RMM Product Matrix allows you to compare multiple RMM technologies that are commercially available or in development.
This is quite a good tool for looking for Rapid Micro Methods available on the market or yet to be released
KSWFoodWorld
Category Archives: Microbiology
Bacillus Cereus Food Outbreak USA
A total of 58 employees who worked at the Zappos plant in Bullit County, Kentucky were infected by a bacteria called Bacillus cereus in December 2011. At least twenty-nine sought medical attention, but nobody was hospitalised. The specific food item was not identified.
FDA – Cheese Recall – Listeria monocytogenes
Kradjian Imp Co, Glendale, CA is recalling 231 Cases, 22Lb / Cs of Cedar Tree brand Tresse Cheese, 16 oz and Cedar Tree brand Shinglish cheese, 16 oz because they have the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.
Tresse Cheese and Shinglish cheese were distributed in Southern California, Northern California, Washington State, Minnesota, Nevada, Oklahoma, Texas, Tennessee,Arizona and Michigan to Mediterranean specialty markets.
Raw Milk E.coli 0157 Again – US
Organic Pastures Dairy in Fresno, California.
The investigation was initiated because of a cluster of illnesses in five children from four counties throughout California infected with E. coli O157:H7 having an identical, uncommon PFGE pattern. Illness dates for these cases extends from August 25 through October 25, 2011….
The sickened children ranged in age from one to five years. Three of the children developed the potentially fatal complication of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS).
Salmonella in Alfalfa Seed Sprouts – US Recall
January 19, 2012 – LEASA Industries Co., Inc. of Miami, FL is recalling 346 cases of LEASA Living Alfalfa Sprouts with use by date 2/1/12, because it has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonellacan result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis.
LEASA Living Alfalfa Sprouts with use by date 2/1/12 were distributed through FL, GA, AL, LA, and MS through retail stores and food service companies on 1/4/12, 1/5/12, 1/6/12, 1/7/12 and 1/8/12.
The affected product is in 6 oz. clear plastic containers with a UPC code of 75465-55912 and has an expiration date of 2/1/12. The UPC code is located on the side of the label at the side of the container. The expiration date of the package is located on the side of the container.
No illnesses have been reported to date
Laboratories Implicated in Salmonella Infections – USA
Between August 2010 and June 2011, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) counted 109 people in 38 states infected with a commercial strain of Salmonella Typhimurium most commonly found in microbiology laboratories.
The outbreak, which hospitalised 13 individuals and resulted in one death, is notable because of its association with educational and clinical labs instead of food. Sixty percent of the ill reported being in or near microbiological labs in the week before their illness began, compared with two percent of respondents in the CDC investigation’s control group.
The number of ill also included several children living in the same household as someone who worked or studied in a microbiology laboratory, further suggesting that the infections came from neglectful exposure within a lab setting: Individuals likely improperly handled bacteria samples, which they then transferred to themselves or others.
EFSA Discounts Anti-Norovirus Post Harvest Methods
An article in Food Quality news reports on the EFSA findings over Anti-Norovirus post harvest measures.
The best measures to prevent norovirus in oysters is to focus on preventing human faecal contamination, rather than introducing post-harvest measures such as heat or high-pressure processing (HPP), the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has claimed.
US Based Outbreak Alert Website and Database
US-based, but interesting to filter food microbiology outbreaks since 1990 with over 6000 outbreaks logged. The data can be filter by products groups, organisms and US state and year. Might be good to check where and if your products have been involved in outbreaks.
Neogen New Mycotoxin Kits
Neogen develops simple, fully quantitative tests for Mycotoxins. 
AYR, Scotland, 16 January, 2012 — Neogen Europe Ltd. has developed a range of simple tests to detect precise amounts of Mycotoxins in grain and feed samples.
Neogen’s new Reveal® Q+ testing products combine the speed and simplicity of a lateral flow test with the fully quantitative precision of a more demanding testing method. All a tester has to do is place a Reveal Q+ test strip in a room temperature extracted sample, and then read the strip to receive precise results.
The new products include:
• Reveal Q+ for Aflatoxin can deliver precise results of 2.5 to 100 parts per billion (ppb) of Aflatoxin after only 6 minutes.
• Reveal Q+ for DON delivers precise results ranging from 0.3 to 6 parts per million (ppm) of DON after only 3 minutes, following an extraction procedure that requires only water.
• Reveal Q+ for Zearalenone delivers precise results ranging from 50 to 1200 ppb of Zearalenone in corn, or 25-1200 ppb of the Mycotoxins in wheat after only 6 minutes.
“Our Reveal Q+ products are the easiest Mycotoxins tests available that provide rapid, fully quantitative test results,” said Neogen’s Dr. Steve Chambers, Sales & Marketing Director. “This innovative technology yields more accurate and reproducible results than other Mycotoxins testing methods. The new Reveal Q+ products add to Neogen’s unmatched range of simple and accurate lateral flow, microwell, and immunoaffinity column mycotoxin testing options — all of which are backed by the best technical and R&D support in the industry.”
Reveal Q+ products offer both room temperature incubation of the test strip and storage of the test kit — eliminating the need for an incubator and refrigeration space. The tests require only minimal equipment to achieve precise results, and aflatoxin and Zearalenone tests use a simple, low-cost ethanol extraction process. Ethanol is the preferred extraction solvent of many major grain handlers.
Neogen’s AccuScan® III reader provides an easy method to objectively read, store, and analyze results from Neogen’s line of lateral flow tests. AccuScan provides a permanent result that can be incorporated into a company’s food safety plan, such as HACCP.
For further information Contact:
Int. Tel: +44 (0) 1292 525 610 Int.
e-mail: info_uk@neogeneurope.com
www.neogeneurope.com
Posted in Aflatoxin, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Poisoning, Food Testing, Microbiology, Mycotoxin
US – E.coli in Milk
A Tenino dairy says it’s recalling its fluid raw milk products because of the danger of contamination with potentially harmful E. coli bacteria.
There have been no reported illnesses related to the recalled products, the dairy said.
