Category Archives: foodbourne outbreak

USA – Romaine E. coli Outbreak happened in September and no one told you

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Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is sharing news of a recent E. coli O157:H7 outbreak, involving 23 illnesses, that was likely associated with romaine lettuce. No deaths were reported. The active investigation has reached its end and the outbreak appears to be over. The FDA and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control did not identify actionable information for consumers during this investigation. Additionally, when romaine lettuce was identified as the likely source of the outbreak, the available data at the time indicated that the outbreak was not ongoing and romaine lettuce eaten by sick people was past its shelf life and no longer available for sale. The FDA is communicating details about the outbreak at this time to help ensure full awareness by the public and to highlight the ongoing importance of industry actions to help ensure the safety of leafy greens. Federal health officials do not believe there is a current or ongoing risk to public health.

 

Research – Sanitization of Chicken Frames by a Combination of Hydrogen Peroxide and UV Light To Reduce Contamination of Derived Edible Products

Journal of Food Protection

ABSTRACT

Chicken carcass frames are used to obtain mechanically separated chicken (MSC) for use in other further processed food products. Previous foodborne disease outbreaks involving Salmonella-contaminated MSC have demonstrated the potential for the human pathogen to be transmitted to consumers via MSC. The current study evaluated the efficacy of multiple treatments applied to the surfaces of chicken carcass frames to reduce microbial loads on noninoculated frames and frames inoculated with a cocktail of Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis and Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. Inoculated or noninoculated frames were left untreated (control) or were subjected to treatment using a prototype sanitization apparatus. Treatments consisted of (i) a sterile water rinse, (ii) a water rinse followed by 5 s of UV-C light application, or (iii) an advanced oxidation process (AOP) combining 5 or 7% (v/v) hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) with UV-C light. Treatment with 7% H2O2 and UV-C light reduced numbers of aerobic bacteria by up to 1.5 log CFU per frame (P < 0.05); reductions in aerobic bacteria subjected to other treatments did not statistically differ from one another (initial mean load on nontreated frames: 3.6 ± 0.1 log CFU per frame). Salmonella numbers (mean load on inoculated, nontreated control was 5.6 ± 0.2 log CFU per frame) were maximally reduced by AOP application in comparison with other treatments. No difference in Salmonella reductions obtained by 5% H2O2 (1.1 log CFU per frame) was detected compared with that obtained following 7% H2O2 use (1.0 log CFU per frame). The AOP treatment for sanitization of chicken carcass frames reduces microbial contamination on chicken carcass frames that are subsequently used for manufacture of MSC.

HIGHLIGHTS
  • Chicken carcass frames were sanitized using an advanced oxidation process.

  • Salmonella was reduced by 1.1 log CFU per frame with H2O2 and UV-C light.

  • Aerobic bacteria were reduced by up to 1.5 log CFU per frame with 7% H2O2 plus UV-C light.

  • Advanced oxidation processing produced greater reductions than water or UV-C light alone.

USA -Moby Dick House of Kabob Salmonella Outbreak Increases to 23 Sick

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The Moby Dick House of Kabob Salmonella outbreak has now sickened 23 people, Maureen Regan, Deputy Director, Integrated Media Office of Communications at the Maryland Department of Health told Food Poisoning Bulletin. The latest update on the Salmonella outbreak investigation was posted on September 26, 2019.

USA -Salmonella Outbreak at Al Basha Restaurant in Seattle, WA

Food Poisoning Bulletin

Salmonella outbreak at Al Basha Restaurant in Seattle, Washington has sickened at least three people. One person has been hospitalized. That restaurant is located at 2302 1st Avenue in Seattle. The dates that the ill persons ate there are September 15, 22, and 23, 2019.

RASFF Alert – Foodborne Outbreak -Listeria monocytogenes – Cold Meat (Charcuterie)

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RASFF – foodborne outbreak caused by Listeria monocytogenes in cold meat (charcuterie), sliced and pre-packed from the Netherlands in the Netherlands

RASFF Alert – Food Poisoning – Norovirus – Frozen Wedge Clams

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RASFF – food poisoning suspected to be caused by norovirus GII in frozen wedge clams (Donax trunculus) from Turkey in Spain

Canada – E.coli outbreak reported in Newfoundland and Labrador

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Health officials in Newfoundland and Labrador are reporting an E. coli outbreak in the province. The Department of Health and Community Services advises that there have been 22 confirmed cases of E.coli in the province this week, and Public Health officials within the department, as well as the regional health authorities are working with Service NL to investigate.

USA – E. coli Outbreak at Acapulco Mexican Restaurant in Andover, MN

Food Poisoning Bulletin

CDC E.coli

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An E. coli outbreak at the Acapulco Mexican Restaurant in Andover, Minnesota has been confirmed by Doug Schultz, Information and Communications Officer for the Minnesota Department of Health. He said, “We are investigating a cluster of STEC cases that ate at the Andover location.” That restaurant is located at 13753 Ibis St NW in Andover.

Canada – Canada’s Deadly Salmonella Outbreak Has Now Affected At Least 110 People – One Dead

Narcity

The Public Health Agency of Canada revealed on Tuesday afternoon that their Salmonella outbreak investigation has now uncovered an additional 14 cases of the disease in Canada, taking the total number of confirmed cases to 110. According to a statement from the Health Agency, Salmonella has been found across multiple provinces and territories, and the cases are part of an ‘ongoing’ outbreak in the country.

Daily Hive

One person has died after year-long Salmonella outbreak in Canada

Europe – Multi-country cluster of Listeria monocytogenes ST1247 in five EU countries

ECDC

ECDC has identified a microbiological link between an outbreak of nine Listeria monocytogenes ST1247 cases in Denmark and nine additional cases reported between 2014 and 2018 in Estonia (2 cases) Finland (2), France (1) and Sweden (4).  In Denmark, the outbreak investigation is led by Statens Serum Institut (SSI), the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration and the DTU Food Institute.

Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) analysis performed at the national level and by ECDC found all isolates from the 18 cases within two allelic differences from each other (core genome MLST using Moura scheme, 1540 of 1748 loci detected in all 18 isolates). The latest case was reported in Denmark in February 2019 (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Distribution of Listeria monocytogenes isolates by country and time of reporting 2014-2019 (n=18)

Figure 1: Distribution of Listeria monocytogenes isolates by country and time of reporting 2014-2019 (n=18)

A large-scale study led by ECDC on whole genome sequencing shows that most listeria outbreaks such as this one remain undetected. The study, published in 2018, suggests that more than half of the severe listeriosis cases in the European Union belong to clusters, many of which are not being picked up fast enough by the current surveillance system.

Listeria monocytogenes causes listeriosis, which primarily affects pregnant women, newborns, and adults with a weakened immune system. Listeriosis is a relatively rare but potentially severe food-borne disease that has been reported in increasing numbers in the EU/EEA countries since 2008. In 2016, 2 536 cases were reported, including 247 deaths.