Category Archives: Microbial growth

India- 16 IIIT-Srikakulam students fall sick, food poisoning suspected

Posted on November 7, 2022 by | Leave a comment

New Indian Express

SRIKAKULAM: A large number of students, mostly girls, at IIIT-Srikakulam in Etcherla Mandal of the district were taken ill, reportedly due to food poisoning.

Though the incident had happened on Thursday night, it came the light on Saturday, after officials visited the campus. Immediately, 16 students, who needed better medical attention were shifted to RIMS Hospital in Srikakulam town.

District Collector Shrikesh B Latkar visited the IIIT campus on Saturday upon learning about the incident and ordered a probe into the incident.  Though the exact reason for the student’s illness was not ascertained, the students said that they fell ill after consuming half-cooked chapati and potato curry.

The campus officials have reportedly downplayed the incident, but the issue became public on Saturday when more and more students started falling ill and visited the health centre on the campus. Meanwhile, the health department organised a special medical camp on the IIIT campus and doctors will stay there for the next five days to monitor the situation.

Speaking to the TNIE, DMHO Dr BMeenakshi said, “Special medical team will stay on the campus for the next five days.  We have inspected the mess and collected the samples to ascertain the reason for the illness.”

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Posted in Food Illness, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Poisoning, Foodborne Illness, Illness, microbial contamination, Microbial growth, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk

Indai – 20 students fall ill due to food poisoning in Narayankhed

Posted on November 7, 2022 by | Leave a comment

The Hans India

Narayankhed: In yet another case of food poisoning in the State government-run schools, around 20 students reportedly fell ill at a girls residential school located at Narayankhed on Saturday. The students are being treated at a government hospital in Narayankhed.


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Posted in Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Poisoning, microbial contamination, Microbial growth, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, Poisoning

Philippines – One student dies, several others hospitalized due to food poisoning in Iloilo

Posted on November 7, 2022 by | Leave a comment

MB

ILOILO CITY – One student died while several others were hospitalized due to food poisoning in Ajuy town in Iloilo province on Friday, Nov. 4.

Mayor Jett Rojas confirmed to the Manila Bulletin in a phone interview on Sunday, Nov. 6, the news on the death of a student and several others who were hospitalized allegedly after drinking spoiled buko juice during a school party on Friday, Nov. 4.

“We can now confirm this is food poisoning,” said Mayor Rojas in an interview with the Manila Bulletin.

 



 

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Posted in Decontamination Microbial, Food Illness, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Poisoning, Food Poisoning Death, Foodborne Illness, Foodborne Illness Death, Illness, microbial contamination, Microbial growth, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk

Research – Ciguatera in Europe project granted follow-up

Posted on November 6, 2022 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety News

A project looking at the surveillance and control of ciguatera poisoning in Europe has been given a second edition.

A launch meeting for EuroCigua II was attended this past week by representatives of 11 organizations involved in food safety and public health from five European countries.

Partners include the Spanish Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology (IRTA), Canary Islands Health Service (SCS), the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES), German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), Portuguese Economic and Food Safety Authority (ASAE), and Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM).

Also participating in the three-year effort are the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), European Environment Agency of the European Commission, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and experts from research groups in the United States and Japan.

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Posted in Ciguatera, Ciguatera Poisoning, Decontamination Microbial, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, microbial contamination, Microbial growth, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk

Research – Virulence Potential and Antibiotic Susceptibility of S. aureus Strains Isolated from Food Handlers

Posted on November 6, 2022 by | Leave a comment

MDPI

Abstract

Staphylococcus spp. are common members of the normal human flora. However, some Staphylococcus species are recognised as human pathogens due to the production of several virulence factors and enterotoxins that are particularly worrisome in food poisoning. Since many of Staphylococcal food poisoning outbreaks are typically associated with cross-contamination, the detection of S. aureus on food handlers was performed. Hand swabs from 167 food handlers were analysed for the presence of S. aureus. More than 11% of the samples were positive for S. aureus. All S. aureus strains were isolated and analysed for the presence of virulence and enterotoxin genes, namely, sea, seb, sec, sed, seg, sei, tsst-1 and pvl. The same strains were phenotypically characterised in terms of antibiotic susceptibility using the disc diffusion method and antimicrobial agents from 12 different classes. A low prevalence of antibiotic-resistant strains was found, with 55.6% of the strains being sensitive to all of the antimicrobial agents tested. However, a high prevalence of resistance to macrolides was found, with 44.4% of the strains showing resistance to erythromycin. At least one of the virulence or toxin genes was detected in 61.1% of the strains, and seg was the most prevalent toxin gene, being detected in 44.4% of the strains.

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Posted in Antibiotic Resistance, Decontamination Microbial, food handler, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Hand Washing, microbial contamination, Microbial growth, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, Staphylococcal Toxin, Staphylococcus aureus

Research – Occurrence of Listeria spp. in Soft Cheese and Ice Cream: Effect of Probiotic Bifidobacterium spp. on Survival of Listeria monocytogenes in Soft Cheese

Posted on November 5, 2022 by | Leave a comment

MDPI

Abstract

Listeria monocytogenes is one of the most important emerging foodborne pathogens. The objectives of this work were to investigate the incidence of Listeria spp. and L. monocytogenes in soft cheese and ice cream in Assiut city, Egypt, and to examine the effect of some probiotic Bifidobacterium spp. (Bifidobacterium breve, Bifidobacterium animalis, or a mixture of the two) on the viability of L. monocytogenes in soft cheese. The existence of Listeria spp. and L. monocytogenes was examined in 30 samples of soft cheese and 30 samples of ice cream. Bacteriological analyses and molecular identification (using 16S rRNA gene and hlyA gene for Listeria spp. and L. monocytogenes, respectively) were performed on those samples. Additionally, Bifidobacterium spp. were incorporated in the making of soft cheese to study their inhibitory impacts on L. monocytogenes. Out of 60 samples of soft cheese and ice cream, 25 samples showed Listeria spp., while L. monocytogenes was found in only 2 soft cheese samples. Approximately 37% of soft cheese samples (11 out of 30) had Listeria spp. with about 18.0% (2 out of 11) exhibiting L. monocytogenes. In ice cream samples, Listeria spp. was presented by 47% (14 out of 30), while L. monocytogenes was not exhibited. Moreover, the addition of B. animalis to soft cheese in a concentration of 5% or combined with B. breve with a concentration of 2.5% for each resulted in decreasing L. monocytogenes efficiently during the ripening of soft cheese for 28 d. Listeria spp. is widely found in milk products. Probiotic bacteria, such as Bifidobacterium spp., can be utilized as a natural antimicrobial to preserve food and dairy products. View Full-Text

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Posted in Decontamination Microbial, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, microbial contamination, Microbial growth, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, Research

Research – Microbiological and physicochemical properties of farm bulk tank milk and antimicrobial resistance of its dominant bacteria

Posted on November 5, 2022 by | Leave a comment

Wiley Online

Abstract

This study determined the antibiotic resistance of the dominant bacteria in the 85 farm BTMs according to the guidelines recommended by the epidemiological cutoff values in the EUCAST. In addition, some physicochemical and microbiological properties of farm BTMs were investigated. The milk samples were divided into two groups according to their SCC values. The milk samples with higher SCC than 400,000 cells mL−1 were further examined bacteriologically, and the antibiotic resistance of isolates was determined. The average TAMB value was 6.34 log CFU/mL in farm BTM. It was found that high-SCC values did not affect other physicochemical properties of BTM samples, such as fat, protein and total solids, except for lactose content. Seventy-two strains were isolated from 45 bulk milk samples. The most prevalent bacteria were Enterococcus spp. (23.61%). The other isolates were Citrobacter spp. (12.5%), Staphylococcus spp. (12.51%), Serratia spp. (11.12%), Klebsiella spp. (9.72%), Bacillus spp. (9.72%), and Enterobacter spp. (8.33%). In antibiotic resistance analysis, 52.6% of Enterobacterales isolates showed cefoxitin resistance, and nine Enterobacterales isolates were determined as the presumptive ESBL producers. None of them was confirmed as ESBL producers. Moreover, MDR was detected in 83.3% of Enterobacter spp. isolates and all Bacillus spp. isolates. The over and inappropriate use of antibiotics in mastitis treatment may cause antibiotic-resistant microorganisms in milk. It was found that 52.7% of the isolated bacteria were MDR, which could pose a risk to public health and food safety, with the consumer’s increasing interest in consuming raw milk.

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Posted in Bacillus, Citrobacter, Citrobacter freundii, Decontamination Microbial, Enterobacter cloacae, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Klebsiella, microbial contamination, Microbial growth, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, Raw Milk, Serratia, Staphylococcus aureus

Research UK – CFA – EU’s proposed Listeria legislation latest

Posted on November 4, 2022 by | Leave a comment

CFA

The EU’s proposed potential changes to Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) legislation (CFA News #56) continue to attract attention. It is understood that next year (2023) the EC will engage with Member States to seek a common understanding of the rules. A recent European Court case has raised clarifying points regarding the interpretation of criteria and, could result in major changes to Lm criteria in the EU Microbiological Criteria for Foodstuffs Regulation 2073/2005 and, potentially, to established effective approaches to shelf life validation and verification of ongoing control.

The expanding Industry Listeria Group (ILG) run by Karin Goodburn comprises more than 30 CFA members, UK trade associations, retailers and the European meat processors’ association (CLITRAVI). The ILG’s Position has also been endorsed by the European Chilled Food Federation and is broadly supported by the European Salmon Smokers’ Association.

The Position on the potential changes opposes challenge testing to set shelf life rather than established methods such as storage trials combined with data streams from Day of Production and End of Life sampling coupled with environmental monitoring data. Given the common root cause of listeriosis outbreaks being insufficient environmental hygiene controls, specific guidance for FBOs and enforcers on effective environmental sampling and the use of data gathered is being developed by CFA to support the Position.

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Posted in food contamination, food handler, Food Hazard, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Pathogen, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Safety Management, food safety training, Food Testing, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, microbial contamination, Microbial growth, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk

Research – Another drop in outbreaks was recorded in Germany for 2021

Posted on November 4, 2022 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety News

The amount of foodborne outbreaks reported in Germany has continued to fall, according to the latest figures.

In 2021, the Robert Koch-Institut (RKI) and Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL) received slightly fewer reports of outbreaks with 168 compared to 193 in the previous year.

At least 1,179 cases, 196 hospitalizations, and two deaths were related to them in 2021. As in previous years, the top causes were Campylobacter and Salmonella.

Other agents involved in outbreaks were norovirus, Bacillus cereus, hepatitis A virus, Listeria monocytogenes, Clostridium perfringens, Yersinia enterocolitica, Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), Clostridium botulinum, Cronobacter sakazakii, histamine, Shigella, and Staphylococcus aureus. In seven outbreaks with 73 cases, the pathogen remained unknown.

Nineteen of the 22 outbreaks with more than five patients were caused by Salmonella.

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Posted in Bacillus cereus, Clostridium botulinum, Clostridium perfringens, Cronobacter sakazakii, cross contamination, food bourne outbreak, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Hepatitis A, Histamine, Listeria monocytogenes, microbial contamination, Microbial growth, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, Norovirus, outbreak, Shigella, Staphylococcus aureus, STEC, STEC E.coli, yersinia enterocolitica

Austria sees a rise in reports of E. coli in 2021

Posted on November 4, 2022 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety News

Austria recorded an increase in the number of reported E. coli infections in 2021, based on the latest data.

In 2021, 1,437 specimens were processed at the National Reference Centre for E. coli. Overall, 1,286 human samples, 79 food, and 35 pet food samples were analyzed.

A total of 476 human stool samples tested positive for Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC). Of these, 310 isolates were confirmed as Shiga toxin-producing compared to 242 in 2020.

In 2021, only 34 were E. coli O157 with the rest non-O157. Among the latter, there were 25 O26, 26 O103, three O111, and 12 O145 isolates. In the Austrian Epidemiological Notification System (EMS), 384 cases were reported, up from 304 in 2020.

In Upper Austria, 53 cases were reported to the EMS in 2020 compared to 104 in 2021. This same state sent 123 human samples to the National Reference Centre in 2020 versus 566 in 2021.

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Posted in E.coli, E.coli O103, E.coli O111, 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, Microbial growth, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, STEC, STEC E.coli