Category Archives: Microbiology

FSA – Raw Milk Review?

Posted on March 12, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Possibly in light of the recent raw milk food illness outbreaks in the USA the FSA are deciding whether to review the use and sale of raw milk in the UK.

FSA

The Board of the Food Standards Agency (FSA) will decide next week whether the FSA should review the current rules governing the sale and marketing of unpasteurised, or raw, drinking milk and cream. This follows developments in the sale of raw milk which have seen producers using new routes of sale for their products, such as the internet and vending machines.

Leave a comment

Posted in Bacteria, Campylobacter, Food Illness, Food Safety, Food Standards Agency, Food Testing, Microbiology, Pathogen, Uncategorized

Tagged

CDC Report – Firemen – Cow Barn Fire – Cryptosporidium

Posted on March 9, 2012 by | Leave a comment

CDC

On June 20, 2011, the Indiana Department of Homeland Security notified the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) of an Indiana fire station that reported gastrointestinal illness among a substantial percentage of their workers, causing missed workdays and one hospitalization as a result of cryptosporidiosis. All ill firefighters had responded to a barn fire in Michigan, 15 miles from the Michigan-Indiana border on June 6.

On June 6, 2011, a fire occurred in a barn housing approximately 240 week-old calves. A total of 34 firefighters responded from three Michigan fire stations and one Indiana fire station. Local hydrant water and on site swimming pond water were used to extinguish the fire. Investigators hypothesized that exposures to calves or contaminated drinking water were potential infection sources.

The incident was investigated with the following findings, the following public health recommendations were issued: 1) discontinue swimming in the pond, 2) practice thorough hygiene to reduce fecal contamination and fecal-oral exposures, and 3) decontaminate firefighting equipment properly. No additional primary or secondary cases associated with this exposure have been reported. The findings highlight a novel work-related disease exposure for firefighters and the need for public education regarding cryptosporidiosis prevention.

 

Leave a comment

Posted in CDC, Cryptosporidium, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen, Water

Tagged ,

Predictive Modelling Software Study for Food Shelf Life

Posted on March 9, 2012 by | Leave a comment

TTZ 

The SOPHY project aims to develop a web-based software tool for prediction of product safety, quality and shelf life of ready-to-eat products. Fresh cut salads and deli salads were chosen as model food system. Food producers will be able to optimise their raw material selection, product formulation and processing steps virtually.

As many of you are aware I am not a great fan of predictive modelling but we will have to wait and see if this tool when fully developed will be different. I think that there are just too many parameters that change within a complex food product due to homogeneity of ingredients or constituents, bacterialhomogeneity and changes to the product through shelf life caused by chemical and microbiological actions.

Leave a comment

Posted in Bacteria, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Safety, Food Testing, Microbiology, Shelf Life

Australian Dairy Product Recall – E.coli and Listeria

Posted on March 9, 2012 by | Leave a comment

NSW Alerts

The NSW Food Authority advises:
Almarae Dairy Products is recalling batches of their soft cheese sold in NSW through their retail store and a convience store in Punchbowl.

The batches are being recalled because of the presence of E.coli and Listeria which can cause illness if consumed. Listeria can cause illness especially in pregnant women, children under 5 years, people over 70 years and people with weakened immune systems.

The recalled product is:

  • Almarae Dairy Products Country Cheese Soft Cheese in brine in 500g and 1.25kg glass jars with white lid and ‘use-by’ date 20 MAY 2012.

The recall applies only to the above batches of the product and date.

Leave a comment

Posted in Bacteria, E.coli, EHEC, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Microbiology, Pathogen

Tagged

UK- Staffordshire School Closed – E.coli O157

Posted on March 9, 2012 by | Leave a comment

BBC News

A Staffordshire primary school has been closed due to an outbreak of E. coli. Three cases have been confirmed and all pupils at Friarswood Primary School in Newcastle-under-Lyme are being tested, the Health Protection Agency (HPA) said. The E. coli O157 bacteria usually causes diarrhoea, it added.

Staffordshire County Council said it is believed the infection was brought into the school from an outside source. A thorough clean is now under way.

The school will reopen when it safe to do so, the council added.

 

Leave a comment

Posted in Bacteria, E.coli, E.coli O157, EHEC, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, HPA, Microbiology, Pathogen

US Investigation – Food Illness Linked to Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria

Posted on March 9, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Meating Place Article

The Center for Science in the Public Interest reported there were 38 pathogen outbreaks resistant to at least one antibiotic between 1973 and 2011. Of those, 45 percent occurred between 2000 and 2011, but the group could not determine whether increased use of antibiotics played a role in the increase.

While the data did not make the link between antibiotics use in food animals and increased incidents of antibiotic-resistant strains of pathogens, CSPI did.

CSPI Report Link

Leave a comment

Posted in Antibiotic Resistance, Bacteria, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Illness, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Technology, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Microbiology, Pathogen

Tagged

Chicken Livers – Cooking – Campylobacter

Posted on March 9, 2012 by | Leave a comment

University of Aberdeen 

Aberdeen researchers have found further evidence that one of Britain’s most popular starters – chicken liver pate – can be a source of food poisoning if it is not cooked properly.

 

University of Aberdeen scientists bought raw chicken livers from a typical range of supermarkets and butchers over a two-year period and, after testing in the lab, discovered the bug Campylobacter in 81% of them.

In a study published in the International Journal of Food Microbiology the researchers also reveal that 56% of the types of Campylobacter found in contaminated chicken livers matched the 10 most common strains of the bug found in people with Campylobacter poisoning

Leave a comment

Posted in Bacteria, Campylobacter, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Microbiology, Pathogen

Tagged

Canada – Curry Powder – Salmonella

Posted on March 9, 2012 by | 4 comments

CIFA 

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and G. Dion Foods are warning the public not to consume the Dion brand curry powder described below because the product may be contaminated with Salmonella. The affected product, Dion brand Organic Curry powder is sold in 36 g packages bearing lot code 02B01G and UPC 6 20383 02007 7. This product has been distributed in Quebec and Ontario.

There have been no reported illnesses associated with the consumption of this product.

4 Comments

Posted in Bacteria, CIFA, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Microbiology, Pathogen, Recall, Salmonella

Tagged , ,

ECDC and EFSA – Food-borne Outbreaks in EU Report 2010

Posted on March 8, 2012 by | Leave a comment

ECDC

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) launched their annual report on zoonoses and food-borne outbreaks.

The report,  providing data on 15 zoonotic diseases in the European Union for 2010, supports the European Commission and EU Member States in their consideration of possible measures to protect citizens from risks related to zoonoses.

The report highlights a positive progress in the reduction of reported human cases of salmonellosis by almost 9% in 2010, as well as decreases in other zoonoses such as infections caused by Yersinia enterocolitica, Trichinella and Listeria monocytogenes. “Decreases in human cases of salmonellosis and other zoonotic diseases show that EU level control measures, resulting from surveillance of disease in humans with information from food and animals, are effective”, states Johan Giesecke, Chief Scientist at ECDC.

On the other hand, the number of cases of  campylobacteriosis has been increasing over the last five years, and human cases of Shiga toxin/verotoxin -producing Escherichia coli (STEC/VTEC) are also increasing. These trends “highlight the need of further joint efforts”, continues Prof. Gieseke. “For this, ECDC will continue to strengthen its links with all important partners and foster collaboration in order to decrease the occurrence of these diseases in the EU”.

Leave a comment

Posted in Bacillus, Campylobacter, E.coli, E.coli O157, EFSA, EHEC, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Technology, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Microbiology, Pathogen, Salmonella, STEC

Tagged ,

Ingenta Studies – High Pressure E.coli/Campylobacter – Essential Oils E.coli/Salmonella

Posted on March 8, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Ingenta High Pressure

This study evaluated the high pressure inactivation of Campylobacter jejuni, Escherichia coli, and poultry meat spoilage organisms. All treatments were performed in aseptically prepared minced poultry meat. Treatment of 19 strains of C. jejuni at 300 MPa and 30°C revealed a large variation of pressure resistance.

Ingenta Essential Oils

The efficacy of cinnamaldehyde and Sporan for reducing Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella on spinach leaves was investigated. Spinach leaves were inoculated with a five-strain cocktail of Salmonella or E. coli O157:H7, air dried for ca. 30 min, and then immersed in a treatment solution containing 5 ppm of free chlorine, cinnamaldehyde, or Sporan (800 and 1,000 ppm) alone or in combination with 200 ppm of acetic acid (20%) for 1 min or with water (control).

Leave a comment

Posted in Bacteria, Campylobacter, E.coli, E.coli O157, EHEC, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Hygiene, Food Safety, Food Technology, Food Testing, Microbiology, Pathogen, Salmonella