Category Archives: Microbiology

Canada – E.coli O157 in Cheese Update

Posted on September 24, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Food Poisoning Bulletin

The Public Health Agency of Canada says that now fourteen cases of E. coli O157:H7 are associated with contaminated raw milk cheese products manufactured by Gort’s Gouda Cheese Farm in Salmon Arm, British Columbia. There are four people who are ill in British Columbia; eight in Alberta; one in Saskatchewan; and one in Quebec. One person in British Columbia has died as a result of this infection.

Ill persons started getting sick between mid-July and early September. Some of Gort’s raw milk cheeses have been recalled as a result of this outbreak. The statement said that “there is currently no indication of widespread risk to Canadians. However, E. coli O157:H7 can pose a serious public health risk. Additional cases of illness may be identified and linked to this outbreak in the future.”

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Posted in Bacteria, E.coli O157, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Laboratory, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen

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Research – Increasing Vibrio Prevalence

Posted on September 23, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety NewsVibrio

With a nearly 50-percent mortality rate, Vibrio vulnificus is the most deadly foodborne pathogen in the world, according to University of North Carolina at Charlotte Biology Professor Jim Oliver. And instances of infection in the U.S., however rare, are rapidly rising.

Fifteen years ago, there were 21 confirmed cases of Vibrio vulnificus and parahaemolyticus infections in the U.S. Last year, there were 193.

While infections from either of the pathogens are still rare compared with, say, Salmonella and Campylobacter, the incidence rate grew faster than any of the other five microbes tracked in the Centers for Disease Control’s 2012 Food Safety Progress Report. The vulnificus strain is responsible for 95 percent of seafood-related illness fatalities in the U.S., according to a 2013 study by Oliver and Joanna Nowakowska. Another Vibrio strain, parahaemolyticus, is milder, causing diarrhea, nausea, fever and chills, according to CDC.

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Posted in Bacteria, CDC, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Safety, Food Testing, Microbiology, Pathogen, Research, Vibrio, Vibrio cholera, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Vibrio vulnificans

USA – One Dead from Salmonella Outbreak in Kentucky

Posted on September 23, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety NewsSalm

Salmonella outbreak in Hopkins County, Kentucky, has killed one person and caused another seven confirmed illnesses.

The cause of the outbreak is still unknown, according to county health officials. Investigators have begun interviewing victims to see where or what they might have eaten in the days leading up to their illnesses.

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Posted in Bacteria, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Laboratory, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen, Salmonella

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RASFF Alert – Histamine – Tuna

Posted on September 23, 2013 by | Leave a comment

RASFF – Histamine (240 mg/kg – ppm) in chilled tuna loins from Spain

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Posted in Bacteria, Food Chemistry, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Testing, Histamine, Microbiology, Pathogen, RASFF, Recall, Toxin

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RASFF Alerts Listeria – Fish – Campylobacter – Chicken – Bacillus cereus -Ginger Powder – Curry Powder

Posted on September 23, 2013 by | Leave a comment

RASFF -Listeria monocytogenes (2600, <10 CFU/g) in smoked halibut from Belgium, with raw material from Denmark

RASFF -Listeria monocytogenes (<10 CFU/g) in various tuna, smoked salmon and sea food salads from Belgium in France

RASFF -Campylobacter coli (2800; 45000 CFU/g) and Campylobacter jejuni (3200; 120000 CFU/g) in fresh whole chicken, breast fillet from France in Den mark

RASFF -Bacillus cereus (39000 CFU/g) in ginger powder from India, via France in Switzerland

RASFF -Bacillus cereus (14000 CFU/g) in curry powder from India in Switzerland

RASFF – Bacillus cereus (55000 CFU/g) in curry powder from India in Switzerland

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Posted in Bacillus, Bacillus cereus, Bacteria, Campylobacter, Food Inspections, Food Microbiology, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Microbiology, Pathogen, RASFF, Recall

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RASFF Alerts – Salmonella – Turkey – Chicken

Posted on September 23, 2013 by | Leave a comment

 RASFF -Salmonella spp. in frozen turkey meat preparation from Brazil in the Netherlands

RASFF -Salmonella Heidelberg (presence /25g) in frozen whole chicken (Gallus gallus) from Brazil in Denmark

RASFF -Salmonella enteritidis (presence /25g) in chicken steak without bone from Poland in the Czech Republic

RASFF – Salmonella spp. in frozen chicken leg quarters from Denmark

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Posted in Bacteria, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Safety, Food Testing, Microbiology, Pathogen, RASFF, Recall, Salmonella

RASFF – E.coli – Deer Meat – Beef

Posted on September 23, 2013 by | Leave a comment

RASFF -Shigatoxin-producing Escherichia coli (O103 VT1 EAE positive) in quick-frozen deer meat from Austria in Italy

RASFF – Shigatoxin-producing Escherichia coli (presence /25g) in frozen boneless beef (Bos taurus) from Brazil inItaly

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Posted in Bacteria, E.coli, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Laboratory, Microbiology, Pathogen, RASFF, Recall, Shigatoxin, STEC

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RASFF Foods – Aflatoxin/Ochratoxin – Melon Seeds – Groundnuts – Dried Figs – Pistachio – Crushed Chilli

Posted on September 23, 2013 by | Leave a comment

RASFF – Aflatoxins (B1 = 24 µg/kg – ppb) in pistachio kernels from Turkey in Itlay

RASFF – Aflatoxins (B1 = 30; Tot. = 36 µg/kg – ppb) in melon seeds from Nigeria in Italy

RASFF -Ochratoxin A (33 µg/kg – ppb) in roasted groundnuts in shell from China in the Netherlands

RASFF – Aflatoxins (B1 = 11.4; Tot. = 31.4 µg/kg – ppb) in dried figs from Turkey in France

RASFF -Aflatoxins (B1 = 12.7; Tot. = 13.2 µg/kg – ppb) in pistachio nuts from Turkey in Germany

RASFF – Aflatoxins (B1 = 14.7; Tot. = 16.1 µg/kg – ppb) in crushed chilly from India in the UK

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Posted in Aflatoxin, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Laboratory, Microbiology, Moulds, Mycotoxin, Ochratoxin, RASFF, Recall, Toxin

RASFF Alerts – Feeds – Salmonella – Soybean – Fish Meal

Posted on September 23, 2013 by | Leave a comment

RASFF – Salmonella (in 1 out of 4 samples) in soybean meal from Argentina in Italy

RASFF -Salmonella infantis (presence /50g) in soyabeanmeal from Brazil, via Germany in Denmark

RASFF -Salmonella spp. (present /25g) in fish meal from Panama in Spain

RASFF – Salmonella spp. (in 3 out of 5 samples /25g) in fish meal from Mauritania in Denmark

RASFF -Salmonella spp. and high count of Enterobacteriaceae in feed for food-producing animals from Mauritania in Denmark

 

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Posted in Animal Feed, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Microbiology, Pathogen, RASFF, Recall, Salmonella

Research – Cattle – Vacination and E.coli O157

Posted on September 19, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Trading.comEcoli Istock

The bacteria, which cause severe gastrointestinal illness and even death in humans, are spread by consuming contaminated food and water, or by contact with livestock faeces in the environment. Cattle are the main reservoir for the bacterium. The vaccines that are available for cattle are rarely used, but the latest study suggests the public health benefits could be significant.

The research was lead by a team of researchers at the University of Glasgow in collaboration with the University of Edinburgh, the Royal Veterinary College, Scotland’s Rural College, Health Protection Scotland, and the Scottish E. coli O157/VTEC Reference Laboratory.

The study, published in the online journal PNAS, used veterinary, human and molecular data to examine the risks of E. coli O157 transmission from cattle to humans, and to estimate the impact of vaccinating cattle.

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Posted in Bacteria, E.coli O157, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Technology, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Hygiene, Laboratory, Microbiology, Pathogen, Research