Food poisoning is a statutory notifiable disease in Hong Kong. The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, in collaboration with the Department of Health (DH), is responsible for the investigation and control of food poisoning outbreaks related to local food premises and food business. In this article, we will review the food poisoning outbreaks reported to the CFS in 2019.
hicago Indoor Garden Recall on Products that Include Red Clover Sprouts: E. Coli 0103 Detected in Multi-State E. coli Outbreak
Chicago Indoor Garden is voluntarily recalling all of their packaged products that include red clover sprouts for the detection of E. coli 0103. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) notified the company, Chicago Indoor Garden, of the E. col 0103 after quality testing procedures. The red clover sprouts products included in the recall are the 4-ounce Red Clover clamshell, boxes of 2-pound Red Clover, the 6-ounce Sprout Salad clamshell, the 4-ounce Mixed Greens clamshell, and the 6-ounce Spring Salad clamshell. All of the recalled items have a “Best by” date of December 1, 2019 through March 12, 2020. These packaged items were distributed throughout the Midwest to Whole Foods, Coosemans Chicago Inc., Battaglia Distributing, and Liver Waters Farms.
The current outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has been spreading rapidly around the world. COVID-19 was believed to be caused by a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), originated in animals and plausibly jumping across the species barrier to infect humans, The virus has then sustained a human-to-human transmission.
Zoonoses are diseases or infections transmitted between some animals and humans. There are various ways in which people can catch a zoonosis: through direct contact with animals or materials contaminated by these animals, being bitten by a germ-carrying vector such as a mosquito, as well as through drinking contaminated water or eating contaminated food (foodborne zoonoses). While COVID-19 is likely a zoonosis, can we acquire the disease through eating?
The probability of coronavirus being transmitted via food is perceived by the public as being low, according to a survey in Germany.
Two thirds said the probability of being infected with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) via food was low. More than one in five rated the chance as medium and 12 percent said it was high.
There are no cases which have shown any evidence of humans being infected with the new type of coronavirus by consumption of contaminated food, according to the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR). As the viruses are sensitive to heat, risk of infection can be further reduced by heating foods.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has also said there is no evidence that food is a likely source or route of transmission of the virus.
This is a blog dedicated to updated information on the Coronavirus and the Food Industry
Researchers have shed more light on the first recorded enteroinvasive E. coli (EIEC) outbreak in Sweden.
The outbreak in the county of Halland in 2017 had 83 self-reported infections and one secondary case attributed to household transmission, based on a study published in the journal Eurosurveillance.
Leafy greens were suspected to be behind the outbreak as this item was in a number of dishes associated with illnesses. There was no microbiological evidence to identify the source or vehicle of infection, but contaminated salad greens have been linked to previous EIEC outbreaks.
All five staff members at the conference and hotel venue that met the case definition had symptom onset at least one day after the first reported case among venue visitors.
The European Commission is to give member states more flexibility to do official controls in the food supply chain because of coronavirus.
The Commission leaders say the crisis relating to coronavirus disease (COVID-19) represents an “exceptional and unprecedented” challenge for the capacity of member states to conduct official controls and other official activities in line with EU legislation.
There are restrictions in many countries on the movement of people to protect public health. Member states have told the Commission that as a consequence of this, the ability to send staff for official controls, as required by EU Regulation (EU) 2017/625, has been seriously impacted.
Some nations have expressed difficulties in performing official controls and other activities which require the physical presence of control staff. This includes clinical examination of animals, certain checks on products of animal origin, plant products and on food and feed of non-animal origin, and testing of samples in official laboratories designated by member states.
The extract, from Euromed, was found to inhibit the growth of Listeria monocytogenes and could be a potential adjunct to help control foodborne pathogens.
A recently published study has found that olive leaf extract from Euromed, standardised herbal extract and active pharmaceutical ingredients producer, inhibits the growth of Listeria monocytogenes bacteria.
Effect of irrigation with groundwater (GW), primary‐treated wastewater (PTWW), secondary‐treated wastewater (STWW), and roof‐collected rainwater (RCR) on the microbial quality of lettuce cultivars “Annapolis,” “Celinet,” and “Coastline” grown in high tunnel was investigated. Lettuce plants were spray irrigated with irrigation waters once a week for 2 weeks and analyzed for indicator and pathogenic bacteria. PTWW irrigation resulted in the highest Escherichia coli recovery on the lettuce plants (4.7 log MPN/g) as compared to irrigation with other three waters on 0 day post irrigation (dpi). Lettuce cultivars affected the bacterial die‐off rate, where E. coli populations reduced the most by 1.5 log MPN/g on “Annapolis” lettuce on 2 dpi. The STWW and RCR irrigation did not significantly influence indicator bacterial populations on lettuce as compared to GW irrigation. The STWW and RCR containing low populations of indicator bacteria may be suitable for lettuce irrigation in Mid‐Atlantic area without affecting its microbial quality.
Ten people were sickened by Salmonella from chicken legs in a Chinese city after eating food ordered online in mid-2018, according to a new report.
Researchers said the investigation highlights the role of online food delivery platforms as a new mode of foodborne disease transmission. Collaboration between public health agencies and online food delivery platforms is essential for timely intervention and to limit the scale of outbreaks.
From late June to early July 2018, 10 cases of diarrheal disease were reported at two hospitals in the Nanshan District of Shenzhen, China. This outbreak was suspected to be foodborne and was notified to the Shenzhen Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Shenzhen CDC), according to the study published in Emerging Infectious Diseases.
All 10 patients were university students who had diarrhea and fever. Seven of them also reported nausea and vomiting. Cases were from six different colleges of the same university but lived in different dormitories and did not know each other.
FoodWorld 