The USDA announced that 18th Street Deli Inc., a Hamtramck, Mich., establishment, is recalling approximately 118 pounds of julienne salad products with turkey, ham and hard-boiled eggs. The salads contain eggs that are the subject of an FDA recall due to contamination with Listeria monocytogenes.
A group of French tourists returned home from Turkey last autumn with diarrheal illnesses, and two of them developed a life-threatening kidney disease linked to the foodborne pathogen E. coli.
On January 25, 2012, it was announced that Anytime Deli Turkey & Ham Footlong Sandwiches are being recalled due to potential Listeria monocytogenes contamination. The sub sandwiches were distributed on January 2nd and 3rd to convenience stores in Florida and South Georgia.
The sandwiches being recalled have expirations dates of January 19 and January 22 and UPC 0543200194. The sandwich is packaged in white butcher wrap. The Best Buy date is located on the white press on circular label. The UPC Code is located on the bottom of the product beneath the Ingredient and Nutrition Facts label.
No illnesses have been reported to date.
A silver ion-laced silicone material that absorbs and destroys pathogens such as E.coli and Salmonella will ensure safety standards are met in the dairy sector, its developer has claimed.
Posted in E.coli, E.coli O157, Food Hygiene, Food Testing, Microbiology, Salmonella
Iceland Foods Ltd. is recalling a batch of Iceland Frozen Lamb Mince, due to the presence of Salmonella arizonae. No other products are known to be affected by this recall. Iceland Foods Ltd. has issued in-store notices requesting customers who have bought this product to return it to an Iceland store. No action is required by official agencies.
An article in Physorg.com has reported on research that says there are some simple precautions and coordinated measures that can be undertaken to help reduce the threat from E.coli O157.
Posted in E.coli O157, Food Testing, Microbiology
A report in the above publication has stated that a team looking at street food in one of the cities in the Philippines has found that many of the samples had Salmonella and E.coli present, the study is ongoing and no reports of illness have been reported from the street food.
Posted in E.coli, Food Hygiene, Food Testing, Microbiology, Salmonella
NoV is highly infectious, and there is no threshold infectivity limit for NoV detected by PCR. The probability of becoming infected increases with the dose but depends also on the characteristics of the organism, the food matrix and the host factors. The relationship between the number of infectious virus particles and the number of virus genome copies detected by quantitative PCR is not a constant, and it is important to realise that the infectious risk associated with low level positive oysters as determined by real-time PCR may be overestimated.
Quantitative data on viral load from areas compliant with current EU legislative requirements (E. coli standards) during January-March 2010 in 3 selected member states, show that a viral limit of 100, 200, 500, 1000 or 10.000 NoV PCR copies would result in 33.6-88.9%, 24.4-83.3%, 10.0-72.2%, 7.7-44.4% or 0-11.1% of non-compliant batches, respectively. Compliance with any of the above NoV limits would reduce the number of contaminated oysters placed on the market and therefore the risk for consumers to become infected. It is currently not possible to quantify the public health impact of different limits.
Microbiological criteria for NoV in oysters are useful for validation and verification of HACCP-based processes and procedures, and can also be used by competent authorities as an additional control to improve risk management in production areas, during processing and retail. The Panel recommended that risk managers should consider establishing an acceptable limit for NoV in oysters to be harvested and placed on the market. NoV testing of oysters (standardized CEN method) should be used to verify compliance with the acceptable NoV limit established.
The most effective public health measure to control human NoV infection from oyster consumption is to produce oysters from areas which are not faecally contaminated, particularly given the ineffectiveness of current depuration and relaying procedures.
It is quite interesting to see where pathogenic organisms can be found, I spend quite some time telling clients to be aware of control statements such as organisms will not grow below this pH, Temperature, aW etc. There is always a difference between growth and persistence and the organisms do not always know about the limits and tolerance they are supposed to have.
January 23, 2012 – University Place, Washington- Jones’ Seasoning Blends LLC announced a voluntary recall of Jones’ Mock Salt Original as well as Jones’ Mock Salt Spicy Southwest Blend due to the potential contamination of Salmonella.
No illnesses have been reported to date in connection with this voluntary recall.
This recall has been initiated due to possible Salmonella contamination of the celery seeds ingredient used in Jones Mock Salt. Jones Seasoning Blends LLC is not responsible for the contamination of Salmonella. The supplier of the celery seeds has been recalling the product and Jones Seasoning Blends LLC has also taken every action possible in notifying the public.
The following affected products were directly distributed to grocery stores and markets in California, Minnesota, and Washington and it was also sold through internet orders on http://www.jonesmocksalt.com:
Jones’ Mock Salt Original: Organic Salt Free Seasoning, 1.6 oz bottles (UPC 0 94922 16616 6), 12 oz bags (UPC 0 94922 07199 6) and 16 oz bags (0 94922 16616 6).
Jones’ Mock Salt Spicy Southwest Blend: Organic Salt Free Seasoning, 1.6 oz bottles (UPC 0 94922 01560 0).
There is no lot number identifying the bottles or bags. Any products purchased from July 1, 2011 to December 14, 2011 should be destroyed.
