RASFF -hepatitis A virus in frozen berries mix from Bosnia and Herzegovina, produced in Italy, with raw material from Poland, Serbia, Bulgaria and Chile
RASFF -hepatitis A virus (presence /g) in frozen blackberries from Romania in italy
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Category Archives: Hygiene
USA – Foster Farms Salmonella Chicken Over 300 Sickened
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now says that 31 people in 20 states and Puerto Rico have been infected with seven outbreak strains of Salmonella Heidelberg. But no recall. That is an increase of 39 from the last update on October 87, 2013.
Forty-two percent of ill persons have been hospitalized. No deaths have been reported. Seventy-three percent of patients are from California. Epidemiologic, laboratory, and traceback investigations by local, state, and federal officials indicate that consumption of Foster Farms chicken is the likely source of this outbreak.
Posted in Bacteria, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Hygiene, Illness, Laboratory, Microbiology, Pathogen, Poisoning, Salmonella
Tagged Food Poisoning Bulletin The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Salmonella Heidelberg
USA – Salmonella Issues – Mexican Restaurant – Fundraising Dinner – Raw Chicken
Many Americans are unaware that Salmonella poisoning causes real illness with real costs. In the U.S., direct medical cost associated with the treatment of Salmonella poisoning total about $1 million each day, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“We need to understand the true burden of Salmonella in our food,’’ said Fred Pritzker, a national food safety lawyer, who is publishes Food Poisoning Bulletin. “If we don’t raise awareness, we’ll never get the interventions we need to stop food poisoning.’’
Each year, about 1.5 million Americans are sickened by Salmonella poisoning.
Public health officials in Illinois and Kentucky are investigating separate outbreaks of Salmonella associated with independent Mexican restaurants. Combined, the Hacienda Don Villo outbreak in Channahon, Illinois, and the Casa Mexicana outbreak in Madisonville, Kentucky, have sickened about 50 people. In Kentucky, one of the outbreak patients has died.
“Every outbreak of Salmonella carries the prospect of life-long illness for unsuspecting families,’’ said Fred Pritzker, founder of national food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen Attorneys. Pritzker said too many people downplay the burdens of Salmonella infection, which can trigger an assortment of long-term illness in some patients. In others, Salmonellosis resolves itself with no medical attention and the illness is over.
Several news outlets are reporting that a Salmonella outbreak in Limestone County, Alabama is associated with an annual bean dinner fundraiser in Athens at the First Baptist Church Family Life Center, held by the Limestone County Foundation on Aging. At least six people have been confirmed ill with the pathogenic bacteria.
The dinner was held on Friday night, October 4, 2013. The hospital then saw “dozens of people” over the weekend with symptoms including diarrhea, vomiting, and nausea. The Alabama Department of Public health is now involved and will testing food that is left over from the meal.
USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) issued a public health alert Monday after an estimated 278 illnesses in 18 states caused by Salmonella Heidelberg were linked to consumption of raw chicken produced at three Foster Farms facilities in California.
FSIS said while the illnesses had not been been linked to a specific product or production period, raw chicken from the company’s California facilities bear one of the these establishment numbers inside a USDA mark of inspection or elsewhere on the package: “P6137,” “P6137A,” and “P7632.” The products were mainly distributed to retail outlets in California, Oregon and Washington state.
USA – Vibrio Poisoning in Florida 2013
At least 27 Floridians have been sickened this year – and nine have died– from infections of Vibrio vulnificus, a deadly bacterium that lives in warm seawater and is commonly associated with eating raw oysters and other shellfish. The figure came from a news release published last week by the Florida Department of Health.
Posted in Bacteria, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Hygiene, Illness, Laboratory, Microbiology, Pathogen, Recall
Tagged deadly bacterium, Florida Department of Health, food safety news, Vibrio vulnificus
RASFF – Salmonella – Poultry Sausage – Bovine Halfe – Pate – Salad – Turkey Meat
RASFF – Salmonella Montevideo (presence /25g) in frozen poultry sausages made with mechanically separated meat from France
RASFF –Salmonella spp. (positive /25g) in bovine halfe from Germany
RASFF-Salmonella spp. (presence /25g) in pate from France
RASFF -Salmonella spp. (presence /25g) in baby spinach and rucola salad with raw material from Italy, packaged in Sweden
RASFF -Salmonella spp. (presence /25g) in frozen turkey meat preparation from Brazil
Research – Cattle – Vacination and E.coli O157
The bacteria, which cause severe gastrointestinal illness and even death in humans, are spread by consuming contaminated food and water, or by contact with livestock faeces in the environment. Cattle are the main reservoir for the bacterium. The vaccines that are available for cattle are rarely used, but the latest study suggests the public health benefits could be significant.
The research was lead by a team of researchers at the University of Glasgow in collaboration with the University of Edinburgh, the Royal Veterinary College, Scotland’s Rural College, Health Protection Scotland, and the Scottish E. coli O157/VTEC Reference Laboratory.
The study, published in the online journal PNAS, used veterinary, human and molecular data to examine the risks of E. coli O157 transmission from cattle to humans, and to estimate the impact of vaccinating cattle.
UK – FSA – Food Business Toolkit
The Food Standards Agency is encouraging food business to make the most of their food hygiene rating to help attract customers trade. A toolkit offering guidance, images, logos and web banners is available.
USA – Partnership for For Food Safety Education Website
Partnership for Food Safety Education
This is website that may interest some of you;
For 5 years, we’ve been busting common food safety myths to help you protect your family from foodborne illness. From leftovers to lemon juice, you might think there’s nothing left to cover!
For National Food Safety Education Month 2013, we’re going where Home Food Safety Mythbusters has not gone before — to the kids!
Kids are more likely to get food poisoning than most adults are. Knowing fact from fiction when it comes to food safety risks could mean the difference between safe kids and sick kids.
Know what is fact and what is fiction. Check out this year’s myths and facts, and free downloads, here.
Canada – Cheese Recall – Listeria monocytogenes
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Société coopérative agricole de l’Île-aux-Grues are warning the public not to consume the Le Canotier de l’Isle cheese described below because the product may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.
UK – FSA Salmonella Outbreak investigation
An outbreak of an unusual type of salmonella infection, Salmonella Typhimurium, across England and Wales is being investigated by Public Health England, Public Health Wales, the FSA and local authority environmental health officers.
A total of 21 confirmed cases in Wales and 30 in England have been reported, with 9 cases known to have required hospitalisation. Other potential cases are being investigated in both countries.
The outbreak was first detected in Wales in August and centred mainly in North Wales (Conwy and Gwynedd), with additional clusters being investigated in England in the Thames Valley, Leeds, Cumbria and Stafford areas.
Cases are widely geographically distributed in patients aged 7 months to 87 years.
Posted in Bacteria, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Standards Agency, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Hygiene, Laboratory, Microbiology, outbreak, Salmonella
Tagged climate, environmental health officers, research, salmonella infection, salmonella typhimurium, science
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