As many as 18 madrassa students in Islamabad were hospitalised after eating stale food for breakfast.
The students have been admitted at the PIMS Hospital.
KSWFoodWorld
Category Archives: Food Poisoning
Canada – E. coli outbreak: 22 cases in three provinces
The Public Health Agency of Canada is collaborating with provincial public health partners, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Health Canada, as well as the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S. CDC) and the United States Food and Drug Administration (U.S. FDA), to investigate an outbreak of E. coli infections in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and several U.S. states.
In Canada, based on the investigation findings to date, exposure to romaine lettuce has been identified as a source of the outbreak, but the cause of contamination has not been identified.
The current outbreak appears to be ongoing as illnesses linked to romaine lettuce continue to be reported. These recent illnesses indicate that contaminated romaine lettuce may still be on the market, including in restaurants, grocery stores and any establishments that serve food. At this time, the investigation evidence in Ontario, Quebec, and New Brunswick suggests that there is a risk of E. coli infections associated with eating romaine lettuce.
Singapore – NEA suspends TungLok Catering at Singapore Expo indefinitely after 190 people fell ill eating catered bento boxes
The catering arm of restaurant group TungLok had its licence at the Max Atria at Singapore Expo suspended on Friday, Nov. 23.
This was after hundreds of cases of gastroenteritis has been traced to the consumption of food from TungLok Catering at 1 Expo Drive.
Investigation underway
The National Environment Agency (NEA) is working with the Ministry of Health (MOH) and Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) to investigate the cases.
NEA said the suspension of TungLok Catering’s licence will be until further notice.
A total of 190 people had reported symptoms of gastroenteritis as of Friday. None has been hospitalised.
Gastroenteritis is an intestinal condition. Symptoms including vomiting and diarrhoea.
It can be caused by a virus or a bacterial infection.
Research – Dos and don’ts when recovering from food poisoning
SINGAPORE – The last thing you want to do when you are recovering from food poisoning is to further upset your stomach by eating the wrong food. However, there isn’t a strict list of items to avoid, as it is hard to get conclusive evidence on what would benefit every patient. Many doctors would advise you on what to eat based on their own experience, said Dr Goh E Shaun, a specialist in emergency medicine and consultant at Raffles 24 Hour Emergency at Raffles Hospital. In general, doctors advise you to drink plenty of fluids and consume bland foods.
See the above link for the full text.
Research – Dodging antibiotic resistance by curbing bacterial evolution
Lowering mutation rates in harmful bacteria might be an as yet untried way to hinder the emergence of antimicrobial pathogens. One target for drug development might be a protein factor, DNA translocase Mfd, that enables bacteria to evolve rapidly by promoting mutations in many different bacterial species. This action speeds antibiotic resistance, including multi-drug resistance. Working on drugs to block Mfd and similar factors could be a revolutionary strategy to address the worldwide crisis of treatment-resistant infectious diseases
Research – Resistant bacteria: Can raw vegetables and salad pose a health risk?
Salad is popular with people who want to maintain a balanced and healthy diet. Salad varieties are often offered for sale ready-cut and film-packaged. It is known that these types of fresh produce may be contaminated with bacteria that are relevant from the point of view of hygiene. A working group led by Professor Dr. Kornelia Smalla from the Julius Kühn Institute (JKI) has now shown that these bacteria may also include bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics.
“We have to get to the bottom of these findings,” said Professor Dr Georg Backhaus, President of the Julius Kühn Institute. Antimicrobial-resistant bacteria are known to occur in manure, sewage sludge, soil and bodies of water. “This worrying detection of these kinds of bacteria on plants is in line with similar findings for other foods,” adds Professor Dr Dr Andreas Hensel, President of the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR). “We are now assessing as a matter of urgency what this finding means with regard to the health risk for consumers.”
RASFF Alerts – Aflatoxin – Shelled Almonds – Apricot Kernels – Hazelnuts – Groundnuts – Figs- Dried Figs – Pistachios
RASFF-aflatoxins (B1 = 11.43; Tot. = 13.48 µg/kg – ppb) in shelled almonds from the United States in Italy
RASFF-aflatoxins (B1 = 27; Tot. = 31 µg/kg – ppb) in apricot kernels from Turkey in the Netherlands
RASFF-aflatoxins (B1 = 76; Tot. = 81 µg/kg – ppb) in hazelnuts from Turkey, with raw material from the Netherlands, packaged in Slovenia in Slovenia
RASFF– aflatoxins (B1 = 30; Tot. = 33,2 µg/kg – ppb) in groundnut kernels from the United States in Spain
RASFF -aflatoxins (B1 = 13.7 µg/kg – ppb) in figs from Turkey in Denmark
RASFF-aflatoxins (B1 = 9.4 µg/kg – ppb) in pistachio kernels from Turkey in Greece
RASFF-aflatoxins (B1 = 63; Tot. = 73 µg/kg – ppb) in dried figs from Turkey in France
RASFF-aflatoxins (B1 = 19.8; Tot. = 30 µg/kg – ppb) in dried figs from Turkey in France
RASFF Alert – STEC E.coli – Chilled Lamb Meat
RASFF-enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (stx2- /25g) in chilled lamb meat from the United Kingdom in the Netherlands
RASFF Alert – Mycotoxin – Ergot – Whole Meal Rye Flour
RASFF-rye ergot (Claviceps purpurea) (617 µg/kg – ppb rye alkaloids) in whole meal rye flour from Belgium in Belgium
RASFF Alert – Marine Biotoxin – Live Scallops
RASFF-live scallops from the United Kingdom not tested for marine biotoxins in the UK
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