Category Archives: Food Microbiology Research

France – Chicken nuggets – Listeria monocytogenes

Gov france

Identification information of the recalled product

  • Product category Feed
  • Product subcategory Meats
  • Product brand name MASTER COCK
  • Model names or references1kg tray
  • Identification of products
    GTIN Batch Date
    3230890027529 2P22201 Use-by date 08/12/2022
  • Packaging plastic tray
  • Marketing start/end date From 07/22/2022 to 07/27/2022
  • Storage temperature Product to be stored in the refrigerator
  • Health mark EN 85.233.001 EC
  • Geographic area of ​​sale Whole France
  • Distributors Carrefour, Casino, Auchan, Provera, System U, Leclerc, Intermarché

Practical information regarding the recall

  • Reason for recall Listeria detection
  • Risks incurred by the consumer Listeria monocytogenes (causative agent of listeriosis)

Belgium – Belgium reports large rise in foodborne illness outbreaks in 2021

Food Safety News

An additional 200 outbreaks were recorded in Belgium in 2021 versus the year before, according to the Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain (FASFC).

There was a significant increase in the number of food poisoning outbreaks from 333 in 2020 to 547 in 2021. The number of people affected in them went from 1,262 with 27 hospitalizations and two deaths to 2,070 sick, 78 hospitalizations but no deaths in 2021.

FASFC, also known as AFSCA and FAVV, said it was important to remember 2020 was an exceptional year because of the closure of many food businesses caused by COVID-19 related restrictions.

Figures for the past year are still slightly lower than 2019, when 571 outbreaks were recorded and 2,457 people were affected.

The agent was unknown in 512 outbreaks with almost 1,700 illnesses in 2021, according to data from Sciensano, the national public health institute.

Read more at the link above.

USA – Outbreak Investigation of Salmonella: Peanut Butter (May 2022) – Outbreak Over

FDA

FDA’s investigation is complete; CDC declares outbreak over; additional information forthcoming

The FDA, along with CDC and state and local partners, investigated a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Senftenberg infections linked to certain Jif brand peanut butter products produced at the J.M. Smucker Company facility in Lexington, Kentucky.

J.M. Smucker Company voluntarily recalled certain Jif brand peanut butter products that have the lot codes described below. Photo examples are included below.

The FDA is preparing a report to discuss findings and provide information to assist in future prevention efforts.

Recommendation

The affected recalled products should no longer be available for sale. However, the product has a long shelf life and could still be in consumers’ homes. Consumers, restaurants, and retailers should not eat, sell, or serve any recalled Jif brand peanut butter, including recalled products that contain the recalled Jif peanut butter. Consumers should also avoid feeding recalled peanut butter to pets or other animals, including wild birds.

For Consumers

Follow these steps:

  1. Check if you have Jif peanut butter in your home.
  2. Locate the lot code on the back of the jar, under the Best If Used By Date (the lot code may be next to the Best If Used By Date for cups or squeeze pouches).
  3. In the lot code, if the first four digits are between 1274 and 2140, and if the next three numbers after that are ‘425’, this product has been recalled and you should not consume this product. An example is below.

If you are unsure what to do with your recalled product, you can call or email J.M. Smucker Company for more information:

The J.M. Smucker Co. Hotline: 800-828-9980
Website: jif.com/contact-usExternal Link Disclaimer

FDA recommends that if you have used the recalled Jif brand peanut butter that have lot code numbers 1274425 through 2140425 and the first seven digits end with 425, you should wash and sanitize surfaces and utensils that could have touched the peanut butter. If you or someone in your household ate this peanut butter and have symptoms of salmonellosis, please contact your healthcare provider.

For Retailers, Re-packers, and Manufacturers

In addition to the steps above, FDA recommends referring to the firm’s recall press for the UPC codes and other retailer information. Do not sell or serve recalled peanut butter or products containing recalled peanut butter.

Canada – Canada sets regulations for some romaine grown in certain parts of California

Food Safety News

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has announced the fall 2022 import requirements for U.S. romaine lettuce with special requirements for certain lettuce produced in California’s Salinas Valley.

Whole-head romaine lettuce and products containing romaine lettuce such as bagged salads that were produced in the four Salinas Valley counties of Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, San Benito, and Monterey must “submit an attestation form and Certificates of Analysis for each shipment to demonstrate that the romaine lettuce does not contain detectable levels of E. coli O157:H7,” according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).

Denmark – Denmark searches for source of Salmonella outbreak

Food Safety News

kswfoodworld salmonella

Danish officials are trying to find the source of a Salmonella outbreak that has affected 16 people.

The sick people have been infected with the same type of Salmonella Enteritidis, according to the Statens Serum Institut (SSI).

Patients fell ill between March 31 and June 23. They are 11 men and five women between the ages of 8 to 59 years old with a median of 28.

USA – FDA Is Focusing on Safety of Frozen Berries

Food Safety Tech

From 1983 to 2018, there were 50 outbreaks globally that were attributed to frozen berries: 36 caused by Norovirus and 14 by Hepatitis A.

On July 22, the FDA announced that it is developing a food safety prevention strategy to enhance the safety of fresh and frozen berries. The move comes in response to multiple hepatitis A (HAV) and norovirus (NoV) outbreaks linked to the consumption of both fresh and frozen berries.

The FDA reports that there have been four HAV outbreaks and three NoV outbreaks linked to frozen berries from 1990 to 2016 in the U.S., and since 2011, there have been three HAV outbreaks linked to fresh berries, including a current outbreak linked to fresh organic strawberries.

In addition, from 1983 to 2018, there were 50 outbreaks globally that were attributed to frozen berries: 36 caused by NoV and 14 by HAV. The FDA noted that although freezing preserves berries it generally does not inactivate viruses that may be introduced at various points in the supply chain, such as by infected workers, contaminated water or contaminated food contact surfaces. In addition, fresh berries are generally eaten raw without a kill-step that could eliminate pathogens.

In August, the FDA plans to resume an assignment to collect and test frozen berries that it paused at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The assignment seeks to estimate the prevalence of HAV and NoV in frozen strawberries, raspberries and blackberries and help the FDA identify sites where practices or conditions may exist that constitute safety vulnerabilities.

The FDA also plans to work collaboratively with industry, academia and regulatory partners in the development of a food safety prevention strategy to identify measures that can be taken to limit or prevent contamination from occurring throughout the berry supply chain, approaches to re-enforce control measures and their application as well as areas where additional research is needed.

France – French E. coli outbreak linked to dairy

Food Safety News

At least a dozen children have been sickened in France with officials linking illnesses to a dairy company.

Since early June, 12 cases of haemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) have been reported in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur and Occitanie regions. HUS is a severe complication associated with E. coli infection that causes kidney failure and sometimes death.

Seven boys and five girls aged 11 months to 9 years old are sick. They fell ill from June 4 to July 18.

In France, Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) surveillance is only based on HUS in children younger than 15, so it only catches the most severe cases.

Santé publique France, the Directorate General for Food (DGAL) and Directorate General for Health (DGS) are part of the investigation.

USA – FDA Shares Updates on Cyclospora Action Plan

Food Safety Magazine

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently updated its constituents about the agency’s ongoing Cyclospora cayetanensis prevention and research efforts. In 2021, FDA released its “Cyclospora Prevention, Response and Research Action Plan.” The action plan was developed by the agency’s Cyclospora Task Force and details FDA’s strategy for reducing the public health burden of foodborne cyclosporiasis in the U.S. It also defines the agency’s priorities for Cyclospora food safety research and supports ongoing efforts to combat foodborne illness in alignment with FDA’s New Era of Smarter Food Safety initiative.

Since releasing the Cyclospora action plan, FDA has made progress on several goals. The agency’s activities related to the Cyclospora action plan include:

  • Collaboration with the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods to develop a charge document that will inform FDA’s prioritization of Cyclospora research and propose novel food safety research projects in collaboration with stakeholders
  • Implementation of a genotyping approach for Cyclospora in environmental and food samples based on the same method published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
  • Implementation of a distance learning plan and a series of Cyclospora methodology training webinars on the “Bacteriological Analytical Manual (BAM) Chapter 19b – Detection of C. cayetanensis in Fresh Produce” using a real-time PCR-analytical method in Spanish for regulatory lab personnel at food safety authorities in Mexico through the FDA-SENASICA-Cofepris Food Safety Partnership
  • Collaborated with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to publish an article in Food Safety Magazine summarizing the data on all cyclosporiasis outbreaks from 2013 to 2020
  • Delivered eight webinars directed to the fresh produce industry, regulators, and other stakeholders for Cyclospora outreach and educational purposes
  • Completed a microbial survey of fresh herbs that included over 800 samples tested for C. cayetanensis.

Research – Incidents remain stable for international food safety network

Food Safety News

The number of food safety incidents involving an international network has stayed almost the same in the second quarter of 2022.

The International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN) was part of 46 alerts from April through June this year compared to 47 in the first quarter of 2022.

A total of 22 incidents involved a biological hazard with Listeria monocytogenes behind eight and Salmonella causing seven. Norovirus was responsible for three and hepatitis A for one. The hazard has not yet been identified in two cases.

Seventeen alerts were because of an undeclared allergen or ingredient such as milk, shellfish, peanuts, almonds, egg, gluten, hazelnuts, mustard, sesame or soy.

Five were because of a chemical hazard such as aflatoxin, chlorpyriphos, histamine and alkaloids and two involved a physical hazard; one for metal and one for plastic.

India – Karnataka: 40 students fall sick after eating midday meal

India Express

Forty students of Government Higher Primary School in Gollarahatti, in Chitradurga district, fell sick and 26 of them had to be hospitalised after eating the midday meal served at the school on Thursday afternoon.

Doddappa MC, headmaster of the school, said, “On Thursday afternoon I received calls from villagers and teachers who complained that students are falling unconscious and are vomiting. By the time I reached the school, some students had been admitted to the hospital. However, all students are okay.”

He added that food samples have been sent to the laboratory to ascertain if it was a case of food poisoning.