Wellingborough Council is supporting the Food Standards Agency (FSA) Christmas Food Hygiene Campaign in a bid to help people stay safe during the festive season.
Christmas is fast approaching, and as ever looks set to be a busy and potentially stressful time.
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The federal government is taking steps to prevent future outbreaks of foodborne illness as investigators probe E. coli at Chipotle.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture issued a new measure on Monday to take on foodborne illnesses linked to ground beef, focusing on trying to prevent such outbreaks before they occur.
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EFSA and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) have agreed to enhance their scientific cooperation and dialogue related to risk assessment. Martine Dubuc, Vice-President of Science and Chief Food Safety Officer of CFIA, and Bernhard Url, Executive Director of EFSA, signed a Memorandum of Cooperation on 14 December 2015 for an initial period of five years.
The future cooperation focuses on two main areas: the collection, analysis and sharing of technical data in risk assessment; and the sharing of views and expertise in the area of methodologies for data collection, risk assessment and risk communication.
Welcoming the agreement, Martine Dubuc said: “It confirms the need to engage at the world level. We need to exchange risk assessment data and information across the world for the benefit of the citizens.”
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Transilvania Trading is recalling Trader Joe’s brand Triple Ginger Brew from the marketplace because the bottles may burst. Consumers should not consume the recalled product described below.
The following product may have been sold at Pirate Joe’s, located at 2348 West 4th Avenue, Vancouver, British Columbia.
Recalled products
| Brand Name | Common Name | Size | Code(s) on Product | UPC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trader Joe’s | Triple Ginger Brew | 750 ml | All codes purchased from September 11, 2015 up to and including December 16, 2015 | 0051 8574 |
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Food safety specialist Acoura has told consumers that they shouldn’t be concerned about antibiotic-resistant superbugs in British red meat.
A recent report by the UK Review on Antimicrobial Resistance warned that superbugs could be passed to consumers by eating undercooked meats. Due to overuse of antibiotics in livestock farming, it was suggested there was a risk of antibiotic resistant bacteria in red meat.
Despite this, Acoura believes that the risk to UK consumers would be rare due to low antibiotics in the supply chain.
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A CRUISE liner on which more than 180 passengers were struck down with illness has departed Sydney.
THE Explorer of the Seas arrived at around 6am on Wednesday with Royal Caribbean confirming 182 cases of a gastrointestinal illness among guests and crew of the 14-night trip.
The ship pulled out of Sydney about 90 minutes late on Wednesday evening, with delays caused by the vicious storms that thrashed parts of the city.
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Ricotta Salata is a traditional ripened and salted whey cheese made in Sardinia (Italy) from sheep’s milk. This product is catalogued as ready-to-eat food (RTE) since it is not submitted to any further treatment before consumption. Thus, foodborne pathogens, such as Listeria monocytogenes, can represent a health risk for consumers. In September 2012, the FDA ordered the recall of several batches of Ricotta Salata imported from Italy linked to 22 cases of Listeriosis in the United States. This study was aimed at evaluating the presence and virulence properties of L. monocytogenes in 87 samples of Ricotta Salata produced in Sardinia. The ability of this product to support its growth under foreseen packing and storing conditions was also evaluated in 252 samples. Of the 87 samples 17.2% were positive for the presence of L. monocytogenes with an average concentration of 2.2 log10 cfu/g. All virulence-associated genes (prfA, rrn, hlyA, actA, inlA, inlB, iap, plcA, and plcB) were detected in only one isolated strain. The Ricotta Salata samples were artificially inoculated and growth potential (δ) was assessed over a period of 3 mo. The value of the growth potential was always >0.5 log10 cfu/g under foreseen packing and storing conditions. This study indicates that Ricotta Salata supports the L. monocytogenes growth to levels that may present a serious risk to public health, even while stored at refrigeration temperatures.
Ricotta Salata can be contaminated with different bacteria species, especially on the manufacturing process. Among the possible contaminants L. monocytogenes could be a main cause of foodborne illness in this product. A challenge test could be suitable for a study of risk evaluation during the shelf life of this product.
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Trader Joe’s of Monrovia, CA is issuing a voluntary recall of all codes purchased from 11/9/15 through 12/14/15 of Triple Ginger Brew (SKU 51857) due to reports of unopened bottles potentially bursting. Although the ginger brew does not pose a health risk if consumed, all product has been removed from store shelves and destroyed. No injuries or illnesses have been reported to date.
This precautionary action comes after the company received inquiries from customers that had experienced unopened bottles shattering or bursting. The potentially affected product was distributed to Trader Joe’s stores nationwide. Trader Joe’s Triple Ginger Brew is sold in 25.4 FL OZ (750 mL) glass bottles.
Customers who have purchased the Trader Joe’s Triple Ginger Brew are encouraged to handle it with care and dispose of it immediately in an outside container. Trader Joe’s will provide a refund to customers who purchased the Triple Ginger Brew at any of their store locations. Customers can call the company’s Customer Relations at (626) 599-3817 6:00AM-6:00PM PST, Monday – Friday, with any questions.
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Five people have contracted hepatitis A infections in Seneca County, New York after two food workers were diagnosed with the illness in that area in November 2015. One of those workers was at Mark’s Pizzeria at 1963 Kingdom Plaza in Waterloo, and the other was at the McDonald’s at 2500 Mound Road in Waterloo.
The press release that mentions the outbreak names Mark’s Pizzeria only and says that those sickened are “close contacts,” defined as household members and sexual contacts. That most likely means that no one who ate at the restaurant has been sickened.
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NAGOYA (Jiji Press) — A total of 618 children have fallen ill with an outbreak of food poisoning at 13 kindergartens and nursery schools in Aichi Prefecture, according to the prefectural government.
Of them, 29 were hospitalized. Three staff members also fell ill.
They developed symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhea between Wednesday and Friday, prefectural government officials said.
Traces of norovirus and salmonella were detected in stool samples from 25 of the sufferers, the officials said.
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