Category Archives: Research

Food Poisoning in the United States: A Comprehensive Overview of Annual Cases, Economic Costs, and Preventive Efforts by Health Agencies and Food Poisoning Attorneys

Posted on September 21, 2024 by | Leave a comment

Food Poisoning News

Food poisoning, also known as foodborne illness, is a significant public health issue in the United States. Every year, millions of people suffer from foodborne illnesses, ranging from mild discomfort to life-threatening conditions. These illnesses arise from consuming contaminated food, which may harbor harmful bacteria, viruses, or parasites. Beyond the personal toll on those affected, food poisoning has far-reaching economic implications, from medical costs to lost productivity. Various health agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and state and local health departments, work tirelessly to mitigate the impact of foodborne illnesses. This article will provide an in-depth examination of the annual cases of food poisoning in the U.S., the associated economic costs, and the roles of these agencies in safeguarding public health.

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Posted in CDC, FDA, Food Illness, Food Microbiology Research, Food Poisoning, Food Poisoning Death, Food Poisoning Illness, Food Virus Illness, Foodborne Illness, Foodborne Illness Death, Illness, Poisoning, Research

Research – The microwave bacteriome: biodiversity of domestic and laboratory microwave ovens

Posted on September 20, 2024 by | Leave a comment

Frontiers In.org

Microwaves have become an essential part of the modern kitchen, but their potential as a reservoir for bacterial colonization and the microbial composition within them remain largely unexplored. In this study, we investigated the bacterial communities in microwave ovens and compared the microbial composition of domestic microwaves, microwaves used in shared large spaces, and laboratory microwaves, using next-generation sequencing and culturing techniques. The microwave oven bacterial population was dominated by Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, and Bacteroidetes, similar to the bacterial composition of human skin. Comparison with other environments revealed that the bacterial composition of domestic microwaves was similar to that of kitchen surfaces, whereas laboratory microwaves had a higher abundance of taxa known for their ability to withstand microwave radiation, high temperatures and desiccation. These results suggest that different selective pressures, such as human contact, nutrient availability and radiation levels, may explain the differences observed between domestic and laboratory microwaves. Overall, this study provides valuable insights into microwave ovens bacterial communities and their potential biotechnological applications.

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Posted in Food Microbiology Research, Food Technology, Research, Technology

Research – Food processing aid against Listeria gets approval for use in the U.S. market

Posted on September 19, 2024 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety News

This innovative technology, developed by Canadian biotechnology company Innodal, uses antimicrobial peptides to eliminate the harmful pathogen.  With its entry into the U.S. market, Innodal is set to launch industrial-scale projects with U.S. processing companies.

Listeria monocytogenes is feared by public health because it potentially has a high mortality rate. In a 2008 Canadian outbreak, that rate approached 40 percent.

INNEO is  Innodal’s flagship product.  It has been successfully commercialized in Canada for four years and will now be available in the U.S. market. Designed to target Listeria monocytogenes — a severe foodborne pathogen responsible for listeriosis — INNEO has proven significantly more effective than traditional chemical treatments in industry trials, particularly against strains that have led to major recalls in North America.

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Posted in Bio-Preservative, Food Microbiology Research, Food Technology, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Research, Technology

UK – Heavy rainfall played a role in the 2022 UK E. coli outbreak

Posted on September 18, 2024 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety News

Scientists have revealed that lettuce contaminated by animal waste during flooding was the likely vehicle of infection in an E. coli outbreak in 2022.

In September 2022, a large outbreak of STEC O157:H7 was identified in the United Kingdom. It was one of the biggest E. coli outbreaks since the early 1980s.

In late August and early September, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) Gastrointestinal Bacteria Reference Unit (GBRU) reported a substantial increase in submitting certain fecal samples and isolates that were presumptive for STEC.

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Posted in E.coli O157, E.coli O157:H7, Food Microbiology Research, Research, STEC, STEC E.coli, UKHSA

Research – Food-borne disease risk: bio-surveillance in water networks 

Posted on September 16, 2024 by | Leave a comment

Eurosurveillance

In 2018, food-borne disease (FBD) was estimated to be responsible for 2.4 million cases of illness and more than 16,000 hospitalisations per year in the United Kingdom (UK) [1], with revised estimates indicating ca 180 deaths annually in the UK arising from exposure to 11 key pathogens [2]. The estimated annual cost from these illnesses is EUR 10.5 billion (GBP 9 billion) [3], with far-reaching impacts on health providers, industry and individuals.

Food for human consumption can become contaminated at any stage of food production, delivery, storage or preparation, and can involve contamination from environmental, human or animal sources [4–6], making identification of sources and pathways of pathogens responsible for FBD outbreaks a complex process. Furthermore, there is currently no fully integrated framework in the UK for the monitoring and surveillance of FBD, causing difficulty in the prediction and delay in the mitigation of outbreaks.

In 2022, a series of programmes was launched under HM Treasury Shared Outcomes Fund, one of which, Pathogen Surveillance in Agriculture, Food and Environment (PATH-SAFE) [7], aimed to pilot a better national surveillance programme for FBD and antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

Pilot studies carried out under PATH-SAFE focused on norovirus,  and  spp., identified by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) as being among the top five priority pathogens of concern with respect to FBD outbreaks [8], along with , used as an indicator organism for faecal contamination.

To present the findings and discuss the challenges, needs and opportunities for implementing a successful national biosurveillance programme, the Centre for Environment, Food and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) and Bangor University hosted a workshop at the Royal Institution, London, on 31 January 2024. Stakeholders with a range of interests in pathogens implicated in FBD and AMR were invited to contribute their views and recommendations on how best to achieve the desired outcomes for an effective national surveillance framework. Participants from diverse roles (scientists, decisionmakers, public health analysts, policy advisors) across government, academia and charities attended the event.

The first part of the workshop was devoted to presentations of work carried out under the pilot studies, including a combined poster and networking session. For the second part of the workshop, participants were guided into breakout groups to participate in discussions on “Surveillance and management of microbiological risks: gaps & limitations, knowledge & perceptions, approaches & opportunities”.

This workshop was a collaboration across disciplines with participants from multiple organisations: Declan Power (Animal & Plant Health Agency); Jaime Martinez-Urtaza (Universitat Autonòma de Barcelona); Davey Jones, Kata Farkas, Reshma Silvester (Bangor University); Andrew Weightman (Cardiff University); Craig Baker-Austin, David Haverson, David Walker, Richard Heal (Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science); Steve Morris (Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs); Edward Haynes (Fera Science Ltd); Anthony J. Wilson (Food Standards Agency); K. Marie McIntyre (Newcastle University); Mandy Wootton (NHS Wales); Ellie Brown (Ribble Rivers Trust); Oliver Pybus (Royal Veterinary College); Rob Collins (The Rivers Trust); Andrew Singer (UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology); Matthew Wade (UK Health Security Agency); Edel Light (Veterinary Medicines Directorate).

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Posted in Food Illness, Food Microbiology Research, Food Poisoning Illness, Food Virus Illness, Foodborne Illness, Illness, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology Risk, Research

Research – Effects of Thermally-Assisted and High-Pressure Processing on Background Microbiota and the Listeria monocytogenes Load of a Minimally Processed Commodity

Posted on September 16, 2024 by | Leave a comment

MDPI

Abstract

The current study investigated the impact of treatments with elevated hydrostatic pressure (500 MPa) for inactivation of Listeria monocytogenes on smoked rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) at high and low inoculation levels. The temperature values of the trials were set at 4.4 and 60.0 °C, adjusted with a circulating water bath connected to a stainless steel jacket surrounding the pressure processing chamber. Before pressure processing, the counts (selective counts of PALCAM, mean ± SD) of L. monocytogenes were 6.45 ± 0.1 log CFU/g and were reduced (p < 0.05) to 3.72 ± 0.3, and <1.48 ± 0.8 log CFU/g after 10 min of treatment at 4.4 and 60.0 °C, respectively. Treatments of low inoculation level samples were similarly efficacious and resulted in a reduction (p < 0.05) of the pathogen to 1.62 ± 0.3 and <0.82 ± 0.0 log CFU/g for treatments at 4.4 and 60.0 °C, respectively. At 4.4 °C, linear D-value and non-linear kmax1 were 8.68 and 0.50, and 5.81 and 2.41 for high-inoculation and low-inoculation samples, respectively. Application of hydrostatic pressure at 500 MPa at cold and elevated temperatures was efficacious for up to 5.03 log CFU/g reduction of L. monocytogenes, illustrating the potential for further adaptation of this technology.

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Posted in Food Microbiology Research, Food Technology, High Pressure, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Research, Technology

Research – An outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O157:H7 associated with contaminated lettuce and the cascading risks from climate change, the United Kingdom, August to September 2022

Posted on September 14, 2024 by | Leave a comment

Eurosurveillance

Shiga toxin-producing  (STEC) serotype O157 is a food-borne gastrointestinal pathogen of public health concern. Infections with STEC can present as sporadic cases or as outbreaks, and they can be symptomatic or asymptomatic. Symptoms can range from mild diarrhoea to abdominal cramps, vomiting and severe bloody diarrhoea, with ca 30% of cases requiring hospital admission. Overall, around 5% of cases (rising to 11% in children aged 1–4 years) develop haemolytic-uraemic syndrome (HUS), which is a severe multisystem condition that predominantly affects the kidneys and can be fatal [1].

In 2022, STEC was the third most commonly notified food-borne zoonotic pathogen in the European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA) countries [2]. Of the 29 EU/EEA countries reporting data for 2022, 25 reported 8,565 confirmed cases of STEC infection [3], with 71 food-borne STEC outbreaks reported by 14 countries [4].

The gastrointestinal tract of ruminants is the ecological niche of STEC, with cattle and sheep being the main animal reservoirs [5]. Transmission from animals to humans can occur via direct contact with colonised animals or their environment or by the consumption of food or water contaminated with the pathogen. Food items frequently associated with food-borne outbreaks of STEC O157 include raw or undercooked beef or lamb meat products, unpasteurised dairy products and fresh produce exposed to rainwater run-off, floodwater or irrigation water containing animal faeces [6].

Climate hazards have previously been described as having the potential to activate cascading risk pathways with a sequence of secondary, causally connected events [7]. For example, cascading risks associated with heavy precipitation followed by flooding of animal environments, may lead to contamination of crops and cause food-borne outbreaks of zoonotic diseases. Higher pathogen loads frequently detected in floodwater after rainstorms [8,9] and extreme weather events have been associated with outbreaks of gastrointestinal illness [10–12].

Outbreak detection

In late August and early September 2022, the United Kingdom (UK) Health Security Agency (UKHSA) Gastrointestinal Bacteria Reference Unit (GBRU) reported a substantial increase in the submission of containment level 3 faecal samples and isolates that were presumptive for STEC. The number of presumptive STEC isolates received by the reference laboratory in the first 6 days of September 2022 was 245, compared with 259 isolates received during the whole of September 2019, the most recent pre-pandemic year for which data were comparable. Between 5 and 7 September, the number of confirmed STEC O157 cases was 73 compared with an average of 16 cases of STEC O157 reported each week in the previous 4 weeks. This, coupled with a substantial increase in the number of enhanced surveillance questionnaires (ESQs) for STEC cases suggested a surge in cases warranting further investigation. On 7 September 2022, a national level outbreak was declared and a multi-agency incident management team (IMT) established.

The IMT aimed to investigate the source of the outbreak by undertaking traditional epidemiological analyses and traceback investigations. A separate sub-group of the IMT explored a novel triangulation methodology using meteorological, flood risk, land use and land-classification and sheep holding density data, to explain the contamination and independently determine the potential source of the STEC outbreak.

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Posted in E.coli O157, E.coli O157:H7, food bourne outbreak, Food Illness, Food Microbiology Research, Food Poisoning Illness, Foodborne Illness, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Illness, outbreak, Research, STEC, STEC E.coli

Research – Safeguarding produce from E. coli contamination

Posted on September 8, 2024 by | Leave a comment

Phys Org

Leafy greens such as spinach and lettuce are among the most nutrient-packed foods we can eat—and some of the most prone to make us miserable, or worse. The pathogenic bacterium Escherichia coli O157:H7 causes millions of illnesses globally each year, health authorities say, including thousands of severe infections that can lead to kidney failure and even death.

The infections are often contracted from contaminated produce irrigated with water that contains animal waste runoff or grown in open fields where intruding wildlife leave feces.

To help address this challenge, a University of Maryland food safety expert is conducting microbial research to determine  for commercial growers who find evidence of wildlife faeces, or scat, in their fields.

Shirley Micallef, a professor in the Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture, recently concluded a series of field trials on Maryland’s Eastern Shore that examined how E. coli moves from scat to a lettuce crop following a rain event.

The results from the research, which involved other faculty and students in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, were recently published in the journal Frontiers in Plant Science.

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Posted in bacterial contamination, E.coli O157, E.coli O157:H7, food contamination, Food Microbiology Research, microbial contamination, Research

Research – Climate change increases foodborne illness risk from raw produce

Posted on September 8, 2024 by | Leave a comment

Science Daily

Climate change will increase the risk of the foodborne illness from Salmonella enterica, according to a new study. The research was published today in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

S. enterica causes disease in 1.2 million people in the United States every year.

In recent years, the most common route of infection has been the consumption of contaminated fresh produce.

Salmonella survives on multiple agricultural crops and persists in the soil for extended periods of time.

On plants, researchers have found that Salmonella exploits changes to the plant environment imparted by other organisms.

Plants infected with bacterial phytopathogens (organisms that cause disease in plants) result in increased persistence for this human enteric pathogen.

“It’s not surprising that a host is altered by disease. What’s interesting is how these changes affect other members of the bacteria community, in addition to the pathogen causing the disease. Furthermore, the impact of increased humidity on healthy plants also supported Salmonella‘s survival on plants, which would make climate change a food safety issue,” said corresponding study author Jeri Barak, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Plant Pathology, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

“Controlling plant disease such as bacterial leaf spot of lettuce is also important for food safety. Climate change will increase the risk of foodborne illness from consumption of raw produce.”

Bacterial leaf spot caused by Xanthomonas hortorum pv. Vitians is a common threat to leafy green production.

In the new study, the researchers set out to investigate whether the fate of Salmonella is impacted by humidity or by timing of arrival during disease progress of bacterial leaf spot.

The researchers conducted experiments with lettuce with bacterial leaf spot and Salmonella. The experiments varied the days when plants were infected with X. Vitians and when S. enterica arrived in a water droplet on the leaf to mimic arrival via irrigation or splash dispersal from the ground.

The researchers also varied high and low humidity periods and how many days they waited after Salmonella was introduced to measure the internal Salmonella population.

These are Salmonella cells that have moved from the leaf surface to the leaf interior, where the bacteria is safe from solar UV exposure or post-harvest sanitization treatments.

The researchers found that bacterial leaf spot of lettuce caused by X. vitians can promote Salmonella survival and internalization within romaine lettuce. Salmonella‘s success is dependent on the timing of arrival during infection with bacterial leaf spot. If it arrives too early in bacterial leaf spot infection, the plant defense raised against the plant pathogen limits Salmonella growth and survival. Too late, and the host environment has succumbed to the plant disease which also curtails Salmonella growth and survival. High humidity exposure and the water-soaking symptom caused by X. vitians also enhance the ability of Salmonella to rapidly grow in lettuce, and climate change is predicted to increase humid periods.

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Posted in Food Microbiology Research, Food Safety, Food Safety Management, Research, Salmonella

Research – Dry Sanitation in Food Processing: Enhancing Safety for Low-Moisture Foods

Posted on September 7, 2024 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety.com

Dry sanitation is a pivotal practice in the food processing industry, particularly for facilities that produce low-moisture or low-water-activity foods. This method involves cleaning and sanitizing food processing equipment and facilities without the use of water, relying instead on dry methods such as vacuuming, brushing, and the use of chemical sanitizers.

Low-moisture and low-water-activity foods like flour, nuts, cereals, powdered milk, and spices are more prone to microbial growth when wet. Introducing water during cleaning can create an environment that is conducive to microbial proliferation, posing a significant contamination risk. Dry environments are less likely to support the growth of pathogens such as Salmonella and Escherichia coli, which can thrive in moist conditions. Dry sanitation helps maintain these environments, thereby enhancing the overall safety protocols for processing low-moisture foods.

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Posted in Dry Sanitation, E.coli, Food Microbiology Research, Research, Salmonella