Category Archives: Food Microbiology Research

Research -Universities offer resources to help with safe at-home food preservation

Posted on September 23, 2022 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety News

With the beginning of fall yesterday, people will be collecting the rest of their gardens’ fruits and vegetables for canning. The benefits of home food preservation include building a reserve of dehydrated and canned food to eat during the winter and that will stay safe during a power outage.

However, home food preservation is not without risk. One of the greatest risks of improper canning is botulism, a potentially deadly illness.

The National Center for Home Food Preservation is a great resource for current research-based recommendations for most methods of home food preservation. Their website provides detailed instructions on how to can, freeze, dry, cure and smoke, ferment, pickle, make jam and jelly and more.

The Center was established with funding from the Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture (CSREES-USDA) to address food safety concerns for those who practice and teach home food preservation and processing methods.

If you haven’t done home canning before or it has been a while since you last canned food the National Center for Home Food Preservation is a great place to start learning how to do it safely. Their website can be found here.

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Posted in Clostridium, Clostridium botulinum, Decontamination Microbial, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, Research

India – 13 students in Coimbatore fall ill after eating hostel food

Posted on September 23, 2022 by | Leave a comment

India Today

13 children, living in a private school hostel, were rushed to a hospital on Monday night after suspected food poisoning in Lakshminaickenpalayam near Sulur in the Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu.

All 13 boys were rushed to the Sulur government hospital after they complained of uneasiness, and some of them even fainted. On Monday evening, the boys consumed black channa (chickpeas), tea and juice.

Officials said that eight children were given IV drips and all of them were kept under observation overnight. The boys were sent back to the hostel on Tuesday.

According to officials, samples of the food consumed by the children have been collected by food safety department officials.

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Posted in Food Illness, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Poisoning, Foodborne Illness, Illness, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk

UK – Nearly 200 sick in UK E. coli O157 outbreak.

Posted on September 23, 2022 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety News

Public health officials in the United Kingdom are investigating an outbreak of E. coli O157 that has sickened almost 200 people in a month.

Since early September, 192 genetically linked cases of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) O157 have been identified in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.

The majority of people sick are adults but there have been no deaths linked to the incident.

No source for the rise in infections has yet been identified but patients are being interviewed to help find the vehicle of infection.

There have also been no cases of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) reported. HUS is a type of kidney failure associated with E. coli infections that can result in lifelong, serious health problems and death.

Dr. Lesley Larkin, head of surveillance, gastrointestinal infections and food safety at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), said a rise in E. coli cases notified to public health surveillance systems had been seen in recent weeks.

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Posted in E.coli O157, E.coli O157:H7, food bourne outbreak, food contamination, Food Hazard, 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, Food Safety Management, Food Testing, Food Toxin, Foodborne Illness, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Illness, outbreak, STEC, STEC E.coli

Kenya – How Safe Is That Plate Of Meat You Consume?

Posted on September 23, 2022 by | Leave a comment

Kenya News

A significant portion of beef, goat meat and other meat products sold in butcheries and eateries in Nakuru is contaminated with a toxic cocktail of bacteria, a new report by researchers based at Egerton University has revealed.

The study which evaluated microbiological safety of meat and ready-to-eat (RTE) meat products in urban and peri-urban parts of the county, indicates that the presence of Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli (abbreviated as E. coli) salmonella spp and Shigella bacteria is worrying and efforts have to be put in place to cut on their levels.

Staphylococcus aureus was the most isolated negative bacteria in 87 beef and goat meat and other meat products samples, with a prevalence of 100 per cent, followed by Shigella spp in 81 samples (93 percent).

Staphylococcus aureus is a pathogen known to cause bloodstream infections, pneumonia, bone and joint infections and soft tissue infections, while infection with some strains of Shigella spp can result in diarrhea (sometimes bloody), fever, and stomach cramps.

The report compiled by lead investigators Dr. Hillary Odeckh Indago, Prof. Joseph Wafula Matofari and Dr. John Masani Nduko further notes that all the 15 samples of water randomly collected from the butcheries and eateries tested positive for E. coli, salmonella spp and Shigella bacteria.

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Posted in Decontamination Microbial, E.coli, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, Research, Salmonella, Shigatoxin, Shigella, Staphylococcus aureus

CDC issues Salmonella alert for people traveling to Mexico

Posted on September 22, 2022 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety News

Public health officials in the United States are warning travellers who have spent time in Mexico to be aware of multidrug-resistant strains of Salmonella Newport.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that some travellers have been infected with the strains, which have developed the ability to defeat drugs designed to kill them. Salmonella infections from the strains can be difficult to treat and result in very serious illnesses.

“Many travelers with MDR (multidrug-resistant) Salmonella Newport infections reported eating beef, cheese — including queso fresco and Oaxaca— beef jerky, or dried beef — carne seca — before they got sick,” according to the alert from the CDC.

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Posted in CDC, Decontamination Microbial, Drug Resistance, drug resistant, food bourne outbreak, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, Multi Drug Resistant, outbreak, Salmonella

UK – Man contracts Cyclospora after Mexican holiday; others report illnesses.

Posted on September 22, 2022 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety News

A family in England fell sick while on holiday in Mexico with at least one of them having a confirmed Cyclospora infection.

Philip Whitmore tested positive for Cyclospora after speaking with a doctor about his symptoms.

The 61-year-old said he was shocked after being told of the diagnosis and learning how the disease can be contracted.

“I did not expect to visit a five-star hotel and contract such an illness. Being a retired chef with 40 years of professional catering experience, I did notice some concerning issues around food hygiene as the holiday went on, but I never thought that most of my family would become so unwell,” he said.

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Posted in Cyclospora, Cyclosporiasis, Food Illness, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Foodborne Illness, Illness, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk

Research – USDA Discovers 33 New Mycotoxin-Producing Fungi Species

Posted on September 22, 2022 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety Magazine

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (USDA’s ARS) has discovered 33 new species of mycotoxin-producing fungi belonging to the genus Fusarium.

According to ARS scientists, many Fusarium species produce harmful secondary metabolites in plant tissues including trichothecenes, which are among the mycotoxins of greatest concern to food safety and human health. Not only do mycotoxins present an immediate threat to livestock and humans as they can cause illness, they may also be carcinogenic if consumed regularly over a prolonged period.

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Posted in Decontamination Microbial, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Toxin, Fusarium Toxin, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, Mold Toxin, Mould Toxin, Mycotoxin

USA – FDA – Core Outbreak Investigation Table Update

Posted on September 22, 2022 by | Leave a comment

FDA

What’s New

  • For the Listeria monocytogenes outbreak (ref# 1106) in a not yet identified product, traceback has been initiated.
  • For the Salmonella Mississippi outbreak (ref# 1097) in a not yet identified product, the case count changed from 102 to 103.
  • For the Salmonella Senftenberg outbreak (ref# 1087) in a not yet identified product, the case count changed from 27 to 30.
  • For the Salmonella Typhimurium outbreak (ref# 1095) in a not yet identified product, the case count changed from 78 to 84.
  • For the Cyclospora outbreak (ref# 1080) in a not yet identified product, the case count changed from 79 to 81

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Posted in Cyclospora, Decontamination Microbial, FDA, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, Salmonella

Nestlé eyes November re-opening of E. coli-hit Buitoni plant

Posted on September 22, 2022 by | Leave a comment

Just Food

Nestlé is lining up the return of production at a Buitoni factory in France at the centre of a fatal E. coli outbreak earlier this year.

The world’s largest food maker said the site, located in Caudry in northern France, could see output resume in November, subject to the approval of local officials.

France’s national public health agency, Santé Publique France, made its first statement on rising cases of haemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) or Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) on 25 February.

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Posted in Decontamination Microbial, food bourne outbreak, Food Illness, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Foodborne Illness, Foodborne Illness Death, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Illness, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, outbreak, Research, STEC, STEC E.coli

New Zealand strengthens tahini controls after outbreak

Posted on September 21, 2022 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety News

Authorities in New Zealand have tightened the import rules around tahini and halva from Syria following a recall and outbreak.

An outbreak of Salmonella Kintambo earlier this year involved three patients who had consumed sesame-based products from Syria. Two people were hospitalized. Sequencing of clinical isolates showed cases were closely genetically related and had the same sequence type as in an ongoing European outbreak linked to the same type of products.

In July, Middle East recalled specific batches of Algota brand Sesame Tahini because of the possible presence of Salmonella.

New Zealand Food Safety testing of tahini and halva products found Salmonella Kintambo, Salmonella Amsterdam and Salmonella Orion.

The agency has amended the sampling plan for such high risk products. Changes mean all consignments of crushed sesame seed products, such as tahini and halva, must be sampled and tested for Salmonella, when exported from Syria or if they originate from the country.

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Posted in Decontamination Microbial, food bourne outbreak, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Safety Management, food safety training, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, outbreak, Salmonella, Salmonella Sesame Seeds