Category Archives: Food Poisoning

Australia Food Recall – Salad – Listeria monocytogenes

Posted on February 20, 2012 by | Leave a comment

NSW

S&B Gourmet Foods (Aust) Pty Ltd is recalling batches of their salad sold in NSW and VIC in IGA, Superbarn, and Thomas Dux supermarkets.

The batches are being recalled because of the presence of Listeria monocytogenes bacteria. This bacteria can cause illness especially in pregnant women, children under 5 years, people over 70 years and people with weakened immune systems.

The recalled product is:

  • Salad Servers Chickpeas with Roast Pumpkin Salad in 350g and 500g sealed plastic containers, with ‘use-by’ date 23/02/12

The recall only applies to the above batches of the product and date.

Consumers in the vulnerable groups above should take care to not eat the product.

Leave a comment

Posted in Eurofins Laboratories, Food Illness, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen

Tagged

US Raw Milk – Campylobacter

Posted on February 19, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Campylobacter Blog 

Your Family Cow Campylobacter Outbreak the number ill in the campylobacter outbreak has now reportedly risen to 77.

Food Poisoning Bulletin

The state of California is investigating Claravale Farm for the possibility that its raw milk was contaminated with Campylobacter. Last week, the dairy stopped distributing its products to the stores that sell it. Raw milk and raw milk products are legally available in California

Leave a comment

Posted in Campylobacter, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Hygiene, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen

More E. coli Research

Posted on February 17, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety News

In the wake of the devastating European E. coli outbreak linked to sprouts that killed at least 50 people and sickened more than 4,000, experts from the European Union and the United States are calling for new research on how to combat toxic strains of E. coli.
 
In November of 2011, 4 months after the outbreak ended, an international group of public health officials, medical professionals, epidemiologists, microbiologists and environmental scientists met to determine what lessons can be drawn from this epidemic. The results of this summit were released Thursday in Eurosurveillance. 
 
The group determined that more needs to be learned about shiga toxin-producing E. colis (STECs) such as E. coli O104:H4, the strain responsible for the European outbreak.

Leave a comment

Posted in E.coli, E.coli O104, E.coli O157, E.coli O26, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Illness, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Testing, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen

Tagged ,

US – Raw Milk Debate – Campylobacter

Posted on February 16, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety News

An additional five confirmed infections have brought the total number of Campylobacter illnesses to 76 in an outbreak linked to raw milk from Your Family Cow dairy in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Department of Health said Wednesday. At least 9 people have been hospitalized.

Food Safety News

The order of a federal judge has finally shut down Rainbow Acres Farm, the raw milk dairy located near Washington D.C. in Pennsylvania’s Amish County.

It ends a nasty confrontation between Dan and Rachel Allgyer, Amish dairy farmers with operations based in Pennsylvania where commercial sales of raw milk are legal, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which caught Rainbow making deliveries inside Maryland and the District of Columbia.
 
The heartland states of Iowa and Indiana are entertaining changes to their raw milk laws, but with far differing approaches.
 
In Iowa, which is bordered by Minnesota, Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska and South Dakota, lawmakers are considering allowing on-farm sales to make the state’s approach more consistent with its neighbors.

Leave a comment

Posted in Campylobacter, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen

Tagged

Water Associated Disease Outbreak Research

Posted on February 16, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Food Poisoning Bulletin 

Seventy-one percent of the world’s water-associated disease outbreaks reported between 1990 and 2008 were water-borne diseases caused by micro-organisms like E. coli that enter water through fecal contamination and cause infection when humans consume contaminated water.

Water-borne (including typhoid and cholera) — 70.9 percent.
Water-based, caused by parasites that spend part of their life in water — 2.9 percent.
Water-related (such as malaria), which need water for breeding of disease-carrying insects — 12.2 percent.
Water-washed, caused by poor hygiene because no clean water is available — 6.8 percent.
Water-dispersed, (such as Legionella), caused by infectious agents that thrive in water and enter the body through the respiratory tract — 7.3 percent.

Leave a comment

Posted in E.coli, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Illness, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Testing, Legionella, Microbiology, Water

Tagged , ,

US – Sprouting Seeds Again – E.coli O26

Posted on February 16, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Food Poisoning Bulletin

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has reported a multi-state outbreak of shiga-toxin producing E. coli 026 (STEC) infections linked to raw clover sprouts at Jimmy John’s restaurants.

So far, 12 people have been infected with the outbreak strain of STEC 026. The case distribution is:

  • Iowa (5)
  • Missouri (3)Kansas (2)
  • Arkansas (1)
  • Wisconsin (1)

Two people have been hospitalized, but no deaths have occurred as of February 15, 2012.

Leave a comment

Posted in E.coli, E.coli O26, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Illness, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen, Recall, Sprouting Seeds

FDA-Regulated Food Recalls Surged in Last Quarter 2011

Posted on February 15, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety News

Foods regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) were recalled 50 percent more in the fourth quarter last year and affected over 80 percent more units when compared with the previous period, according to the ExpertRECALL ™ Index.
 

Leave a comment

Posted in Clostridium botulinum, E.coli, E.coli O157, Eurofins Laboratories, FDA, Food Illness, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Testing, Listeria monocytogenes, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen, Salmonella

Tagged , , , ,

Hepatitis A – 2011 Two Outbreaks in Europe

Posted on February 15, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Eurosurveillence

In October 2011, two primary cases of hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection with identical HAV genotype IB strains to those seen in other outbreaks associated with semi-dried tomatoes were reported in England. Both cases had consumed semi-dried tomatoes. Epidemiological investigations revealed two additional cases of genotype IB strains with different sequences who also reported having consumed semi-dried tomatoes. In November, five cases of HAV infection with closely related strains were identified in the Netherlands. A foodborne multiple-strain outbreak is suspected.

Euroserveillance

In November 2011, a cluster of initially five cases of hepatitis A infection with closely related strains was identified in the Netherlands. England reported possibly related cases. Strains with identical sequences had been involved in previous outbreaks linked to semi-dried tomatoes. Investigation of the Dutch cluster suggested a link with ready-to-eat salads including those containing semi-dried tomatoes. Despite trace-back, a source was not identified. Vigilance is needed, and rapid sharing of data may help source-tracing.

Leave a comment

Posted in Eurofins Laboratories, Food Illness, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Testing, Food Virus, Hepatitis A, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen

Vaccine For Salmonella?

Posted on February 14, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety News

A vaccine against Salmonella may be one step closer, according to a research team led by a University of California, Davis immunologist.
 
In a study to be published this week in the early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers say they have paved the way toward an effective vaccine by identifying eight antigens — molecules in the invading bacteria that trigger an immune response — common in mice and human infections.
 
In working toward a vaccine, the UC Davis-led research team said it created an array, or collection, of 2,700 proteins — about 60 percent of all proteins produced by Salmonella bacteria. The researchers found that 117 of those proteins behaved as antigens when mixed with blood serum from Salmonella-infected mice, triggering an immune response to defend against the bacteria.

Leave a comment

Posted in Eurofins Laboratories, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Technology, Food Testing, Microbiology, Pathogen, Salmonella

Hot Water Bath for Washing Cantaloupes – Eliminates Pathogens

Posted on February 14, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety News

The 2011 outbreak of Listeria monocytogenesis in cantaloupe sparked a heightened level of interest in efforts to make cantaloupe safer, with fruit and produce trade associations developing safety guidelines and California cantaloupe growers pushing to set safety goals.
 
Bassam Annous, Ph.D., a microbiologist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, might just have the solution the cantaloupe industry seeks. Since 2005, Annous has been developing a cost-effective treatment to kill pathogens on cantaloupe rinds by submerging the melons in hot water. 

Leave a comment

Posted in Eurofins Laboratories, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Technology, Food Testing, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Microbiology, Pathogen