Category Archives: Pathogen

FSA – B&M Sausages Recall -Harmful Bacteria

Posted on March 3, 2012 by | 1 comment

FSA

B&M Sausages in Scotland is withdrawing a variety of meat products, produced up to and including 1 March 2012. Food contact surfaces were inadequately disinfected, resulting in possible contamination of the products with harmful bacteria. The Agency has issued a Product Withdrawal Information Notice.

The products being recalled are:

  • Wiejka Sausage
  • Szynka
  • Poledwica
  • Boczek Rdowany
  • Zwyczajna
  • Firmova
  • Szynkowa
  • Kabanos
  • Schab Rolonkiny
  • Krakowska
  • Biala
  • Przysmak Swietokrzyski
  • Parowkova
  • Pasztetowa
  • Frankfurterki
  • Salceson
  • Zeberka Wedzone
  • Boczek
  • Kaszanka
  • Blgosowka
  • Rolada
  • Pieczen
  • Karczek Pieczony
  • Boczek Pieczony

B&M is withdrawing all the affected products from the four delicatessens it supplies and customer notices will be displayed in stores, explaining why the products have been withdrawn.

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Posted in Bacteria, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Standards Agency, Food Testing, Microbiology, Pathogen, Recall

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CIFA – Canada – Beef Frankfurters- Recall – Listeria monocytogenes

Posted on March 2, 2012 by | Leave a comment

CIFA

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Glatt’s Kosher Meat Products are warning the public not to consume the Glatt’s brand Beef Frankfurters Jumbo BBQ described below because the product may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

The affected product, Glatt’s brand Beef Frankfurters Jumbo BBQ, is sold in 375 g packages bearing UPC 0 55627 00203 6 and a Best Before date of 12AL21.

This product has been distributed in Ontario and Quebec.

There have been no reported illnesses associated with the consumption of this product.

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Posted in Eurofins Laboratories, Food Inspections, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Microbiology, Pathogen, Recall

Twitter and Food Safety Alerts – USDA

Posted on March 2, 2012 by | Leave a comment

USDA 

Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) launched a series of Twitter feeds that will provide state-specific, food safety alerts to consumers. Followers of these Twitter accounts will receive alerts about recalls of meat, poultry and processed egg products in their state, as well as information on how to protect their food supply during severe weather events.

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Posted in Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Technology, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen, Recall, Twitter

India – 50 Children Ill with Food Poisoning

Posted on March 2, 2012 by | Leave a comment

The Hindu

Over 50 children and a few adults had suffered food poisoning suspected to been caused from taking ice-cream outside a shrine at Kiliyalam in Kinanur-Karindalam village near here.

It is suspected that the food poisoning could have been caused either after taking ice-cream from the make-shift stall outside the temple premises or due to the food taken from the temple as part of the festivities.

The Health Department officials here have taken the samples of ice-cream and the food prepared in the shrine sent for examination to ascertain the exact cause of the food poisoning, police said, adding that a case would be registered after obtaining the results of the food and ice-cream samples.

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Posted in Eurofins Laboratories, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Poisoning, Food Testing, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen

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Gulf Region Rapid Food Safety Alert System

Posted on March 1, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Food Production Daily

A rapid alert system to warn authorities about foodborne outbreaks, contamination and recalls related to food is being developed to provide regional communication for the Gulf States.

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Posted in Food Inspections, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen, Recall

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Hamburg EHEC E.coli O157 – Four More Cases

Posted on March 1, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Four new EHEC illnesses have occurred in Hamburg. Enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) had been found in an 11 boy and a 3-year old kindergarten child. Also two women aged  68 and 88  in the borough Altona were diagnosed early last week with the same organism.

The two infected children are from Blankenese and were taken ill last week. The boy may have visited also the same school as a six-year girl who had died about two weeks ago.

EHEC serotype O157 was isolated from the girl that had died.

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Posted in E.coli, E.coli O157, EHEC, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Illness, Food Poisoning, Food Testing, Microbiology, Pathogen

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Shigella – US Child Care Center

Posted on February 29, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Shigella Blog

According to press reports, two Maplewood Elementary School children have been infected with shigellosis, the illness caused by Shigella infection.  The Marion County Health Department contacted Maplewood officials on Wednesday, informing them that two students had contracted the illness; the school district launched an immediate review and response.

Shigella Blog Preventing the Spread of Shigella

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Posted in Eurofins Laboratories, Food Illness, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Microbiology, Pathogen, Shigella

Pathogenic potential of Escherichia coli O26

Posted on February 29, 2012 by | Leave a comment

HPS

E. coli O26 and O157 have similar overall prevalences in cattle in Scotland, but in humans, Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O26 (STEC O26) infections are fewer and clinically less severe than E. coli O157 infections. To investigate this discrepancy, E. coli O26 isolates from cattle and humans in Scotland and continental Europe were genotyped. The genetic background of some strains from Scotland was closely related to that of strains causing severe infections in Europe. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling found an association between haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS) and multilocus sequence type 21 strains and confirmed the role of stx2 in severe human disease.

Full Report

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Posted in E.coli, E.coli O26, EHEC, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Illness, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Testing, Microbiology, Pathogen

Dutch Campylobacter Study

Posted on February 29, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Emerging Infectious Disease

Abstract

In the Netherlands in 2003, an outbreak of avian influenza in poultry resulted in extensive culling, especially of layer hens. Concurrently, human campylobacteriosis cases decreased, particularly in the culling area. These observations raise the hypothesis that Campylobacter spp. dissemination from poultry farms or slaughterhouses might contribute to human campylobacteriosis.

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Posted in Campylobacter, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Testing, Pathogen

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Food Safety Ireland and EFSA – Norovirus Collaboration

Posted on February 29, 2012 by | 1 comment

FSAI

 Norovirus is a major cause of acute gastroenteritis in Europe.  The virus is readily transmitted from person to person so outbreaks can easily become large, as shown in the outbreak that occurred in a Dublin Hotel just before Christmas.  In this instance, around 580 people reported illness after attending events in the hotel.  Food and water can also be sources of norovirus infection when they are either contaminated with faecal matter or cross-contaminated by food handlers.

A major issue for the Authorities and the industry in Ireland surrounds decisions regarding the safety of oysters when they are found to contain norovirus genome copies but are nevertheless compliant with all applicable control requirements.  In this context the FSAI requested advice from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) on the public health risks associated with establishing standards for noroviruses in oysters.

EFSA concluded that norovirus is highly infectious and low doses can result in disease.  However, it noted that the amount of virus detected in oysters linked to human illness could vary greatly.  It also concluded that norovirus genetic material was frequently detected in European oysters even when they complied with existing control standards.

The opinion went on to recommend that risk managers should consider establishing an acceptable limit for norovirus in oysters that are intended to be harvested and placed on the market in the EU.

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Posted in EFSA, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Technology, Food Testing, Food Virus, Microbiology, Norovirus, Pathogen