba suggests the widespread adoption of irradiation of poultry could potentially reduce the number of incidents of foodborne illness in Canada by 25 per cent, writes Bruce Cochrane.
Food irradiation is the process of exposing food to ionizing radiation to kill any microorganisms or insects that might be present.
Dr Rick Holley, a food safety and food microbiology professor with the University of Manitoba, observes the association between poultry and campylobacter and salmonella is pretty significant.
Posted in Bacteria, Food Hygiene, Food Safety, Food Testing, Irradiation, Microbiology, Pathogen
Tagged environment, science
SCARBOROUGH, Maine – Hannaford Supermarkets today alerted customers to a recall issued by New Jersey-based Buona Vita Inc. of three meatball products, due to possible contamination with Listeria monocytogenes.
The three products are all sold through the deli department: Homestyle Meatballs with Sauce, sold by the pound; Meatball Panini – cold, UPC # 941260723096; and Meatball Panini – hot, UPC # 94126072102. Customers who purchased any of these products should not consume them, and may return the items to Hannaford for a full refund. Products subject to the recall have been removed from the shelves at Hannaford.
Buona Vita’s voluntary recall is part of a broader recall involving various frozen, ready-to-eat meat and poultry products produced by Buona Vita and sold to distributors nationwide. The problem was discovered during microbiological testing by the Ohio Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service. No illnesses have been reported.
The New York Department of Environmental conservation is advising food establishments to avoid using or selling shellfish harvested from areas in the town of Oyster Bay, N.Y. According to the Rhode Island Department of Health, harvesting is no longer allowed in that area because of an illness outbreak caused by Vibrio parahaemolyticus, a naturally occurring marine bacteria.
RASFF – PSP Mussels from France
RASFF – STEC E.coli Roqufort Cheese France
RASFF – Salmonella Pasteurised Eggs in Denmark sourced in Poland
RASFF – Listeria in Chilled Smoked Salmon in Italy sourced in Spain
RASFF – Salmonella Frozen Chicken Thighs in France sourced in the Netherlands
RASFF – Salmonella Frozen Turkey Meat in Italy
Danish Alert – Histamine in Fresh Tuna
Posted in Allergic Reaction, Bacteria, E.coli, EHEC, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Hygiene, Illness, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Microbiology, Pathogen, PSP, RASFF, Recall, Salmonella, Shellfish
Tagged chicken thighs, food
Over the past three weeks, two newborn girls have contracted Salmonella infections at a Central California hospital.
