Category Archives: Pathogen

FDA – Blue Ocean Smokehouse – Botulinum

Posted on March 30, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Botulism Blog 

Fish may put consumers at risk of botulism and other food hazards

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, in a complaint filed by the Department of Justice, is seeking to stop the processing and distribution of fish products at a California company because of a risk of botulism and other food hazards.

If granted, the permanent injunction against Fujino Enterprises Inc., doing business as Blue Ocean Smokehouse, of Half Moon Bay, Calif., would stop the company from processing and distributing fish and fish products. Blue Ocean’s president Erika Fujino also is named in the government’s complaint.

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Posted in Bacteria, Clostridium botulinum, Eurofins Laboratories, FDA, Food Hygiene, Food Safety, Food Technology, Foodborne Illness, Microbiology, Pathogen

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US – 30 at College Hit with Norovirus Illness

Posted on March 29, 2012 by | Leave a comment

lohud.com

Dozens of students at Corcordia College are recovering from a stomach virus that swept the campus over the weekend and sent a few people to the hospital.

Some students suspect it was the Norovirus — a fast-spreading foodborne disease that causes diarrhea, vomiting and stomach pains — but there is no official finding, college officials said.

It was first reported on the 800-student campus Friday. Within a couple of days, 30 students contracted the virus and four wound up in Lawrence Hospital Center in Bronxville.

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Posted in Eurofins Laboratories, Food Illness, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Virus, Foodborne Illness, Microbiology, Norovirus, outbreak, Pathogen

Wales – Report on Protecting Consumers from E.coli O157

Posted on March 29, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Consumer Focus 

For the past two years, Consumer Focus Wales has published a report scrutinising the implementation of the recommendations of the Pennington Inquiry into the E.coli outbreak in 2005 in which 44 schools were affected and a total of 157 people, mostly children, were diagnosed with E.coli O157.

In our second report publish in March 2011, we noted that progress is well advanced.However we identified specific areas where more needed to be done as well as highlighting a number of food safety issues relating to the Food Standards Agency Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS) and concerns about standards in some premises serving food to vulnerable groups such as children in nurseries and older people in care homes.

This statement is an update a year on about what has been done since our last report and where focus is still needed. I am glad to report there has been continued progress this year towards implementing Professor Pennington`s recommendations, and improving food safety in Wales.

2011 Consumer Focus Report

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Posted in Bacteria, E.coli, E.coli O157, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Standards Agency, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Microbiology, Pathogen

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FSA – Guidance on Setting Up a Food Stall During the Olympics

Posted on March 29, 2012 by | Leave a comment

FSA 

 

The Food Standards Agency is reminding anyone who is considering setting up a stall selling refreshments during the Olympics to plan ahead. To help, the Agency has produced guidance answering the most frequently asked questions.

 

The stall will need to be registered as a food business and, if it is to be situated on a public road or path, a street trading licence will also need to be obtained from the local authority. Anyone not following these procedures may face tough enforcement action.

 

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Posted in Bacteria, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Inspections, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Standards Agency, Food Testing, Microbiology, Pathogen

Mustard Seeds for Controlling Food Spoilage?

Posted on March 28, 2012 by | 1 comment

Science Codex 

University of Alberta researcher Christina Engels has discovered how to extract a compound from mustard seeds that can protect against food spoilage.

Engels recovered a particular compound—sinapic acid—from mustard seed meal, which shows antibacterial effects against such strains as Staphylococcus aureus, E. coli and Listeria monocytogenes, all of which can cause grave illness and death in humans. Canada is the world’s largest exporter of mustard seed.

Link to Paper

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Posted in Bacteria, E.coli, EHEC, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Safety, Food Spoilage, Food Technology, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Microbiology, Pathogen, Technology

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Climate change: Potential Impacts on Food- and Waterborne Diseases in the EU

Posted on March 28, 2012 by | Leave a comment

ECDC 

ECDC issued the report ‘Assessing the potential impacts of climate change on food- and waterborne diseases in Europe’.

This report identifies the relationships between meteorological and climate variables and six food- and waterborne pathogens, by reviewing existing literature, in order to assess the potential impacts of climate change on food- and waterborne disease transmission in the EU.

Publication Link – Free of Charge

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Posted in Bacteria, ECDC, EFSA, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Hygiene, Food Safety, Food Technology, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Microbiology, Pathogen

Lebanon – 20+ Arrested Over Food Safety Violations

Posted on March 28, 2012 by | Leave a comment

The Daily Star

BEIRUT: At least 20 people, including a Chinese national, are in police custody and being investigated for violating food safety laws, Justice Minister Shakib Qortbawi said Monday.

Qortbawi, who spoke during a news conference at the ministry, said that among those detained, seven were from Beirut and another seven were picked up in Mount Lebanon, one of whom is a Chinese national.

Four people in Tripoli have also been detained, along with one in Nabatieh, and one in South Lebanon, with the latter awaiting the results of laboratory testing before the investigations continue. Arrest warrants in absentia have been issued for another two individuals who remain at large, the minister said.

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Posted in Bacteria, Food Inspections, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Foodborne Illness, Microbiology, Pathogen

US – Recall – Salmonella – Salsa

Posted on March 28, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Food Poisoning Bulletin 

Kroger Company is recalling store brand salsa and pico de gallo because they may be contaminated with Salmonella. This recall may be related to the recall of fresh jalapenos by Castellini Produce earlier in the month

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Posted in Bacteria, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen, Recall, Salmonella

HPA Report Salmonella poona

Posted on March 28, 2012 by | Leave a comment

HPA

The Laboratory of Gastrointestinal Pathogens (LGP) has reported 49 non-travel associated, fully sensitive cases of Salmonella Poona with specimen dates on or after 24 October 2011 to 19 March 2012. This compares with 21 and 33 cases reported during the whole of 2009 and 2010 respectively. Those affected range from four months to 88 years of age with 65% of all cases aged over 60 years and a median age of 69.5 years; men and women are similarly affected.

Cases have been found across England and Wales, with most cases occurring in the South West (28%), South East (16%) and Wales (14%) regions. So far, no cases have been reported in London and the East Midlands and 14 cases have received treatment in hospital.

The Salmonella Poona isolates from 41 of the cases have been further typed by pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and all but one has the same PFGE profile XB.0003. This strain is indistinguishable from a strain seen in an outbreak in Sweden in 2010; however, a source was not been confirmed for that outbreak.

Salmonella enterica serovar Poona causes gastro-enteritis in humans through the consumption of contaminated food. In humans chronic carriage is rare and so cases of Salmonella Poona should be excluded from work, school and other institutional settings for 48 hours after first normal stools and will not require microbiological clearance [1].

Following the increase in cases, an Outbreak Control Team comprising representatives from the South West, Wales and South East regions, and from HPA Colindale’s Gastrointestinal, Emerging and Zoonotic Infections group (GEZI), is investigating.

Reference

1. Preventing person-to-person spread following gastrointestinal infections: guidelines for public health physicians and environmental health officers. Communicable Disease and Public Health 7(4), December 2004, pp362.

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Posted in Bacteria, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Microbiology, Pathogen, Salmonella

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Ireland Rise in Campylobacter Cases?

Posted on March 28, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Independant IE

Experts are puzzled at the rise in cases of Campylobacter — the most common cause of food poisoning.

There were 2,440 official cases notified in the Republic last year, which is a rise of 46.9pc over 2010.

Its largest group of victims are children under four years of age, according to the disease watchdog, the Health Protection Surveillance Centre of Ireland.

It pointed out that the increase in cases has been examined in a range of countries in the past but beyond theories about consumption of poorly cooked poultry no firm explanation for any rise was found.

I was discussing this at a meeting yesterday and we wondered if it was linked to the current economic climate and chicken being a cheaper meat than beef or lamb?

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Posted in Bacteria, Campylobacter, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Technology, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Microbiology, Pathogen

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