Category Archives: Uncategorized

FSA

Morrisons has recalled the product and will be displaying point-of-sale recall notices in stores. These notices alert customers to the recall and advise them of what actions to take if they have purchased the product.

Morrisons recalls its Savers Cooked Ham due to detection of Listeria monocytogenes

‘Use by’ date: 11 September (2015)Pack size: 200g

CDC – Welcome to NARMS Now: Human Data, an interactive tool from CDC that contains antibiotic resistance data from bacteria isolated from humans as part of the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS). NARMS Now: Human Data makes it easier and quicker to find out how antibiotic resistance has changed over the past 20 years for four bacteria transmitted commonly through food—Campylobacter, E. coli O157, Salmonella, and Shigella. Get started by filling in the search options below or scroll down the page to download NARMS data.

Barf Blog

Norovirus is a group of more than 30 related viruses that can cause vomiting and diarrhea. Norovirus affects about 20 million people each year in the U.S., with infections that can lead to hospitalization and occasionally to death, particularly in the elderly. About a quarter of the time, “noro” infection is obtained by consuming contaminated foods or water.  However, it is most often spread between people in close contact with each other.  The epidemic GII.4 strain predominates, but there are others.

But how, exactly, is noro transmitted from person to person?

Epidemiological studies have suggested that norovirus can be ‘aerosolized’ through vomiting, meaning that small particles containing norovirus can become airborne when someone throws up.

Barf Blog

New data collected by Stericycle, a company that handles recalls for businesses, shows a sharp jump in the number of recalls of organic food products, according to a story in the N.Y. Times.

Organic food products accounted for 7 percent of all food units recalled so far this year, compared with 2 percent of those recalled last year, according to data from the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Agriculture that Stericycle uses to compile its quarterly report on recalls

Epidemiology and Infection

Infections are common in children attending daycare centres (DCCs). We evaluated the effect of a hand hygiene (HH) intervention for caregivers on the incidence of gastrointestinal and respiratory infections in children. The intervention was evaluated in a two-arm cluster randomized controlled trial. Thirty-six DCCs received the intervention including HH products, training sessions, and posters/stickers. Thirty-five control DCCs continued usual practice. Incidence of episodes of diarrhoea and the common cold in children was monitored by parents during 6 months. Using multilevel Poisson regression, incidence rate ratios (IRRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were obtained. Diarrhoeal incidence was monitored in 545 children for 91 937 days. During follow-up, the incidence was 3·0 episodes per child-year in intervention DCCs vs. 3·4 in control DCCs (IRR 0·90, 95% CI 0·73–1·11). Incidence of the common cold was monitored in 541 children for 91 373 days. During follow-up, the incidence was 8·2 episodes per child-year in intervention DCCs vs. 7·4 in control DCCs (IRR 1·07, 95% CI 0·97–1·19). In this study, no evidence for an effect of the intervention was demonstrated on the incidence of episodes of diarrhoea and the common cold.

Food Safety News

The latest voices come from Seoul National University scientists Won-Jae Song and Dong-Hyun Kang. In the February 2016 edition of Food Microbiology, Song and Kang report on their experiments to inactivate Salmonella Senftenberg, Salmonella Typhimurium, and Salmonella Tennessee in peanut butter by subjecting it to 915 MHz microwave heating.

Highlights of their work include:

• Peanut butter inoculated with Salmonella was treated with 915 MHz microwave system.
• Six kW microwave heating effectively reduced Salmonella in peanut butter.
• No significant change of color, acid and peroxide value was observed.
• Microwave heating can be used as a control method for peanut butter pasteurization.

USDA

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) today announced that the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF) will hold full committee and subcommittees meetings Sept. 9-11, 2015.

The full committee will hold an open plenary session followed by concurrent open meetings of two subcommittees. The Subcommittee on Effective Salmonella Control Strategies for Poultry will discuss additional strategies that FSIS could implement to reduce Salmonella infections. The Subcommittee on Study of Virulence Factors and Attributes that Define Foodborne Shiga Toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) as Severe Human Pathogens will work to increase the scientific information available on STECs and investigate improved detection and identification methods for these pathogens.

The full committee meeting will be held on Sept. 9 from 10 a.m. until noon at the Residence Inn by Marriott, located at 333 E St., SW Washington, DC 20024.

Open and concurrent subcommittee meetings will continue Sept 9, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., Sept. 10 and Sept. 11 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Patriot’s Plaza III building, 1^st floor auditorium and conference rooms, located at 355 E. St., SW Washington, DC 200024. Additional details and the meeting agenda are accessible on the FSIS website: www.fsis.usda.gov/meetings.

Persons interested in making a presentation, submitting technical papers, or providing comments at the Sept. 9, plenary session, may contact Karen Thomas at (202) 690-6620 or via e-mail at: Karen.thomas-sharp@fsis.usda.gov. The mailing address is: Karen Thomas-Sharp, USDA, FSIS, Office of Public Health Science, 1400 Independence Avenue SW., Patriots Plaza 3, Mailstop 3777, Room 9–47, Washington, DC 20250.

Established in 1988, NACMCF provides scientific advice and recommendations to the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of Health and Human Services on public health issues relative to the safety and wholesomeness of the U.S. food supply, including development of microbiological criteria and review and evaluation of epidemiological and risk assessment data and methodologies for assessing microbiological hazards in foods. The committee also provides scientific advice and recommendations to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Departments of Commerce and Defense.

Food Safety News Today

CDC, multiple states, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are investigating a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Poona infections linked to imported cucumbers from Mexico and distributed by Andrew & Williamson Fresh Produce.

Public health investigators are using the PulseNet system to identify illnesses that may be part of this outbreak. PulseNet, the national subtyping network of public health and food regulatory agency laboratories, is coordinated by CDC. DNA “fingerprinting” is performed on Salmonella bacteria isolated from ill people by using a technique called pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, or PFGE. PulseNet manages a national database of these DNA “fingerprints†to identify possible outbreaks. Three DNA “fingerprints†(outbreak strains) are included in this investigation.

As of September 3, 2015, 285 people infected with the outbreak strains of Salmonella Poona have been reported from 27 states. The number of ill people reported from each state is as follows: Alaska (8), Arizona (60), Arkansas (6), California (51), Colorado (14), Idaho (8), Illinois (5), Kansas (1), Louisiana (3), Minnesota (12), Missouri (7), Montana (11), Nebraska (2), Nevada (7), New Mexico (15), New York (4), North Dakota (1), Ohio (2), Oklahoma (5), Oregon (3), South Carolina (6), Texas (9), Utah (30), Virginia (1), Washington (9), Wisconsin (2), and Wyoming (3).

Among people for whom information is available, illnesses started on dates ranging from July 3, 2015 to August 26, 2015. Ill people range in age from less than 1 year to 99, with a median age of 13. Fifty-four percent of ill people are children younger than 18 years. Fifty-seven percent of ill people are female. Among 160 people with available information, 53 (33%) report being hospitalized. One death has been reported from California.

This outbreak can be illustrated with a chart showing the number of people who became ill each day. This chart is called an epidemic curve or epi curve. Illnesses that occurred after August 14, 2015 might not be reported yet due to the time it takes between when a person becomes ill and when the illness is reported. This takes an average of 2 to 4 weeks. Please see the Timeline for Reporting Cases of Salmonella Infection for more details.

CFIA

Safeway is recalling field cucumbers and various in-store produced products that contain cucumbers purchased from Safeway due to possible Salmonella contamination. Consumers should not consume the recalled products described below.

This recall applies to fresh field cucumbers sold in bulk, unwrapped and various in-store produced products that contain cucumbers, such as Greek salad, vegetable trays, sushi and sandwiches purchased from Safeway on or before September 6, 2015. Consumers who are unsure if they have purchased affected products should check with their Safeway store.

FPB – Smoked Herring Recalled for Possible Botulism

E.coli Blog – Seattle King County Public Health is currently investigating an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7

FSN – Update: 9 Confirmed, 1 Probable Case in Seattle E. Coli Outbreak

Science Daily

Noroviruses are the predominant cause of gastroenteritis outbreaks in community settings such as hospitals, cruise ships, and schools. The virus is extremely contagious and is mostly transmitted via “fecal-oral-route,” i.e., through contaminated hands or contaminated food. Symptoms include violent and sudden onset of diarrhea, vomiting, and nausea.

FPB – Sincerely Nuts Macadamia Nuts Recalled for Salmonella

E.coli Blog – 10 with E. coli Linked to Los Chilangos

Listeria Blog – Listeria Positive Test Prompts Corn Recall

FPJ – Legionnaires’ disease at Illinois Veterans’ Home-Quincy

Shigella Blog – Shigella Strikes Cincinnati

FSN-E. Coli Infects 24 People, Hospitalizes 5, in 4 Canadian Provinces

FSN – Update: 99 Sickened After Eating at Southern CA Chipotle Restaurant

FSN -Kraft Heinz Recalls Oscar Mayer Turkey Bacon for Possible Spoilage Problem

Listeria Blog – Green Beans With Listeria

Food Poisoning Bulletin – Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria Sickens 2 Million Americans Each Year

USDA -Quarterly Progress Reports on Salmonella and Campylobacter Testing of Selected Raw Meat and Poultry Products

CDC – CDC: Multistate Outbreak of Salmonella Paratyphi B variant L(+) tartrate(+) and Salmonella Weltevreden Infections Linked to Frozen Raw Tuna

Food Safety News – Ohio Botulism Outbreak a Somber Reminder About Canning Food Safely

Food Poisoning Bulletin -557 with Cyclospora in 22 States