Category Archives: Pathogen

RASFF Alerts – Ochratoxin

RASFF -Ochratoxin A (13 µg/kg – ppb) in organic rye snack from Estonia

RASFF Alerts – E.coli – Raw Milk – Beef – Live Mussels

RASFF – Shigatoxin-producing Escherichia coli (presence /25g) in raw milk camembert from France in Germany

RASFF – Too high count of Escherichia coli (1100 MPN/100g) in live mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) from Spain in Italy

RASFF – Shigatoxin-producing Escherichia coli in chilled boneless beef (Bos taurus) from Australia in Netherlands

RASFF – Shigatoxin-producing Escherichia coli in chilled bovine meat (Bos taurus) from Brazil in the Netherlands

 

RASFF Alerts – Salmonella – Chicken – Baby Corn – Beef

RASFF – Salmonella enteritidis (present /25g) in frozen high chicken legs from Belgium, with raw material from Poland

RASFF -Salmonella (presence /25g) in baby corn from Thailand in Denmark

RASFF -Salmonella infantis (presence /25g) in frozen beef trimmings from Poland in Sweden

USA – Cruise Ship – Norovirus – Again

Food Poisoning Bulletinnorovirus-2(1)

The Royal Caribbean cruise ship Vision of the Sea has reported an outbreak of norovirus that has sickened at least 105 people, according to the San Francisco Gate. The ship had 1,991 passengers on board and 772 crew members, which means 5.3% of the passengers were sickened.

The ship docked in Port Everglades, Florida on Friday March 7, 2013 and was thoroughly cleaned and sanitized before its next journey. Passengers “responded well to treatment”, according to the company.

Bulgaria – Hightened Alfatoxin Level in Raw Milk

HACCP Europa

BULGARIA – A heightened content of Aflatoxin M1 in a sample of raw milk has been found during regular control carried out by the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency in farming centers for collecting raw milk, announced the Agency.
In a farming center in the northwestern town of Vidin the Agency found Aflatoxin M1 content that is a little bit higher than the maximum level allowed in Europe per a kilogram of raw milk. Heightened contents of the aflatoxin were established also in farming centers in the districts of Gabrovo and Sofia. It is banned to sell the whole amount of milk and it will be destroyed. The farming centers are prohibited from trading in milk until there are negative aflatoxin lab tests.

Australia – Yoghurt Recall – E.coli

FSANZFSANZ

Shaw River Buffalo Cheese has recalled Shaw River Buffalo Yoghurt from some small gourmet retailers and health food stores in NSW, QLD and VIC due to microbial (E. coli) contamination. Foods contaminated with E. coli may cause illness if consumed. Customers should return these products to the place of purchase for a full refund.

Date notified to FSANZ

8 March 2013

Food type

Dairy

Product name

Shaw River Buffalo Yoghurt (natural yoghurt)

Package description & size

500g and 1.2kg white plastic tamper-proof tub

Date marking

Best before 14 APR 13

Country of origin

Australia

Reason for recall

Microbial contamination (E. coli)

Denmark – Worlds Greatest Restaurant- 67 Sick

Copenhagen Post

A total of 67 guests succumb to vomiting and diarrhoea after dining at Noma, Denmark’s most famous gourmet restaurant
Fødevarestyrelsen criticised Noma for not disinfecting the kitchen in time in order to prevent the contagion from spreading and also said there was no hot water in the taps that staff used to wash their hands (Photo: Scanpix)

Noma’s reputation as one of the world’s best gourmet restaurants was blighted today after it was revealed that 67 people had become ill after eating there.

The national food authorities, Fødevarestyrelsen, inspected the restaurant on February 20 after it received reports that a number of the restaurant’s guests had become ill with Roskilde Sickness, a norovirus that causes vomiting and diarrhoea, after dining there from February 12-16.

Out of 78 guests served over the period, a total of 63 fell ill, which prompted Fødevarestyrelsen to make an inspection in which it found hygiene problems.

USA – FDA Two Recalls – Dog Treats/Food – Salmonella

FDA

Diggin’ Your Dog™ announced today that they are voluntarily withdrawing one lot of its Strippin’ Chicks™ Pet Treats produced on 8-30-12 because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella. The sample was obtained in Colorado and the company has accounted for its distribution in Colorado of this lot.

No other Diggin’ Your Dog™ products, lots, or production dates are affected.

The lot being voluntarily withdrawn is: Strippin’ Chicks™ Pet Treats 5 oz Bag. Lot Code 250322 Use By Date: 2-23-14.

Healthy people infected with Salmonella should monitor themselves for some or all of the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramping and fever. Rarely, Salmonella can result in more serious ailments, including arterial infections, endocarditis, arthritis, muscle pain, eye irritation, and urinary tract symptoms. Consumers exhibiting these signs after having contact with this product should contact their healthcare providers.

Animals with Salmonella infections may be lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever, and vomiting. Some animals will have only decreased appetite, fever and abdominal pain. Infected but otherwise healthy animals can be carriers and infect other animals or humans. If your animals have consumed the recalled product and have these symptoms, please contact your veterinarian.

FDA

Steve’s Real Food of Murray, Utah is recalling its 5 lb. bags of “Turducken
Canine Diet – 8oz. Patties due to potential contamination of
Salmonella. Salmonella can affect animals eating the products and there
is risk to humans from handling contaminated pet products, especially if they
have not thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with the products or any surfaces exposed to these products.

Reserch European Legionella Outbreaks 2009-2010

EurosurveillanceLegionella_Plate_01

The surveillance of Legionnaires’ disease (LD) in Europe is carried out by the European Legionnaires’ Disease Surveillance Network (ELDSNet) and coordinated by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). All cases reported in 2009 and 2010 and meeting the European case definition were electronically transmitted to The European Surveillance System (TESSy) database. A total of 5,551 and 6,305 cases were reported by 29 European countries in 2009 and 2010, respectively. The age-standardised rate of all cases was 1.20 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2010, 12% higher than in 2009, which was consistent with the increasing trend observed since 2005. Most of this increase consisted of community-acquired cases reported by France, Germany and the Netherlands with dates of onset in August–September. The exceptionally hot summer of 2010 in some parts of Europe may have played a role in this increase.

RASFF Alerts – Listeria monocytogenes

RASFF -Listeria monocytogenes (presence /25g) in frozen smoked bacon from Belgium distributed to Russia

RASFF– Listeria monocytogenes (present /25g) in smoked salmon from the United States in Austria