Category Archives: Microbiology

UK retailers share Campylobacter in chicken results

Posted on June 28, 2023 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety News

Supermarkets in the United Kingdom have reported their Campylobacter in chicken results for late 2022.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) maximum target level is up to 7 percent of birds with more than 1,000 colony-forming units per gram (CFU/g) of Campylobacter.

Data from the retailers covers October to December 2022 on high findings of Campylobacter in fresh, shop-bought, UK-produced chickens.

Results at Waitrose, Morrisons and Lidl went up while Marks and Spencer, Aldi, Asda, and Sainsbury’s recorded lower levels of contamination than the previous quarter. Figures for Co-op stayed the same.

Campylobacter is the most common cause of bacterial food poisoning in the UK and the dose needed to make people sick can be as low as a few hundred cells.

Tesco has stopped publishing data as it has changed the way it monitors the pathogen in chicken so findings are not comparable with other retailers.

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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, Microbial growth, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, Retailer Campylobacter Survey

Catalonia – Cook and preserve egg foods safely

Posted on June 28, 2023 by | Leave a comment

ACSA

Foods made with eggs or egg products appear in Catalonia as the leading cause of food poisoning (diseases transmitted by food). The egg, by its nature, is a food sensitive to contamination and bacterial multiplication.
Foods made with eggs such as tortillas, creams, flans, quiches, etc.:
  • They must be cooked at a temperature that reaches 75°C in the center of the product. You have to curdle the tortillas well. Cooking is the only way to kill dangerous germs, including salmonella. Insufficient cooking does not guarantee the elimination of germs.
  • They should be consumed immediately or kept in the refrigerator.
  • It cannot be kept at room temperature for more than two hours.
Both mayonnaise and other sauces made with raw eggs do not receive any heat treatment that eliminates possible germs, therefore, in the preparation and preparation of these foods it is necessary to strictly respect the following hygiene rules:
  • Just the right amount of sauce should be prepared to be consumed in a single meal. The sauces should not be kept for later days.
  • If we add a few drops of vinegar or lemon, it will improve its conservation.
  • They must be kept in the refrigerator until they are consumed or used in other dishes that we must also refrigerate.
Restaurants, cafeterias, bars, seasonal establishments, central kitchens and collective dining rooms and any other establishment that serves meals may only use pasteurized egg products for the preparation of mayonnaise or other sauces that contain raw 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 in Eggs

Armenian Poultry Producer “Mum” on Salmonella Outbreak

Posted on June 28, 2023 by | Leave a comment

HETQ

A leading poultry producer in Armenia remains silent on why salmonella was found in its frozen chickens sold on supermarket shelves.

Hetq, in conjunction with Armenia’s Food Safety Inspectorate (FSI) sent frozen chickens sold by Getamej and the Arax Poultry Factory for lab testing and found the bacteria.

The FSI, on June 15, stated it shut done the Arax Poultry Plant and banned the sale of Getamej products.

Hetq attempted to contact the Arax Poultry Plant to see if the bacteria has killed off some of their birds.

For weeks, company representatives never responded to our inquiries after promising to do so.

Today, the company contacted Hetq, saying they will get back to us when necessary.

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Posted in 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 Chicken

Wales – E.coli cases being investigated at North Wales school

Posted on June 28, 2023 by | Leave a comment

Daily Post

A North Wales school will be closed to nursery and reception-aged children after two children were diagnosed with an E.coli infection. Children who have been identified as close contacts to the cases are being asked to provide a stool sample as Public Health Wales investigate the infection.

Public Health Wales has confirmed that it is investigating two confirmed cases of E.coli in two children who attend Ysgol Pen Barras in Ruthin. The school will be closed on Monday and Tuesday.

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Posted in E.coli, 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, outbreak

Research – Strategies to Reduce Clostridium botulinum Risk in Fresh-Cut Produce

Posted on June 27, 2023 by | 2 comments

food safety.com

The risks associated with Clostridium botulinum and low-acid canned foods, meats, seafood, and temperature-abused foods are generally well-established. However, there has been increasing consideration toward C. botulinum and its potential as a pathogen of concern for fresh-cut vegetables, fruits, and mushrooms.

For an industry segment beleaguered by recent outbreaks of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli, Salmonella enterica, and Listeria monocytogenes, consideration of a bacterial pathogen with vastly different growth characteristics—one that is less traditionally associated with fresh produce—may seem burdensome. However, recent incidences of C. botulinum in packaged mushrooms,1 increased characterization of the growth conditions required by nonproteolytic C. botulinum, widespread industry adoption of modified atmosphere packaging (MAP), and even increasing fuel costs may necessitate a second look at this pathogen’s association with fresh produce.

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Posted in Clostridium, Clostridium botulinum, 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

Research – New insights on bacteria that causes food poisoning

Posted on June 27, 2023 by | Leave a comment

Science Daily

A joint research group has clarified how pathogenic genes in some Providencia spp., which have gained attention as causative agents of food poisoning as well as enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli. O157 and Salmonella, are transferred within bacterial cells. Their findings are expected to provide new insights into the identification of infection routes of Providencia spp. and the establishment of preventive methods for food poisoning.

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Posted in E.coli O157, E.coli O157:H7, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Poisoning, microbial contamination, Microbial growth, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, Providencia, Salmonella

Jordan – Six suspected food poisoning cases in Mafraq

Posted on June 26, 2023 by | Leave a comment

Roya News

There are six suspected food poisoning cases in Mafraq, allegedly in relation to a takeaway restaurant, according to a medical source Thursday.

The source told Roya that the people arrived at the Talal Military Hospital, saying that they had eaten food from a restaurant and developed symptoms of food poisoning.

Another source confirmed that a restaurant in the governorate was suspended from operating due to violations.

The source added that if it was found that the food poisoning was caused by the restaurant’s food, legal measures will be taken against the concerned management.

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

Research- When Does Milk Spoil? The Use of Rejection Threshold Methodology to Investigate the Influence of Total Microbial Numbers on the Acceptability of Fresh Chilled Pasteurised Milk

Posted on June 25, 2023 by | Leave a comment

MDPI

Abstract

The consumer rejection threshold (RjT) method was applied to determine the total microbial numbers (TMNs) where consumers find that the quality of whole fresh chilled pasteurised milk (WFCPM) and skim milk (Trim) stored at 4.5 ± 0.5 °C is no longer acceptable. Food spoilage progression was supported by measurements of VOCs and the terms consumers used to describe the ageing fresh chilled pasteurised milk (FCPM). RjTs for TMN of 7.43 and 7.34 log10 CFU.mL−1 for WFCPM and Trim, respectively were derived using Hill’s equation from a series of paired preference tests comparing fresh and aged milks (3–26 days) assessed by consumers (WFCPM, n = 55; Trim, n = 52). A poor relationship between storage time and TMN was found, owing mainly to batch-to-batch and within-batch variation in the milk’s post-pasteurization contamination (PPC) levels. At the RjT, there was a significant change in the signal intensities for a number of spoilage-related VOCs that occurred in the FCPM headspace (p ≤ 0.05), which were measured using proton transfer reaction–mass spectrometry (PTR-MS), including m/z 33, 45, 47, 61, 63, 69, 71, 87, and 89, tentatively identified as methanol; acetaldehyde; ethanol; acetate (acetic acid and acetate esters); dimethyl sulphide (DMS); isoprene, furan, and aldehydes; 2-butanone; and pentanal and butyrates (butyric acid and butyrate esters), respectively. Consumers described the milks at TMN greater than the RjTs using terms like off, expired, sour, spoilt or rancid. This multidisciplinary study has provided data on the importance of PPC and subsequent increases in TMN on VOCs associated with FCPM and consumer’s preferences and highlighted the value of measuring a range of variables when investigating consumer’s perception of food quality and shelf-life.

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

Research – The Application of Ultraviolet Treatment to Prolong the Shelf Life of Chilled Beef

Posted on June 24, 2023 by | Leave a comment

MDPI

Abstract

This study simulated the storage conditions of chilled beef at retail or at home, and the sterilization and preservation effects of short-time ultraviolet irradiation were studied. The conditions of different irradiation distances (6 cm, 9 cm, and 12 cm) and irradiation times (6 s, 10 s, and 14 s) of ultraviolet (UV) sterilization in chilled beef were optimized, so as to maximally reduce the initial bacterial count, but not affect the quality of the chilled beef. Then, the preservation effect on the chilled beef after the optimized UV sterilization treatment during 0 ± 0.2 °C storage was investigated. The results showed that UV irradiation with parameters of 6 cm and 14 s formed the optimal UV sterilization conditions for the chilled beef, maximally reducing the number of microorganisms by 0.8 log CFU/g without affecting lipid oxidation or color change. The 6 cm and 14 s UV sterilization treatment of the chilled beef was able to reduce the initial microbial count, control the bacterial growth, and delay the increase in the TVB-N values during storage. Compared with the control group, the total bacterial count decreased by 0.56–1.51 log CFU/g and the TVB-N value decreased by 0.20–5.02 mg N/100 g in the UV-treated group. It was found that the TBARS value of the UV treatment group increased during late storage; on days 9–15 of storage, the TBARS values of the treatment group were 0.063–0.12 mg MDA/kg higher than those of the control group. However, UV treatment had no adverse impact on the pH, color, or sensory quality of chilled beef. These results prove that UV treatment can effectively reduce the microbial count on the surface of beef and improve its microbial safety, thus maintaining the quality of beef and prolonging its shelf life. This study could provide a theoretical basis for the preservation technology of chilled beef in small-space storage equipment.

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Posted in Bacteria, bacterial 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

Research- Impact of nanoscale coating of stainless steel on Salmonella Enteritidis and Escherichia coli

Posted on June 24, 2023 by | Leave a comment

Wiley Online

Cross-contamination in the poultry slaughtering process can lead to thespread of zoonotic bacteria like Salmonellaenterica. Surfaces of equiptment may facilitate contamination of carcasses due to bacterial adherence and transfer. In this study, attachment, proliferation, and detachment of Salmonella Enteritidis and Escherichia coli were comparatively investigated on uncoated and silica-coated stainless-steel surfaces. The conditions occurring in the slaughtering workflow were imitated on laboratory scale, for example, spilling of contaminated liquid onto equipment surfaces, pressing or sliding of carcasses against surfaces during the slaughtering procedure, and cleaning of contaminated stainless-steel surfaces with water or detergent. Growth on stainless-steel surfaces was measured for 8 h. The applied silica coating led to a partly higher repelling effect without impact on proliferation for the target organisms on stainless steel. Further development of the coating and daption to the exact circumstances as well as more extending testing under real conditions would be the next steps.

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Posted in Decontamination Microbial, 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, Salmonella