Category Archives: Food Poisoning

10% Retail Raw Poultry Packaging Contaminated by Campylobacter

Posted on December 14, 2011 by | Leave a comment

A report on the results of a survey on the contamination of raw poultry packaging was published by the Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland (REHIS) on 9 December. The report discovered that about 10% of samples were found to be contaminated with Campylobacter on the external packaging. It is for this reason that consumers are advised to make sure they keep raw poultry separate from ready-to-eat food at purchase, in storage and during preparation. Consumers should carry raw poultry home in separate bags and should store raw poultry at the bottom of their refrigerator away from ready-to-eat foods. During preparation they should wash hands thoroughly after handling raw poultry or other raw foods, and take all steps to avoid cross contamination through utensils or surfaces including cleaning and disinfecting food contact surfaces which are used to prepare raw poultry. Consumers should always cook food thoroughly to kill any bacteria that may be present.

REHIS REPORT

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

2011 Clostridium botulinum Editorial – John Cowden HPS

Posted on December 14, 2011 by | Leave a comment

Editorial Link

Short paper on recent Clostridium botulinum outbreaks in 2011 in Europe.

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Posted in Clostridium botulinum, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Poisoning, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Microbiology, outbreak, Recall

Eurosurveillance Report – Korma Sauce – Botulinum 2011

Posted on December 14, 2011 by | Leave a comment

Report Link

HPS Link

An investigation is currently underway to explain an outbreak of food-borne botulism in Scotland. Three children in the same family were confirmed as having botulism following consumption of a meal made with a jar of korma sauce. Residual sauce from the jar, the jar lid and a remnant of the meal, all tested positive for Clostridium botulinum type A toxin. The children are recovering, although two remain ventilated and in intensive care unit.

Comment centres, in particular, on the fact that all three arose from consumption of widely distributed, commercially produced foods while the number of cases in all three was surprisingly low were a production fault assumed to have been the source of contamination. In the Scottish outbreak, indeed, the food originated from a state-of-the-art food-production facility where intensive investigation has yet to find any shortcomings, and no post-production event has been identified which could explain the contamination.

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Posted in Clostridium botulinum, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Poisoning, Food Testing, Microbiology, outbreak

Make Raw Cookie Dough – RTE – E.coli Fears

Posted on December 14, 2011 by | Leave a comment

An article in Bakery and Snacks has reported on pressure being put onto manufacturers to make raw cookie dough into a ready to eat (RTE) product. This is in response to a study that an E.coli O157 outbreak in 2009 was linked to raw cookie dough. There were over 70 cases and 11 developed Haemolytic Uremic Syndrome fortunately nobody died.

Food Info Sheet on the Outbreak

FDA Report

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Posted in E.coli, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Poisoning, Food Testing, Microbiology

CFIA – VP Smoked Fish – Botulinum Warning

Posted on December 13, 2011 by | Leave a comment

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Bos Smoked Fish Inc. are warning the public not to consume certain Bos brand refrigerated vacuum packed smoked fish products without Best Before dates, described below, because the products may be contaminated with Clostridium botulinum.

All Bos brand smoked vacuum packed fish products, sold refrigerated in various weight packages without a Best Before Date, are affected by the alert. This includes all species and flavours of the Bos brand smoked vacuum packed fish products with “Keep Refrigerated” on the package.

These products have been distributed in Ontario.

There have been no reported illnesses associated with the consumption of these products

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Posted in Clostridium botulinum, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Poisoning, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Microbiology, Recall

Premier Foods – Botulinum Scare – No Closer to Being Solved.

Posted on December 12, 2011 by | Leave a comment

An article in Food Production Daily has reported that the FSA are no nearer solving the Botulinum scare in Premier Foods, Loyd Grossman Korma Curry sauce. Investigations are still ongoing.

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Posted in Clostridium botulinum, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Hygiene, Food Poisoning, Food Testing, Microbiology, outbreak, Recall

CFIA – Product Recall – Herring Fillets – Botulinum

Posted on December 11, 2011 by | Leave a comment

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Bos Fish are warning the public not to consume certain Bos brand Herring Fillets described below because the product may be contaminated with Clostridium botulinum. Toxins produced by this bacteria may cause botulism, a life-threatening illness.

The affected product, Bos brand “Naturally Smoked Herring Fillets – Natural”, was sold refrigerated in various weight packages from Ramaker’s Imports, St. Catharines, ON without a Best Before Date applied to the package. The affected product was sold by Ramaker’s Imports from September 2011 to December 7, 2011.

Consumers who have purchased refrigerated Bos brand “Naturally Smoked Herring Fillets – Natural” from any other retailer without a Best Before Date on the package are also advised not to consume the product.

There have been no reported illnesses associated with the consumption of this product.

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Posted in Clostridium botulinum, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Illness, Food Poisoning, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Microbiology, Recall

CFIA – Listeria – Product Recalls – Mushroom and Salads

Posted on December 11, 2011 by | Leave a comment

I am not sure if Canada has got the same zero tolerance to Listeria monocytogenes that the US has, but there seems to have been a lot of product recalls based on Listeria monocytogenes where there has been no illness from the organism. This may be  the future if Europe ever go the way of zero tolerance.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Greenwood Mushroom Farm are warning the public not to consume the sliced mushrooms described below because the product may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.These products have been distributed in Ontario.There have been no reported illnesses associated with the consumption of these products

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Aliments Fontaine Santé Inc. are warning the public and retailers not to sell, use or consume the Fontaine Santé brand salads described below because the products may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.These products have been distributed in Quebec and Ontario and may also have been distributed nationally.There have been no reported illnesses associated with the consumption of these products.

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Posted in Eurofins Laboratories, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Poisoning, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Microbiology, Recall

Human Cells Build Protein Cages to Trap Invading Shigella

Posted on December 10, 2011 by | Leave a comment

Science Daily

In research on the never-ending war between pathogen and host, scientists at the Pasteur Institute in Paris have discovered a novel defensive weapon, a cytoskeletal protein called septin, that humans cells deploy to cage the invading Shigella bacteria that cause potentially fatal human diarrhea, according to a presentation on Dec. 5, at the American Society for Cell Biology Annual Meeting in Denver.

Pascale Cossart, Ph.D., and Serge Mostowy, Ph.D., reported that the septin cages not only targeted the pathogens for degradation by autophagy, the cell’s internal garbage disposal system, but also prevented the Shigella bacteria from spreading to other cells by impeding the pathogens’ access to actin, a different component of the cell skeleton.

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Posted in Food Illness, Food Poisoning, Food Testing, Microbiology, Shigella

US – North Carolina – Cooked Chicken Breast – Listeria

Posted on December 10, 2011 by | Leave a comment

House of Raeford Farms, a Raeford, N.C. establishment, is recalling approximately 4,140 pounds of cooked chicken breasts that may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.
The problem was discovered after a customer’s laboratory sample tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes. FSIS has received no reports of illness due to consumption of these products. Anyone concerned about an illness should contact a health care provider.

USDA

 

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Posted in Eurofins Laboratories, Food Illness, Food Poisoning, Food Testing, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Microbiology