Category Archives: Research

US – Non – O157 Testing Preliminary Results

Posted on July 18, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety News

On June 4, food regulators began screening beef for six more strains of E. coli beyond the already-monitored E. coli O157:H7. Since that time, 110 samples of beef trim have been tested for non-O157 E. coli; 3 were found to be carrying these bacteria. 
 
USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service published these initial findings in a results chart this week. The three positive test results represented three different strains of E. coli: O45, O103 and O145, each of which was found once. No samples have yet tested positive for the other three strains: O26, O111 and O121.

Leave a comment

Posted in Bacteria, E.coli, E.coli O104, E.coli O145, E.coli O157, E.coli O26, EHEC, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Microbiology, Pathogen, Research, STEC, USDA

Tagged , ,

Listeria Challenge Test Protocol Evaluation

Posted on July 18, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Science Direct

A comparison was made of two approaches to microbiological challenge testing. Sliced cooked ham was challenge tested with Listeria monocytogenes using the protocol detailed in the Technical Guidance Document on shelf life studies for L.monocytogenes in ready-to-eat foods produced by Agence Française de Securité Sanitare des Aliments (AFSSA now known as ANSES) which required testing of three batches of product, an inoculum level of no more than 100 cfu/g, cultures pre-adapted to chill conditions and a storage regime of 7 d at 8 °C followed by 14 d at 12 °C. This was compared to a more standard industry type of approach using a single batch of product, an inoculum level of between 100 and 1000 cfu/g, cultures grown overnight at optimal temperature and a storage regime of 21 d at 8 °C. The results of the trial showed that the standard Industry approach gave similar results to that of the more complex AFSSA approach with regards to growth potential, lag time and time for a 2 log increase.

Leave a comment

Posted in Food Hygiene, Food Safety, Microbiology, Research

Tagged

Allergen Labelling – FSA

Posted on July 17, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Not really microbiology but often undertaken in micro. laboratories and maybe of some interest.

FSA 

The Food Standards Agency has begun a UK-wide survey to compare the level of allergens in foods that have voluntary allergen labelling with similar products not labelled in this way. No other survey of this kind has been carried out in the UK.

Allergen advisory labelling, such as labelling that states ‘may contain nuts’, is voluntary. Many manufacturers label their products to alert consumers with allergies that a food may not be suitable for them, as it may unintentionally contain small amounts of an allergen as a result of cross-contamination during production. The survey could help determine if this type of labelling is being used appropriately.

Leave a comment

Posted in Allergens, Allergic Reaction, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Safety, Food Standards Agency, Food Testing, Research

Commercial Advert – Listeria Predictive Modelling – Purac

Posted on July 12, 2012 by | Leave a comment

I have not checked this out yet I am just passing on the information for those of you that may have an interest.

Purac Listeria Control Model 2012 predicts the growth of Listeria monocytogenes in food products, with the use of eight food characteristics. Purac has already launched a number of editions of the model, yet the recently launched Purac Listeria Control Model 2012 is an online version on the forefront of Listeria growth modeling.

It is of great value during product development, as it has been developed using over 2500 individual growth curves of statistically designed experiments. It enables you to save valuable R&D cost and increase speed-to-market.

Purac

Leave a comment

Posted in Bacteria, Food Technology, Food Testing, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Microbiology, Research, Technology

Tagged , ,

Denmark Close to Conquering Salmonella

Posted on July 10, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Food Poisoning Bulletin

According to new statistics, in 2011 the number of Danes contracting Salmonella infections fell to the lowest level since the 1980s. That country has a strict policy called the Danish National Salmonella Control Program that reduces Salmonellabacteria in egg-laying hens and broilers.

That program works to minimize human exposure to Salmonella from live animals and meat products. It detects, prevents, and controls Salmonella in “primary production”, or on the farm, before there is any threat to human health.

These proactive measures, as opposed to the reactive measures of recalls and relying on proper handling by consumers, has reduced the incidence of Salmonella infections to just 1,166 in 2011. And almost half of those infections were contracted by Danes traveling to Egypt, Thailand, and Turkey.

The effort includes a ban on selling eggs from any flocks that test positive for Salmonella. Denmark can also require any imported eggs to be free from Salmonella. In 2011, no breeding flocks were positive for Salmonella.

Leave a comment

Posted in Bacteria, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Safety, Food Testing, Research

Tagged , ,

FSA – Bag it Up – Food Safety

Posted on July 6, 2012 by | Leave a comment

FSA

The Food Standards Agency in Wales is reminding consumers how they can protect their shopping when packing raw and ready-to-eat food products to reduce the risk of cross-contamination.

Information published today by the Welsh Government shows there has been a 96% reduction in the use of carrier bags in some retail sectors since charges for plastic bags were introduced in Wales in October 2011.

With more and more consumers reusing carrier bags, either for sustainability or as a result of charging, there are some important tips to help prevent bacteria spreading to ready-to-eat food.

  • Keep raw meat and fish separate from ready-to eat-foods, in separate bags.
  • If your bags are re-useable, keep one or two just for use with raw meat and fish. Don’t use them for ready-to-eat foods.
  • Re-useable bags (and single use carrier bags) should be disposed of if there’s been any spillage of raw meat juices.

Leave a comment

Posted in Bacteria, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Hygiene, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Standards Agency, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Hygiene, Illness, Microbiology, Research

Tagged , , ,

China Vows to Stamp Out Food Safety Scandals

Posted on July 6, 2012 by | Leave a comment

The Telegraph 

China has vowed to stamp out major food safety scandals in three years after fears surfaced that athletes might underperform at the Olympics because they were avoiding eating potentially contaminated meat.

Reports about shocking and often bizarre cases of contamination or adulteration appear in the Chinese media on an almost daily basis.

On Tuesday the Legal Daily newspaper reported that police in northeast China had arrested 6 people behind a £1.3m “fake beer” racket. Police claim the gang used hydrochloric acid and formaldehyde to produce counterfeit beer, including the country’s flagship Tsingtao lager.

The Telegraph China’s Top 10 Food Safety Scandals

Leave a comment

Posted in Eurofins Laboratories, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Hygiene, Research, Uncategorized

Tagged

Food Standards Agency – New Q&A E.coli O157

Posted on July 3, 2012 by | Leave a comment

FSA

The Food Standards Agency has today published the third edition of the Q&A on its guidance document E.coli O157: control of cross-contamination.

This new version of the Q&A addresses a number of issues that have arisen since the publication of the second edition in November 2011.

Among the issues addressed are:

  • an update on the extension of Remedial Action Notices as an enforcement power
  • advice on the use of the same food preparation sink for raw and ready-to-eat foods
  • clarification of when worktops are considered to be non-food contact surfaces
  • whether a change of use from raw to ready-to-eat foods is possible for ‘complex equipment’
  • advice on the cleaning of probes

Leave a comment

Posted in Bacteria, E.coli, E.coli O157, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Hygiene, Food Safety, Food Standards Agency, Hand Washing, Microbiology, Pathogen, Research

Tagged ,

FSA – Research Aflatoxins Brazil Nuts

Posted on July 2, 2012 by | Leave a comment

FSA

The relationship between the level of aflatoxin contamination in Brazil nuts kernels in comparison to the level in the shell was investigated. A conversion factor was determined that could allow the estimation of the level of aflatoxins in the kernel when the concentration in the whole nut is measured (further work will be required to validate the conversion factor).

Leave a comment

Posted in Aflatoxin, Food Standards Agency, Microbiology, Research

Tagged , ,

Research Updates – Bacteria in Veg/ Ranking 14 US Food Pathogens/Pathogens in Milk Filters/Pathogen Recovery from Fresh Produce

Posted on June 29, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Ingenta – Comparison of Sample Preparation Methods for the Recovery of Foodborne Pathogens from Fresh Produce

Ingenta – Foodborne Pathogens in In-Line Milk Filters and Associated On-Farm Risk Factors in Dairy Farms Authorized To Produce and Sell Raw Milk in Northern Italy

Ingenta – Ranking the Disease Burden of 14 Pathogens in Food Sources in the United States Using Attribution Data from Outbreak Investigations and Expert Elicitation

Ingenta – Bacteriological Survey of Ready-to-Eat Lettuce, Fresh-Cut Fruit, and Sprouts Collected from the Swiss Market

Leave a comment

Posted in Bacteria, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Hygiene, Food Safety, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Microbiology, Pathogen, Research

Tagged , , ,