RASFF – foodborne outbreak caused by histamine (>490; >1000 mg/kg – ppm) in thawed tuna (Thunnus albacares) from Sweden, with frozen raw material from the Netherlands in Sweden
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Category Archives: Food Illness
RASFF Alert – Foodborne Outbreak caused by Histamine -Thawed Tuna
Posted in food bourne outbreak, food contamination, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Poisoning, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Food Toxin, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Histamine, outbreak, RASFF, Toxin, Uncategorized
New Zealand – Reducing the risk of illness from Listeria
Following 3 recently reported cases of listeria infection in Tauranga, Toi Te Ora Public Health and the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) are reminding the public of the recommended food safety measures to reduce any risk from listeria.
“Listeria is a bacteria that can occasionally contaminate food and cause illness which can be serious for those with poor immunity and also pregnant women,” says Dr Neil de Wet, Medical Officer of Health for Toi Te Ora Public Health. “Our investigations include determining what the cases may have eaten in order to identify any common risk factors or food that may be the source of infection.”
MPI compliance director Gary Orr says that if there was a link identified between these cases and the food supply chain, immediate action would be taken to ensure public safety.
People who are at risk of more serious illness from listeria include pregnant women and their unborn babies, newborn babies, people with weakened immune systems and elderly people, especially if they have poor health.
While detailed investigations are underway and a source of infection for these recently notified cases is not yet clear, and often a source is not able to be identified for individual cases, it is a timely reminder that people who are in an at-risk group should avoid foods such as:
- uncooked, smoked or ready-to-eat fish or seafood, including oysters, prawns, sashimi or sushi
- paté, hummus and tahini-based dips and spreads
- cold pre-cooked chicken
- processed meats including ham and all other chilled pre-cooked meat products including chicken, salami and other fermented or dried sausages
- pre-prepared, pre-packaged or stored salads (including fruit salads) and coleslaws
- raw (unpasteurised) milk and any food that contains unpasteurised milk
- soft-serve ice creams
- soft, semi-soft or surface-ripened soft cheese (for example, brie, camembert, feta, ricotta, roquefort).
If you or anyone in your household is in an at-risk group, it is especially important to take a few simple food safety precautions:
- Avoid eating the high-risk foods listed above.
- Follow good food hygiene practices, such as washing and drying hands before preparing food and after handling or preparing raw foods.
- Eat freshly cooked or freshly prepared foods.
- Wash all raw fruit and vegetables very well before eating.
- Cook foods thoroughly.
- Refrigerate leftovers immediately and do not keep for more than 2 days. Reheat to steaming hot before eating.
Listeria and prevention – Ministry of Health
Information on listeria from the Ministry for Primary Industries:
List of safe food in pregnancy
Food safety in pregnancy [PDF, 561 KB]
USA – Unidentified Salmonella Newport Outbreak Sickens 125 in 15 States
An unidentified Salmonella Newport outbreak has sickened at least 125 people in 15 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Twenty-four people have been hospitalized because they are so sick. This is the way foodborne illness outbreaks sometimes start; the government publicizes it, and more people come forward who may have information that helps solve it.
Posted in food bourne outbreak, 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, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, outbreak, Poisoning, Salmonella, Uncategorized
Vietnam – Over 100 workers hospitalised because of food poisoning
At 7 pm on July 20, Dong Nai General Hospital received dozens of patients who are workers of Great Kingdom Company at Giang Dien Industrial Park, Trang Bom District. The patients suffered from dizziness and nausea. According to the workers, they had symptoms after dinner and starting the extra shift.
All workers are in stable condition. The doctors are still checking their condition, carrying out ultrasound tests and intravenous infusion to find the most suitable treatment.
Luong Ngoc Hoi, deputy director of Great Kingdom Company, said, “The dinner for 1,600 workers from two factories was held at 4 pm at our cafeteria. There were fried fish, boiled eggs, cabbage, spinach and sponge gourd.But after dinner, the workers at one factory showed symptoms of food poisoning. We sent 50 of them to Shing Mark Hospital and 50 to Dong Nai General Hospital.”
The cause of the poisoning is still being investigated. Dtinews/Tienphong
Japan and South Korea – Thousands sick in E. coli outbreaks
Officials in Korea are investigating an E. coli outbreak that has affected 100 people while more than 3,000 students and teachers recently got food poisoning in Japan, according to media reports.
The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) has been investigating an Enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) outbreak with the local municipality and relevant ministries since mid-June. EHEC is also known as Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC).
The outbreak in a kindergarten in Ansan-si, Gyeonggi Province had 58 confirmed cases as of late June with 114 people showing symptoms. Most of these are students of the kindergarten but three are family members of pupils.
A total of 21 people — 19 kindergarten students and two family members — were in hospital for inpatient care. Sixteen people — 14 students and two family members — had onset of symptoms suspected to be hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a type of kidney failure associated with E. coli infection, and four people were receiving dialysis treatment.
Posted in Bacterial Toxin, E.coli, EHEC, food bourne outbreak, 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 Toxin, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, outbreak, STEC, STEC E.coli, Toxin, Uncategorized
USA – TWO HOSPITALIZED AFTER REPORTED SALMONELLA OUTBREAK AT GRANTS PASS RESTAURANT
GRANTS PASS, Ore. — Public health officials are investigating a cluster of Salmonella cases linked to a Grants Pass restaurant that has resulted in two hospitalizations, according to Josephine County Public Health.
The agency said that multiple cases of documented Salmonella were “potentially linked” to Si Casa Flores on NE Beacon Drive. Public health officials inspected the restaurant and collected 17 specimens for lab testing, with results expected this weekend.
“Si Casa Flores Corporation has been working closely with Public Health specialists to identify the source of the outbreak and ensure the continued safety of Si Casa customers,” Josephine County Public Health said in a statement.
Due to ingredients shared between local restaurants, state and local authorities are asking that anyone who has eaten at three Si Casa Flores-owned locations in Grants Pass from June 25 to July 7 complete an online survey. This includes the Beacon Drive location, the NW F Street location, and the Xpress trailer on Union Avenue.
USA – Paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) – Death
The Alaska State Medical Examiner’s Office has confirmed that the death of an Alaska resident is consistent with paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP). Officials have yet to release personal information.
Warnings have been issued to the community by email, fax, radio and social media after blue mussel samples collected from the beach on the same day the shellfish were consumed were found to have extremely high toxin levels, more than 100 times higher than the safe regulatory limit. The snail samples also had elevated toxin levels, but not as high as the blue mussels.
Posted in Algal Toxin, Biotoxin, food contamination, food death, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Poisoning, Food Poisoning Death, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Food Toxin, paralytic shellfish poisoning, PSP, shellfish toxin, Uncategorized
Research – Attributing human foodborne diseases to food sources and water in Japan using analysis of outbreak surveillance data
In Japan, strategies for ensuring food safety have been developed without reliable scientific evidence on the relation between foodborne infections and foods. The aim of this research was to provide information on the proportions of foodborne diseases caused by seven major causative pathogens ( Campylobacte r spp., Salmonella spp., EHEC, V. parahaemolyticus , Clostridium perfringens , Staphylococcus aureus , and Norovirus) attributable to foods using analysis of outbreak surveillance data. For the calculation of the number of outbreaks attributed to each source, simple-food outbreaks were attributed to the single-food category in question, and complex-food outbreaks were classified under each category proportionally to the estimated probability. Between 2007 and 2018, 8.730 outbreaks of foodborne diseases caused by seven pathogens were reported and another 6,690 (76.6%) were of “unknown source”. We observed fluctuations in the sources of foodborne diseases caused by the seven pathogens from 2013 to 2018 as follows: chicken products (92.9%, CI 92.6–92.9) for Campylobacter spp., beef products (40.1%, CI 38.2–41.2) and vegetables (39.3%, CI 38.2–41.2) for EHEC, eggs (22.8%, CI 14.9–31.9), chicken products (13,3%, CI 6.4–21.3) for Salmonella spp., finfish (86.3%, CI 62.5–95.8) and shellfish (13.7%, CI 4.2–37.5) for V. parahaemolyticus, grains and beans (47.2%, CI 31.2–62.5) for S. aureus, vegetables (69.3%, CI 50.8–79.7) and beef products (13.1%, CI 10.2–15.3) and chicken products (10.0%, CI 1.7–27.1) for C. perfringens , and shellfish (74.7%, CI 73.1–75.9) for Norovirus. In this study, we provide the best currently available basis to evaluate the link between foodborne diseases and foods. Additionally, our results reflected the effect of strict health regulations for raw beef during a given time period, and demonstrate the importance of controlling the contamination rate of Campylobacter spp. in chicken products at each step of the food supply chain.
Posted in Campylobacter, Clostridium perfringens, EHEC, food contamination, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Pathogen, Food Poisoning, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, foodborne disease, Foodborne Illness, foodborne outbreak, Norovirus, Salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus, Uncategorized, Vibrio parahaemolyticus
Hong Kong – Cross contamination, temperature abuse factors in sandwich outbreak
Cross contamination and temperature abuse are factors that played a role in an outbreak of Salmonella in Hong Kong earlier this year.
In May, the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health recorded 236 illnesses linked to consumption of sandwiches produced in a food factory with more than 50 people needing hospital treatment.
Cross contamination of raw eggs by food handlers at the factory, prolonged storage of sandwiches at improper temperatures during delivery and at retail were suspected to be contributing factors to the outbreak.
The most commonly consumed items included a ham, cheese and egg sandwich by 166 cases, ham and egg sandwich by 50 cases and a cheese and egg sandwich by 29 patients.
Posted in food bourne outbreak, food contamination, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Pathogen, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Research, Salmonella, Uncategorized
Scotland – Salmonella and STEC behind most outbreaks in Scotland
There were 11 foodborne outbreaks in Scotland this past year with almost 50 people falling ill.
Salmonella and Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) were the most frequently reported organisms.
Findings come from the Health Protection Scotland (HPS), part of Public Health Scotland (PHS), annual surveillance report on bacterial, protozoal and viral outbreaks of infectious intestinal disease in 2019.
The 11 outbreaks and 49 illnesses in 2019 is down from the 14 outbreaks and 117 illnesses reported in 2018, but in line with the previous five-year average of 13 outbreaks per year. Figures from 2018 include a norovirus outbreak that affected 60 people.
Posted in food bourne outbreak, food contamination, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Pathogen, Food Poisoning, Food Poisoning Death, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Food Toxin, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, outbreak, Research, Salmonella, STEC, STEC E.coli, Uncategorized
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