RASFF – shigatoxin-producing Escherichia coli (stx1+ stx2+ /25g) in frozen vacuum-packed buffalo sausages from Belgium in the Netherlands
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Category Archives: STEC E.coli
RASFF Alert – STEC E.coli – Frozen VP Buffalo Sausages
Research – Antibiofilm Efficacy of Peptide 1018 against Listeria monocytogenes and Shiga Toxigenic Escherichia coli on Equipment Surfaces
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Listeria monocytogenes and Shiga toxigenic Escherichia coli (STEC) are important foodborne bacterial pathogens that can form biofilms on equipment surfaces at food processing facilities. Pathogens in biofilms are resistant to conventional antimicrobials and require higher antimicrobial concentrations to be inactivated. In this study, the efficacy of a synthetic innate defense regulator peptide 1018 (peptide 1018) for inactivating L. monocytogenes and STEC (O26, O111, O145, O157) biofilms on stainless steel and polycarbonate surfaces was investigated. Stainless steel and polycarbonate coupons (12 mm in diameter) were used in a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention biofilm reactor containing 400 mL of 10% tryptic soy broth (TSB) that had been inoculated with an individual strain of L. monocytogenes or STEC to obtain 6 log CFU/mL populations. The reactor was set with a constant flow rate at 50 mL/h of 10% TSB for 48 h. After 48 h, coupons were treated with peptide 1018 at 0, 10, 20, or 50 μg/mL in phosphate buffer saline (PBS) for 24 h. Surviving bacterial populations were determined by scraping off the coupons and spiral plating on selective media. Significantly higher levels of pathogens in biofilms formed by certain bacterial strains, including L. monocytogenes F6854, E. coli O157:H7 RM4407 and NADC5713, and non-O157 E. coli NADC3629, were recovered on polycarbonate surfaces than on stainless steel. Antibiofilm efficacy of peptide 1018 against pathogens was concentration-dependent and varied with the type of pathogen and material surfaces. Peptide 1018 at 50 μg/mL significantly inactivated all tested bacterial biofilms on both surfaces compared with the PBS control (P < 0.05). L. monocytogenes was the bacterium most sensitive to peptide 1018; on stainless steel surfaces treated with 50 μg/mL peptide 1018, there was a 3.7- to 4.6-log CFU/cm2 reduction in Listeria populations compared with a 1.0- to 3.5-log CFU/cm2 reduction of STEC. Results suggest that peptide 1018 may be used to inactivate L. monocytogenes and STEC biofilms on equipment surfaces.
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Bacteria attach at higher levels on polycarbonate surfaces than on stainless steel.
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L. monocytogenes is more sensitive than STEC to peptide 1018.
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Peptide 1018 can be used to inactivate biofilms on equipment surfaces.
USA – FDA Partners with the University of Arizona, Wellton-Mohawk Irrigation and Drainage District, and Yuma Area Leafy Greens Stakeholders to Enhance Food Safety
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has launched a new initiative with support from the Arizona Department of Agriculture, and in conjunction with the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension, the Wellton-Mohawk Irrigation and Drainage District (WMIDD), and members of the Yuma area leafy greens industry to better understand the ecology of human pathogens in the environment in the Yuma agricultural region. This initiative will be a multi-year study which will focus on how these pathogens survive, move and possibly contaminate produce prior to harvest.
The launch of this initiative follows the largest E.coli O157:H7 outbreak in the United States since 2006. The outbreak, which was linked to romaine lettuce grown in the Yuma region, began in the spring of 2018 and resulted in 210 reported illnesses from 36 states, 96 hospitalizations, 27 cases of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) and five deaths. In response, FDA led an Environmental Assessment (EA) of the Yuma produce growing region in collaboration with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Arizona Department of Agriculture (AZDA), WMIDD, and state partners from June through August 2018.
While the EA was useful in narrowing the scope of the outbreak, many questions remain unanswered regarding the specific origin of the pathogen, the environmental distribution, and potential reservoirs for the outbreak strain. The findings made clear that further collaboration among leafy greens stakeholders and FDA is needed to better understand potential sources of microbial contamination, the prevalence and persistence of human pathogens in the ecosystem near growing areas, and the best management practices to prevent future outbreaks from occurring.
Throughout this initiative, FDA will work in partnership with water quality, food safety, and agricultural experts from the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension, representatives from the WMIDD, and members of the Yuma area leafy greens industry. Research teams will be collecting and examining samples from the environment such as surface waters, canal sediment, and dust. The team will also be collecting scat samples to assess the impact that animal intrusion and native wildlife may have on the growing environment.
Shiga Toxin-Producing E.coli (STEC), of which E.coli O157:H7 is a strain, causes roughly 170,000 people to become ill every year. This generally happens through the consumption of contaminated food or water, or close contact with STEC-infected animals. Between 2009 and 2017, FDA and our partners at CDC identified 28 foodborne STEC outbreaks with known or suspected links to leafy greens. Like a lot of fresh produce, leafy greens are often eaten raw without a kill-step, such as cooking, that could eliminate pathogens that may be present.
The Yuma agricultural region, which encompasses Yuma County in Arizona and the Imperial Valley in California, is a leader in the production of leafy greens in the United States. The findings from this study will contribute new knowledge on how various environmental factors may influence bacterial persistence and distribution in this region, and how those factors may impact the risk of this commodity becoming contaminated. Results from this collaboration will lead to improved practices to prevent or mitigate food safety risks, and ultimately enhance the safety of produce grown in the region.
For More Information
- Environmental Assessment of Factors Potentially Contributing to the Contamination of Romaine Lettuce Implicated in a Multi-State Outbreak of E.coli O157:H7
- Letter to State Agriculture Officials and the Leafy Greens Industry Concerning the Environmental Assessment
- FDA Investigating Multistate Outbreak of E.coli O157:H7 Infections Linked To Romaine Lettuce from Yuma Growing Region
- CDC Multistate Outbreak of E.coli O157:H7 Infections Linked to Romaine Lettuce (Final Update)
Posted in E.coli, E.coli O157, E.coli O157:H7, food bourne outbreak, food contamination, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Pathogen, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, outbreak, STEC, STEC E.coli, Uncategorized
Hong Kong – Not to consume prepackaged flour batch with possible E. coli O26 contamination
| Issue Date | 20.9.2019 |
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| Source of Information | Food Incident Surveillance System |
| Food Product | A batch of prepackaged flour imported from the United States (US) |
| Product Name and Description | Product name: Unbleached All Purpose Flour
Brand: Gold Medal Place of origin: US Net weight: Five pounds per pack Best-before Date: September 6, 2020 |
| Reason For Issuing Alert |
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| Action Taken by the Centre for Food Safety |
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| Advice to the Trade |
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| Advice to Consumers |
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| Further Information | The CFS press release
Members of the public may call the company’s hotline at 2299 1133 for enquiries during office hours about the recall. |
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