Category Archives: microbial contamination

USA – Raw Milk Debate Returns To The Legislature

Posted on March 22, 2021 by | Leave a comment

MTPR

HELENA — A bill gaining momentum at the Legislature would allow Montanans to sell food from their homes directly to consumers without any government oversight. It would also legalize the direct sale of raw milk.

Senate Bill 199, or the Montana Local Food Choice Act, includes a section that would make it possible for owners of small dairy herds to sell unpasteurized milk, a proposal that drew its own set of opponents with concerns about the risk of foodborne illness.

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Posted in Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Raw Milk, raw milk cheese

France – Product recall: Mini Mont d’Or and Mini Mont d’Or + Reflets de France brand ceramic – Listeria monocytogenes

Posted on March 22, 2021 by | Leave a comment

Oulah

Product recall: Mini Mont d'Or and Mini Mont d'Or + Reflets de France brand ceramic

ENCOUNTERED PROBLEM

Possible contamination Listeria monocytogenes

PROPOSED SOLUTION

People who may have this product are asked not to consume it and to return it to the point of sale where it was purchased.

People who have consumed this product and who present with fever, isolated or accompanied by headaches, are invited to consult their attending physician, notifying him of this consumption.
Pregnant women should pay special attention to these symptoms, as well as immunocompromised people and the elderly. These symptoms may suggest listeriosis, a disease that can be serious and can take up to eight weeks to incubate.

FURTHER INFORMATION

▸ Mini Mont d’Or
• Lot: 3053
• DLC: 05/04/2021 and 06/04/2021
• Barcode: 3560070939114

▸ Mini Mont d’Or + ceramic
• Lot: 3053
• DLC: 04/01/2021 and 04/02/2021
• Barcode: 3560070939145

▸ Consumer service contact
For any additional information, you can contact the Carrefour consumer service by dialing N ° Cristal 09 69 39 7000 (non-surcharged call from a landline) from Monday to Saturday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

▸ Source
https://www.carrefour.fr/

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Posted in food contamination, Food Hazard, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Pathogen, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, microbial contamination, Microbiology

Germany – EDEKA Bio 8 herbs 50g, best before 01.2022 and 02.2022 BioBio 8 herb mixture 50g, best before 01.2022 and 02.2022, GutBio 8 herb mixture 50g, best before 21.01.2022 and best before 03.02.2022 – Salmonella

Posted on March 22, 2021 by | Leave a comment

LMW

Warning type:Food
Date of first publication:March 19, 2021
Product name:

EDEKA Bio 8 herbs 50g, best before 01.2022 and 02.2022 BioBio 8 herb mixture 50g, best before 01.2022 and 02.2022, GutBio 8 herb mixture 50g, best before 21.01.2022 and best before 03.02.2022

Product pictures:

Bio-8-Kraeuter.png

net

Product picture Aldi.jpg

Aldi

Product picture EDEKA.jpg

EDEKA

Manufacturer (distributor):COPACK Tiefkühlkost Produktionsgesellschaft mbH Am Lunedeich 116 D – 27572 Bremerhaven
Reason for warning:

Salmonella was detected in the product as part of a planned sample.

Packaging Unit:see product name
Durability:see product name
Lot identification:

Aldi: C659694700, C659840300 // Netto C659530900, C659598300, C659694100, 659855100 // EDEKA C659598100, C659530800, C659687200, C659781800, C659973700, C660016300

Further information:

The products were sold nationwide through EDEKA, Marktkauf, Netto Marken-Discount, Aldi Süd and Aldi Nord. COPACK Tiefkühlkost Produktionsgesellschaft mbH and the trading companies concerned reacted immediately and, as a precaution, withdrew the relevant goods from sale.

Homepage of the manufacturer:

https://www.copack.eu/de/
Contact to the responsible authorities:

Baden-Württemberg:poststelle@mlr.bwl.de

Bavaria:poststelle@lgl.bayern.de
Berlin:poststelle@senjustva.berlin.de
Brandenburg:Konsumenterschutz@Msgiv.Brandenburg.de
Bremen:Schnellwarnung@gesundheit.bremen.de
Hamburg:poststelle@justiz.hamburg.de
Hesse:Schnellwarnung@rpda.hessen.de
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania:poststelle@lm.mv-regierung.de
Lower Saxony:poststelle@ml.niedersachsen.de
North Rhine-Westphalia:poststelle@mulnv.nrw.de
Rhineland-Palatinate:Poststelle.Referat22@lua.rlp.de
Saarland:poststelle-luv@lav.saarland.de
Saxony:poststelle@sms.sachsen.de
Saxony-Anhalt:poststelle@ms.sachsen-anhalt.de
Schleswig-Holstein:poststelle@jumi.landsh.de
Thuringia:LM-Ueberendung@tlv.thueringen.de
Press releases and information
title Attachment or web link
Consumer information Copack
Consumer information Copack.pdf

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Posted in food contamination, Food Hazard, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Pathogen, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, microbial contamination, Microbiology, Salmonella

Singapore – Recall of eggs from Linggi Agriculture Sdn Bhd (Malaysia)due to presence of Salmonella Enteritidis

Posted on March 22, 2021 by | Leave a comment

Click to access sfa-media-release—recall-of-eggs-from-linggi-agriculture-sdn-bhd-(malaysia)-due-to-presence-of-salmonella-enteritidis0f7f6f5570c847f9b04ed2dd083b8641.pdf

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Posted in food contamination, Food Hazard, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Pathogen, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, microbial contamination, Microbiology, Salmonella, Salmonella in Eggs

Research – Quality changes and shelf life prediction of cooked cured ham stored at different temperatures

Posted on March 21, 2021 by | Leave a comment

Journal of Food Protection

Cooked cured ham is a ready-to-eat food that is popular among consumers. Stored temperature has a key effect on the quality and shelf life of ham. In this work, the quality changes and shelf life prediction of cooked cured ham stored at different temperatures were investigated. Sensory evaluation, physical and chemical indicators, and aerobic plate count were determined. Results showed that high storage temperature of cooked ham accelerates quality deterioration. Partial least squares (PLS) regression analysis based on the variable importance for projection (VIP) identified nine important variables for predicting the shelf life of cooked cured ham. Compared with either PLS or back-propagation artificial neural network (BP-ANN), the hybrid PLS–BP-ANN model better predicts the shelf life of cooked cured ham using the nine important variables. This study provides a theoretical basis and data support for the quality control of cooked cured ham and a new idea for research on the shelf life prediction of cooked cured ham.

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Posted in Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, microbial contamination, Microbiology, Research

Research – Ozone Treatments for Preserving Fresh Vegetables Quality: A Critical Review

Posted on March 21, 2021 by | Leave a comment

MDPI

Ozone is recognized as an antimicrobial agent for vegetables storage, washing, and processing. This strong disinfectant is now being used in the food industry. In this review, the chemical and physical properties of ozone, its generation, and factors affecting ozone processing efficiency were explained as well as recent regulatory developments in the food industry. By then selecting three vegetables, we show that ozone avoids and controls biological growth on vegetables, keeping their attractive appearance and sensorial qualities, assuring nutritional characteristics’ retention and maintaining and increasing the shelf-life. In liquid solution, ozone can be used to disinfect processing water and vegetables, and in gaseous form, ozone helps to sanitize and preserve vegetables during storage. The multifunctionality of ozone makes it a promising food processing agent. However, if ozone is improperly used, it causes some deleterious effects on products, such as losses in their sensory quality. For an effective and a safe use of ozone, specific treatment conditions should be determined for all kinds of vegetables. In a last step, we propose highlighting the different essential characteristics of ozone treatment in order to internationally harmonize the data relating to the treatments carried-out.

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Posted in Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, microbial contamination, Microbiology, Ozone, Research

Research – Rapid Testing and Interventions to Control Legionella Proliferation following a Legionnaires’ Disease Outbreak Associated with Cooling Towers

Posted on March 21, 2021 by | Leave a comment

MDPI

Legionella_Plate_01

Most literature to date on the use of rapid Legionella tests have compared different sampling and analytical techniques, with few studies on real-world experiences using such methods. Rapid tests offer a significantly shorter feedback loop on the effectiveness of the controls. This study involved a complex of five factories, three of which had a history of Legionella contamination in their cooling water distribution system. Multiple sampling locations were utilised to take monthly water samples over 39 months to analyse for Legionella by both culture and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Routine monitoring gave no positive Legionella results by culture (n = 330); however, samples were frequently (68%) positive by qPCR for Legionella spp. (n = 1564). Legionella spp. qPCR assay was thus found to be a good indicator of cooling tower system health and suitable as a routine monitoring tool. An in-house qPCR limit of 5000 genomic units (GU)/L Legionella spp. was established to trigger investigation and remedial action. This approach facilitated swift remedial action to prevent Legionella proliferation to levels that may represent a public health risk. Cooling tower operators may have to set their own action levels for their own systems; however, in this study, 5000 GU/L was deemed appropriate and pragmatic. View Full-Text

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Posted in Contaminated water, Cooling Towers, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Legionella, Legionnaires’ disease, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Research, Water, water microbiology, Water Safety

Research – Microbiological contamination of ready to eat algae and evaluation of Bacillus cereus behavior by microbiological challenge test

Posted on March 20, 2021 by | Leave a comment

Journal of Food Protection

Consumption of seaweeds, often categorized as a superfood, is becoming popular in western countries. Algae can be marketed fresh, but are usually sold dehydrated to ensure longer shelf life. The consumption, often as ready to eat, open up possible risks for public health because of foodborne pathogens that can contaminate the raw material during harvesting or manipulation. In this study, fourteen ready to eat foods based on dehydrated algae, representative of the most consumed species, were considered. The microbial content, with a focus on Listeria monocytogenes and Bacillus cereus, was investigated by plate counts and B. cereus strains were isolated and identified by 16s rRNA gene sequencing. The microbiological quality was heterogeneous among the samples and, in particular, marine bacteria, Listeria spp., B. cereus and coliforms were detected. To contribute to related risk assessment, the ability of B. cereus to grow during refrigerated storage was evaluated, to our knowledge for the first time, by a microbiological challenge test on two ready to eat foods based on Undaria pinnatifida and Palmaria palmata.  Despite this study demonstrating the inability of B. cereus to proliferate in seaweed-based food, its presence in dehydrated foodstuffs cannot rule out the replication after rehydration before consumption, making it necessary to shed light on the possible risks for consumers.

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Posted in Bacillus, Bacillus cereus, Coliforms, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Research

Research – Biofilm-forming ability of poultry Campylobacter jejuni strains in the presence and absence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Posted on March 20, 2021 by | Leave a comment

Canadian Journal of Microbiology

The aims of this study were to evaluate the ability of Campylobacter jejuni isolated from a poultry slaughterhouse to form biofilm in the presence and absence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and the effect of surface (stainless steel, polystyrene), temperature (7, 25, and 42 °C), and oxygen concentration (microaerophilic and aerobic conditions) on the formation of biofilm. The genes ahpC, cadF, clpP, dnaJ, docA, flaA, flaB, katA, kpsM, luxS, racR, and sodB, related to biofilm formation by C. jejuni, were also investigated. All isolates formed biofilm on stainless steel and on polystyrene, in both aerobic and microaerophilic atmospheres, including temperatures not optimal for C. jejuni growth (7 and 25 °C), and biofilm also was formed in the presence of P. aeruginosa. In dual-species biofilm on stainless steel, biofilm formation was 2–6 log CFU·cm−2 higher at 7 °C for all isolates, in comparison with monospecies biofilm. Ten genes (ahpC, cadF, clpP, dnaJ, docA, flaA, flaB, luxS, racR, and sodB) were detected in all isolates, but katA and kpsM were found in four and six isolates, respectively. The results obtained are of concern because the poultry C. jejuni isolates form biofilm in different conditions, which is enhanced in the presence of other biofilm formers, such as P. aeruginosa.

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Posted in Biofilm, Campylobacter, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, microbial contamination, Microbiology, Pseudomonas, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Research

Research – Investigation of On-Farm Transmission Routes for Contamination of Dairy Cows with Top 7 Escherichia coli O-Serogroups

Posted on March 20, 2021 by | Leave a comment

Springer

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) are foodborne bacterial pathogens, with cattle a significant reservoir for human infection. This study evaluated environmental reservoirs, intermediate hosts and key pathways that could drive the presence of Top 7 STEC (O157:H7, O26, O45, O103, O111, O121 and O145) on pasture-based dairy herds, using molecular and culture-based methods. A total of 235 composite environmental samples (including soil, bedding, pasture, stock drinking water, bird droppings and flies and faecal samples of dairy animals) were collected from two dairy farms, with four sampling events on each farm. Molecular detection revealed O26, O45, O103 and O121 as the most common O-serogroups, with the greatest occurrence in dairy animal faeces (> 91%), environments freshly contaminated with faeces (> 73%) and birds and flies (> 71%). STEC (79 isolates) were a minor population within the target O-serogroups in all sample types but were widespread in the farm environment in the summer samplings. Phylogenetic analysis of whole genome sequence data targeting single nucleotide polymorphisms revealed the presence of several clonal strains on a farm; a single STEC clonal strain could be found in several sample types concurrently, indicating the existence of more than one possible route for transmission to dairy animals and a high rate of transmission of STEC between dairy animals and wildlife. Overall, the findings improved the understanding of the ecology of the Top 7 STEC in open farm environments, which is required to develop on-farm intervention strategies controlling these zoonoses.

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Posted in E.coli 045, E.coli O103, E.coli O111, E.coli O121, E.coli O145, E.coli O157, E.coli O157:H7, E.coli O26, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, microbial contamination, Microbiology, Research, STEC, STEC E.coli