Category Archives: Pathogen

USA – Norovirus Outbreak Shuts School

Posted on January 22, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety NewsNorovirus

Norovirus sickened more than 300 students at an Arkansas middle school last week, causing the school to shut its doors Friday.

At least a third of the 900 children who attend Hellstern Middle School in Springfield and several staff either stayed home or fell ill at school Thursday, complaining of gastrointestinal symptoms, reported NWA. At the time, the cause of their illnesses remained unknown.

Then on Monday, health officials announced that Norovirus was likely the responsible pathogen.

All stool samples taken from sick children tested positive for the virus, said Springfield district spokesperson Rick Schaeffer, according to NWA.

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Posted in Food Hygiene, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Foodborne Illness, Norovirus, outbreak, Pathogen

Danish Alerts – Listeria monocytogenes – Salted Pork – Teepolse

Posted on January 22, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Denmark  – Salted Meat – Recall- Listeria monocytogenes

Denmark – Teepolse (cooked pork with spices and rum) – Recall Listeria monocytogenes

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Posted in Bacteria, Food Inspections, Food Safety, Food Testing, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Microbiology, Pathogen, Recall

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Hong Kong – Recall Australian Cheese Implicated in the Listeria Outbreak

Posted on January 22, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Center for Food SafetyFood Testing

The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (January 21) urged the public not to consume certain soft cheese products, manufactured in Australia, which might have been contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. The trade should stop selling the concerned products.

“The CFS noticed through its routine Food Incident Surveillance System that some cheese products produced by an Australian manufacturer, Jindi Cheese Pty Ltd, were suspected to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.  The concerned company is now voluntarily recalling all soft and semi-soft cheese products it manufactured on or before January 6 this year,” a spokesman for the CFS said.

“The CFS subsequently received notification from the International Food Safety Authorities Network of the World Health Organisation / the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations that some of the affected products have been imported to Hong Kong,” he added.

According to the information provided by the Australian authorities, the CFS has contacted two chain stores which had imported the affected products, namely PARKnSHOP and Pacific Gourmet. The shops were instructed to stop selling the products concerned (see attached table). The CFS was also informed that the companies had set up hotlines to answer consumers’ enquiries about the product recall, PARKnSHOP at 2606 8658 and Pacific Gourmet at 3184 0805.

“In case any consumers have bought the affected soft cheese products, they should stop eating them, regardless of batches. To be prudent, consumers who recently bought any cut portion of gourmet soft cheese and are unsure of the product details should also stop eating it. People are advised to seek medical advice if they feel sick after consuming the products concerned. So far the CFS has not received any reports of persons feeling unwell after consumption of the affected products,” the spokesman said.

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Posted in Bacteria, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Hygiene, Illness, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen, Recall

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USA – FDA Recall Salad Sandwiches – Listeria monocytogenes

Posted on January 22, 2013 by | Leave a comment

FDAlisteria-hp

Knott’s Fine Foods, Inc. of Paris, TN, is voluntarily recalling its 3 ounce Chicken Salad Sandwiches with an expiration date of 1/29/13 and earlier because they have the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Although healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, Listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.

The recalled Chicken Salad Sandwiches were distributed in West Tennessee, Western Kentucky and North Mississippi in 35 retail stores.

The product comes in a 3 ounce black wedge with clear plastic film closure. UPC code is 0-11984-01132-6. All expiration dates 1/29/13 and earlier are being recalled. The expiration date is located on an orange sticker on the clear film of the package.

No illnesses have been reported to date in connection with this problem.

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Posted in Bacteria, FDA, Food Inspections, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Microbiology, Pathogen, Recall

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Research – Growth and Survival of Salmonella in Black Pepper

Posted on January 21, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Science DirectSalmonella

Abstract

A four serovar cocktail of Salmonella was inoculated into ground black pepper (Piper nigrum) at different water activity (aw) levels at a starting level of 4–5 log cfu/g and incubated at 25 and at 35 °C. At 35 °C and aw of 0.9886 ± 0.0006, the generation time in ground black pepper was 31 ± 3 min with a lag time of 4 ± 1 h. Growth at 25 °C had a longer lag, but generation time was not statistically different from growth at 35 °C. The aw threshold for growth was determined to be 0.9793 ± 0.0027 at 35 °C. To determine survival during storage conditions, ground black pepper was inoculated at approximately 8 log cfu/g and stored at 25 and 35 °C at high (97% RH) and ambient (≤40% RH) humidity. At high relative humidity, aw increased to approximately 0.8–0.9 after approximately 20 days at both temperatures and no Salmonella was detected after 100 and 45 days at 25 and 35 °C, respectively. Under ambient humidity, populations showed an initial decrease of 3–4 log cfu/g, then remained stable for over 8 months at 25 and 35 °C. Results of this study indicate Salmonella can readily grow at permissive aw in ground black pepper and may persist for an extended period of time under typical storage conditions.

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Posted in Bacteria, Food Safety, Food Testing, Methods, Microbiology, Pathogen, Research

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European Sprouted Seeds Legislation Due July 2013 are the USA to Follow?

Posted on January 21, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Food Poisoning Bulletin Eurofins

The newly proposed produce safety rule of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) has a section devoted to sprouts because they “present a unique risk.” That’s because the ideal conditions for growing sprouts are also ideal for growing pathogens, as we have seen many times in recent years.

Since 1996, there have been 30  “sproutbreaks” where sprouts contaminated with Salmonella, Listeria, E. coli and other pathogens have caused outbreaks of illness. In 2012, sprouts were recalled for potential contamination at least seven times and caused one of the largest multi-state foodborne illness outbreaks of the year.  The 11-state outbreak which sickened 29 people was linked to sprouts served at a fast food sandwich chain. Also in 2012, Kroger, one of the nation’s largest grocery retailers decided to stop selling sprouts because of the risk they pose.

Some of the new requirements in the proposed rule are: requiring growers to take “measures reasonably necessary to prevent the introduction of hazards into or onto seeds or beans;” requiring that growing, harvesting, packing and holding of sprouts be done in a fully-enclosed building; “require that any food-contact surfaces that come in contact with sprouts, seeds, or beans must be cleaned and sanitized;”  required use  of a scientifically valid to reduce microorganisms before sprouting;  required testing for Listeria; and required record keeping of seed treatments  and environmental  monitoring.

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Posted in Bacteria, E.coli, E.coli O104, E.coli O157, Food Inspections, Food Safety, Food Testing, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Methods, Microbiology, Pathogen, Research, Salmonella

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European and RASSF Alerts – Salmonella – Listeria – Coliforms – Histamine

Posted on January 21, 2013 by | Leave a comment

RASFF – Listeria monocytogenes in Smoked Salmon in the Netherlands sourced in Poland via Germany

RASFF – Histamine in Tuna in Italy sourced in Spain

RASFF – Salmonella in Animal Feed in Sweden sourced in Germany

RASFF – Salmonella spp. in dried organic Chlorella algae in Sweden from China

RASFF – Coliforms in Carbonated Water in Greece sourced in Romania

 

 

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Posted in Allergic Reaction, Bacteria, Coliforms, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Histamine, Hygiene, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Microbiology, Pathogen, RASFF, Recall, Salmonella

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Research – Online Dairy Herd Salmonella Risk Assessment

Posted on January 21, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Dairy Herd Network19243

Salmonellosis  is a pervasive disease that is hard to keep out of a dairy operation.  With help from a new online tool from Pfizer Animal Health, dairy  producers can assess their risk of a Salmonella outbreak. The short self-assessment — found at www.SalmonellaRisk.com/Assessment — helps producers find proactive measures to help lessen the risk of a disastrous outbreak.

“Salmonella is on the rise and is a risk to every dairy operation,” says Dr. Gary  Neubauer, senior manager, Dairy  Technical Services, Pfizer Animal Health. “Dairies are operating at a  faster pace than ever before with cattle, feed and people going on and  off the farm every day. It’s important for producers to consider how  much risk they are willing to take on.”

While taking the assessment, producers answer questions about on-farm hygiene, accessibility and animal health practices.  Once completed, the tool provides a personalized Salmonella reduction plan that can be printed or emailed to the herd veterinarian.  Together, producers and veterinarians can use this plan to review  current protocols and management practices, and establish  ways to help reduce risk and build immunity to Salm

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Posted in Bacteria, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Safety, Food Technology, Food Testing, Microbiology, Pathogen, Research, Salmonella, Uncategorized

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USA – Cooked Poultry Meat Recall – Listeria monocytogenes

Posted on January 21, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Food Poisoning BulletinFood Testing

LJG Holdings Inc., doing business as B and D foods of Idaho is recalling 33,500 pounds of fully cooked meat and poultry products because they may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. No illnesses have been reported in connection with the consumption of these products. The problem was discovered by the company through microbiological testing. the products were sold to foodservice and/or institutional customers.

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Posted in Bacteria, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Microbiology, Pathogen, Recall

Australia – Two Dead and a Miscarriage Listeria Cheese Outbreak

Posted on January 21, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety News

A Listeria monocytogenes outbreak linked to soft cheeses has sickened 18 people in Australia; two victims have died and one woman miscarried as a result of infection with the bacteria.

The outbreak began in November of 2012, at which time an 84-year-old man from Victoria and a 44-year-old Tasmanian man died as a result of their illnesses, and a New South Wales woman suffered a miscarriage.  By mid-December, 11 cases of listeriosis (Listeria infection) had been identified as part of the outbreak, and brie and camembert cheese sold under the brand names of Jindi and Wattle Valley were implicated as the source of the bacteria.

As a result, health authorities announced a recall of four types of cheeses – 1kg packages of Jindi brie, 1kg packages of Jindi camembert, 1kg  packages of Wattle Valley double brie and 1kg packages of Wattle Valley camembert – all with a best before date of December 21.

Now a further seven cases have been connected to the outbreak, health authorities announced Friday. Officials also expanded the recall to include all cheeses manufactured by the Jindi company up to and including January 6.

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Posted in Bacteria, Death, Food Illness, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Illness, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Microbiology, Miscarriage, outbreak, Pathogen, Recall

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