Category Archives: Microbiology Investigations

St Kitts and Nevis updates guidance on acute gastro outbreak – Norovirus

Posted on March 31, 2023 by | Leave a comment

Loop News

Food Borne Illness - Norovirus -CDC Photo

St Kitts and Nevis has once again addressed the issue of acute gastroenteritis on island.

The St Kitts and Nevis Information Service (SKNIS) says according to a report from the Chief Medical Officer, over the past few weeks several children and adults in the Federation have been diagnosed with acute gastroenteritis (AGE).

It notes this outbreak of AGE is not unique to St Kitts and Nevis, and that a similar trend is observed in several CARICOM member states.

It is reported the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) has noted a multi-country increase in reported cases of AGE in children and adults and based on epidemiological information, the most likely cause of this AGE multi-country outbreak is Norovirus.

Norovirus was confirmed on more than one of the cruise ships travelling in the Caribbean and the UK Health Security Agency reports a sharp increase in confirmed cases of norovirus in recent weeks.

Norovirus can only be confirmed through laboratory testing.

Samples were sent off to CARPHA for analysis on Monday, March 27, 2023.

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Posted in food bourne outbreak, Food Illness, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology Blog, Foodborne Illness, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Illness, microbial contamination, Microbial growth, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, Norovirus, outbreak

Norway pushes for an exemption to EU egg shelf life rules

Posted on March 31, 2023 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety News

Norway is hoping for an exemption to European rules on shelf-life labeling of eggs, partly because of its good Salmonella record.

In December 2022, an EU regulation entered into force that extended the period eggs can be sold to the consumer to 28 days after laying by hens. However, another change moved a provision on the best-before date for table eggs to hygiene regulations, which are part of the EEA agreement. Norway is part of the European Economic Area (EEA) but is not an EU member state. As the rule didn’t previously cover Norway, the country uses an egg shelf life of 35 days after laying.

Two ministries in Norway believe the 28-day maximum shelf life rule is justified for public health reasons in many EU member states due to the occurrence of Salmonella in eggs. However, in Norway, there is a very low incidence of Salmonella in eggs.

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Posted in 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, Salmonella, Salmonella in Eggs

USA – Listeria Outbreak Linked to Deli Meat and Cheese

Posted on March 31, 2023 by | Leave a comment

CDC

This outbreak is over. Even when there are no ongoing Listeria outbreaks, people who are pregnant, aged 65 or older, or have a weakened immune system should reheat deli meat and deli-sliced cheese to an internal temperature of 165°F or until steaming hot to kill any germs.

Fast Facts
  • Illnesses: 16
  • Hospitalizations: 13
  • Deaths: 1
  • States: 6
  • Recall: No
  • Investigation status: Closed
Store with deli meat and cheese on shelves
Listeria in Deli Meat and Deli-Sliced Cheese

Deli meats (cold cuts, lunch meats, hot dogs, and pâtés) and deli-sliced cheeses are known sources of Listeria illnesses. This is because Listeria can easily spread among food, food preparation surfaces like deli slicers, and hands. Listeria is a hardy germ that can be difficult to fully remove once it is present in a deli or a food processing facility. It can survive and grow at cold temperatures in a refrigerator.

Outbreak Investigation Summary

Data showed that deli meat and cheese bought at deli counters in multiple states were the likely sources of this outbreak.

  • Of 12 people interviewed, 11 reported eating meat or cheese from deli counters.
  • The outbreak strain of Listeria was found in open packages of mortadella, ham, and salami sliced at the deli, as well as a deli in Brooklyn, New York.

A single deli or food source was not identified. It is difficult for investigators to identify the specific source of outbreaks linked to deli meats and cheeses. This is because Listeria spreads easily between food and the deli environment, and it can live for a long time in deli display cases and on equipment. A contaminated food likely introduced the outbreak strain of Listeria into delis in multiple states.

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Posted in CDC, 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, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, microbial contamination, Microbial growth, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, outbreak

France – Nestle closes French Buitoni factory hit by E.coli outbreak

Posted on March 31, 2023 by | Leave a comment

Reuters

PARIS, March 30 (Reuters) – Swiss packaged-food giant Nestle (NESN.S) is closing a frozen-pizza factory in northern France that saw sales fall sharply after an E. coli outbreak last year, it said on Thursday.

The group had suspended operations at the factory, which French media said employs 140 people, earlier this month.

French prosecutors last year opened a probe over the death of one person, the injuring of 14 others and breaches of food safety requirements which they alleged were linked to the E.coli outbreak at the factory, which produced frozen pizzas.

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Posted in E.coli, 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 – 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