Category Archives: Microbiology

RASFF Alerts – Animal Feed – Enterobacteriaceae – Dog Chews

Posted on September 23, 2022 by KSW | Leave a comment

Too high count of Enterobacteriaceae in dog chew from Turkey in Germany

Enterobacteriaceae in dog chews from Turkey in Germany

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

CDC issues Salmonella alert for people traveling to Mexico

Posted on September 22, 2022 by KSW | Leave a comment

Food Safety News

Public health officials in the United States are warning travellers who have spent time in Mexico to be aware of multidrug-resistant strains of Salmonella Newport.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that some travellers have been infected with the strains, which have developed the ability to defeat drugs designed to kill them. Salmonella infections from the strains can be difficult to treat and result in very serious illnesses.

“Many travelers with MDR (multidrug-resistant) Salmonella Newport infections reported eating beef, cheese — including queso fresco and Oaxaca— beef jerky, or dried beef — carne seca — before they got sick,” according to the alert from the CDC.

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Posted in CDC, Decontamination Microbial, Drug Resistance, drug resistant, food bourne outbreak, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, Multi Drug Resistant, outbreak, Salmonella

UK – Man contracts Cyclospora after Mexican holiday; others report illnesses.

Posted on September 22, 2022 by KSW | Leave a comment

Food Safety News

A family in England fell sick while on holiday in Mexico with at least one of them having a confirmed Cyclospora infection.

Philip Whitmore tested positive for Cyclospora after speaking with a doctor about his symptoms.

The 61-year-old said he was shocked after being told of the diagnosis and learning how the disease can be contracted.

“I did not expect to visit a five-star hotel and contract such an illness. Being a retired chef with 40 years of professional catering experience, I did notice some concerning issues around food hygiene as the holiday went on, but I never thought that most of my family would become so unwell,” he said.

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

Research – USDA Discovers 33 New Mycotoxin-Producing Fungi Species

Posted on September 22, 2022 by KSW | Leave a comment

Food Safety Magazine

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (USDA’s ARS) has discovered 33 new species of mycotoxin-producing fungi belonging to the genus Fusarium.

According to ARS scientists, many Fusarium species produce harmful secondary metabolites in plant tissues including trichothecenes, which are among the mycotoxins of greatest concern to food safety and human health. Not only do mycotoxins present an immediate threat to livestock and humans as they can cause illness, they may also be carcinogenic if consumed regularly over a prolonged period.

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

USA – FDA – Core Outbreak Investigation Table Update

Posted on September 22, 2022 by KSW | Leave a comment

FDA

What’s New

For the Listeria monocytogenes outbreak (ref# 1106) in a not yet identified product, traceback has been initiated.
For the Salmonella Mississippi outbreak (ref# 1097) in a not yet identified product, the case count changed from 102 to 103.
For the Salmonella Senftenberg outbreak (ref# 1087) in a not yet identified product, the case count changed from 27 to 30.
For the Salmonella Typhimurium outbreak (ref# 1095) in a not yet identified product, the case count changed from 78 to 84.
For the Cyclospora outbreak (ref# 1080) in a not yet identified product, the case count changed from 79 to 81

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Posted in Cyclospora, Decontamination Microbial, FDA, 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, Microbiology Risk, Salmonella

Nestlé eyes November re-opening of E. coli-hit Buitoni plant

Posted on September 22, 2022 by KSW | Leave a comment

Just Food

Nestlé is lining up the return of production at a Buitoni factory in France at the centre of a fatal E. coli outbreak earlier this year.

The world’s largest food maker said the site, located in Caudry in northern France, could see output resume in November, subject to the approval of local officials.

France’s national public health agency, Santé Publique France, made its first statement on rising cases of haemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) or Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) on 25 February.

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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 Illness Death, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Illness, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, outbreak, Research, STEC, STEC E.coli

What Are Common Food Poisoning Pathogen Incubation Periods?

Posted on September 21, 2022 by KSW | Leave a comment

Food Safety Gov

Check out the fact sheets at the link above.

Bacteria and Viruses

Bacteria and viruses are the most common cause of food poisoning. The symptoms and severity of food poisoning vary, depending on which bacteria or virus has contaminated the food.

To prevent illness, always follow the food safety steps: clean, separate, cook, and chill. Other prevention tips for specific bacteria and viruses are included below.

The bacteria and viruses that cause the most illnesses, hospitalizations, or deaths in the United States are described below and include:

Other important bacteria and viruses that cause foodborne illness include:

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Posted in Bacillus, Bacillus cereus, Bacteria, bacterial contamination, Bacterial Spores, Campylobacter, Clostridium, Clostridium botulinum, Decontamination Microbial, E.coli, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, Hepatitis A, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, Norovirus, Salmonella, Shigella, Staphylococcus aureus, Vibrio

New Zealand strengthens tahini controls after outbreak

Posted on September 21, 2022 by KSW | 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 KSW | 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.