Category Archives: Microbial growth

Quebec – Notice not to consume bagels prepared and sold by Côte St-Luc Bagel inc.

Quebec

QUEBEC CITY , Nov. 24, 2022 /CNW Telbec/ – The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPAQ), in collaboration with the Food Inspection Division of the City of Montreal and the company Côte St-Luc Bagel inc., located at 5757 Caldwell Avenue, in Montreal, advises the public not to consume any bagel sold by the latter, because the products have not been prepared and packaged in such a way as to ensure their safety.

The products that are the subject of this warning were offered for sale until November 23, 2022, only at the establishment designated above. The products were sold and packaged by the attendant at the request of customers.

The operator is voluntarily recalling the products in question. It has agreed with MAPAQ to issue this warning as a precautionary measure. Also, people who have any of these products in their possession are advised not to consume it. They must return it to the establishment where they bought it or throw it away. Even if the affected products show no signs of tampering or suspicious odors, their consumption may represent a health risk. No case of illness associated with the consumption of these foods has been reported to MAPAQ to date.

Research – Alerts involving global food safety network climb; frozen berries linked to multi-country outbreak

Food Safety News

The number of food safety incidents involving an international network has gone up in the third quarter of this year compared to the previous three months.

The International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN) was part of 58 alerts from July through September compared to 46 in the second quarter of 2022.

Thirty-two incidents fell into the biological hazard category which was dominated by Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella with 10 each. E. coli was behind with six, Clostridium botulinum and hepatitis A caused two each, and Bacillus cereus and Coxsackievirus one each.

Research – Joint FAO/WHO Expert meeting on microbiological risk assessment of Listeria monocytogenes in foods

FAO

kswfoodworld Listeria monocytogenes

The Joint FAO/WHO Expert meeting on microbiological risk assessment of Listeria monocytogenes in foods was convened in response to a request by the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene (CCFH) at its fifty-second session1to undertake a full farm to table risk assessment on Listeria monocytogenes in food in order to inform a possible future revision of the Guidelines on the Application of General Principles of Food Hygiene to the Control of Listeria monocytogenes in Foods (CXG 61-2007)2.This document summarizes the conclusions and recommendations for the development of microbiological risk assessment of L.monocytogenes in specific foods; namely, leafy greens, frozen vegetables, cantaloupe melon and ready-to-eat (RTE)seafood, in the light of new data and approaches. This document has been prepared to facilitate the deliberations of the upcoming CCFH. The full report will be published as part of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)and World Health Organization(WHO)Microbiological Risk Assessment (MRA) Series.

USA – Patient count growing in Salmonella outbreak from unknown source; other investigations ongoing

Food Safety News

An outbreak of infections from Salmonella Typhimurium is slowly growing according to the FDA, and an investigation into an outbreak of E. coli infections has been closed.

For the Salmonella outbreak, the number of patients has increased from 264 to 269, but the Food and Drug Administration has not reported the patients’ states of residence.

The agency has begun traceback efforts but has not revealed what food or foods are being traced. The FDA has begun sample collection and analysis, but has not revealed what is being collected or sampled.

RASFF Alert – Animal Feed – Salmonella – PAT

RASFF

Salmonella Spp in PAT from Czech Republic in Italy

Research – Salmonella recall cost Cranswick £3 million

Food Safety News

Cranswick has revealed that a Salmonella incident earlier this year cost the company more than £3 million ($3.6 million).

In a half-year results statement, which covers up to Sept. 24, 2022, the food producer said adjusted group operating profit was 1.7 percent lower at £68.4 million ($81.4 million).

This included a charge of £3.1 million ($3.7 million) due to costs associated with the product recall in May after Salmonella was found at the Hull cooked poultry facility in England.

Viet Nam – Salmonella, Bacillus cereus, E.coli detected in food samples in Nha Trang school outbreak

Outbreak News Today

In a follow-up on the food poisoning outbreak that affected hundreds of schoolchildren at the Ischool Nha Trang in Khanh Hoa province, Vietnam, health officials now report test results from the Pasteur Institute Nha Trang show pathogenic bacteria were found in the fried chicken wings of the meal, causing the outbreak which sickened students at a Ischool Nha Trang.

Specifically, Salmonella sp., Bacillus cereus and Escherichia coli were detected in food samples. In addition, Bacillus cereus was also detected in fish sauce samples.

According to our previous report, some 400 students were sickened including more than 200 hospitalizations and one death was reported in a first grade student after eating a school lunch.

Israel – After Recall in April Over Salmonella Concerns, Elite Chocolate Brands Return to Shelves in Israel

Haaretz

Israel’s top chocolate manufacturer announced on Tuesday that it is reintroducing several lines of candy to the Israeli market following a nationwide recall earlier this year due to salmonella contamination.

In a statement, the Strauss Group said that products from its Elite chocolate line, including the Parra brand, Pesek Zman and Kif Kef candy bars, would “gradually return to the shelves.” The move follows the reopening of its factory in Nof Hagalil in Israel’s north, where the salmonella was discovered. The company said that it has made “significant investments … to ensure the quality and safety of the products at the highest level.”

What is Sapovirus?

Fukushihoken Metro

Sapovirus - Wikipedia

Photo – Graham Beards at English Wikipedia

Like norovirus, Sapovirus is a virus belonging to the Caliciviridae family which multiplies in the mucous membranes of the human small intestine.
In 2002, the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses officially gave this virus the name of “Sapovirus; prior to that time it was known as the “Sapporo virus.”
The “Sapo” in “Sapovirus” is derived from Sapporo, Japan, where the virus was discovered.
Previously, Sapovirus was believed to be the cause of sporadic gastroenteritis mainly in children, but in recent years reports have been on the rise of mass outbreaks such as food poisoning..

Like norovirus, Sapovirus causes gastroenteritis throughout the year.
Epidemiological studies have strongly identified the eating of raw bivalves such as oysters and food prep workers carrying the virus as being part of the virus’ transmission route. In addition, as there have been cases of mass outbreaks at facilities such as schools and day cares where no raw oysters were eaten, person to person secondary infection is suspected to exist.
In recent years, the development and popularization of a new testing method (real-time PCR) has clarified the relationship between Sapovirus and food poisoning.

Read more at the link above and below

CHP

Research – Why throwing out food isn’t enough to stop the spread of Listeria

FOX 10

If you have contaminated food in your fridge, throwing it away isn’t enough to stop the spread of listeria and other food-borne illnesses.

That’s the message the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reiterating amid recent listeria and other food-borne outbreaks.

Earlier this month, the CDC announced one person died and 13 were hospitalized across six states in a listeria outbreak linked to contaminated deli meat and cheese. Illnesses were reported in Illinois, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, California and Maryland, where one person died.

Listeria outbreaks have also been linked to soft cheeses, mushrooms, hard-boiled eggs and a wide range of other foods.

The CDC says foods and surfaces become cross-contaminated. From there, the germs spread to shelves and drawers, then to other foods and the human hands that touch them.

But health experts say there’s a simple solution for stopping the spread of listeria: clean your fridge.

Take out all removable parts and wash them with hot, soapy water. After you clean the inside of the fridge, the CDC recommends adding a tablespoon of bleach to one gallon of water and using that water to wipe down the fridge one more time.