Category Archives: Microbiological Risk Assessment

USA – FSMA Proposed Rule on Agricultural Water

Posted on December 6, 2021 by | Leave a comment

FDA

The FDA is proposing a revision to Subpart E of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule that would change the pre-harvest agricultural water requirements for covered produce (other than sprouts). The requirements in this proposed rule, if finalized, would replace the pre-harvest microbial quality criteria and testing requirements in the Produce Safety Rule with requirements for systems-based pre-harvest agricultural water assessments. These assessments would be used to identify conditions that are reasonably likely to introduce known or reasonably foreseeable hazards into or onto produce or food contact surfaces, and to determine whether corrective or mitigation measures are needed to minimize the risks associated with pre-harvest agricultural water.

These proposed requirements are intended to address stakeholder concerns about the complexity and practical implementation of certain pre-harvest agricultural water requirements in the Produce Safety Rule while continuing to protect public health. The requirements also are designed to be adaptable to future advancements in agricultural water quality science.

We are not proposing to change the requirements for harvest and post-harvest uses of agricultural water, or the agricultural water requirements for sprouts.  Sprouts are subject to specific pre-harvest agricultural water requirements, and the compliance dates for those sprouts requirements have passed.

Overview

1. Agricultural Water Assessment

Agricultural Water Assessment Fact Sheet
(PDF: 291KB)

The proposed rule, if finalized, would replace the pre-harvest microbial quality criteria and testing requirements in the Produce Safety Rule for covered produce (other than sprouts) with requirements for systems-based pre-harvest agricultural water assessments to be used for hazard identification and risk management decision-making (see the webpage for the final Produce Safety Rule for a description of the requirements as currently written).  Under the proposed requirements, covered farms would be required to conduct pre-harvest agricultural water assessments once annually, and whenever a change occurs that increases the likelihood that a known or reasonably foreseeable hazard will be introduced into or onto produce or food contact surfaces. As part of their pre-harvest agricultural water assessments, these farms would be required to evaluate certain factors (listed in the link above) that could impact produce safety.

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Posted in Bore Hole Water, Contaminated water, Decontamination Microbial, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Water, water microbiology, Water Safety

Wales – Two E. coli O157 infections in children under investigation in Wales

Posted on December 6, 2021 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety News

Public health officials in Wales are investigating two E. coli O157 infections at different primary schools in the country.

Public Health Wales, Conwy County Borough Council and Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board are looking into a case of E. coli O157 at a primary school in Abergele.

The same three agencies are also investigating a probable case of E. coli O157 at a primary school in Conwy to try and find the source.

There is currently no evidence in either case to suggest the child acquired the infection at the school.

“Parents and guardians of pupils that attend the school and who may have had contact with this case have been contacted and advised on infection prevention and control measures, and what steps to take if their child develops symptoms. Contacts have been asked to submit samples for testing and to remain off school until negative results are received,” he said.

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Posted in E.coli O157, E.coli O157:H7, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, STEC, STEC E.coli

India – Karimnagar: 100 students fall sick due to food poisoning in Choppadandi

Posted on December 6, 2021 by | Leave a comment

Telangana Today

Karimnagar: At least 100 students of Social Welfare Girls Residential School, Choppadandi, took ill after having lunch on Friday. They complained of stomach-ache and started vomiting following food poisoning.

According to the students, they were served cabbage, egg, dal and sambar for lunch. Immediately after lunch, they developed symptoms of food poisoning. The school authorities suspect there was a problem with the cabbage dish.

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

EU – Multiple EU countries part of Salmonella outbreak

Posted on December 6, 2021 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety News

At least four European countries have been affected by a Salmonella outbreak with investigators as yet unable to determine the source.

Thirteen people have fallen ill in Iceland, eight in Denmark, one in Sweden and an unknown number of people were also ill in the Netherlands and Belgium. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) was informed about the outbreak by national authorities.

In September in Iceland, there was an increase in reports of Salmonella infections. Further investigations found they were the same type of Salmonella typhimurium. Samples were sent to Statens Serum Institute (SSI) in Denmark for sequencing.

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Posted in food bourne outbreak, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, outbreak, Salmonella

Research – Bacterial Distribution and Community Structure in Beef Cattle Liver and Bile at Slaughter

Posted on December 5, 2021 by | Leave a comment

Journal of Food Protection

In this study, the distribution of hygienic indicator bacteria in cattle livers and bile was examined at slaughterhouses. First, 127 cattle livers with gallbladders were carefully eviscerated from the carcasses at 10 slaughterhouses. Microbiological examination showed that 9 bile (7.1%) and 19 liver parenchyma (15.0%) samples were positive for the family Enterobacteriaceae (EB) with means ± SD of 3.68 ± 4.63 log CFU/mL and 1.59 ± 2.47 log CFU/g, respectively; thus, bacterial contamination was apparent even at the postevisceration stage. Subsequently, 70 cattle livers were obtained at the postprocessing/storage stage from 7 of the ten slaughterhouses; microbiological analysis revealed greater means of EB in the liver parenchyma (means ± SD of 3.00 ± 3.89 log CFU/g, P =0.011) than those at postevisceration stage, suggesting that bacterial dissemination and/or replication occurred in the liver parenchyma during processing and storage. According to 16S rRNA ion semiconductor sequencing analysis of representative samples from 12 cattle, Proteobacteria , Firmicutes , and Actinobacteria were dominant in both the parenchyma and bile, in which EB/ Escherichia coli were predominate among EB-rich livers. These results suggest that bile plays a role as a vehicle for bacterial transmission to the liver parenchyma. This is the first study to demonstrate bacterial distribution and community structure in the liver and biliary microecosystem of cattle at slaughter. Our data provide possible implication of EB testing in bile to screen cattle livers contaminated with high levels of fecal indicator bacteria.

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Posted in Enterobacteriaceae, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Research

Research – Prevalence of Salmonella in Chinese Food Commodities: A meta-analysis

Posted on December 5, 2021 by | Leave a comment

Journal of Food Protection

kswfoodworld Salmonella

The objective of the present study was to analyze the prevalence of Salmonella in multiple food commodities in China by performing a meta-analysis. Accordingly, we screened studies that examined the prevalence of Salmonella in PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science databases. Methodological quality assessment and heterogeneity analyses were performed for included studies. The prevalence rate with the 95% confidence interval (95% CI) was selected as the effect size. Subgroup analyses for each food type were conducted and then stratified by regions, food-chain processing points, and seasons. In total, 49 studies were included in the meta-analysis, among them, 8 (16.3%) studies were deemed “High risk”, 13 (26.5%) studies were “Unclear risk”, and 28 (57.2%) studies were “Low risk”. The overall prevalence rate of Salmonella was 20.0 (95%CI: 15.9-24.4)%. The prevalence rate of Salmonella in raw meat products was 23.6 (95%CI: 19.8-27.6)%, which was higher than that in aquatic products (13.7 [95%CI: 3.1-29.9]%), milk products (0.9 [95%CI: 0.0-3.9]%), frozen convenience foods (6.5 [95%CI: 4.4-8.9]%), ready-to-eat foods (2.0 [95%CI: 1.1-3.2]%), vegetables and fruits (0.9 [95%CI: 0.0-5.2]%), and shell eggs (4.2 [95%CI: 3.0-5.7]%). Subgroup analyses revealed that prevalence rates of Salmonella in raw meat products from abattoirs (26.3 [95%CI: 17.4-36.3]%) and retail stores (30.0 [95%CI: 24.6-35.8]%) were higher than those determined from farms (10.2 [95%CI: 7.0-13.9)%; P < 0.05); however, no significant difference was observed in the prevalence of Salmonella stratified by different geographical regions or seasons (P > 0.05). Based on these findings, high levels of Salmonella contamination could be detected in raw meat products in China, and the prevalence rate of Salmonella in raw meat products from abattoirs and retail stores was high.

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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, Research, Salmonella

Research – High-Pressure-Induced Sublethal Injuries of Food Pathogens—Microscopic Assessment

Posted on December 5, 2021 by | Leave a comment

MDPI

High Hydrostatic Pressure (HHP) technology is considered an alternative method of food preservation. Nevertheless, the current dogma is that HHP might be insufficient to preserve food lastingly against some pathogens. Incompletely damaged cells can resuscitate under favorable conditions, and they may proliferate in food during storage. This study was undertaken to characterize the extent of sublethal injuries induced by HHP (300–500 MPa) on Escherichia coli and Listeria innocua strains. The morphological changes were evaluated using microscopy methods such as Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), and Epifluorescence Microscopy (EFM). The overall assessment of the physiological state of tested bacteria through TEM and SEM showed that the action of pressure on the structure of the bacterial membrane was almost minor or unnoticeable, beyond the L. innocua wild-type strain. However, alterations were observed in subcellular structures such as the cytoplasm and nucleoid for both L. innocua and E. coli strains. More significant changes after the HHP of internal structures were reported in the case of wild-type strains isolated from raw juice. Extreme condensation of the cytoplasm was observed, while the outline of cells was intact. The percentage ratio between alive and injured cells in the population was assessed by fluorescent microscopy. The results of HHP-treated samples showed a heterogeneous population, and red cell aggregates were observed. The percentage ratio of live and dead cells (L/D) in the L. innocua collection strain population was higher than in the case of the wild-type strain (69%/31% and 55%/45%, respectively). In turn, E. coli populations were characterized with a similar L/D ratio. Half of the cells in the populations were distinguished as visibly fluorescing red. The results obtained in this study confirmed sublethal HHP reaction on pathogens cells. View Full-Text

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Posted in E.coli, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Technology, HPP, Listeria, Listeria innocua, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Research, Technology

Research – Quality and safety of fresh beef in retail: a review

Posted on December 4, 2021 by | Leave a comment

Journal of Food Protection

This study aimed to review the scientific literature on the quality and safety of beef sold in retail, methodologies used for quality evaluation, and proposed interventions for the sector. Bibliographical research was performed in order to identify scientific articles using the electronic databases Ovid, PubMed, Scielo, LILACS, Scopus and Embase. Thirty-three articles were included in the review. Given the different dimensions of the studies, the results were organized into three categories, according to the following approaches: food, environment and handlers; consumers and selection criteria; and intervention strategies for the segment. The applied methodological strategies revealed inadequate conditions and neglect in several processing and operation stages that are fundamental to the maintenance of quality standards. The results confirm a worrying scenario and the presence of risks to consumers. Based on the studies evaluated, it is necessary to emphasize the consumer concern about the importance of the integrated information chain – all stages involved in the production process and meat distribution for retail meat stores. The reported conditions on different studies indicate the need for interventions, with a view to prevention of health risks, continued training of food handlers and transformation of evidenced realities. In this context, it is possible to point out the predominance of diagnostic studies, in contrast with interventional studies focused on the training / qualification of food handlers.

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Posted in Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations

Information – Raw Milk

Posted on December 4, 2021 by | Leave a comment

ACSA

Raw milk

milk

____________________________________________________________________________________________

  • Always boil raw milk
  • Store at 4ºC
  • Consume it within 3 days of purchasing it

TREAT RAW MILK SAFELY

The raw milk has unique virtues such as its taste, texture and smell. At the same time, it is a very direct link with good farmers, because it can only be sold by farms that meet a series of animal health and hygiene requirements in their milking facilities .

However, raw milk, due to its special composition, can contain bacteria that are harmful to health, mainly Salmonella , Campylobacter , Listeria  and Escherichia coli.

In Spain, the direct sale of raw milk to the consumer is allowed as long as the requirements established in the hygiene package regulations and the additional requirements established in Royal Decree 1086/2020 , of December 9, by which regulate and make flexible certain conditions of application of the provisions of the European Union regarding hygiene in the production and marketing of food products and activities excluded from their scope of application are regulated.

Milk-producing farms may only supply raw milk from their own farm directly to the final consumer or to retail establishments that supply directly to the final consumer if they meet the following requirements:

  • The establishment is authorized and registered in the General Registry of Food and Food Companies
  • The milk has to be sold
  • The package label indicates the expiration date not exceeding three days after milking and the following indications:
    • Raw milk without heat treatment: Consume only after boiling for at least one minute.
    • Store refrigerated between 1 and 4 ºC.
  • Retail establishments may only use raw milk as a raw material or ingredient for food processing if it is boiled or subjected to an equivalent culinary treatment.
  • However, catering establishments that serve food to vulnerable communities , such as hospitals, nursery schools, colleges or homes for the elderly, cannot use raw milk.

To drink milk safely , follow the instructions below:

2_Recipient llet Transport raw milk quickly to your home and boil it immediately , in order to destroy any bacteria it contains. Use a container with a wide base and stir while it boils. Once the boiling foam has risen, turn off the heat. Immediately, you have to cool it down and put it in the refrigerator, in the coldest place, at a temperature below 4ºC, and it is necessary to keep it covered to prevent it from becoming contaminated and acquiring odors from other foods.
3_Temperature llet If you cannot boil the milk right away, put it in the fridge at a temperature below 4ºC. But boil it as soon as possible .
4_Frozen llet You can also freeze raw milk , just like you do with other foods. Freezing, however, does not kill bacteria, so to ensure safety, remember that it is best to always boil milk before freezing . To maintain its structure and prevent it from precipitating, it must be stirred well before freezing and, even, it must be stirred several times while it freezes.
5_ Thawed llet You must defrost the milk in the refrigerator. It may happen that it has a slightly grainy texture, which is normal. Remember to keep frozen milk well covered to prevent it from absorbing strange odors.
6_Consum llet It is recommended that raw milk be consumed within 3 days of  purchase, that is, without exceeding 72 hours.

Pregnant women, children, the elderly and people with depressed immunity are more susceptible to foodborne infections, for this reason, they must take special care to strictly comply with these measures. 

Click to access Trate-la-leche-cruda-con-seguridad.pdf

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Posted in Campylobacter, Decontamination Microbial, E.coli, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Raw Milk, Salmonella

Research – Antimicrobial activity and mechanism of oregano essential oil against Shewanella putrefaciens

Posted on December 4, 2021 by | Leave a comment

Wiley Online

The aim of the present study was to investigate the antimicrobial mechanism of oregano essential oil (OEO) against Shewanella putrefaciens. Antimicrobial activity of OEO against Shewanella putrefaciens was investigated by the agar disc diffusion method. The change of growth curve, electric conductivity, the integrity of cell membrane, alkaline phosphatase (AKP), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity were measured to evaluate its antibacterial mechanism. The morphology of bacterial cells was observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The interaction between OEO and Shewanella putrefaciens genomic DNA was measured by ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) spectroscopy, and DNA ethidium bromide adduct was analyzed by fluorescence. The results showed that the minimum inhibitory concentration of OEO against Shewanella putrefaciens was 0.09% (v/v), and OEO could inhibit the growth of Shewanella putrefacien with a dose-dependent manner. The cell membrane and cell wall of Shewanella putrefaciens were destroyed by OEO, which led to the leakage of nucleic acid, protein, and the release of AKP and LDH. The results of SEM confirmed the damaging effect of OEO on the bacterial morphology. The results of UV–Vis and fluorescence titration indicated that binding of the complexes to DNA was an intercalative mode.

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