Category Archives: Research

Research – Salmonella – Listeria Harvest Contamination

Posted on October 4, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Applied and EnvironmentalSalmonella

Identification of management practices associated with preharvest pathogen contamination of produce fields is crucial to the development of effective Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs). A cross-sectional study was conducted to (i) determine management  practices associated with a Salmonella or Listeria monocytogenes positive field and (ii) quantify the frequency of these pathogens in irrigation and non-irrigation water sources. Over five weeks, 21 produce farms in New York State were visited. Field-level management practices were recorded for 263 fields, and 600 environmental samples (soil, drag swab, and water) were collected and analyzed for Salmonella and L. monocytogenes. Management practices were evaluated for their association with the presence of a pathogen-positive field. Salmonella and L. monocytogenes were detected in 6.1% and 17.5% of fields (n=263), and 11% and 30% of water samples (n=74), respectively. The majority of pathogen-positive water samples were from non-irrigation surface water sources. Multivariate analysis showed that manure application        within a year increased the odds of a Salmonella-positive field (odds ratio [OR] 16.7), while presence of a buffer zone had a protective effect (OR 0.1). Irrigation (within 3 days of sample collection, OR 6.0), reported wildlife observation (within 3 days of sample collection, OR 6.1), and soil cultivation (within 7 days of sample collection, OR 2.9) all increased the likelihood of an L. monocytogenes-positive field. Our findings provide new data that will assist growers with science-based evaluation of their current GAPs and implementation of preventive controls that reduce the risk of preharvest contamination.

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Posted in Bacteria, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Safety, Food Technology, Food Testing, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Microbiology, Pathogen, Research, Salmonella

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Research – Legionella Bacteria Found in Commercial Compost Products

Posted on October 2, 2013 by | 1 comment

HACCPEuropaLegionella_Plate_01

The Legionella bacteria exist in a significant number of commercial compost products, a study conducted at the University of Strathclyde has found.

The research, the first substantial analysis of Legionella in UK composts, suggests that the bacteria are a common part of the microflora found within the composts tested.

It is widely recognised that Legionella bacteria are commonly present in the environment and the researchers have found that compost could be a potential source of infection.

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Posted in Bacteria, Food Microbiology, Food Safety, Food Testing, Laboratory, Legionella, Microbiology, Pathogen, Research

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Research – Clostridium difficile – Possibly not Only a Clinical Issue

Posted on September 27, 2013 by | Leave a comment

New England Journal of MedicineClost

It has been thought that Clostridium difficile infection is transmitted predominantly within health care settings. However, endemic spread has hampered identification of precise sources of infection and the assessment of the efficacy of interventions.

Over a 3-year period, 45% of C. difficile cases in Oxfordshire were genetically distinct from all previous cases. Genetically diverse sources, in addition to symptomatic patients, play a major part in C. difficile transmission.

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Posted in Bacteria, Clostridium difficile, Food Hygiene, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Laboratory, Microbiology, Pathogen, Research

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Research – Increasing Vibrio Prevalence

Posted on September 23, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety NewsVibrio

With a nearly 50-percent mortality rate, Vibrio vulnificus is the most deadly foodborne pathogen in the world, according to University of North Carolina at Charlotte Biology Professor Jim Oliver. And instances of infection in the U.S., however rare, are rapidly rising.

Fifteen years ago, there were 21 confirmed cases of Vibrio vulnificus and parahaemolyticus infections in the U.S. Last year, there were 193.

While infections from either of the pathogens are still rare compared with, say, Salmonella and Campylobacter, the incidence rate grew faster than any of the other five microbes tracked in the Centers for Disease Control’s 2012 Food Safety Progress Report. The vulnificus strain is responsible for 95 percent of seafood-related illness fatalities in the U.S., according to a 2013 study by Oliver and Joanna Nowakowska. Another Vibrio strain, parahaemolyticus, is milder, causing diarrhea, nausea, fever and chills, according to CDC.

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Posted in Bacteria, CDC, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Safety, Food Testing, Microbiology, Pathogen, Research, Vibrio, Vibrio cholera, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Vibrio vulnificans

Research – Cattle – Vacination and E.coli O157

Posted on September 19, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Trading.comEcoli Istock

The bacteria, which cause severe gastrointestinal illness and even death in humans, are spread by consuming contaminated food and water, or by contact with livestock faeces in the environment. Cattle are the main reservoir for the bacterium. The vaccines that are available for cattle are rarely used, but the latest study suggests the public health benefits could be significant.

The research was lead by a team of researchers at the University of Glasgow in collaboration with the University of Edinburgh, the Royal Veterinary College, Scotland’s Rural College, Health Protection Scotland, and the Scottish E. coli O157/VTEC Reference Laboratory.

The study, published in the online journal PNAS, used veterinary, human and molecular data to examine the risks of E. coli O157 transmission from cattle to humans, and to estimate the impact of vaccinating cattle.

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

UK – FSA – Food Business Toolkit

Posted on September 19, 2013 by | Leave a comment

FSAfood_standards_agency_logo

The Food Standards Agency is encouraging food business to make the most of their food hygiene rating to help attract customers trade. A toolkit offering guidance, images, logos and web banners is available.

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Posted in Bacteria, Food Hygiene, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Safety, Food Standards Agency, Food Testing, Hygiene, Research

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New Zealand – Fronterra Products Did Not Present a Threat

Posted on September 19, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Botulism BlogClost

Dairy products made by the New Zealand company Fonterra that were at the center of a global contamination scare this month did not contain a bacterium that could cause botulism and posed no food safety threat, New Zealand officials said on Wednesday.

The Ministry for Primary Industries said tests showed that whey protein concentrate manufactured by the world’s largest dairy processor contained Clostridium sporogenes, which cannot cause botulism but which at elevated levels can be associated with food spoiling.

Initial tests conducted by Fonterra and a New Zealand government research institute had indicated the presence of Clostridium botulinum, raising fears that infant formula and sports drinks made from the product and widely exported could be dangerous.

The botulism scare caused a recall of products made by multinational brands that may have contained the whey protein in markets like China, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. It also prompted bans in Russia and Sri Lanka.

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Posted in Bacteria, Clostridium botulinum, Food Hygiene, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Safety, Food Testing, Microbiology, Pathogen, Research

Europe – Surveillance of Six Priority Food- and Waterborne Diseases in the EU/EEA 2006 -2009

Posted on September 17, 2013 by | Leave a comment

ECDC

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) is an EU agency [1] with a mandate to operate surveillance networks and to identify, assess, and communicate current and emerging threats to human health from communicable diseases. The agency became operational in 2005. Initially, data were collected for 49 diseases (2008), with three more added in 2012. All data are entered in ECDC’s database system, known as the European Surveillance System (TESSy). Epidemiological overviews of all diseases are provided in the ECDC’s Annual Epidemiological Report. The surveillance of salmonellosis, campylobacteriosis and Shiga toxin/verotoxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC/VTEC) infection was carried out until 2007 by an EU-funded dedicated surveillance network, Enter-net, which was hosted by the Health Protection Agency in the United Kingdom. In October 2007, the coordination of Enter-net was transferred to ECDC and Enter-net is now under the auspices of the Programme of Food- and Waterborne Diseases and Zoonoses (FWD). After the transfer, the scope was broadened to also cover listeriosis, yersiniosis and shigellosis. For the six priority diseases, surveillance was developed further in close collaboration with nominated disease experts, epidemiologists and microbiologists. This report is the first dedicated epidemiological report on these six diseases, offering a detailed analysis for the years 2006 to 2009. The intended readership includes public health and food safety professionals, policymakers, scientists, and the general public.

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Posted in ECDC, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Technology, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Microbiology, Pathogen, Poisoning, Research, Uncategorized

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USA – Partnership for For Food Safety Education Website

Posted on September 17, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Partnership for Food Safety Educationlogo-opt

This is website that may interest some of you;

For 5 years, we’ve been busting common food safety myths to help you protect your family from foodborne illness. From leftovers to lemon juice, you might think there’s nothing left to cover!

For National Food Safety Education Month 2013, we’re going where Home Food Safety Mythbusters has not gone before — to the kids!

Kids are more likely to get food poisoning than most adults are. Knowing fact from fiction when it comes to food safety risks could mean the difference between safe kids and sick kids.

Know what is fact and what is fiction. Check out this year’s myths and facts, and free downloads, here.

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Posted in Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Hygiene, Illness, Pathogen, Research

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Research – Salmonella Antibiotic Resistance

Posted on September 16, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety NewsSalm

The number of antimicrobial-resistant Salmonella serotypes hasn’t increased drastically in recent years, but drug-resistant Salmonella continues to pose a public health threat in the United States, particularly as resistance spreads across classes of drugs, necessitates the use of more expensive drugs, makes treatment less effective, and, in worse-case scenarios, leaves infections untreatable.

A recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study identified increasing resistance to a class of drugs called Cephalosporins, which are commonly used to treat severe Salmonella infections in adults and are the main drug of choice when treating children, for whom the fluoroquinolone class of drugs is not recommended. Currently, about five percent of Salmonella strains are resistant to Cephalosporins, mostly in cases of Salmonella Heidelberg and Salmonella Newport.

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Posted in Antibiotic Resistance, Bacteria, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Laboratory, Microbiology, Pathogen, Research, Salmonella

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