Category Archives: Microbial growth

Salmonella outbreak ongoing with 130 sick; Listeria incident over in UK

Food Safety News

Investigations into a Salmonella outbreak are ongoing but a Listeria outbreak has ended, according to the Food Standards Agency (FSA).

More than 130 people are sick with Salmonella Mbandaka after eating chicken products from Ukraine. Four patients were admitted to hospitals and one person died.

In response to repeated non-compliance with partly cooked chicken products from Ukraine, a system of Intensified Official Controls (IOC) was started in April. This included a requirement that the next 10 imported consignments from the implicated establishment would be subject to extra inspections.

Because of continued breaches of food safety requirements, this was escalated to Imposed Checks in May. These physical, documentary and testing inspections will remain in place until a minimum of 30 consecutive favorable results are achieved.

The UK importer has stopped receipt of the steam-cooked chicken product until the issue is resolved and is testing all their uncooked product on arrival into the UK for Salmonella. An investigation by Ukrainian authorities has resulted in risk management measures being taken at the facilities of the manufacturer.

In late 2022, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) reported that Finland had 89 cases while a few patients also lived in the Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Israel.

Shocking Increase in Norovirus Outbreaks on Cruise Ships – Vacationers Beware!

Alpha Beta Stock

As vacation-starved Americans return to cruise ships in record numbers, the surge in popularity has led to an increase in norovirus incidents on board. With occupancy rates at around 100% capacity, cruise lines like Royal Caribbean Group have reported a significant rebound in the first quarter of 2023. However, this resurgence has come with a downside, as 13 outbreaks of the highly contagious norovirus, also known as the ‘cruise ship virus,’ have been reported this year alone, marking the highest number since 2012 and emphasizing the potential health risks associated with large numbers of passengers on board.

Russia – Mass Food Poisoning at Summer Health Camp as Multiple Children Hospitalized

Newsweek

A large number of children have reported symptoms consistent with food poisoning at a summer health camp in Russia’s southeastern Amur Oblast, according to local authorities.

The regional prosecutor’s office said 70 children fell sick at the White Mountains camp, with symptoms including abdominal pain and vomiting. Eight were hospitalized and the camp was suspended, state-run news agency Tass reported.

Reports that children had fallen ill at the health camp began circulating on social media on Thursday, sparking an investigation into how the facility had complied with sanitary and hygienic requirements.

Research – Does Vegan Cheese Pose a Food Safety Risk?

Food Poisoning Bulletin

Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published an analysis of a Salmonella outbreak linked to vegan cheese made from cashews. The 2021 outbreak linked to Jule’s cashew brie marked the second time since 2014 that illnesses in multiple states were linked to cashew cheese.

Does vegan cheese pose a food safety risk? If it’s made from nuts, it might.

Cashews and Kill Steps

The CDC’s 2021 report on the Jule’s brie Salmonella outbreak states that whole genome sequencing tests on the Salmonella strain cultured from patients produced the same genetic “fingerprint,” meaning the patients were exposed to the same source of contaminated food. Investigators found this outbreak strain in samples of Jule’s cheese, in the facility where it was made, and in the specific lot of raw cashews used to make the cheese.

The CDC’s recent analysis of the outbreak states that U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) investigators identified cashews as the ingredient that was the likely source of contamination and noted that no lethality treatment, or “kill step” such as pasteurization or irradiation was performed before cashew processing.

Similarly, a kill step was also omitted in the manufacture of The Cultured Kitchen cashew cheese linked to the 2014 Salmonella outbreak. Tests performed during that investigation revealed the presence of the outbreak strain in samples of the cheese collected from a patient’s home and in a batch of fermenting, raw, cashews collected from the facility where the product was made.

USA – Salmonella Outbreak at Solano County Jails Sickens 117

Food Poisoning Bulletin

A Salmonella outbreak at Solano County jails in California has allegedly sickened more than a hundred inmates, according to the Vallejo Sun. All three jails in that county have ill inmates, and the outbreak has lasted more than a week, a spokesperson for the Solano County Sheriff’s Office told that outlet.

There are three jails in that county, including the Stanton Correctional Facility, the Claybank Detention Facility, and the Solano County Justice Center Detention Facility. Trinity Services Group provides the food for all three jails, and the Solano County Department of Health has been working with that establishment to clean their facility and to test food for contamination.

RASFF Alert – Animal Feed – Aflatoxin – Peanuts for Bird Feed

RASFF

Aflatoxin B1 in Bolivian peanuts for bird feed in Netherlands and Germany

RASFF Alerts – Animal Feed – Salmonella – Soybean Meal – Soyabean Pods

RASFF

Salmonella spp. in soybean meal (feed) from Italy in Germany and Austria

RASFF

Salmonella Mbandaka in soybean pods from the Netherlands in Belgium

Wales – Second childcare setting identified in STEC E.coli probe

Wales Online

A second childcare setting has been identified in an investigation into an E.coli case in Wales. Public Health Wales confirmed that it was investigating two cases of E.coli in children who attend the nursery at Ysgol Pen Barras in Ruthin on Saturday.

However, PHW has since re-classified one of these cases as “probable”, rather than confirmed. One child who attends the school has got a confirmed diagnosis of E.coli.

While there is currently no evidence to suggest the case has been transmitted or acquired from the school, children in the nursery and reception classes at the school were asked not to attend on Monday and Tuesday and were also asked to provide stool samples.

Korea – Wash hands after touching eggs: Food agency warns of salmonella outbreak

Korean Herald

Food safety authorities on Wednesday warned people to wash hands promptly after handling or cooking raw eggs, citing food poisoning risks from Salmonella, a harmful bacterium found in poultry and mammal intestines.

There have been numerous cases of food poisoning caused by cross-contamination, where individuals handle eggs and then fail to wash their hands before cooking food or touching other cooking utensils, according to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.

USDA-FSIS Surveys Salmonella Rates in NRTE Breaded Stuffed Chicken Products

Food Safety.Com

As part of an effort to reduce cases of salmonellosis attributable to poultry products, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA’s FSIS) conducted a study with the Food Emergency Response Network (FERN) laboratories to gather data on not-ready-to-eat (NRTE) breaded stuffed chicken products purchased at retail stores. The release of the survey results follows FSIS’ April 2023 proposed determination to declare Salmonella an adulterant in breaded stuffed raw chicken products.

The survey was intended to gather information on the positive rate of Salmonella in NRTE breaded stuffed chicken products and any differences in laboratory methods used.

Through FERN, 11 geographically dispersed state labs participated in the study. From July 1, 2022—September 30, 2022, the labs purchased locally available NRTE breaded stuffed chicken products at retail stores (approximately 15 samples per month for each product) and tested them for the presence of Salmonella and indicator organisms.

In total, 58 of the 487 samples tested were positive for the presence of Salmonella. A noticeable difference in positivity rates was seen between laboratories that ran methods the same as FSIS (36 of 135, or 27 percent) using larger test portions and laboratories that ran methods different from FSIS (22 of 352, or 6 percent) using smaller test portions. Small amounts of Salmonella present in the product or uneven distribution of Salmonella contamination could account for the lower positivity rates when smaller sample portions were tested.

Total aerobic counts were similar across products tested. Whole genome sequencing detected S. Enteritidis (18 of 58), S. Infantis (22 of 58), S. Kentucky (15 of 58) and S. Typhimurium (3 of 58).