Category Archives: Food Safety

USA – U.S., dozens of countries received cheese that was recalled for Listeria risk

Posted on April 23, 2019 | Leave a comment

The United States is one of more than 30 countries that received cheese from France potentially contaminated with Listeria.

Listeria monocytogenes was detected in Coulommiers, a type of cheese, from France. The product was part of a mass recall of raw and pasteurized cheese made by Fromagère de la Brie.

Santé publique France, the public health agency, identified two cases of listeriosisin women who consumed cheese made by Fromagère de la Brie at its site of St Siméon, a village in Île-de-France.

A U.S. Food and Drug Administration spokeswoman confirmed to Food Safety News that the country had received some of the cheese.

“The FDA is aware of the issue and we are investigating with the cooperation of the firm’s U.S. agent. We are not aware of any illnesses at this time. The cheeses exported to the U.S. are “Explorateur” and sold in three different sizes – 1 kilogram, 250 gram and 125 gram.”

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Posted in food contamination, Food Hygiene, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Pathogen, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Uncategorized

Research – More severe salmonella outbreaks ahead

Posted on April 23, 2019 | Leave a comment

Science Daily Salmonella kswfoodworld

Australia has more salmonella outbreaks than any other country in the world, with the number of cases doubling over the last decade.

Over the past month alone, there have been numerous reports of the salmonella pathogen infecting eggs, leading to vast recalls of products and sparking calls from experts for more stringent hygiene practices.

In a study published in Scientific Reports, University of Sydney researchers developed a model that can predict outbreaks several months in advance.

While this prediction can provide early warning signs for disease surveillance and enable a more timely and precise allocation of health resources, the team discovered future salmonella outbreaks are likely to become more severe.

Led by the Director of Complex Systems Research Group Professor Mikhail Prokopenko, the team used 2008-2016 strain data to demonstrate that genetic networks of salmonella pathogens are linked through just a few degrees of separation, indicating an increasing severity of future epidemics.

“The data on salmonella outbreaks in NSW in the last decade or so highlights a continuing “arms race” between pathogens and their human hosts,” explained Professor Prokopenko.

“In a classical Darwinian evolution scenario, the pathogens spread over time by initially creating many mutated variants, with the more infectious “clones” soon becoming the most dominant within their own population,” he explained.