Category Archives: Salmonella

Turkish Cheese – Listeria monocytogenes Study

Posted on February 7, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Science Direct

In this study, the presence of Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp., Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli were investigated in a total of 200 traditional food samples sold in the province of Balikesir in Turkey. L. monocytogenes was detected in 5% of Mihalic cheese samples and 3% of Hosmerim dessert samples. Salmonella spp. was not detected in any of foods. The high prevalence and contamination levels of S. aureus were found in Mihalic cheese (100% and mean 2.69 log CFU/g) and Hosmerim dessert (64% and mean 2 log CFU/g) samples. E. coli was not found in Hosmerim dessert samples while the prevalence and contamination level of E. coli in Mihalic cheese samples were 43% (mean 1.23 log CFU/g). The isolation of L. monocytogenes and other foodborne pathogens from Mihalic cheese and Hosmerim dessert samples indicates that these foods could create serious risk to the public health.

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Posted in E.coli, E.coli O157, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Testing, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Microbiology, Salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus

Canadian – Salmonella – Dry Sausage Recall

Posted on February 5, 2012 by | Leave a comment

CIFA

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Livno Meats are warning the public not to consume the Dry Sausage described below because the product may be contaminated with Salmonella.

The affected product, Livno Meats Dry Sausage, was sold only from the Livno Meats retail store in Hornby, Ontario. It was sold in two formats as follows:

  1. Approximately 200 g vacuum package with a label bearing code “BATCH # 4, PACKED ON DE/11/28”
  2. Packaged in a plastic bag per customer order and sold during the period December 28, 2011 to January 21, 2012, inclusive.

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

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Posted in CIFA, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Illness, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Standards Agency, Food Testing, Microbiology, Recall, Salmonella

HPS -Scotland E.coli Report 2011

Posted on February 4, 2012 by | Leave a comment

HPS Report

Health Protection Scotland (HPS) said it had recorded 253 positive cases of E.coli during 2011, up from 212 the previous year.

The agency blamed the increase on a UK-wide outbreak believed to have originated from contaminated vegetables. The outbreak, between December 2010 and July 2011, saw 250 cases of E.coli infection throughout England, Wales and Scotland and 74 victims treated in hospital.

The agency blamed the increase on a UK-wide outbreak believed to have originated from contaminated vegetables. The outbreak, between December 2010 and July 2011, saw 250 cases of E. coli infection throughout England, Wales and Scotland and 74 victims treated in hospital.

However, the HPS report also noted that the apparent spike in E. coli between 2010 and 2011 was partly due to the unusually low rate of E. coli infection in 2010.

The report also noted decreases in salmonella and campylobacter.
In 2011, HPS received reports of 736 cases of salmonella infection – a decrease of almost 22% on the 941 reported in 2010.

Cases of campylobacter were also down 3.6% to 6366 last year, although the figure remains “one of the highest on record.”

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Posted in Campylobacter, E.coli, E.coli O157, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, HPA, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Microbiology, outbreak, Recall, Salmonella

Food Poisoning: Understanding How Bacteria Come Back from the ‘Dead’

Posted on February 4, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Science Daily

Salmonella remains a serious cause of food poisoning in the UK and throughout the EU, in part due to its ability to thrive and quickly adapt to the different environments in which it can grow. New research involving a team of IFR scientists, funded by BBSRC, has taken the first detailed look at what Salmonella does when it enters a new environment, which could provide clues to finding new ways of reducing transmission through the food chain and preventing human illness.

The full article discusses lag phase and what happens to the bacteria in that time.

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Posted in Eurofins Laboratories, Food Illness, Food Poisoning, Food Technology, Food Testing, Microbiology, Salmonella

EFSA – Report Salmonella Enterica – France December 2011

Posted on February 3, 2012 by | Leave a comment

An outbreak of the monophasic variant of Salmonella enterica serotype 4,[5],12:i:- occurred in November and December 2011 in France. Epidemiological investigation and food investigation with the help of supermarket loyalty cards suggested dried pork sausage from one producer as the most likely source of the outbreak. Despite the absence of positive food samples, control measures including withdrawal and recall were implemented.

Full Report

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Posted in EFSA, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Illness, Food Poisoning, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Microbiology, Salmonella

FSA – Salmonella Newport

Posted on February 2, 2012 by | Leave a comment

FSA

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has been notified by the Health Protection Agency (HPA) of an outbreak of a strain of Salmonella Newport infection that is known to have affected more than 30 people in the UK.

Although it is too soon to say for certain what the likely cause of infection is, a potential link to watermelons has been identified.

One person has died in the outbreak, although they also had serious underlying health complications. The outbreak was first detected in early December 2011 and the most recently reported illness was at the end of that month.

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Posted in Eurofins Laboratories, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Standards Agency, Food Testing, Microbiology, Salmonella

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HPA – Salmonella Newport Ivestigation – Brazillian Water Melons Link?

Posted on February 2, 2012 by | Leave a comment

HPA LINK

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) is investigating an outbreak of a strain of Salmonella Newport infection among 30 people in England, Wales and Northern Ireland since the beginning of December 2011. Cases of illness caused by the same strain have been confirmed in Scotland, Ireland and Germany.

Dr Bob Adak, head of the gastrointestinal diseases department at the HPA said: “Although it’s too soon to say with certainty what the likely cause of infection is, early indications suggest that a number of people became unwell after eating watermelon. This has also been noted in the cases in Scotland and Germany although further investigation is ongoing.

There does not appear to be anything on the FSA website yet.

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Posted in Eurofins Laboratories, Food Illness, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Standards Agency, Microbiology, outbreak, Recall, Salmonella

High Pressure Processing and Pathogens

Posted on January 31, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety News HPP

This is some copy from the article in Food Safety News which is quite extensive and has links to videos of HPP in practice.

“Pascalisation,” commonly known in the food industry as HPP, or high pressure processing. Has only been used on the commercial level for the past 2 decades or so, the technology has been around far longer than that.

This process doesn’t rely on heat, such as pasteurisation; or chemicals, such as preservatives; or irradiation to kill the harmful bacteria on food. And while heat and cooking are good ways to kill bacteria, they can also impair the flavor, texture, color and nutrition of the food. For the most part, the same is true of irradiation.
 
Under high pressure processing, already packaged products such as fresh hamburger and turkey; processed fruit such as apple sauce; oysters; fish; guacamole; and ready-to-eat meats such as sliced turkey, pastrami and beef are put inside a pressure chamber. Water is then added to the chamber before it is sealed. From there, the pressure is increased to the maximum desirable level and sustained for a set period of time. The chamber is then decompressed and drained and the packaged products are removed.
 

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Posted in E.coli O157, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Hygiene, Food Technology, Food Testing, Listeria monocytogenes, Microbiology, Salmonella

EFSA Safety Measures Help to Reduce Salmonella by Half

Posted on January 31, 2012 by | Leave a comment

EFSA

Salmonella – a bacterium causing salmonellosis in humans – was until 2005 the most common food-borne disease in European Union (EU) with almost 200.000 reported human cases that year. It is estimated that the overall economic burden of human salmonellosis for the EU could be as high as EUR 3 billion a year.

Salmonellosis is a zoonosis – disease or infection that can be transmitted directly or indirectly between animals and humans. The bacterium is commonly found in the intestines of healthy birds and mammals. It can spread to humans through contaminated eggs and meat, most often poultry and pig meat. Usual symptoms include fever, diarrohea and abdominal cramps.

The coordinated approach by all EU actors has had significant results: human Salmonella cases have been reduced by almost one-half in the EU over five years (2004-2009). At the same time, the prevalence of Salmonella in poultry decreased significantly, especially in laying hen flocks. The reduction of the bacteria in laying hen flocks is likely to be the main reason for the decline of Salmonella cases in humans, since eggs are considered the most important source of human infections in EU.

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Posted in EFSA, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Poisoning, Food Testing, Microbiology, Salmonella

Silver Ion Silicone – Dairy – Ecoli and Salmonella Killer

Posted on January 27, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Food Production Daily

A silver ion-laced silicone material that absorbs and destroys pathogens such as E.coli and Salmonella will ensure safety standards are met in the dairy sector, its developer has claimed.

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Posted in E.coli, E.coli O157, Food Hygiene, Food Testing, Microbiology, Salmonella