This study was undertaken to examine the effect of ultrasound in combination with chlorine on the reduction of Escherichia coli O157:H7 populations on lettuce coring knives. Two new coring devices designed to mitigate pathogen attachment were fabricated and evaluated.
Posted in E.coli, E.coli O157, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Hygiene, Food Safety, Food Technology, Food Testing, Microbiology, Pathogen
Tagged escherichia coli
Dr. Ron Cutler, a biomedical scientist in London specialising in infectious diseases and their control and treatment, has run studies at Queen Mary – University of London, proving that such things as restaurant high chairs and your car’s steering wheel are likely to have more germs than a public toilet seat.
Now he’s examined 200 bills of currency (British bank notes) and 45 credit cards and discovered that 26 per cent of the notes and 47 per cent of the cards had high levels of bacteria. In other words, money and credit cards are dirtier than a toilet seat.
Posted in Bacteria, Enterobacteriaceae, Hygiene, Microbiology, Pathogen
Tagged science
A third of small food businesses find food safety regulations the most demanding and onerous tasks. However, nearly three in four believe that these regulations help their business by building consumer confidence.The findings are the results of a survey for the Food Safety Authority among small to medium sized food businesses. The survey showed that 45% of small food businesses believe that the food safety standards are stricter than they need to be. It found that 19% of small food businesses are encountering difficulties in complying with food safety regulations. The survey showed that 97% of small food businesses that had been inspected for the first time understood what they needed to do and 87% felt they had access to all the information they required. It showed 80% of these businesses trusting the Food Safety Authority to deal with businesses fairly.
Posted in Eurofins Laboratories, Food Inspections, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Microbiology
Tagged science
After the 2011 outbreak of E.coli O104 :H4 in Europe this study investigated the theory that cattle could be the reservoir for the organism but non of the cattle tested showed positive for the markers they searched for.
The sick and unfit will have to pass medical tests under a new order passed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). This is interesting but I am not convinced that a yearly check would have any massive effect on Food Safety.
The order asks manufacturers to ensure that these food-handlers, regardless of the safety precautions they take at work, undergo a mandatory medical examination for ratifying their physical fitness in order to pursue their trade.
Antibiotic resistance remains common among meat-borne pathogens, according to the annual National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System report released late last week.
From January to December 2010, samples of retail chicken breast, ground turkey, ground beef, and pork chops were collected and tested for Salmonella. Poultry samples were also cultured for Campylobacter. Some labs also pulled samples of meat and poultry to test for E. coli and Enterococcus.
The report highlighted a number of findings that may reinforce what many public health advocates have been arguing for years: that antibiotic use in agriculture is contributing to drug resistance in bacteria. The NARMS report pointed out that third-generation cephalosporin resistance rose in chicken breasts (10 to 34.5 percent) and ground turkey (8.1 to 16.3 percent) isolates from 2002 to 2010.
Contamination during sun-dried tomato processing is a possible “root cause” of an outbreak of hepatitis A in the UK, according to the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA).
More than 150 people fell ill due to food poisoning after consuming meals at a marriage function in Taufapur village of the district, police said today. The incident took place last night when more than 300 people ate food at the marriage party .
District health officials visited the site and food samples were sent for the testing.
The actual number of bacteria-related foodborne illness incidents in Japan could be hundreds of times more than what official government statistics show, a recent report indicates.
The report, compiled by a Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare study group comprised of researchers, estimates that the actual number of bacteria-related food poisoning incidents between 2005 and 2009 ranged from 36 to 715 times more than those described in official government statistics.
The study group estimates that in 2006, for example, there were a total of 1,641,396 “Campylobacter” bacteria-related food poisoning incidents — some 715 times more than the 2,297 cases reported by the health ministry for the same year. Furthermore, in all studied time periods, the actual cases of food poisoning related to the same bacteria type — which is usually found in raw meat — are estimated at over 400 times more than those described in official governmental statistics.
