Category Archives: Microbiological Risk Assessment

New Zealand strengthens tahini controls after outbreak

Posted on September 21, 2022 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety News

Authorities in New Zealand have tightened the import rules around tahini and halva from Syria following a recall and outbreak.

An outbreak of Salmonella Kintambo earlier this year involved three patients who had consumed sesame-based products from Syria. Two people were hospitalized. Sequencing of clinical isolates showed cases were closely genetically related and had the same sequence type as in an ongoing European outbreak linked to the same type of products.

In July, Middle East recalled specific batches of Algota brand Sesame Tahini because of the possible presence of Salmonella.

New Zealand Food Safety testing of tahini and halva products found Salmonella Kintambo, Salmonella Amsterdam and Salmonella Orion.

The agency has amended the sampling plan for such high risk products. Changes mean all consignments of crushed sesame seed products, such as tahini and halva, must be sampled and tested for Salmonella, when exported from Syria or if they originate from the country.

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Posted in Decontamination Microbial, food bourne outbreak, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Safety Management, food safety training, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, outbreak, Salmonella, Salmonella Sesame Seeds

Research – Risk Assessment of Norovirus Transmission in Food Establishments

Posted on September 21, 2022 by | Leave a comment

FDA

The Risk Assessment of Norovirus Transmission in Food Establishments: Evaluating the Impact of Intervention Strategies and Food Employee Behavior (Duret et al. 2017) evaluates the dynamics of norovirus transmission from ill or infected food employees in food establishments (restaurant setting) to ready-to-eat food and consumers during food preparation and also evaluates the impact of prevention strategies. A discrete event model was developed to study norovirus transmission from the soiled hands of ill or infected food employees and the impact of prevention strategies and their compliance on the prevalence of contaminated servings and the number of resulting infected customers.

The Evaluation of the Impact of Compliance with Mitigation Strategies and Frequency of Restaurant Surface Cleaning and Sanitizing on Control of Norovirus Transmission from Ill Food Employees Using an Existing Quantitative Risk Assessment Model (Fanaselle et al. 2022) uses the previously published FDA quantitative risk assessment model in Duret et al. 2017, to evaluate more than 60 scenarios examining the impact of implementation and compliance with recommendations in the FDA Food Code for: restaurant surface cleaning and sanitizing, hand hygiene and employee health.

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Posted in Decontamination Microbial, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Virus, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Norovirus, Virus

Information – CDC Food Safety Social Media Graphics

Posted on September 21, 2022 by | Leave a comment

CDC

A whole range of free food safety graphics are available at the link above 🙂

Cook Meat and Eggs to a Safe Internal Temperature

Food Safety Education Month Facebook image 7

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Posted in Decontamination Microbial, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Safety, Food Safety Management, food safety training, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk

Man Utd players hit by food poisoning after FC Sheriff win

Posted on September 21, 2022 by | Leave a comment

The Sun

MANCHESTER UNITED players and staff were hit by a bout of suspected food poisoning following their Europa League victory in Moldova.

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

Telangana: 27 children take ill, hospitalised due to suspected food poisoning.

Posted on September 21, 2022 by | Leave a comment

Live Mint

A total of 27 children were reportedly hospitalised due to food poisoning in Adilabad, said the officials on Tuesday. These children were taken to the hospital after they complained of nausea and vomiting. District Magistrate, Adilabad Prabhakar Reddy said, “yesterday night, 27 children from Kaga Nagar Minority Boys hostel Gurukul were admitted to a local hospital complaining of vomiting and nausea. A detailed inquiry has been ordered and we are investigating the matter,” according to ANI report.

The tragic incident took place after the cooks avoided washing grains and rice before cooking due to a shortage of staff,

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Posted in Decontamination Microbial, food bourne outbreak, Food Illness, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Poisoning, Foodborne Illness, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Illness, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, outbreak, Poisoning

Research – Drought-stressed maize is more likely to present mycotoxin risk.

Posted on September 20, 2022 by | Leave a comment

The Cattle Site

The extremely hot weather this summer has meant many maize forage crops have grown under drought stressed conditions, which has increased the likelihood of in-field mycotoxins developing, according to UK agricultural supply company Wynnstay.

Wynnstay dairy specialist Beth Parry urges dairy farmers to be aware of this heightened mycotoxin risk when feeding maize forage this autumn and winter.

“With potentially limited forage stocks following a difficult growing season, farmers are going to need to maximise feed utilisation and digestion to ensure performance isn’t impacted too greatly this winter,” she said.

“In-field mycotoxins are more likely to be present in silages if the crop experienced any kind of stress, such as growing in drought conditions, because moulds and fungi will have had more opportunity to take hold and produce mycotoxins,” she added.

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Posted in Decontamination Microbial, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, Mold Toxin, Mould Toxin, Mycotoxin, Research

Research – Zearalenone and Its Masked Forms in Cereals and Cereal-Derived Products: A Review of the Characteristics, Incidence, and Fate in Food Processing

Posted on September 20, 2022 by | Leave a comment

MDPI

Zearalenone (ZEA) is known as a Fusarium-produced mycotoxin, representing a risk to cereal food safety with repercussions for economies and worldwide trade. Recent studies have reported the co-occurrence of ZEA and masked ZEA in a variety of cereals and cereal-based products, which may exert adverse effects on public health due to additive/synergistic interactions. However, the co-contamination of ZEA and masked ZEA has received little attention. In order to minimize the threats of co-contamination by ZEA and masked ZEA, it is necessary to recognize the occurrence and formation of ZEA and masked ZEA. This review focuses on the characteristics, incidence, and detection of ZEA and its masked forms. Additionally, the fate of ZEA and masked ZEA during the processing of bread, cake, biscuits, pasta, and beer, as well as the ZEA limit, are discussed. The incidence of masked ZEA is lower than that of ZEA, and the mean level of masked ZEA varies greatly between cereal samples. Published data showed a considerable degree of heterogeneity in the destiny of ZEA during cereal-based food processing, mostly as a result of the varying contamination levels and complicated food processing methods. Knowledge of the fate of ZEA and masked ZEA throughout cereal-based food processing may reduce the likelihood of severe detrimental market and trade ramifications. The revision of legislative limits of masked ZEA may become a challenge in the future. View Full-Text

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Posted in Decontamination Microbial, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Toxin, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, Mold Toxin, Mould Toxin, Mycotoxin, Zearalenone

Research – Interactions Between Infectious Foodborne Viruses and Bacterial Biofilms Formed on Different Food Contact Surfaces

Posted on September 19, 2022 by | Leave a comment

Springer

Bacterial biofilms contribute to contamination, spoilage, persistence, and hygiene failure in the food industry, but relatively little is known about the behavior of foodborne viruses evolving in the complex communities that make up biofilm. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between enteric viruses and biofilms on food contact surfaces. Formed biofilms of mono- and multispecies cultures were prepared on glass, stainless steel, and polystyrene coupons and 105 pfu/ml of murine norovirus, rotavirus, and hepatitis A virus were added and incubated for 15 min, 90 min, and 24 h. The data obtained clearly demonstrate that the presence of biofilms generally influences the adhesion of enteric viruses to different surfaces. Many significant increases in attachment rates were observed, particularly with rotavirus whose rate of viral infectious particles increased 7000 times in the presence of Pseudomonas fluorescens on polystyrene after 24 h of incubation and with hepatitis A virus, which seems to have an affinity for the biofilms formed by lactic acid bacteria. Murine norovirus seems to be the least influenced by the presence of biofilms with few significant increases. However, the different factors surrounding this association are unknown and seem to vary according to the viruses, the environmental conditions, and the composition of the biofilm.

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Posted in Biofilm, Decontamination Microbial, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Virus, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, Norovirus, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Research

Research – Prevalence and Characterization of Shiga Toxin Producing Escherichia coli Isolated from Animal Feed in Croatia

Posted on September 19, 2022 by | Leave a comment

MDPI

A survey on prevalence and number of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia (E.) coli (STEC) in animal feed was carried out over a period of nine years in the Republic of Croatia. A total of 1688 feed samples were collected from feed factories and poultry farms. Analysis included two standard procedures: sample enrichment and (a) immunomagnetic separation and plating on two selective media; or (b) plating on two selective media. Confirmation of STEC included morphological examination, biochemical tests, serotyping, and polymerase chain reaction. Morphological and biochemical characterization revealed 629 E. coli strains. Further serological screening method revealed 78 STEC and EPEC serotypes, while only 27 strains were confirmed as STEC with PCR. All positive samples (1.6%) originated from poultry farms and contained combination of virulence genes: eaeA, stx1, and/or stx2. Since the presence of stx (especially stx2) and eae are identified as risk factors for development of severe diseases in humans, results of this survey indicate that avian sources of STEC infections might be one of those “undefined sources” of human illnesses. Further research is necessary for evaluation of risks posed by contaminated feed, poultry, and environment.

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Posted in Animal Feed, Animal Feed Testing, eae, eaeA, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, Research, STEC, STEC E.coli, STX 1, STX 2

Research – Pulsed Light Application for Campylobacter Control on Poultry Meat and Its Effect on Colour and Volatile Profile

Posted on September 19, 2022 by | Leave a comment

MDPI

Campylobacter on poultry meat needs to be controlled to reduce the risk of infection caused by the consumption of chicken meat. Pulsed light (PL) application on poultry meat was studied to control Campylobacter spp. The effect of this technology was evaluated regarding poultry meat colour and volatile compound changes. Two breast sample groups were prepared: inoculated with Campylobacter (107 bacteria of Campylobacter jejuni strains) and not inoculated. Samples were submitted to PL, five pulses/s of 300 ms, 1 Hz, and 1 J/cm2 in the apparatus, PL Tecum unit (Claranor). A response surface experimental design was applied regarding the factors of voltage (1828 to 3000 W) and distance to the source UV lamp (2.6 to 5.4 cm). The binomial factorial treatment (voltage and distance) with PL induced different energy doses (fluence J/cm2) received by samples, 2.82 to 9.67 J/cm2. Poultry meat pulsed light treated had a significant decrease of Enterobacteriaceae counts. The treatments applied were unable to reduce 1 log Campylobacter cfu/g of poultry meat. The poultry meat PL treated became slightly light, redder, and yellower than those not treated. PL can decrease the proportion of aldehydes on total volatiles in meat, particularly on those associated with chicken-like, chicken skin-like, and sweet odour notes in fresh poultry meat. Further studies of PL with higher energy doses will be necessary to confirm if there are Campylobacter reductions and about poultry meat treated under storage to evaluate if volatile compounds can affect the flavour of PL-treated meat samples. View Full-Text

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Posted in Campylobacter, campylobacter coli, Campylobacter jejuni, Decontamination Microbial, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, Research