Category Archives: Food Microbiology Research

Norway – The Norwegian Zoonoses Report 2020

Posted on January 10, 2022 by | Leave a comment

Summary

The occurrence of most zoonotic pathogens in animals was stable in 2020 compared to previous years. The occurrence in humans, however, decreased in 2020 due to the COVID-19 situation. The decrease was highest in campylobacteriosis, salmonellosis and E. coli (EHEC/VTEC) infections, mainly due to less travel associated cases. Introduction The Zoonosis Report is published annually in Norway in accordance with the requirements of the EU Council Directive 2003/99/EC. In addition, data on specified zoonoses in feed, animals and food are reported to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Corresponding data from humans are reported to the European Center for Disease Control (ECDC).

These two European institutions compile an annual European zoonosis report based on the received data: https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/pub/6971The Norwegian Veterinary Institute (NVI) is responsible for reporting of Norwegian data to EFSA, while the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH) reports Norwegian data to ECDC. The Zoonosis Report is written by the NVI in collaboration with the Norwegian Food Safety Authority (NFSA) and NIPH.

Click to access 2021_63%20Zoonoserapporten%202020.pdf

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Posted in Campylobacter, Decontamination Microbial, EFSA, EHEC, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Salmonella, salmonellosis, STEC, STEC E.coli, VTEC, Zoonosis

USA – One death confirmed, another under investigation in Pennsylvania hepatitis A outbreak; officials name restaurant

Posted on January 10, 2022 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety News

The Montgomery County Office of Public Health in Pennsylvania announced today the temporary closure of Gino’s Ristorante & Pizzeria in West Norriton in relation to a deadly hepatitis A virus outbreak.

County officials say the restaurant will be closed until further notice while the investigation continues.

Authorities believe the outbreak began in late November, and current data suggests that the outbreak “no longer presents a risk.” However, officials are continuing to look into the situation.

Per standard public health protocols, the county health department coordinated with the Pennsylvania Department of Health to issue a health advisory on Wednesday, but the restaurant was not named at that time. The county continues to receive additional information to support its investigation and identify additional potential cases.

Investigation conducted to date suggests the exposure occurred in late November and no longer presents a risk. However, additional investigation into probable cases resulting from the health advisory associated with this outbreak are underway.

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Posted in Death, food death, Food Illness, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Virus, Food Virus Death, Foodborne Illness, Hepatitis A, Illness, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Virus, Virus Vaccination

Research – Scientists invent biodegradable bacteria-killing packaging

Posted on January 10, 2022 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety News

Scientists from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Nanyang Technological University Singapore have developed a biodegradable food packaging material that kills harmful microbes and could extend the shelf-life of fresh fruit by two to three days.

Having an antibacterial and biodegradable alternative for food packaging could be hugely beneficial for waste reductions and food safety. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, containers and packaging make up a major portion of municipal solid waste, amounting to 82.2 million tons of generation in 2018. Packaging is defined as the products used to wrap or protect goods, including food, beverages, medications and cosmetic products.

The new packaging is intended for food items such as raw meat, fish, fruit, vegetables and ready-to-eat meals. Professor Mary Chan, the director of NTU’s Centre for Antimicrobial Bioengineering who co-led the project, says the team’s aim is to replace conventional plastic packaging with the new material that will also double the shelf life of produce.

“Vegetables are a source of wastage because even if they are refrigerated, they will continue to respire, leading to spoilage after a week or two. With the antimicrobial packaging, there is a chance to extend their shelf life. . . and also make the vegetables and fruits look fresh with time,” she said.

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Posted in Active Packagin, Antibacterial, Decontamination Microbial, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Research

CPS – Funded Projects 2022 – Produce Cross Contamination in Dry Environments

Posted on January 9, 2022 by | Leave a comment

CPS

Cross-contamination risks in dry environments

Cross-contamination of fresh produce is a significant risk factor that can contaminate multiple batches of fresh produce and can result in a food safety outbreak. With extensive research, we have developed understanding of the risk factors that promote cross-contamination of fresh produce during wet handling and processing as well as developed tools and technologies to reduce these risk factors. However, there is a lack of knowledge of the risk factors for cross-contamination of fresh produce in a dry environment as well as technologies and tools to reduce these risks. This proposed research plan is aimed at: (a) addressing key gaps in knowledge for managing cross-contamination risks including identification of surface and surface conditions that promote transfer of microbes from a contaminated surface to fresh produce; (b) developing a quantitative risk model to evaluate cross-contamination risks for diverse food contact surfaces and (c) development and validation of novel sanitation technology using food grade light activated antimicrobials. Thus, this comprehensive research approach addresses gaps in knowledge and develop tools and technologies to reduce food safety risks. In addition, development of a novel sanitation technology will address key gaps in sanitation of dry environments for both organic compliant and conventional fresh produce industries.

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Posted in bacterial contamination, cross contamination, Decontamination Microbial, food contamination, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Research

CPS – Funded Projects 2022 – Survival of Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella on Surfaces

Posted on January 9, 2022 by | Leave a comment

CPS

Survival of Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella on surfaces found in the dry packinghouse environment and effectiveness of dry-cleaning processes on pathogen reduction

Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes are important foodborne pathogen involved in foodborne outbreaks linked to the consumption of produce and fresh fruits. Contamination of fresh produce is problematic since these products are usually consumed without heating. To avoid contamination events, the packing industry must rely on rigorous sanitation practices including in the dry areas of the packinghouse. This study proposes to develop informational tools regarding the die off rates of the pathogens exposed to matric stress. Experiments will reassemble packinghouse conditions. Dried planktonic cells and dried biofilms formed by the packing house microbiota and L. monocytogenes or Salmonella will simulate packing industry surfaces and environmental conditions. Experiments will investigate the conditions that favor transition of the planktonic cells present on surfaces to form attached embedded communities or biofilms, and formation of VBNC cells. Inactivation studies will provide data for best practices regarding dry cleaning/sanitation methodology in the packing house and elimination of the foodborne pathogens. These findings will be validated for practical use in the packing house, in a large pilot plant study to reduce the load of microorganisms on equipment and produce. Results from this study will provide improved pathogen control in addition to basic good agricultural practices.

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Posted in Decontamination Microbial, 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, Research, Salmonella

CPS – Research project Funding 2022 – Salads

Posted on January 9, 2022 by | Leave a comment

CPS

Assessing Romaine lettuce “Forward Processing” for potential impacts on EHEC growth, antimicrobial susceptibility, and infectivity

Consumption of Romaine lettuce has been linked to multiple foodborne illness outbreaks due to contamination of pathogenic Escherichia coli strains. Recently, these outbreaks have occurred in the United States every year since 2016, causing great damage to consumer health and economic wellbeing of the fresh produce industry. The pathogen strains isolated from these outbreaks showed great similarity by genomic analyses. These outbreaks showed a pattern of heavy concentration especially in northeastern USA, prompting questions from the leafy green industry that the practice of “forward processing” could be linked to the outbreaks. “Forward processing” is a practice that the raw lettuce commodity is transported in trucks to facilities far away from the production area for washing and packaging, and regional marketing. We propose to work closely with the leafy green industry to comprehensively assess the forward processing for its effects on the integrity and safety of the raw commodity and the packaged products. In addition, the forward processing conditions will be simulated in the laboratory with the pathogenic E. coli strains. Emphases will be on how these conditions would affect the physiology of the pathogenic strains as well as other microorganisms on the raw commodity and packaged products. The findings in the research could provide important information that can be used by the leafy green industry for improving the forward processing practice and reducing the risks of fresh produce such as Romaine lettuce.

CPS

Quantifying risk associated with changes in EHEC physiology during post-harvest pre-processing stages of leafy green production

The goal of this project is to determine if the time between harvest and end use of romaine lettuce impacts E. coli O157:H7 pathogenicity and detectability resulting in increased health risk. Laboratory scale experiments with inoculated lettuce undergoing simulated harvest and cooling will be used to measure changes in E. coli O157:H7 stress tolerance and virulence. Input from industry partners including temperature data from commercial romaine harvesting and cooling, and details on supply chain logistics, will be combined with the laboratory scale experimental data and used to model risk associated with specific harvest and handling practices. The resulting quantitative tool will be publicly available and allow for growers and producers to determine any practices that should be implemented to reduce the potential for O157 transmission on romaine lettuce.

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Posted in Decontamination Microbial, E.coli, E.coli O157, E.coli O157:H7, EHEC, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, STEC, STEC E.coli

Research – Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on human Salmonellosis in the Netherlands

Posted on January 8, 2022 by | Leave a comment

Cambridge Org

The public health measures implemented to control coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) may influence also other infectious diseases. Using national laboratory surveillance data, we assessed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on human salmonellosis in the Netherlands until March 2021. Salmonellosis incidence decreased significantly after March 2020: in the second, third and fourth quarters of 2020, and in the first quarter of 2021, the incidence decreased by 55%, 57%, 47% and 37%, respectively, compared to the same quarters of 2016–2019. The decrease was strongest among travel-related cases (94%, 84%, 79% and 93% in the aforementioned quarters, respectively). Other significant changes were: increased proportion of cases among older adults and increased proportion of invasive infections, decreased proportion of trimethoprim resistance and increased proportion of serovar Typhimurium monophasic variant vs. Enteritidis. This led to decreased contributions of laying hens and increased contributions of pigs and cattle as sources of human infections. The observed changes probably reflect a combination of reduced exposure to Salmonella due to restrictions on international travels and gatherings, closure of dine-in restaurants, catering and hospitality sectors at large and changes in healthcare-seeking and diagnostic behaviours.

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

CPS Funded Projects 2022 – Microbiology of Irrigation Water

Posted on January 8, 2022 by | Leave a comment

CPS

Microbial characterization of irrigation waters using rapid, inexpensive and portable next generation sequencing technologies

New microbial detection approaches utilizing whole genome sequencing are being increasingly applied for tracing microbial contaminants entering the food chain. The produce industry can directly benefit from powerful new methods such as shotgun metagenomics, which allows for the rapid identification of all the bacterial, viral, fungal, and protozoan pathogens in irrigation water, soil, or food samples in a single test. Furthermore, whole genome sequencing technologies are quickly becoming less expensive, and compact sequencing technologies like the Oxford Nanopore MinION device could potentially allow testing directly on-site in produce fields or other processing facilities for food safety surveillance programs. However, the application of these new whole genome sequencing technologies and approaches need to be verified and validated for use by the produce industry. The goal of this project is to investigate two technologies that offer slightly different approaches for pathogen detection, to identify the benefits and limitations of each, verify the results, and validate their applications by the produce industry for use in rapid pathogen detection in agricultural waters. The results of this study will provide recommendations, protocols and guidelines to the produce industry regarding the proper implementation of these technologies for pathogen surveillance.

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Posted in Decontamination Microbial, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Technology, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Research, WGS, Whole Genomic Sequencing

CPS – Funded Projects 2022 –

Posted on January 8, 2022 by | Leave a comment

CPS

Towards a holistic assessment of the food-safety risks imposed by wild birds

Birds introduce complex food-safety risks, as they carry multiple pathogens, are difficult to exclude from farms, and regularly defecate on crops. Yet very few wild bird species have been studied, and those that have form a minority of farm bird communities. Moreover, existing studies stop at examining pathogen prevalence in birds and do not holistically assess foodsafety risk. For a species to pose a significant risk, it must carry pathogens, visit fields, defecate on crops, and produce feces that support pathogen survival. Here, we propose to first identify species that carry pathogenic E. coli, Salmonella, and Campylobacter by coupling existing studies with assays of field-collected feces. Second, we will survey birds and collect feces on 15-20 farms near rangeland, natural habitats, or produce farms to determine which species enter farms and defecate on crops and in which contexts. Third, we will compare E. coli survival between feces placed on different substrates (crops, organic/conventional soils, plastic mulch) and between feces from different species. Finally, we will compile holistic risk assessments for >50 species into a photographic guide to help growers identify and manage birds. Ultimately, we hope to help growers implement practices that bolster beneficial species without compromising food safety.

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Posted in Campylobacter, Campylobacter jejuni, 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, Research, Salmonella

CPS – Funded Research Projects 2022 – Cyclospora

Posted on January 8, 2022 by | Leave a comment

220px-Cyclospora_cayetanensis_stained

CPS

Cyclospora cayetanensis monitoring in agricultural water

The parasite Cyclospora Cayetanensis is producing illness in people consuming infected produce. Because this pathogen is in very low concentrations on actual produce, which makes it close to impossible to detect, and for prevention reasons, it is more effective to check for its presence in irrigation water, from where it is typically transferred on produce. However, even in water, this parasite is very difficult to detect. It only can be detected by lengthy molecular laboratory procedures such as PCR. One major problem for scientists to develop better and faster detection methods is the fact that there is no antibody or other recognition molecule that would be able to bind to the surface of this intact parasite.

We propose to design and synthesize, for the first time, aptamers, molecules that will be able to bind to intact Cyclospora Cayetanensis oocysts, and use them to design simple paper based colorimetric tests that can detect it in the field without the need of sample preparation or specialized laboratories. The paper based test will turn from pink to purple to indicate the water sample being tested is positive for this parasite, making this a very simple and easy to use detection method for Cyclospora Cayetanensis.

CPS

AFECCT: Assessing filtration efficacy for Cyclospora control

The reputation of growers and the health of consumers suffer when people contract foodborne illness from fresh produce contaminated with Cyclospora cayetanensis. Because filtration has been established as effective in concentrating parasites for environmental surveillance, we propose to establish how effectively filters remove such parasites from irrigation water. To achieve this, we will first conduct a series of filtration experiments using abundant parasites (of chickens) that pose no risk to the study team. We’ll then assess how well these filters reduce water contamination with Cyclospora. We will also determine whether any parasites surviving filtration are harmed in the process. We hope these findings will directly benefit growers seeking tools to mitigate risk, and hasten future research progress by validating a needed surrogate system for studying other interventions against this dangerous and enigmatic human parasite.

 

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Posted in Contaminated water, Cyclospora, Cyclosporiasis, Decontamination Microbial, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Parasite, Protozoan, Water, water microbiology, Water Safety