Category Archives: Food Inspections

Research – Bacteria found in ancient Irish soil halts growth of superbugs: New hope for tackling antibiotic resistance

Posted on December 31, 2018 by | Leave a comment

Science Daily

Researchers analyzing soil from Ireland long thought to have medicinal properties have discovered that it contains a previously unknown strain of bacteria which is effective against four of the top six superbugs that are resistant to antibiotics, including MRSA. Antibiotic-resistant superbugs could kill up to 1.3 million people in Europe by 2050, according to recent research. The World Health Organisation (WHO) describes the problem as ‘one of the biggest threats to global health, food security, and development today.’

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Posted in Antibiotic Resistance, Antimicrobials, food death, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Pathogen, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Testing, Uncategorized

Research – Long-Term Depuration of Crassostrea virginica Oysters at Different Salinities and Temperatures Changes Vibrio vulnificus Counts and Microbiological Profile

Posted on December 30, 2018 by | Leave a comment

Journal of Food Protection

Previous short-duration depuration studies with the eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) demonstrated difficulty in achieving significant naturally incurred Vibrio vulnificus population count reductions. The present study used long-duration depuration (14 days) at controlled temperatures (10 or 22°C) and salinities (12, 16, or 20 mg/g). All depuration temperature–salinity combinations significantly reduced V. vulnificus counts, with greatest reductions seen in 12 mg/g, 10°C seawater (2.7-log CFU/g reduction) and in 20 mg/g, 22°C seawater (2.8-log reduction). Mesophilic vibrios dominated the overall microflora of freshly harvested oysters, whereas refrigerated storage selected for psychrotrophic bacteria (Pseudomonas spp., Aeromonas spp., Shewanella spp., Psychrobacter spp.) as well as did depuration at 10°C (Pseudoalteromonas spp., Shewanella spp., Vibrio spp.). Depuration at 22°C retained dominance of mesophilic vibrios, including pathogenic species, followed by Shewanella spp., Pseudoalteromonas spp., and Photobacterium spp. Although aerobic plate counts were lower in 22°C depurated oysters (5.0 log versus 6.0 log) compared with 10°C, depuration at 10°C offered greater V. vulnificus population reductions than depuration at 22°C. This advantage was only seen at 12 mg/g salinity, with no impact at 16 and 20 mg/g salinities. No depuration treatment reduced V. vulnificus counts to nondetectable levels. Use of prolonged depuration may be a helpful intervention to control V. vulnificus populations in oysters.

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Posted in food contamination, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Pathogen, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Technology, Food Testing, Pseudomonas, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Uncategorized, Vibrio, Vibrio cholera, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Vibrio vulnificans

Research – A Quantitative Risk Assessment of Human Salmonellosis from Consumption of Walnuts in the United States

Posted on December 30, 2018 by | Leave a comment

Journal of Food Protection

We assessed the risk of human salmonellosis from consumption of shelled walnuts in the United States and the impact of 0- to 5-log reduction treatments for Salmonella during processing. We established a baseline model with Salmonella contamination data from 2010 to 2013 surveys of walnuts from California operations to estimate baseline prevalence and levels of Salmonella during preshelling storage and typical walnut processing stages, considered U.S. consumption data, and applied an adapted dose-response model from the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization to evaluate risk of illness per serving and per year. Our baseline model predicted 1 case of salmonellosis per 100 million servings (95% confidence interval [CI], 1 case per 3 million to 1 case per 2 billion servings) of walnuts untreated during processing and uncooked by consumers, resulting in an estimated 6 cases of salmonellosis per year (95% CI, <1 to 278 cases) in the United States. A minimum 3-log reduction treatment for Salmonella during processing of walnuts eaten alone or as an uncooked ingredient resulted in a mean risk of <1 case per year. We modeled the impact on risk per serving of three atypical situations in which the Salmonella levels were increased by 0.5 to 1.5 log CFU per unit pretreatment during processing at the float tank or during preshelling storage or posttreatment during partitioning into consumer packages. No change in risk was associated with the small increase in levels of Salmonella at the float tank, whereas an increase in risk was estimated for each of the other two atypical events. In a fourth scenario, we estimated the risk per serving associated with consumption of walnuts with Salmonella prevalence and levels from a 2014 to 2015 U.S. retail survey. Risk per serving estimates were two orders of magnitude larger than those of the baseline model without treatment. Further research is needed to determine whether this finding reflects variability in Salmonella contamination across the supply or a rare event affecting a portion of the supply.

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Posted in food contamination, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Pathogen, Food Safety, Food Technology, Food Testing, Salmonella, Uncategorized

Research – Utility of Whole Genome Sequencing To Describe the Persistence and Evolution of Listeria monocytogenes Strains within Crabmeat Processing Environments Linked to Two Outbreaks of Listeriosis

Posted on December 29, 2018 by | Leave a comment

Journal of Food Protection

This article describes the identification and investigation of two extended outbreaks of listeriosis in which crabmeat was identified as the vehicle of infection. Comparing contemporary and retrospective typing data of Listeria monocytogenes isolates from clinical cases and from food and food processing environments allowed the detection of cases going back several years. This information, combined with the analysis of routinely collected enhanced surveillance data, helped to direct the investigation and identify the vehicle of infection. Retrospective whole genome sequencing (WGS) analysis of isolates provided robust microbiological evidence of links between cases, foods, and the environments in which they were produced and demonstrated that for some cases and foods, identified by fluorescent amplified fragment length polymorphism, the molecular typing method in routine use at the time, were not part of the outbreak. WGS analysis also showed that the strains causing illness had persisted in two food production environments for many years and in one producer had evolved into two strains over a period of around 8 years. This article demonstrates the value of reviewing L. monocytogenes typing data from clinical cases together with that from foods as a means of identifying potential vehicles and sources of infection in outbreaks of listeriosis. It illustrates the importance of reviewing retrospective L. monocytogenes typing alongside enhanced surveillance data to characterize extended outbreaks and inform control measures. Also, this article highlights the advantages of WGS analysis for strain discrimination and clarification of evolutionary relationships that refine outbreak investigations and improve our understanding of L. monocytogenes in the food chain.

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Posted in food contamination, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Pathogen, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Technology, Food Testing, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Uncategorized, WGS, Whole Genomic Sequencing

Research – Assessment of Microbial Populations in the Manufacture of Vacuum-Packaged Ready-to-Eat Roast Beef and in a Related Production Plant

Posted on December 29, 2018 by | Leave a comment

Journal of Food Protection

Some microbiological criteria were monitored for 6 months in vacuum-packaged roast beef (15 production batches), raw beef (10 batches), and other meat products (12 batches) produced in an Italian small to medium-size enterprise. Fifty-five environmental swab samples also were analyzed. The main bacterial groups were identified by cultural methods according to International Organization for Standardization standards. Listeria monocytogenes was enumerated with the most-probable-number protocol, and species identification was confirmed with a specific PCR assay. Immediately after vacuum packaging, all ready-to-eat (RTE) products had low mean aerobic colony counts (<102 to 2.4 × 102 CFU g−1), anaerobic colony counts (1.6 to 6.5 × 101 CFU g−1), Enterobacteriaceae counts (1.1 to 1.4 × 101 CFU g−1), and Escherichia coli counts (generally below the detection limit). Nevertheless, the prevalence of L. monocytogenes in these samples was 3.7%. In roast beef samples, the aerobic and anaerobic colony counts reached unacceptable levels (>106 CFU g−1) after 14 days of refrigerated storage. Because the prevalence of L. monocytogenes increased to 13.3% during storage, a substantial reduction in the shelf life of these products is recommended. Surfaces without direct contact with food (floors and drains) had the highest mean counts for aerobic colonies (8.0 × 103 to 9.5 × 105 CFU/cm2), anaerobic colonies (2.9 × 103 to 3.2 × 104 CFU/cm2), Enterobacteriaceae (1.5 × 101 to 8.4 × 101 CFU/cm2), and E. coli (6.0 to 7.7 CFU/cm2). The levels of L. monocytogenes on direct food contact surfaces were below the detection limit, but more than 25% of floor samples were contaminated. These results reveal the persistence of L. monocytogenes in food processing environments, although at very low levels, posing a high risk of postcooking recontamination for RTE products. To improve hygienic conditions and reduce cross-contamination, an increase in operator awareness and a reassessment of surface sanitization protocols are needed.

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Posted in E.coli, Enterobacteriaceae, food contamination, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Safety, Food Technology, Food Testing, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Uncategorized

RASFF Alerts – Salmonella – Sesame Seeds – Ground Black Pepper – Chicken Breast Fillets

Posted on December 28, 2018 by | Leave a comment

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RASFF -Salmonella (presence /25g) in sesame seeds hulled from Nigeria, via Turkey in Poland

RASFF-Salmonella (present /25g) in sesame seeds from Nigeria in Poland

RASFF-Salmonella (present /25g) in ground black pepper from Vietnam in Spain

RASFF-Salmonella enterica ser. Typhimurium in frozen chicken breast filletts from the Netherlands in the Netherlands

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Posted in food contamination, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, RASFF, Salmonella, Uncategorized

RASFF Alert – Listeria monocytogenes – Smoked Salmon

Posted on December 28, 2018 by | Leave a comment

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RASFF-Listeria monocytogenes (presence /25g) in chilled smoked Norwegian salmon from Latvia in Italy

 

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Posted in food contamination, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Pathogen, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Uncategorized

RASFF Alert – E.coli – Live Mussels

Posted on December 28, 2018 by | Leave a comment

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RASFF -too high count of Escherichia coli (940 MPN/100g) in live mussels (Mytilus edulis) to be purified from Ireland in Ireland

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Posted in E.coli, food contamination, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Pathogen, Food Poisoning, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, RASFF, Uncategorized

RASFF Alert – Histamine – Chilled mackerel (Scomber scombrus)

Posted on December 28, 2018 by | Leave a comment

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RASFF -histamine (410 mg/kg – ppm) in chilled mackerel (Scomber scombrus) from France in Belgium

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Posted in food contamination, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Poisoning, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Food Toxin, Histamine, RASFF, Uncategorized

RASFF Alerts – Aflatoxin – Peanuts – Pistachios – Groundnuts – Almonds

Posted on December 28, 2018 by | Leave a comment

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RASFF-aflatoxins (B1 = 37.7; Tot. = 44.3 µg/kg – ppb) in peanuts with shell from Egypt in Italy

RASFF-aflatoxins (B1 = 73.8; Tot. = 79 µg/kg – ppb) in pistachios in shell from Syria in Greece

RASFF-aflatoxins (B1 = 21.2; Tot. > 24 µg/kg – ppb) in groundnuts from China in Spain

RASFF-aflatoxins (B1 = 60; Tot. = 71 µg/kg – ppb) in shelled pistachios from the Netherlands in the Netherlands

RASFF-aflatoxins (B1 = 92; Tot. = 110 µg/kg – ppb) in almonds from the United States in the Netherlands

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Posted in Aflatoxin, food contamination, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Poisoning, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Food Toxin, Mycotoxin, Uncategorized