Category Archives: Pathogen

USA – Las Vegas Firefly Restaurant Salmonella Outbreak – 200 Cases – 20 States – UK and Canada

Posted on May 13, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Food Poison JournalSalmonella

According to a report just released by the Southern Nevada Health Department, as of May 5, 2013 at least 196 patrons and 4 employees of Firefly who consumed food and/or drinks at Firefly restaurant during April 21-26, 2013 have been determined to be confirmed or probable cases of Salmonella infection.  From various surveillance data sources, reports of illness from restaurant patrons who normally reside in twenty states:

Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Washington and two foreign countries (Canada, United Kingdom).

Illness onset dates occurred within the April 22 to May 1, 2013 time frame.  The onset date with the peak number of ill restaurant patrons was April 24, 2013. Because the incubation period for Salmonella is usually 12-36 hours, this might suggest that patrons who ate at Firefly on April 22-23, 2013 had the highest risk of exposure to the pathogen.

According to some there is a call to name this species as Salmonella Firefly – after the restaurant.

Serotyping of the isolates indicated that the outbreak strain was Salmonella (assigned with the antigenic code “I:4,5,12:i:-”.

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Posted in Bacteria, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Hygiene, Illness, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen, Salmonella

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RASFF Alerts – Salmonella in Food – Poultry – Lettuce

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RASFF – Salmonella Napoli (present /25g) in radicchio lettuce from Italy in Denmark

RASFF – Salmonella spp. (presence /25g) in frozen poultry meat preparations from Brazil in the Netherlands

RASFF – Salmonella spp. (presence /25g) in frozen poultry meat preparations from Brazil in the Netherlands

RASFF – Salmonella enteritidis (present /25g) in chilled and frozen poultry meat from Poland, with raw material from Slovakia in Poland

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Posted in Bacteria, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Microbiology, Pathogen, RASFF, Recall, Salmonella, Schmallenberg virus

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RASFF Alerts – Salmonella in Feeds

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RASFF – Salmonella spp. (presence /25g) in fish meal from Mauritania in Denmark

RASFF – Salmonella spp. (presence /25g) in cotton seeds (Gossypium hirsutum) from Ghana in Italy

RASFF – Salmonella (presence /25g) and high count of Enterobacteriaceae (930; 10000; 760 CFU/100g) in fish flour from Mauritius in Italy

RASFF – Salmonella (presence /25g) and high count of Enterobacteriaceae (5000; 7400; CFU/g) in fish meal from Mauritania in Denmark

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Posted in Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Hygiene, Methods, Microbiology, Pathogen, RASFF, Recall, Salmonella

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Research – Norovirus Killed by Electron Beam

Posted on May 13, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Food Poisoning Bulletin300px-Crassostrea_gigas_p1040848

Researchers at Texas A&M University have developed a way to pasteurize oysters without chemicals or heat using an electron beam. A study measuring the method’s efficacy on norovirus and hepatitis A appears in the June issue of the scientific journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

Although the CDC recommends that all shellfish be cooked to an internal temperature of 140˚, many people enjoy raw eating oysters raw. Pasteurization is one way to address the health risk of raw foods. And it’s one of the electron beam or E beam applications being explored at the National Center for Electron Beam Research at Texas A&M University.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has already approved E beam technology as a way to control Vibrio vulnificus, a naturally occurring bacteria in shellfish that can cause life- threatening illness or death. In this study, researchers measured E beam’s efficacy on different levels of viral concentration. They found that at high levels of contamination the E beam was able to reduce norovirus levels by 12 percent and hepatitis A levels by 16 percent and at more moderate levels of contamination the method was able to reduce norovirus by 26 percent and hepatitis A by 90 percent

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Posted in Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Technology, Food Testing, Food Virus, Hepatitis A, Hepatitis E, Illness, Methods, Microbiology, Norovirus, Pathogen, Research

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USA – E.coli O121 Outbreaks Expands

Posted on May 13, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Food Poisoning BulletinEcoli Istock

The E. coli O121 outbreak linked to Farm Rich brand frozen food products has grown again to include 35 people in 19 states. Nine people have been hospitalized in this outbreak, and no deaths have been reported. Two patients have developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). The outbreak has grown from 32 people since the last update in late April.

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Posted in Bacteria, E.coli, E.coli O121, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Illness, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen

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USA – Advice “Keep Listeria Out of Your Kitchen”

Posted on May 13, 2013 by | 1 comment

FDA

If you eat food contaminated with bacteria called Listeria, you could get so sick that you have to be hospitalized. And for certain vulnerable people, the illness could be fatal.

Contaminated food can bring Listeria into the home. Unlike most bacteria, Listeria germs can grow and spread in the refrigerator. So if you unknowingly refrigerate Listeria-contaminated food, the germs not only multiply at the cool temperature, they could contaminate your refrigerator and spread to other foods there, increasing the likelihood that you and your family will become sick.

Those most at risk for listeriosis—the illness caused by Listeria monocytogenes—include pregnant women, older adults and people with compromised immune systems and certain chronic medical conditions (such as HIV/AIDS, cancer, diabetes, kidney disease, and transplant patients). In pregnant women, listeriosis can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, and serious illness or death in newborn babies.

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Posted in Bacteria, FDA, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Methods, Microbiology, Pathogen

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Canada – Almond Butter – Peanut Butter – Tahini – Salmonella

Posted on May 11, 2013 by | Leave a comment

CFIACIFA

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is warning the public not to consume certain almond butter, peanut butter and tahini sold in bulk or repackaged at the various locations described below because the products may be contaminated with Salmonella or other harmful bacteria.

The affected products were sold at some time during the period indicated in the link above.

Consumers who are unsure if they have affected product are advised to check with their retailer.

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Posted in Bacteria, CFIA, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Microbiology, Pathogen, Recall, Salmonella

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USA – Fruit Juice – Clostridium botulinum

Posted on May 11, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Botulism BlogClost

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers not to consume any juice products or other beverages from Juices Incorporated (aka Juices International and Juices Enterprises) of Brooklyn, N.Y. The company’s carrot and beet juice products have the potential to be contaminated with Clostridium botulinum, a bacterium which can cause botulism, a serious and potentially fatal foodborne illness. Consumers are warned not to consume these products even if they do not look or smell spoiled.

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Posted in Bacteria, Clostridium botulinum, FDA, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Microbiology, Pathogen, Recall, USDA

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USA – Update Salmonella – Cucumber Outbreak

Posted on May 11, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety Newscucumber

An outbreak of Salmonella Saintpaul linked to imported cucumbers has sickened at least 81 people in 18 states, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

That’s up from the 78 illnesses CDC reported April 25. The number of patients hospitalized as a result of their infections has risen from 14 to 16 since that time.

The updated number of victims, by state, is as follows: Arizona (11), California (28), Colorado (1), Idaho (2), Illinois (3), Louisiana (1), Massachusetts (1), Maryland (1), Minnesota (9), Nevada (1), New Mexico (2), North Carolina (3), Ohio (3), Oregon (2), South Dakota (2), Texas (6), Virginia (3) and Wisconsin (2).

The first outbreak victim fell ill on January 12 of this year, and the latest known illness onset was April 19. However, health officials note that illnesses with an onset date of April 7 or later may not have been reported yet.

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Posted in Bacteria, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen, Salmonella

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USA – Texas E.coli O157:H7 Outbreak

Posted on May 11, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety News

Health investigators in Texas’ Brazos County are looking into eight possible infections of E. coli O157:H7 they suspect may be linked to food.

The Brazos County Health Department has confirmed five of the illnesses, and investigators believe another three patients are infected with the same strain of bacteria.

Two related children under the age of five have been hospitalized at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston for the past week, The Eagle reports. The other six cases are adults and were not hospitalized.

Investigators are still searching for a possible outbreak source, saying that the patients did not eat at the same restaurant.

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Posted in Bacteria, E.coli, E.coli O157, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen

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