Infection rates of the foodborne pathogens Campylobacter and Vibrio parahaemolyticus rose in 2012, while other major pathogens generally maintained rates similar to recent years, according to the nation’s annual “food safety progress report” published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Thursday.
Posted in Bacteria, Campylobacter, CDC, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Safety, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Hygiene, Illness, Microbiology, Pathogen, Research
Tagged food safety news, research, safety progress, science, vibrio parahaemolyticus
RASFF – Shigatoxin-producing Escherichia coli in beef fillets from Argentina in Germany
RASFF – High count of Escherichia coli (30000/9000/24000/10000/33000 CFU/g) in fresh sweet basil from Cambodia in Norway
RASFF – Too high count of Escherichia coli (7000/8000/10000/>150000/43000 CFU/g) in fresh sweet basil from Cambodia in Norway
RASFF – High count of Escherichia coli (>15000; >15000; 800; >15000; >15000 CFU/g) in fresh sweet basil from Cambodia in Norway
RASFF – Shigatoxin-producing Escherichia coli (presence /25g) in chilled boneless bovine meat from Brazil in tne Netherlands
RASFF – Shigatoxin-producing Escherichia coli (presence /25g) in chilled boneless beef meat from Argentina, via Germany in the Netherlands
RASFF – High count of Escherichia coli (1700 MPN/100g) in Mediterranean mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) from Spain in Italy
RASFF – Shigatoxin-producing Escherichia coli in chilled boneless beef from Uruguay in Germany
RASFF – High count of Escherichia coli (620<=>4400 CFU/g) in basil leaves from Cambodia in Norway
Posted in Bacteria, E.coli, EHEC, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Hygiene, Microbiology, Pathogen, RASFF, Recall
Tagged beef fillets, beef meat, boneless beef, escherichia coli, food, rasff, sweet basil, tne netherlands
The Swedish Institute for Communicable Disease Control (Smittskyddsinstitutet, SMI) warned that the berries may have been responsible for 22 cases of Hepatitis A in Sweden so far.
The usual contagion rate for the same timeframe is about five people in Sweden.
Experts from the institute advised berry lovers to take caution when consuming any berries bought in Sweden that were sold frozen.
“If you cook them for at least one minute then all the contagion will die or disappear,” Margareta Löfdahl, epidemiologist from the Institute, told the TT news agency.
“This cooking advice applies to all kinds of frozen berried from all suppliers, this is the safest option until we find out more.”
The people infected in Sweden were infected with the same type of Hepatitis that 30 people in Denmark were diagnosed with recently, which has since been traced to frozen berries and strawberries in particular.
The SMI is now sending traces of the berries to the Swedish National Food Agency (Livsmedelsverket) for testing.
Hepatitis A is an infection of the liver. It can be prevented by vaccination, and experts at SMI have recommended Swedes remember to maintain good hygiene.
Posted in Eurofins Laboratories, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Food Virus, Foodborne Illness, Hepatitis A, Hygiene, Illness, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen, Toxin, Virus
Tagged frozen berries, livsmedelsverket, national food agency, tt news
At least 96 people have been hospitalized and 4 have died in an E. coli outbreak in Guatemala linked to fresh produce.
The outbreak, which has affected residents of the town of Santo Domingo Xenacoj in South Central Guatemala, is thought to have originated with contaminated fruits and vegetables, reported the Associated Press Thursday.
A male resident of the town reported that two of his children, ages 9 and 12, had died in the outbreak, according to AP.
Specimen taken from the four victims who died linked their deaths to E. coli, said health officials.
Posted in Bacteria, E.coli, EHEC, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Hygiene, Illness, Methods, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen, STEC, VTECH
Tagged aviation, cars, e coli outbreak, science
The European Food Safety Authority and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control analysed the information submitted by 27 European Union Member States on the occurrence of zoonoses and food-borne outbreaks in 2011. Campylobacteriosis was the most commonly reported zoonosis with 220,209 confirmed human cases. The occurrence of Campylobacter continued to be high in broiler meat at EU level.
The decreasing trend in confirmed salmonellosis cases in humans continued with a total of 95,548 cases in 2011. Most Member States met their Salmonella reduction targets for poultry, and Salmonella is declining in these populations. In foodstuffs, Salmonella was most often detected in meat and products thereof.
The number of confirmed human listeriosis cases decreased to 1,476. Listeria was seldom detected above the legal safety limit from ready-to-eat foods.
A total of 9,485 confirmed verotoxigenic Escherichia coli (VTEC) infections were reported. This represents an increase of 159.4 % compared with 2010 as a result of the large STEC/VTEC outbreak that occurred in 2011 in the EU, primarily in Germany. VTEC was also reported from food and animals.
The number of human yersiniosis cases increased to 7,017 cases. Yersinia enterocolitica was isolated also from pig meat and pigs; 132 cases of Mycobacterium bovis and 330 cases of brucellosis in humans were also reported. The prevalence of bovine tuberculosis in cattle increased, and the prevalence of brucellosis decreased in cattle and sheep and goat populations.
Trichinellosis and echinococcosis caused 268 and 781 human cases, respectively and these parasites were mainly detected in wildlife. The numbers of alveolar and of cystic echinococcosis respectively increased and decreased in the last five years. One imported human case of rabies was reported. The number of rabies cases in animals continued to decrease.
Most of the 5,648 reported food-borne outbreaks were caused by Salmonella, bacterial toxins, Campylobacter and viruses, and the main food sources were eggs, mixed foods and fish and fishery products.
© European Food Safety Authority, 2013
Posted in Bacteria, Campylobacter, E.coli, E.coli O104, E.coli O157, ECDC, EFSA, EHEC, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Technology, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Hygiene, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen, Poisoning, Research
Tagged european food safety authority, food safety authority, mycobacterium bovis, science
SIXTY people have fallen ill after eating contaminated oysters.
All oysters produced by Barilla Bay Seafoods have been recalled from the market after health authorities pinpointed the outbreak yesterday. People who ate the oysters were infected by norovirus, a common cause of gastroenteritis.
None was hospitalised over the Easter weekend but some saw doctors and went to the Royal Hobart emergency department. It is the second incidence of contaminated oysters in southern Tasmania in a week, but health authorities say the two cases are a coincidence. They say the contamination is not related to shellfish from Pitt Water, which was closed last week because of a sewage spill.
Oysters Tasmania spokesman Tom Lewis said the two recalls were a coincidence. “To our knowledge there is no connection,” Dr Lewis said. Barilla Bay Oysters general manager Justin Goc said the company was working closely with the Public Health Director Dr Roscoe Taylor.
“We apologise to the public for inconvenience caused and the public will be informed on developments,” Mr Goc said. The public is asked to dispose of any Barilla Bay Oysters bought from its retail outlet on or before last Sunday or Mures Lower Deck between last Thursday and Saturday. No products from the award-winning oyster company have been sold by Mures Lower Deck since Saturday. Dr Taylor said the Barilla Bay oysters were harvested at lease 113 in Dunalley on the Hobart side of the Denison Canal. He said a survey of the area would be done today in an attempt to find the source of the contamination.
“If people still have Barilla Bay produce in their fridge they should discard it,” he said. People should also not collect and eat wild shellfish.
Why shellfish can become deadly
An adult oyster filters and cleans up to 190 litres of water a day.
They swallow algae, and remove dirt and nitrogen pollution.
Sometimes during the filtering process, bacteria can trigger norovirus which remains in the oyster.
Eating shellfish infected with a norovirus can lead to food poisoning with vomiting, diarrhoea and abdominal pain.
Noroviruses are the most common cause of viral gastroenteritis in humans.
The disease is usually self-limiting and severe illness is rare but it can lead to blood infections of people with compromised immune systems – especially those with chronic liver disease – and can cause severe and life-threatening reactions.
Posted in Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Technology, Food Testing, Food Virus, Foodborne Illness, Hygiene, Microbiology, Norovirus, outbreak, Pathogen, Virus, Water
Tagged barilla bay oysters, bay seafoods, climate, environment, public health director, science
THAILAND – To reduce Campylobacter prevalence on broiler skin, on-farm biosecurity measures need to be accompanied by controls at the slaughterhouse, according to new research from Thailand.
Even though most Campylobacter-positive broiler skin samples were contaminated with only up to 230 most probable number per gram, a substantial share (13.3 per cent) showed very high Campylobacter numbers on the broiler skin samples (most probable number = infinity; lower confidence limit T0 580 per gram).
The researchers report their data suggest that intense cross-contamination during the slaughter process led to a strong increase of Campylobacter prevalence on broiler skin compared with the prevalence in broiler caeca.
RASFF -Salmonella Heidelberg (presence /25g) in frozen cuts and offal (Gallus gallus) from Brazil in Spain
RASFF – Salmonella (presence /25g) in halva with pistachios from Lebanon in Cyprus
Posted in Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Hygiene, Methods, Microbiology, Pathogen, RASFF, Recall, Salmonella
Tagged food, halva, offal, pistachios, salmonella
RASFF -Aflatoxins (B1 = 15.9; Tot. = 17.8 / B1 = 4.9; Tot. = 5.8 µg/kg – ppb) in shelled almonds from the United States in Spain
RASFF– Aflatoxins (Tot. = 60.6 µg/kg – ppb) in dried figs from Turkey in the Czech Republic
RASFF – Aflatoxins (B1 = 26; Tot. = 29 µg/kg – ppb) in pistachios in shell from Iran in France
RASFF – Histamine (500 mg/kg – ppm) in frozen yellowfin tuna loins (Thunnus albacares) from Indonesia in Italy
RASFF – Histamine (2690; 2740; 2481 mg/kg – ppm) in canned tuna in olive oil from France, with raw material from Côte d’Ivoire in Italy
Posted in Aflatoxin, Bacteria, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Hygiene, Microbiology, Moulds, Mycotoxin, Pathogen, RASFF, Recall
Tagged canned tuna, dried figs, food, restaurants, shelled almonds, tuna loins
Food poisoning has sent at least 479 students at Cairo’s al-Azhar university to hospitals and sent hundreds of others into the streets to demand the resignation of the school’s president.
The outbreak is so politically charged that Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi took a page out of the West’s political playbook by visiting one of the hospitals where the sickened students are being treated.
Egypt’s Health Ministry said that while hundreds were ill, there have been no deaths recorded among the patients. Those suffering from food poisoning were divided among several Cairo hospitals so they could receive medical attention more promptly. The Health Ministry said all the cases were stabilized.
“Basic hygiene standards are not always observed at Egyptian universities, but this incident is one of the largest cases of food poisoning in recent years,” said BBC, reporting from Cairo.
FoodWorld 