RASFF -Salmonella Senftenberg (presence /25g) in frozen chicken meat (Gallus gallus) from Argentina in Sweden
RASFF -Salmonella Schwarzengrund (presence /25g) in frozen marinated turkey breast from Germany in Denmark
RASFF – Salmonella spp. (presence /25g) in frozen poultry meat preparations (Aves) from Brazil in the Netherlands
RASFF – Salmonella spp. (presence /25g) in dog chew from India in Germany
RASFF – Shigatoxin-producing Escherichia coli (presence /25g) in bovine meat (Bos taurus) from Argentina in the Netherlands
RASFF -Shigatoxin-producing Escherichia coli in chilled boneless beef (Bos taurus) from Argentina in the Netherlands
RASFF – Shigatoxin-producing Escherichia coli in bovine meat from Belgium
Posted in Bacteria, E.coli, E.coli O103, E.coli O104, E.coli O121, E.coli O145, E.coli O157, E.coli O26, EHEC, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Microbiology, Pathogen, RASFF, Recall, STEC
Tagged argentina, boneless beef, bos taurus, escherichia coli, netherlands, rasff
The outbreak of norovirus at Mulvaney’s restaurant in Sacramento we told you about in March has been confirmed and updated. Laura McCasland, Communication & Media Officer of the Sacramento County Department of Health & Human Services told us that 138 people were sickened in this outbreak.
The ill persons ate at the restaurant between Friday, February 22 and Tuesday, February 26, 2013. During the week of February 17 to February 24, 2013, at least six food service workers reported that they were ill. People started gettting sick between Friday, February 22, 2013 and Thursday, February 28, 2013. The cause of the illness was norovirus. The restaurant was inspected February 13, 2013 and passed.
Public health officials suspect that the foods that are associated with the risk of developing illness include Turkish coffee pudding, pickled beet salad, grilled eggplant, ham, lamb, and Yukon potatoes. The age range for all of the events was 18 to 80 years old. Among all of the ill patrons who ate at Mulvaney’s restaurant, 52.4% were female and 47.6% were male.
Posted in Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Testing, Food Virus, Foodborne Illness, Hand Washing, Hygiene, Illness, Laboratory, Microbiology, Norovirus, outbreak, Pathogen, Virus
Tagged beet salad, food service workers, ill patrons, norovirus, public health officials, turkish coffee
The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) today (May 23) advised people not to consume a particular batch of Pura slim milk imported from Australia which was detected to have a total bacterial count exceeding the legal limit. The trade should also stop selling the affected product.
Details of the product concerned are as follows:
Product name: Pura slim milk
Place of origin: Australia
Expiry date: May 26, 2013
Packing size: 1 litre
“A sample of the milk was collected for testing under the regular Food Surveillance Programme. The test result showed that the total bacterial count of the sample was more than 30,000,000 per millilitre,” a CFS spokesman said.
“According to the Milk Regulation, milk after heat-treatment by means of pasteurization should not contain more than 30,000 bacteria per millilitre,” he said.
The CFS has issued a warning letter to the importer, Nowaday International Development Limited. Importation of the product concerned has been suspended and the trade has been alerted to the incident.
The importer is the sole importer of the milk product concerned. It has stopped sale and has initiated a recall of the affected product. According to the information provided by the importer, the affected product was available for sale at several supermarket chains. For enquiries about the product recall, consumers can call a hotline set up by the importer at 2882 2347 during office hours.
“The total bacterial count exceeding the legal limit indicates unsatisfactory hygienic conditions, but does not mean it would lead to food poisoning. Despite that, we think that it will be prudent for consumers who have bought the affected product to stop drinking it. The trade should also stop selling the affected product,” the spokesman said.
The CFS has informed the Australian authorities. We will monitor the recall of the affected product and the development of the incident. Appropriate actions will be taken whenever necessary.
L. monocytogenes is of particular concern in cold-smoked fish products as it can survive curing and cold-smoking, and can subsequently grow from low numbers to potentially hazardous levels during refrigerated storage. The purpose of this study was to (i) quantify the effects of organic acids, nisin, and their combinations on controlling L. monocytogenes growth on cold-smoked salmon at refrigeration temperatures, (ii) identify synergistic interactions of binary combinations of these antimicrobials, and (iii) determine if results from laboratory growth media can predict antimicrobial efficacy on cold-smoked salmon. Strains representing the genetic diversity of L. monocytogenes lineages I and II were grown in brain heart infusion (BHI) broth as well as on the surface of commercially produced wet-cured, cold-smoked salmon slices at 7 °C. BHI broth and cold-smoked salmon were supplemented with sodium diacetate (SDA, 0.14% water phase (w.p.)), potassium lactate (PL, 2% w.p.), nisin (NI, 50 ppm), and binary combinations of inhibitors at the same levels. Cell densities of L. monocytogenes were measured over time and used to calculate growth parameters, including initial cell density (N0), lag phase (λ), maximum growth rate (μmax), and maximum cell density (Nmax) for each antimicrobial treatment. N0 was significantly lowered by addition of NI with a similar average reduction on salmon (2.02 ± 0.99 log(CFU/g)) and in BHI (1.51 ± 0.83 log(CFU/ml)). Among all antimicrobial treatments, the combination of PL and SDA led to the greatest increase in λ both on salmon (7.1 ± 3.6 days) and in BHI (9.7 ± 3.8 days) when compared to the controls. The combination of PL and SDA had synergistic effects on increasing λ and lowering Nmax both in BHI and on salmon. Among all the treatments tested, the combination of NI and PL led to the greatest reductions in Nmax on salmon. We observed positive correlations between the growth parameters obtained from BHI broth and cold-smoked salmon, indicating that growth of L. monocytogenes in broth, to some extent, qualitatively reflected characteristics of growth on cold-smoked salmon under antimicrobial stresses. Results from BHI could quantitatively predict the variability of growth parameters obtained from salmon for lineage II strains, but not for lineage I strains. Although results from laboratory growth medium may not provide exact predictions of antimicrobial efficacy on cold-smoked salmon, they could be used to rapidly identify effective combinations for further examination on cold-smoked salmon.
Ottawa, May 29, 2013 – The public warning issued on May 23, 2013 has been updated to include additional product and distribution information.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is warning the public not to consume certain in shell hazelnuts described in the link because the products may be contaminated with Salmonella.
Consumers who are unsure if they have affected product are advised to check with their retailer.
There have been no reported illnesses associated with the consumption of these products.
These recalls are part of an on-going food safety investigation associated with a recall of bulk hazelnuts from USA. The CFIA is working with the recalling firms and distributors to identify all affected products.
The importer, distributers, and retailers are voluntarily recalling the affected products from the marketplace. The CFIA is monitoring the effectiveness of the recall.
FRUIT TREASURE of CHULA VISTA, CA is recalling 43 boxes (25lb) of fresh THAI PEPPERS, because it has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis.
The recalled fresh Thai peppers were distributed on April 7, 2013 to April 10, 2013 to retail markets in California.
The product comes in a 25lb white wax box with a logo that says “JAMMIN PEPPERS”.
No illnesses have been reported to date in connection with this problem.
The outbreak of Salmonella associated with the Holiday Inn Bordeaux in Fayetteville, North Carolina has grown to 99 ill persons, up 11 from yesterday. Sixteen cases are lab-confirmed, according to Buck Wilson of the Cumberland County Health Department.
The two restaurants that served food associated with this outbreak are the Cafe Bordeaux and the All American Sports Grill. If you ate at these restaurants and suffered the symptoms of a Salmonella infection, including fever, chills, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and muscle pains, see a health care provider as soon as possible.
Posted in Bacteria, FDA, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen, Recall, Salmonella
Tagged chills diarrhea, chula vista ca, county health department, cumberland county health department, fever chills, salmonella infection
The Pennsylvania Departments of Agriculture and Health today advised consumers to discard raw milk produced by The Family Cow in Chambersburg, Franklin County, because of potential bacterial contamination.
Agriculture and Health Department laboratory tests and several recent illnesses indicate the raw milk may contain Campylobacter bacteria.
The Department of Health has confirmed five cases of confirmed Campylobacter infection in people who consumed milk from the farm at 3854 Olde Scotland Road.
Based on the reported illnesses, the Department of Agriculture collected samples of raw milk during an investigation of The Family Cow, on May 17. Positive tests for Campylobacter were confirmed Tuesday.
The packaged raw milk is sold under The Family Cow label in plastic gallon, half-gallon, quart and pint containers. It is labeled as “raw milk.” Raw milk is milk that has not been pasteurized
RASFF -Aflatoxins (B1 = 10; Tot. = 12 µg/kg – ppb) in groundnuts from China in the Netherlands
RASFF -Aflatoxins (Tot. = 9.3 µg/kg – ppb) in groundnuts from China in the Netherlands
RASFF – Aflatoxins (B1 = 16.3; Tot. = 35.2 µg/kg – ppb) in pistachios from Turkey in Germany
RASFF – Ochratoxin A (5.10 µg/kg – ppb) in rye flour from Poland
RASFF – Aflatoxins (B1 = 54; Tot. = 62 µg/kg – ppb) in blanched groundnut kernels from China in the Netherlands
RASFF – Aflatoxins (B1 = 10; Tot. = 10 µg/kg – ppb) in groundnuts from Argentina in the Netherlands
RASFF – Aflatoxins (B1 = 4.0; Tot. = 6.2 µg/kg – ppb) in groundnuts from Brazil in the UK
