Category Archives: Microbiological Risk Assessment

Research – Multi-country outbreak of Salmonella Virchow ST16 infections linked to the consumption of meat products containing chicken meat

Posted on March 31, 2023 by | Leave a comment

EFSA

Abstract

Since June 2017, a persistent cross-border outbreak of Salmonella Virchow ST16 has been ongoing in five European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA) countries, the United Kingdom (UK), and the United States (US). A total of 210 cases have been reported from the following countries: Denmark (2), France (111), Germany (26), Ireland (4), the Netherlands (34), the UK (32), and the US (1). Among the interviewed cases (55), hospitalisation rates ranged from 16.7% (2/12) in the UK, to 29.4% (5/17) and 38.5% (10/26) in France and Germany, respectively. No deaths have been reported. A majority of cases have been linked to local restaurants serving kebab meat. The number of confirmed cases represents only a small proportion of all infections in the EU/EEA, partly due to the varying sequencing capacities of countries.

The comparison of the representative outbreak strains with the available genome profiles of S. Virchow ST16 from non-human isolates, revealed that most of the matching isolates belonged to broiler meat and broiler-related environments, thereby supporting the hypothesis of chicken meat as a vehicle of infections.

The available information from case interviews, traceback investigations, and whole genome sequencing (WGS) cluster analysis, showed that kebab meat products containing contaminated chicken meat are the likely vehicles of infections, and that the clone has been circulating in the EU poultry meat production chain at least in France, Germany, and the Netherlands. In the absence of batch numbers of the contaminated kebab products and related Salmonella testing information, the source(s) of the infections could not be established.

New infections are likely to occur in the EU/EEA affecting any age group, until further investigations are performed to identify the source(s) and point(s) of contamination along the chicken meat production chain, including the primary production upstream lines. This will allow appropriate control measures to be implemented.

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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, Foodborne Illness, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Illness, microbial contamination, Microbial growth, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, outbreak, Salmonella, Salmonella in Chicken, WGS

RASFF Alert – Animal Feed- Aflatoxin – Sunflower Seeds

Posted on March 31, 2023 by | Leave a comment

RASFF

Aflatoxin B1 in sunflower seeds from Egypt in Spain

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Posted in Animal Feed, Animal Feed Mould Toxin, Animal Feed Testing, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology Blog, microbial contamination, Microbial growth, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, RASFF

RASFF Alerts – Animal Feed – Salmonella – Pet Food – Corn Grain – Soybean Cakes

Posted on March 31, 2023 by | Leave a comment

RASFF

Salmonella (O:4 present /25g) in corn grain from Ukraine in Poland

RASFF

Salmonella (O:4 present /25g) in soybean cakes from Ukraine in Poland

RASFF

Salmonella in pet food from India in Spain

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Posted in Animal Feed, Animal Feed Salmonella, Animal Feed Testing, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, microbial contamination, Microbial growth, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, Pet Food, Pet Food Salmonella, Pet Food Testing, RASFF, Salmonella

USA – FDA Core Investigation Table Update

Posted on March 30, 2023 by | Leave a comment

FDA

What’s New

  • A new outbreak of Salmonella Infantis (ref #1141) linked to a not yet identified product has been added to the table. FDA has initiated traceback. This investigation is ongoing and additional information will be provided as it becomes available.
  • For the Salmonella Hartford outbreak in a not yet identified food, the case count has increased from 50 to 53 cases.
Date
Posted		 Ref Pathogen
or
Cause of
Illness		 Product(s)
Linked to
Illnesses
(if any)		 Total
Case
Count
Status
3/29/2023 1141 Salmonella Infantis Not Yet
Identified		 12 Active
3/8/2023 1144 Salmonella Hartford Not Yet
Identified		 53 Active
3/1/2023 1143 Hepatitis A Virus Frozen Organic
Strawberries		 See
Outbreak
Advisory		 Active
2/15/2023 1123 Listeria
monocytogenes		 Not Yet
Identified		 See
CDC
Investigation
Notice		 Active
11/9/2022 1127 Listeria
monocytogenes		 Enoki
Mushrooms		 See
Outbreak
Advisory		 Active

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Posted in CORE Investigation Table, FDA, food bourne outbreak, Food Illness, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Foodborne Illness, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Hepatitis A, Illness, Listeria, Listeria Enoki Mushrooms, Listeria monocytogenes, microbial contamination, Microbial growth, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, outbreak, Salmonella

USA – Stewart Parnell looks for better Habeas in Atlanta than he just had in Mid-Georgia – Peanut Butter Salmonella Outbreak

Posted on March 29, 2023 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety News

A decade after his indictment and a year after United States Magistrate Judge Thomas Q. Langstaff denied his petition for early release, one-time peanut butter mogul Stewart Parnell still has one more card to play.

Parnell, 68, has 15 years to run on his sentence imposed after a 2014 jury conviction for numerous federal felonies associated with the deadly 2008-09 multistate Salmonella outbreak traced to his Peanut Corporation of America peanut processing facility in Blakely, GA. He is serving his time at the federal correctional facility at Hazelton, WV.

Parnell begins this year with a new appeal of his Habeas corpus petition in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th U.S. Circuit in Atlanta. A Habeas petition claims unlawful detention or imprisonment because of constitutional infractions. It can open cell doors,

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Posted in Death, Decontamination Microbial, food bourne outbreak, food death, Food Illness, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Foodborne Illness, Foodborne Illness Death, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Illness, microbial contamination, Microbial growth, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, outbreak, Salmonella, Salmonella Peanut Butter

USA – FDA and Stop Foodborne Illness to Co-Host Webinar on Assessing Food Safety Culture

Posted on March 29, 2023 by | Leave a comment

FDA

Today, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the seventh in the ongoing series of webinars exploring food safety culture will take place on May 11, 2023, from 3:45 pm 5:00 pm ET. The webinar series Collaborating on Culture in the New Era of Smarter Food Safety is in partnership with Stop Foodborne IllnessExternal Link Disclaimer, a non-profit public health organization.

The upcoming webinar “Live from the Food Safety Summit: Measure What You Treasure”, will focus on the importance of assessing food safety culture in an organization.

Guest speakers on May 11, include:

  • Donald A. Prater, DVM, Acting Director, Office of Food Policy and Response, FDA
  • Conrad Choiniere, PhD, Director, Office of Analytics and Outreach, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, FDA
  • Lone Jespersen, Principal and Founder, Cultivate SA
  • Vanessa Coffman, Director, Alliance to Stop Foodborne Illness
  • Brian Perry, Executive Food Safety & Quality Leader, TreeHouse Foods, Inc
  • Karleigh Bacon, Director of U.S. Supply Chain Food Safety, Science & Regulatory, McDonald’s Corporation
  • Philip Bronstein, Ph.D., Assistant Administrator, Office of Field Operations, Food Safety and Inspection Service, Food Safety and Inspection Service, USDA

The webinar series engages experts from the public and private sectors in a collaborative exchange of ideas and experiences related to the importance of a robust food safety culture in helping to ensure safe food production.

Food safety culture is one of the core elements in FDA’s New Era of Smarter Food Safety blueprint, which states that dramatic improvements in reducing the burden of foodborne illness cannot be made without doing more to influence the beliefs, attitudes, and, most importantly, the behaviors of people and the actions of organizations.

Register for Session 7External Link Disclaimer

To learn more about this webinar series and to listen to recordings, visit Collaborating on Culture in the New Era of Smarter Food Safety.

For More Information 

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

Ireland – Mayo’s Clare Island Hit with Cryptosporidium in Public Water Supply

Posted on March 29, 2023 by | Leave a comment

Afloat.ie

Mayo’s Clare island has been hit with a “boil water” notice after the detection of cryptosporidium in the public water supply.

The “boil water” notice takes immediate effect, Uisce Éireann (Irish Water) and Mayo Council have said.

This follows consultation with the Health Service Executive (HSE) to protect the health of approximately 160 people on the island’s public water supply scheme.

The two bodies have said they are “working to implement solutions to lift the notice as quickly and as safely as possible in consultation with the HSE”.

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Posted in Boil Water Notice, Contaminated water, Cryptosporidiosis, Cryptosporidium, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, microbial contamination, Microbial growth, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, Protozoan, water microbiology, Water Safety

Vietnam – 73 Hanoi students hospitalised for food poisoning after field trip

Posted on March 29, 2023 by | Leave a comment

VN Express

A total 73 students at Kim Giang Elementary School in Hanoi developed signs of food poisoning after having lunch prepared by the school’s canteen for a field trip.

The school in Thanh Xuan District organized the field trip to Canh Buom Xanh Park in Gia Lam District for 915 first and second graders on Tuesday morning.

For lunch, the school had the canteen prepare food, including fried rice, fried chicken, fries, sour soup and cookies, and send them along to the park.

The children had lunch at 11 a.m. and during the trip, they also had their own snacks and drinks prepared by their families aside from drinking bottled water provided by the park.

Around 2 p.m. on Tuesday when they returned to school, several students started to have abdominal pain and vomit while two suffered diarrheas.

The Food Safety Department of Hanoi have taken samples of the food served at the student’s lunch and samples of their vomit, as well as of the foods at the park, and sent them to the National Institute of Food Safety for testing.

The school’s canteen has been now suspended.

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Posted in Decontamination Microbial, food contamination, food handler, Food Hazard, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Pathogen, Food Poisoning, Foodborne Illness, Illness, microbial contamination, Microbial growth, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk

Research – A foodborne outbreak of Campylobacteriosis at a wedding – Melbourne, Australia, 2022

Posted on March 29, 2023 by | Leave a comment

1 Health

Abstract

Campylobacter is the most common bacterial cause of foodborne gastroenteritis in Australia; how-ever, outbreaks caused by the pathogen are relatively uncommon. In March 2022, the Victorian Department of Health was notified of a gastrointestinal illness in 20 guests following attendance at a wedding reception.

Two of these individuals were notified with laboratory-confirmed campylobacteriosis, and an investigation was undertaken to identify the source of the infection and implement strategies to prevent further illness. A case-control study was conducted to determine the likely source of infection. Cases were defined as attendees of the wedding reception, with onset of diarrhoea and/or abdominal cramping 1–10 days after attending the function. Controls were randomly selected from the remaining list of non-ill guests. Cases and controls were interviewed using a standardised, menu-based questionnaire.

Food preparation processes were documented, and food samples collected.

A total of 29 wedding guests met the case definition. Cases reported onset of illness 2–5 days fol-lowing the wedding and major symptoms included abdominal cramping (100%), diarrhoea (90%), headache (79%), and fever (62%). Two cases were hospitalised, one with ongoing secondary neu-rological sequelae.

Illness was significantly associated with consumption of a duck breast brioche canapé containing duck liver parfait (odds ratio = 2.85; 95% confidence interval: 1.03–7.86). No leftover food samples were available for testing.The investigation found that the duck canapé was the likely vehicle of infection. Consistent with the literature on Campylobacter transmission, it is likely that inadequate cooking of the duck liver for the parfait was the contributing factor that led to illness. This highlights the risks posed by undercooked poultry dishes, and shows that education of food handlers remains a priority.

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Posted in Campylobacter, campylobacter coli, Campylobacter jejuni, Decontamination Microbial, food bourne outbreak, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, microbial contamination, Microbial growth, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, outbreak

Research – Cronobacter sakazakii Infections in Two Infants Linked to Powdered Infant Formula and Breast Pump Equipment — United States, 2021 and 2022

Posted on March 29, 2023 by | Leave a comment

CDC

Summary

What is already known about this topic?

Infections caused by Cronobacter sakazakii are rare but can cause severe illness and death in infants.

What is added by this report?

Whole genome sequencing analysis was used to link one case of Cronobacter sakazakii infection in a full-term infant to an opened can of powdered infant formula, and another unrelated fatal case in a premature infant to contaminated breast pump equipment.

What are the implications for public health practice?

Increased awareness of the widespread presence of Cronobacter in the environment, along with promotion of safe preparation and storage of powdered infant formula, and careful cleaning and sanitization of breast pump equipment, could prevent potentially devastating infections.

Cronobacter sakazakii, a species of gram-negative bacteria belonging to the Enterobacteriaceae family, is known to cause severe and often fatal meningitis and sepsis in young infants. C. sakazakii is ubiquitous in the environment, and most reported infant cases have been attributed to contaminated powdered infant formula (powdered formula) or breast milk that was expressed using contaminated breast pump equipment (1–3). Previous investigations of cases and outbreaks have identified C. sakazakii in opened powdered formula, breast pump parts, environmental surfaces in the home, and, rarely, in unopened powdered formula and formula manufacturing facilities (2,4–6). This report describes two infants with C. sakazakii meningitis reported to CDC in September 2021 and February 2022. CDC used whole genome sequencing (WGS) analysis to link one case to contaminated opened powdered formula from the patient’s home and the other to contaminated breast pump equipment. These cases highlight the importance of expanding awareness about C. sakazakii infections in infants, safe preparation and storage of powdered formula, proper cleaning and sanitizing of breast pump equipment, and using WGS as a tool for C. sakazakii investigations.

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Posted in Cronobacter sakazakii, cross contamination, 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