Category Archives: Uncategorized

CFIA 

The online database, known as the Reference Database for Hazard Identification (RDHI), provides a useful industry resource to assist in the development of preventive food safety control plans. Industry can search the tool for food and food-borne hazards in production and processing to help guide the development of their food safety plans.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) works closely with the food industry to verify that food safety risks are addressed and consumers are protected.

Quick Facts

• Industry is responsible for producing safe food that meets Canada’s federal food safety rules and regulations.
• All federally-registered meat plants, for example, are required to have preventive plans in place that anticipate where contamination may occur and outline control measures to address specific risks.
• Since 2006, the Government has introduced, tougher penalties, the Healthy and Safe Food for Canadians Framework and hired more than 750 new inspectors.

Penn State Food Safety Blog

There have been an addition 61 cucumber linked cases of salmonellosis since the September 29 CDC outbreak update. This brings the total to 732 people.  With a relatively short shelf-life of 14 days, CDC anticipates that there should not be too many more, if any, additional cases.

CFIA

Canada Herb is recalling NGÒ ÔM (water mint) from the marketplace due to possible Salmonella contamination. Consumers should not consume and distributors, retailers and food service establishments such as hotels, restaurants, cafeterias, hospitals and nursing homes should not sell or use the recalled product described below.

Only NGÒ ÔM (water mint) imported by Canada Herb and sold from September 29, 2015 to October 7, 2015 is affected by this recall. This product may have been sold in clear plastic bags bearing the name Canada Herb or may have been repackaged or sold in bulk without a label or coding. Consumers who are unsure if they have purchased the affected product are advised to contact their retailer.

Outbreak News Today 

Portugal health officials are reporting a botulism outbreak that has sickened up to six people, including one foreign national, according to the General Directorate for Health (DGS) last week (computer translated).

The DGS says there are four confirmed cases (one a Swiss resident) antwo probable identified, linked to the consumption of Origem Transmontana brand smoked sausages and cheese.

Portland Press Herald

A man from the town of Poland says his 20-month-old son died of an illness caused by E. coli bacteria and that the child may have come in contact with it while visiting a petting zoo at the Oxford County Fair in mid-September.

Food Safety News 

Some critics say that the health of British families is being put at risk because an ongoing retail “price war” on chicken is keeping investments from being made to help reduce Campylobacter contamination.

Professor Chris Elliott, who conducted the British government’s inquiry into the 2013 horse meat scandal, says that U.K. chicken farms could limit the Campylobacter incidence by not “thinning” their flocks, a practice which he says would cost about 10 pence per bird (about 15 cents).

BarfBlog

Scotland teen’s summer cut short by E. coli.

BarfBlog

‘No substantiated evidence of very rare’ outbreak: Dundee firm linked to venison E. coli outbreak

Japan Update

As of Oct. 2nd, a total of 10 people, seven children between ages 2 and 6, a nurse and two parents, were identified infected. Although five of the infected persons have complained symptoms like diarrhea, none of the cases is serious.

HPS

On 06 October 2015, Health Protection Scotland (HPS) and the Information Services Division (ISD) of NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) published the seventh annual report on antimicrobial use and resistance in humans in Scotland. The information on antimicrobial use and resistance covers the period to the end of 2014.

The information in this report is intended to support NHS boards in evaluating current strategies and prioritising future activities to improve antimicrobial prescribing. In particular this report should be of relevance to antimicrobial management teams (AMTs), infection control teams (ICTs) and microbiologists.

The importance of continued efforts to reduce unnecessary antimicrobial use in all healthcare settings to reduce the selective pressure for antimicrobial resistance is highlighted along with specific recommendations in this report.

HPS 

The National Infection Service of Public Health England (PHE) is investigating a number of cases of gastroenteritis caused by Salmonella Enteritidis PT8 linked to exposure to reptiles, in particular snakes. As at 29 September 2015, 70 cases of S. Enteritidis PT8 had been identified across England since the start of the year.

There are four cases in Scotland this year which are believed to be of the same strain.

The risk of Salmonella infection for those handling reptiles is well established and the raw or frozen mice used as snake feed are thought to be the principle route of disease transmission in the current outbreak.A reptile-associated outbreak involving a different Salmonella strain was investigated in 2009 when such ‘feeder mice’ were found to have been the source of infection (see also Current note 43/3201 at http://www.hps.scot.nhs.uk/ewr/redirect.aspx?id=42253).