Category Archives: Laboratory

USA – FDA Recall – Listeria monocytogenes

Posted on July 26, 2013 by | 1 comment

FDAEurofins Food Testing UK

ZIP INTERNATIONAL GROUP LLC, 160 Raritan Center Parkway #6, Edison, NJ  08837, is recalling herring fillet in oil (FOSFOREL, ATLANTIKA) 400 gram in plastic packaging due  to Listeria contamination.

Listeria monocytogenes is an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Although healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, Listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women

The recalled herring fillet in oil (FOSFOREL, ATLANTIKA) 400 gram in plastic packaging includes best by dates 05/15/2013 and 7/17/2013 (UPC: 4607095500208). The best by date is located on the round side of the packaging and was sold to retail grocery stores in New York State beginning on 03/15/2013 and ending on 5/24/2013. It is a product of Russia.

The recall was initiated after routine sampling by New York State Department of Agriculture & Markets Food Inspectors and subsequent analysis of the product by Food Laboratory personnel found the product to be positive for Listeria monocytogenes.

No illnesses have been reported to date in connection with this problem. Consumers who have purchased herring fillet in oil (FOSFOREL, ATLANTIKA) should not consume it, but should return it to the place of purchase. Consumers with questions may contact the company @ 732-225-3600, 9:00AM-5:00 PM EST from Monday to Friday.

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Posted in Bacteria, FDA, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Laboratory, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Microbiology, Miscarriage, Pathogen, Recall, Uncategorized

USA – Raw Milk Issues Again – E.coli O157 – Suprised!

Posted on July 26, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Food Poisoning BulletinimagesCAZ9J1WP

St. John Creamery in Lake Stevens, Washington is recalling refrigerated and frozen raw goat’s milk that was sold in the western part of that state. The Washington State Department of Agriculture testing found E. coli O157:H7 bacteria in the milk. The samples are being tested again by a third lab.

The bottles of raw goat’s milk have brown caps and a sell by date of July 29, 2013 and later. The creamery sells milk for human consumption and for pets. If you purchased this product, return it to the place of purchase for a refund. No illnesses have been reported to date.

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Posted in Bacteria, E.coli O157, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Laboratory, Microbiology, Pathogen, Recall

USA – Hepatitis and Cyclospora Updates

Posted on July 24, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Food Posioning Bulletin

The multi-state hepatitis A outbreak linked to Townsend Farms Organic Antioxidant Blend frozen berry and pomegranate mix sold at Costco stores has grown to include 151 sickened. Sixty-six people have been hospitalized in this outbreak. No deaths have been reported.

Food Poisoning Bulletin

A multi-state Cyclospora outbreak has sickened at least 267 people and hospitalized eight of them, according to federal and state health authorities involved in a collaborative investigation. The rare parasite has infected at least 127 people Iowa, 68 people in Nebraska, 65 people in Texas, 4 people in Wisconsin, 2 people in Illinois and 1 person in Kansas.

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Posted in Cyclospora, Food Hygiene, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Food Virus, Foodborne Illness, Hepatitis A, Laboratory, Microbiology, outbreak, Parasite, Pathogen, Recall

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RASFF Alerts – Listeria – RTE Products – Clostridium – Pesto – Bacillus cereus – Vanilla Sauce – Outbreak in Mussels

Posted on July 24, 2013 by | Leave a comment

RASFF -Listeria monocytogenes in various ready-to-eat meat products from Sweden

RASFF – Clostridium botulinum (present /25g) in pesto from Italy

RASFF – Bacillus cereus (4.3 x 10^5 CFU/g) in chilled vanilla sauce from Germany

RASFF -Foodborne outbreak caused by mussels from Greece in France

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Posted in Bacillus, Bacillus cereus, Bacteria, Clostridium botulinum, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Laboratory, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Microbiology, Pathogen, RASFF, Recall

FSA – Recall – Licorice Root Capsules – Salmonella

Posted on July 23, 2013 by | 3 comments

FSASalmonella

Viridian International Ltd recalls two batches of its Licorice Root Vegetarian Capsules due to the detection of Salmonella.

As a precautionary measure, Viridian International Ltd is recalling two batch codes of the above product due to the detection of salmonella in the ingredient used to produce the capsules, which may pose a risk to health.

  • Licorice Root 30 Vegetarian Capsules and Licorice Root 90 Vegetarian Capsules
  • Pack size: Glass jars containing 30/90 capsules
  • Batch codes: 2912206 for 30 capsules and 3012206 for 90 capsules
  • ‘Best before’ date: both products 22/6/2016

Viridian International Ltd is recalling the above product. Product recall notices will be displayed in store, advising consumers of the recall and what they can do if they have purchased the affected product. A recall notice has also been displayed on the company’s website.

A copy of the Viridian International Ltd product recall information notice is attached to this notice.

No other Viridian International Ltd products are known to be affected.

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Posted in Bacteria, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Standards Agency, Food Testing, Laboratory, Microbiology, Pathogen, Recall, Salmonella

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Research – Practical Considerations for the Interpretation of Microbial Testing Results Based on Small Numbers of Samples

Posted on July 23, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Liebert Online

While adequate, statistically designed sampling plans should be used whenever feasible, inference about the presence of pathogens in food occasionally has to be made based on smaller numbers of samples. To help the interpretation of such results, we reviewed the impact of small sample sizes on pathogen detection and prevalence estimation. In particular, we evaluated four situations commonly encountered in practice. The first two examples evaluate the combined impact of sample size and pathogen prevalence (i.e., fraction of contaminated food items in a given lot) on pathogen detection and prevalence estimation. The latter two examples extend the previous example to consider the impact of pathogen concentration and imperfect test sensitivity. The provided examples highlight the difficulties of making inference based on small numbers of samples, and emphasize the importance of using appropriate statistical sampling designs whenever possible.

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Posted in Bacteria, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Testing, Hygiene, Laboratory, Methods, Microbiology, Pathogen, Research

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Italy – Recall Pesto – Botulism Poisoning

Posted on July 22, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Italia and Mondo

Twenty people have been hospitalized in the emergency room of three hospitals int the Genoese area are under observation for suspected botulism poisoning.

They ate pesto of the company that has withdrawn a batch of jars and showed symptoms consistent with a possible poisoning. Two patients have already been discharged.

 

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Posted in Bacteria, Clostridium botulinum, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Laboratory, Microbiology, Pathogen, Recall

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USA -Cyclospora – Unwashed produce ?? – Drying May Help

Posted on July 22, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Food Posioning Bulletin

Is the source of a multi-state Cyclopora outbreak restaurant lettuce salad? Health officials in at least six states are working in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to divine the food source that has infected hundreds of people with a rare parasite.

The bug is so rare that it is not included in the standard parasite screening which looks for Giardia and Cryptosporidium, said David Warshauer, deputy director of communicable disease at the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene (WSLH). And once it’s confirmed with a special lab test, sub-typing is generally not performed.

With common bacterial food poisoning outbreaks, including those caused by E.coli, Salmonella, Listeria or Campylobacter, subtyping, often done with Pulsed Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE), is performed to find the bacteria’s “genetic fingerprint.” This allows health officials to see how many people have been sickened by the same source.

Food Poisoning Bulletin

If you’re like most people, you wash your produce before eating it. But do you dry it?  You should, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Hundreds of people in six states; Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Texas and Wisconsin have been sickened by a single-cell parasite called Cyclospora. To reduce your risk of food poisoning form fresh produce the FDA recommends the following produce-washing tips. Before you begin, wash your hands with hot, soapy water for 20 seconds, or long enough to sing Happy Birthday twice. Wash produce under cool, running water. Do not use soap or commercial washes. Scrub firm produce such as melons, cucumbers and potatoes with a brush. Dry the produce with a clean cloth or paper towel. Following these recommendations will reduce but not completely eliminate the risk of food poisoning from bacteria or parasites.

People become infected with Cyclospora when they eat or drink food or water that is contaminated with microscopic amounts of fecal matter containing the parasite. Cyclospora is most commonly found in tropical climates but imported foods including mesclun lettuce, basil, snow peas, and raspberries have been the source of a number of U.S. outbreaks in recent years.

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Posted in Cyclospora, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Hygiene, Illness, Laboratory, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen

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USA – Legionella Outbreak

Posted on July 22, 2013 by | 1 comment

Food Posioning BulletinLegionella_Plate_01

Legionnaire’s outbreaks in Wisconsin and Ohio have sickened dozens of people, health authorities say. At least 20 people in Milwaukee County have  been diagnosed with the disease since June 1, 2013. Of those, 14 are from  the city of Milwaukee. Four people remain hospitalized. Wisconsin health authorities are looking for the source or sources of the outbreak

In Franklin County, Ohio, 22 illnesses have been associated with the Wesley Ridge Retirement Community in Reynoldsburg. Those sickened include visitors, residents and employees. Two of them have died. Franklin County Public Health,  the Ohio Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are working together to determine the source of the outbreak

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Posted in Bacteria, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Foodborne Illness, Laboratory, Legionella, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen

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USA – More Cyclospora and Hepatitis A Cases

Posted on July 19, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Food Poisoning Bulletin

The Cyclospora outbreak that has been reported by health departments in several midwestern states may have sickened as many as 183 people. The Iowa Department of Public Health released new information today saying their case count is up to 87. In Nebraska, 54 people are sick, and Texas has 37 cases of the parasitic disease so far this year; of those, 29 in north Texas were reported just this week.

Food Poisoning Bulletin

As of July 17, 2013, 149 people are now sick in the hepatitis A outbreak linked to Townsend Farms Organic Antioxidant Blend frozen berry and pomegranate mix. Sixty-five people have been hospitalized in this outbreak with acute hepatitis A. No deaths have been reported.

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Posted in Cyclospora, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Food Virus, Foodborne Illness, Hepatitis A, Hygiene, Illness, Laboratory, Microbiology, Parasite, Pathogen, Protozoan