Category Archives: Foodborne Illness

Canada -Roast Beef Church Dinner – 205 Sick

Posted on May 6, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Canada

The Chief Public Health Office began investigating a potential gastrointestinal outbreak Monday after notification that several people became ill after consuming a roast beef dinner prepared by volunteers as part of a fundraiser for Princetown United Church on Saturday, April 28, 2012. The total number of cases of gastrointestinal illness has reached 205.

Information obtained by interviewing persons who purchased the meal indicates that the roast beef was the most likely source of the food-borne illness. Those who picked up their meal early in the afternoon were less likely to have become ill. Food testing is being conducted and it is expected to be several days before all results are known. If symptoms persist, it is advised to seek medical attention.

During the course of the investigation, it was determined that the roast beef was prepared at various sites including the homes of volunteers. This is contrary to the regulations for preparing meals for sale to the public. High-risk foods such as meat, poultry and fish must be cooked and prepared in a licenced facility.

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Posted in Bacteria, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Inspections, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen

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China – Food Safety Website Crashes

Posted on May 5, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Eastday

A POISONOUS food alert website, created by a local postgraduate student, crashed due to severe overload yesterday as visitors thronged the site to learn about food safety amid an unending stream of food scandals in China.

The website has a record of the latest 2,300 food problems in the country, with detailed reports and victim numbers. It maps different areas with different colors to show the degree of food problems.

The website went down at about 10am yesterday when tens of thousand of people visited it at the same time. The website was back online late last night, after it rented a new server to meet the huge demand.

You can try the website link but it is only in Chinese as far as I can see.

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Posted in Bacteria, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Foodborne Illness, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen, Recall

Canada – 24 Cases E.coli 0157 Source Unknown

Posted on May 5, 2012 by | Leave a comment

CBCNEWS

At least 24 people in New Brunswick are sick with symptoms of E. coli infection, including eight who are in hospital, but the source of the outbreak remains unclear.

“While laboratory testing continues, several cases have been confirmed as E. coli O157:H7, a severe strain that can sometimes cause serious illness.”

Authorities do have suspicions of the cause, based on some common food sources, he said. But he doesn’t want to say anything definite yet, he said.

“It is common products at this point that people have eaten. I don’t want to name one versus another one without any good evidence at this stage because it wouldn’t be good for people to, for example, stop eating any of a particular food, just because they might be afraid that they may become sick. We really don’t have good evidence.”

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has been involved in testing some food products.

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Posted in Bacteria, E.coli, E.coli O157, EHEC, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Poisoning, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen

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Use of Microbiological Indicators for Assessing Hygiene Controls for the Manufacture of Powdered Infant Formula

Posted on May 5, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Ingenta

Microbiological testing for various indicator microorganisms is used extensively as a means of verifying the effectiveness of efforts to ensure the microbiological quality and safety of a wide variety of foods. However, for each use of an indicator organism the underlying scientific assumptions related to the behaviour of the target microorganism, the characteristics of the food matrix, the details of the food manufacturing processes, environment, and distribution system, and the methodological basis for the assay must be evaluated to determine the validity, utility, and efficacy of potential microbiological indicator tests. The recent adoption by the Codex Alimentarius Commission of microbiological criteria for powdered infant formulae and related products provides an excellent example of an evidence-based approach for the establishment of consensus microbiological criteria. The present article reviews these criteria and those of various national governments in relation to emerging principles for the evidence-based establishment of effective indicator organisms.

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Posted in Bacteria, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Safety, Foodborne Illness, Microbiology, Pathogen, Research

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FDA Recall – Ready Meals – Uncooked Chicken Liver -Salmonella

Posted on May 4, 2012 by | Leave a comment

FDA

H-E-B has issued a voluntary and precautionary recall for certain Asian Ready-to-Eat meals due to the possibility of undercooked chicken in those meals.  There have been no confirmed illnesses reported related to this precautionary recall.   However, undercooked chicken has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis.

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Posted in Bacteria, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Microbiology, Pathogen, Salmonella

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USDA – New Traceback Policy for Ground Beef

Posted on May 4, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Food Poisoning Bulletin

Dr. Elisabeth Hagen, USDA’s Under Secretary for Food Safety, announced in a press conference on May 2, 2012 that the government is changing its traceback policy for contaminated beef that test positive for shiga-toxin producing E. colibacteria (STEC).

“Our keys goals are to strengthen our ability to protect consumers and to bolster prevention-based public safeguards,” she said. “We are going to use traceback policies as a proactive measure, launching the investigations earlier to identify contaminated products before they reach consumers.”

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Posted in Bacteria, E.coli, E.coli O157, EHEC, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Microbiology, Pathogen, Recall, Research, USDA

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Australia Spices Recall – Salmonella

Posted on May 4, 2012 by | Leave a comment

The NSW Food Authority advises:

Euro Spices Pty Ltd is recalling their ground coriander and other mixed spices sold in fruit and vegetable shops and independent supermarkets in NSW.

The products are being recalled due to Salmonella. Salmonella bacteria may cause illness including headache, fever, abdominal cramps, diarrhoea, vomiting and nausea if consumed.

The recalled products are:

  • Coriander Ground 50g resealable bag
  • Coriander Ground 70g plastic jar
  • Almond Dukkah 50g resealable bag
  • Almond Dukkah 100g glass jar
  • Dukka Pistachio 100g glass jar
  • Kofta Bahari 60g resealable bag
  • Kabse Mix 60g resealable bag
  • Dolma Bahari 60g resealable bag
  • Shawarma 60g resealable bag
  • Ras El Hanoot 60g resealable bag
  • Harissa 60g resealable bag
  • Lebanese 7 Spices 50g resealable bag
  • Biryani 60g resealable bag

The recall applies only to resealable bags with date marking ‘Best Before’ December 2015 and jars with ‘Best Before’ 12\2015.

Consumers should not consume these products. Consumers can return the products to the place of purchase for a refund.

Anyone concerned with potential health effects of the products should seek medical advice.

For more information telephone Euro Spices Pty Ltd  on 02 9771 3411

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Posted in Bacteria, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Microbiology, Pathogen, Recall, Salmonella

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USDA – New Food Safety Initiatives

Posted on May 3, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Food Poisoning Journal

The U.S. Department of Agriculture today announced a series of policy measures that will better protect consumers from foodborne illness in meat and poultry products. These measures will significantly improve the ability of both plants and USDA to trace contaminated food materials in the supply chain, to act against contaminated products sooner, and to establish the effectiveness of food safety systems.

Some of these actions include:

• Zero tolerance policy for six Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) serogroups. Raw ground beef, its components, and tenderized steaks found to contain E. coli O26, O103, O45, O111, O121 or O145 will be prohibited from sale to consumers. USDA will launch a testing program to detect these dangerous pathogens and prevent them from reaching consumers.

• Test and hold policy that will significantly reduce consumer exposure to unsafe meat products, should the policy become final, because products cannot be released into commerce until Agency test results for dangerous contaminants are known.

• Labelling requirements that provide better information to consumers about their food by requiring nutrition information for single-ingredient raw meat and poultry products and ground or chopped products.

• Public Health Information System, a modernised, comprehensive database about public health trends and food safety violations at the nearly 6,100 plants FSIS regulates.

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Posted in Bacteria, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Safety, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, USDA

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258 Cases in the US Sushi Salmonella Outbreak to Date

Posted on May 3, 2012 by | Leave a comment

CDC

  • Based on an epidemiologic link and results of laboratory testing, CDC has combined this Salmonella Bareilly investigation with an ongoing multistate outbreak investigation of Salmonella serotype Nchanga infections. The two associated PFGE patterns have been grouped together as the “outbreak strains.”
  • A total of 258 persons infected with the outbreak strains of Salmonella Bareilly (247 persons) or SalmonellaNchanga (11 persons) have been reported from 24 states and the District of Columbia.
    • 32 ill persons have been hospitalized, and no deaths have been reported.
  • Collaborative investigation efforts of state, local, and federal public health agencies indicate that a frozen raw yellowfin tuna product, known as Nakaochi Scrape, from Moon Marine USA Corporation is the likely source of this outbreak.
  • Consumers should not eat the recalled product, and retailers should not serve the recalled raw Nakaochi Scrape tuna product from Moon Marine USA Corporation.
  • This investigation is ongoing. CDC and state and local public health partners are continuing surveillance to identify new cases.

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Posted in Bacteria, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen, Recall, Salmonella

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US Unpasteurised Soybean Tempeh – Salmonella Recall

Posted on May 2, 2012 by | Leave a comment

FDA

Smiling Hara of Asheville is voluntarily recalling 12-ounce packages of unpasteurized soybean tempeh because of possible contamination with salmonella.
The company is recalling tempeh manufactured this year between Jan. 11 and April 11. The containers are marked with a best-by date of 7/11/12 through 10/25/12. Tempeh is used as a meat substitute in vegetarian cuisine.

The company is directing consumers to return the product to the place of purchase for a full refund. Consumers wanting more information can contact Smiling Hara at 828-242-1300.

“Anyone with this product in their possession should not eat it,” said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. “Smiling Hara launched the recall after samples collected by the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services during a routine inspection tested positive for salmonella.”

Additional tests will be conducted by the N.C. Division of Public Health to determine whether the salmonella detected in the tempeh matches the strain found in an outbreak that has sickened 37 people. Cases appear to have been associated with residence or travel to Buncombe County since Feb. 28.

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Posted in Bacteria, Eurofins Laboratories, FDA, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Microbiology, Pathogen, Recall, Salmonella