Category Archives: microbial contamination

Research – Evaluation of sodium hypochlorite and peroxyacetic acid to prevent transfer of surface‐attached Listeria monocytogenes to produce

Posted on January 19, 2021 by | Leave a comment

Wiley Online

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Sporadic contamination of produce with Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) is a recurrent problem. Ways for contamination to occur include transfer of the pathogen to produce from processing surfaces or soil particles to which it has become attached. Since it is known that surface‐attached Lm is less susceptible to antimicrobials than Lm grown in liquid culture, the goal of the current study was to determine if Lm grown on surfaces and released into water retained its higher tolerance of antimicrobials. In addition, transfer of Lm from surfaces or soil particles to blueberries, mung beans and spinach leaves in the presence of the antimicrobials, sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) adjusted to pH 6.8 and peroxyacetic acid (PAA), was studied. The experiments were carried out with a cocktail of six Lm strains and strains obtained from produce processing plants. Results indicated that Lm released from surfaces was as susceptible to the two antimicrobials as Lm grown in liquid culture and was inactivated within seconds by an initial concentration of 100 ppm of NaOCl or PAA. Transfer of Lm grown on stainless steel coupons to blueberries in wash water was not observed at NaOCl concentrations as low as 20 ppm. In contrast, transfer of Lm from washed soil particles (COD = 1.7 ± 0.89 mg/l) in contact with mung beans was observed even at initial NaOCl or PAA concentrations of 250 ppm. Lm released from washed soil particles to which it was attached to spinach leaves could be detected in the presences of 20 ppm of NaOCl and PAA and occasionally even in the presence of 100 and 250 ppm of the antimicrobials.

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Posted in Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Research

Italy – Knife-Tip Salami – Microbiological Risk – Salmonella

Posted on January 18, 2021 by | Leave a comment

Salute

Brand : Lovison spa

Name : Knife-tip salami

Reason for reporting : Recall due to microbiological risk

Publication date : 18 January 2021

Documentation

Documentation

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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

USA – Publix Steam in Bag Products Recalled For Possible Listeria

Posted on January 18, 2021 by | Leave a comment

Food Poisoning Bulletin

Publix Steam in Bag products are being recalled for possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination because they contain a specific butternut squash ingredient that has been recalled for the same reason. Pero Family Farms, the supplier of the butternut squash, has issued the recall. No illnesses have been reported to date in connection with this issue.

The recalled items include Publix Steam in Bag Green Beans Butternut Squash, with GTIN number 002-24887-00000. This item was sold from 01/03/2021 to 01/14/2021. Also recalled is Publix Steam in Bag Season Butternut Medley, with GTIN number 002-25399-00000 printed on the label. This item was sold between 01/03/2021 and 01/14/2021. Finally, Publix Steam in Bag Butternut Brussel Pecan is recalled. That item has the GTIN number 002-25677-00000 on the package. It was sold between 01/03/2021 to 01/14/2021. You can see pictures of product packages at the Publix web site.

If you purchased any of these items, do not eat them, even if you are going to cook them first.

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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, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, microbial contamination, Microbiology

USA – Pero Family Farms Butternut Squash Trays Recalled For Possible Listeria

Posted on January 18, 2021 by | Leave a comment

Food Poisoning Bulletin

Pero Family Farms Butternut Squash Trays are being recalled for possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination, according to a notice posted on the Publix web site. No illnesses have been reported to date in connection with this problem.

The recall was triggered when Race West Company, a supplier of butternut squash to Pero Family Farms, notified them about the possible contamination. Production of these items has been halted as an investigation has bene launched.

The recalled items include Pero Family Farms Butternut Squash Cubed Tray. The GTIN number on the package is 8 74896 00977 1. The lot number/expiration dates are 01/15/2021 to 01/20/2021. Also recalled is Pero Family Farms Butternut Squash Veggie Spirals Tray. The GTIN number on that product label is 8 74896 00975 7. And the lot number/expiration dates for that variety range from 01/15/2021 to 01/20/2021. You can see pictures of product packages at the Publix web site.

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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

Finland – Three brands recall eggs over Salmonella risk

Posted on January 18, 2021 by | Leave a comment

YLE

Eggs branded as Kieku, Kesko’s Pirkka brand and Kotimaista by S-Grouphave been pulled from shelves.

Packs of ten free range Kotimaista eggs are part of the recall, as are ten-egg and six-egg packs of free range Pirkka eggs.

Kieku has also added its Kieku-branded four-egg packs to the recall. All the eggs are from a farm where salmonella was found in samples, and were packed at a Kieku plant.

The risk of salmonella contamination only affects eggs with the production code 2FI15464. More details on the recall, and pictures of the recalled products, are available on the Kieku website.

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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, Salmonella in Eggs

Research – Botulism breakthrough? Taming botulinum toxin to deliver therapeutics

Posted on January 17, 2021 by | Leave a comment

Science Daily

kswfoodworld

While rare, botulism can cause paralysis and is potentially fatal. It is caused by nerve-damaging toxins produced by Clostridium botulinum — the most potent toxins known. These toxins are often found in contaminated food (home canning being a major culprit). Infants can also develop botulism from ingesting C. botulinum spores in honey, soil, or dust; the bacterium then colonizes their intestines and produces the toxin.

Once paralysis develops, there is no way to reverse it, other than waiting for the toxins to wear off. People with serious cases of botulism may need to be maintained on ventilators for weeks or months. But a new treatment approach and delivery vehicle, described today in Science Translational Medicine, could change that.

“There are anti-toxins, but these only work before the toxins enter the motor neurons,” says Min Dong, PhD, a researcher in Boston Children’s Hospital’s Department of Urology and corresponding author on the paper. “What we have developed is the first therapy that can eliminate toxins after they get inside neurons.”

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Posted in Bacterial Toxin, Biotoxin, botulism, Clostridium, Clostridium botulinum, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Toxin, microbial contamination, Microbiology, Research, Toxin

Research – Nanocrystals that eradicate bacteria biofilm

Posted on January 17, 2021 by | Leave a comment

Science Daily

The COVID-19 pandemic is raising fears of new pathogens such as new viruses or drug-resistant bacteria. To this, a Korean research team has recently drawn attention for developing the technology for removing antibiotic-resistant bacteria by controlling the surface texture of nanomaterials.

A joint research team from POSTECH and UNIST has introduced mixed-FeCo-oxide-based surface-textured nanostructures (MTex) as highly efficient magneto-catalytic platform in the international journal Nano Letters. The team consisted of professors In Su Lee and Amit Kumar with Dr. Nitee Kumari of POSTECH’s Department of Chemistry and Professor Yoon-Kyung Cho and Dr. Sumit Kumar of UNIST’s Department of Biomedical Engineering.

First, the researchers synthesized smooth surface nanocrystals in which various metal ions were wrapped in an organic polymer shell and heated them at a very high temperature. While annealing the polymer shell, a high-temperature solid-state chemical reaction induced mixing of other metal ions on the nanocrystal surface, creating a number of few-nm-sized branches and holes on it. This unique surface texture was found to catalyze a chemical reaction that produced reactive oxygen species (ROS) that kills the bacteria. It was also confirmed to be highly magnetic and easily attracted toward the external magnetic field. The team had discovered a synthetic strategy for converting normal nanocrystals without surface features into highly functional mixed-metal-oxide nanocrystals.

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

Research – Foods implicated in U.S. outbreaks differ from the types most commonly consumed

Posted on January 16, 2021 by | Leave a comment

Journal of Food Protection

Foodborne disease outbreak investigations identify foods responsible for illnesses. However, it is not known the degree to which foods implicated in outbreaks reflect the distribution of food consumption in the U.S. population or the risk associated with their consumption. To examine this, we compared the distribution of foods in 24 categories implicated in outbreaks to the distribution of foods consumed by the U.S. population. Beef, chicken, eggs, fish, herbs, mollusks, pork, sprouts, seeded vegetables, and turkey were implicated in outbreaks significantly more often than expected based on the frequency of their consumption in the general population, suggesting a higher risk of contamination or mishandling from foods in these categories than in others. In contrast, pasteurized dairy, fruits, grains-beans, oils and sugars, and root/underground vegetables were less frequently implicated in outbreaks than they were consumed in the general population, suggesting a lower risk for these food categories.

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Posted in food bourne outbreak, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, microbial contamination, Microbiology, outbreak

Research – Bacteria Broadly-Resistant to Last Resort Antibiotics Detected in Commercial Chicken Farms

Posted on January 16, 2021 by | Leave a comment

MDPI

Resistance to last resort antibiotics in bacteria is an emerging threat to human and animal health. It is important to identify the source of these antimicrobial resistant (AMR) bacteria that are resistant to clinically important antibiotics and evaluate their potential transfer among bacteria. The objectives of this study were to (i) detect bacteria resistant to colistin, carbapenems, and β-lactams in commercial poultry farms, (ii) characterize phylogenetic and virulence markers of E. coli isolates to potentiate virulence risk, and (iii) assess potential transfer of AMR from these isolates via conjugation. Ceca contents from laying hens from conventional cage (CC) and cage-free (CF) farms at three maturity stages were randomly sampled and screened for extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Enterobacteriaceae, carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter (CRA), and colistin resistant Escherichia coli (CRE) using CHROMagar™ selective media. We found a wide-spread abundance of CRE in both CC and CF hens across all three maturity stages. Extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli phylogenetic groups B2 and D, as well as plasmidic virulence markers iss and iutA, were widely associated with AMR E. coli isolates. ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae were uniquely detected in the early lay period of both CC and CF, while multidrug resistant (MDR) Acinetobacter were found in peak and late lay periods of both CC and CF. CRA was detected in CF hens only. blaCMY was detected in ESBL-producing E. coli in CC and CF and MDR Acinetobacter spp. in CC. Finally, the blaCMY was shown to be transferrable via an IncK/B plasmid in CC. The presence of MDR to the last-resort antibiotics that are transferable between bacteria in food-producing animals is alarming and warrants studies to develop strategies for their mitigation in the environment. View Full-Text

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Posted in Antibacterial, Antibiotic Resistance, antimicrobial resistance, Antimicrobials, E.coli, Enterobacteriaceae, ESBL, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Technology, microbial contamination, Microbiology, Research, Technology

Research – NIH scientists study salmonella swimming behavior as clues to infection

Posted on January 15, 2021 by | Leave a comment

NIH

Salmonellaa

Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium bacteria (S. Typhimurium) commonly cause human gastroenteritis, inflammation of the lining of the intestines. The bacteria live inside the gut and can infect the epithelial cells that line its surface. Many studies have shown that Salmonella use a “run-and-tumble” method of short swimming periods (runs) punctuated by tumbles when they randomly change direction, but how they move within the gut is not well understood.

National Institutes of Health scientists and their colleagues believe they have identified a S. Typhimurium protein, McpC (Methyl-accepting chemotaxis protein C), that allows the bacteria to swim straight when they are ready to infect cells. This new study, published in Nature Communications, describes S. Typhimurium movement and shows that McpC is required for the bacteria to invade surface epithelial cells in the gut.

The study authors suggest that McpC is a potential target for developing new antibacterial treatments to hinder the ability of S. Typhimurium to infect intestinal epithelial cells and colonize the gut. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases scientists at Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Hamilton, Montana, led the study. Collaborators included groups from the University of Texas A&M campuses in College Station and Kingsville.

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