Category Archives: Uncategorized

Research – Researchers find spread of bacteria in seafood likely impacted by trade

Posted on January 30, 2020 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety News

A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study has found that international trade of shellfish might be involved in the dispersal of Vibrio parahaemolyticus populations into the United States and Spain. The study found that severe weather, such as El Niño conditions in Peru, provide ideal conditions for the proliferation of Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Vibrio alginolyticus and Vibrio vulnificus.

The CDC reports that compared to other major foodborne illnesses, Vibrio parahaemolyticus infections have been steadily increasing. Vibrio parahaemolyticus is the leading cause of seafood-related bacterial infections globally. The CDC estimates that the average annual incidence of all Vibrio infections increased 54 percent during 2006–2017. Vibrio parahaemolyticus is believed to be responsible for about 35,000 human infections each year in the United States and has been the leading cause of foodborne infections in China since the 1990s.

The transition of V. parahaemolyticus disease from a regional to a global pathogen is connected to the emergence of isolates with epidemic potential.

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Posted in Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology Blog, microbial contamination, Microbiology, Uncategorized, Vibrio, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Vibrio vulnificans, Vibrio vulnificus

Research – Stressed-out dust is sharing antibiotic resistance genes

Posted on January 29, 2020 by | Leave a comment

Northwestern

First study to show indoor dust bacteria have transferrable antibiotic resistance genes.

A new Northwestern University study is the first to find that bacteria living in household dust can spread antibiotic resistance genes. Although most bacteria are harmless, the researchers believe these genes could potentially spread to pathogens, making infections more difficult to treat.

“This evidence, in and of itself, doesn’t mean that antibiotic resistance is getting worse,” said Northwestern’s Erica Hartmann, who led the study. “It’s just one more risk factor. It’s one more thing that we need to be careful about.”

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Posted in Antibiotic Resistance, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Pathogen, microbial contamination, Microbiology, Pathogen, pathogenic, Uncategorized

India – 200 Children Fall Ill After Eating Sweets ‘Infected With Fungus’ Distributed During School Celebration

Posted on January 29, 2020 by | Leave a comment

IBTimes

At least 200 students fell ill after eating contaminated sweets distributed during the Republic Day celebrations at a school in the southern Indian state of Telangana on Sunday,

According to local reports, several students complained of vomiting and uneasiness after consuming sweets distributed by the school authorities during the celebration. The students were immediately rushed to local hospitals for treatments.

Confirming the incident, the school authorities said, “We immediately shifted 140 students to government hospital in Makthal for treatment as they had complained of vomiting and stomach ache. While about 40 students are being treated at local primary healthcare in Karni village, others are given first aid and were sent home.”

Speaking to local media, an unidentified student said the sweets were contaminated.

“The sweets distributed were of poor quality and were infected with fungus because of which many students had fallen ill,” the student said.

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Posted in food contamination, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Poisoning, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Food Toxin, Mould Toxin, Mycotoxin, Uncategorized

Canada – Duck rillettes sold in Montreal butcher shop may be contaminated by Listeria bacteria

Posted on January 29, 2020 by | Leave a comment

CTV News listeria

MONTREAL — “Homemade style” duck rillettes produced and sold at Boucherie du Marche (224 Place du Marche-du-Nord) are being recalled due to possible contamination by the bacteria Listeria monocytogenes.

Anyone who has purchased the product – sold in a 175-g container with a best-before date of Jan. 29, 2020 and containing a label that also reads “Boucherie du Marche – Depuis 1994” – is being warned not to consume it, but to either return it to the shop or throw it away, even if it does not smell or appear suspicious.

The rillettes in question were sold up to Jan. 28, 2020, inclusively.

The recall notes that no cases of listeriosis have been linked to the product being recalled.

 

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Posted in food contamination, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Pathogen, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Uncategorized

Kenya – Police arrest Embu man over Aflatoxin-laced flour

Posted on January 29, 2020 by | Leave a comment

Daily Nation

  • Acting on a tip-off, the officers raided the trader’s factory at Kianjokoma market and arrested him.
  • Officers also confiscated some flour which will be tested by the Government Chemist in Nairobi.

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Posted in Aflatoxin, food contamination, food handler, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Poisoning, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Food Toxin, mold, Mould Toxin, Moulds, Mycotoxin, Uncategorized

Argentina/ Iceland -Botulism suspected in Argentina, confirmed in Iceland

Posted on January 29, 2020 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety News

Authorities in Argentina are investigating two suspected cases of foodborne botulism linked to a brand of pickled wild boar.

The National Administration of Drugs, Foods and Medical Devices (ANMAT) reported those ill are associated with eating “Escabeche de jabalí” 400-gram of the “Fatto in casa” brand with a date of July 1, 2020, produced by Norma Coatti.

A 27-year-old woman and a 30-year-old man are affected and both needed hospital treatment.

Meanwhile, a case of botulism has been confirmed in Iceland for the first time since 1983.

The Public Health Institute of Iceland (Landlaeknir) revealed an adult began experiencing symptoms on 12 January with poisoning confirmed a week later.

Local health authorities, the Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authrority (Matvælastofnun) and Matis, a government owned, non-profit, research company, are trying to find the source of the poisoning with no evidence as yet pointing toward food available on the market.

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Posted in Clostridium botulinum, food bourne outbreak, food contamination, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Pathogen, Food Poisoning, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Food Toxin, Uncategorized

Research – A Study on Prevalence and Characterization of Bacillus cereus in Ready-to-Eat Foods in China

Posted on January 28, 2020 by | Leave a comment

Frontiers in Microbiology

Bacillus cereus is widely distributed in different food products and can cause a variety of symptoms associated with food poisoning. Since ready-to-eat (RTE) foods are not commonly sterilized by heat treatment before consumption, B. cereus contamination may cause severe food safety problems. In this study, we investigated the prevalence of B. cereus in RTE food samples from different regions of China and evaluated the levels of bacterial contamination, antibiotic resistance, virulence gene distribution, and genetic polymorphisms of these isolates. Of the tested retail RTE foods, 35% were positive for B. cereus, with 39 and 83% of the isolated strains harboring the enterotoxin-encoding hblACD and nheABC gene clusters, respectively. The entFM gene was detected in all B. cereus strains. The cytK gene was present in 68% of isolates, but only 7% harbored the emetic toxin-encoding gene cesB. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing revealed that the majority of the isolates were resistant not only to most β-lactam antibiotics, but also to rifamycin. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) revealed that the 368 isolates belonged to 192 different sequence types (STs) including 93 new STs, the most prevalent of which was ST26. Collectively, our study indicates the prevalence, bacterial contamination levels, and biological characteristics of B. cereus isolated from RTE foods in China and demonstrates the potential hazards of B. cereus in RTE foods.

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Posted in Bacillus, Bacillus cereus, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, microbial contamination, Microbiology, Research, Uncategorized

Research -Researchers report temperature important for controlling Listeria in rakfisk

Posted on January 27, 2020 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety News

Researchers have looked at the effect of different ripening temperatures and salt concentrations on the growth of Listeria monocytogenes in a traditional Norwegian fermented fish product.

Rakfisk is made from lake trout or arctic char by mild-salting and brine maturation at low temperatures for several months and is eaten without heat treatment.

Ripening temperature had the largest impact on Listeria monocytogenes growth during rakfisk production as low ripening temperatures resulted in essentially no growth. However, even freezing temperatures cannot kill Listeria.

Chosen salt concentrations and temperatures reflect the prevailing types of commercial rakfisk production, said researchers in the study published in the journal Foods.

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Posted in Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Technology, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, microbial contamination, Microbiology, Uncategorized

USA -New York company recalls cheese in five states after tests find E. coli

Posted on January 27, 2020 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety News

Random testing by state officials has found E. coli contamination in cotija cheese, spurring a recall in five states.

The New York company Quesos La Ricura Ltd. is recalling an undisclosed number of packages of the cheese because they may be contaminated with Shiga toxin producing E. coli bacteria, according to test results from Florida inspectors.

Quesos La Ricura Ltd. reported distributing the cheese to retail stores in New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Florida, according to the company’s recall notice posted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The notice did not include any product photographs.

The cheese is packaged on yellow foam trays wrapped in plastic with labels with the following information: “Quesos La Ricura Queso Cotija, Cotija Cheese aged over 60 days” UPC: 7 69087 00933 6 and a weight of 12 oz. “Sell By” date May 20, 2020-3/ May 20, 2020-4.

No illnesses had been confirmed in relation to consumption of this cheese as of the posting of the recall notice.

 

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Posted in E.coli, food contamination, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Pathogen, Food Poisoning, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Food Toxin, Uncategorized

Philippines – 6 youth performers for Sinulog sa Naga downed by suspected food poisoning

Posted on January 27, 2020 by | Leave a comment

Cebu Daily News

CEBU CITY, Philippines – Six young persons who were expected to perform for the Sinulog sa Naga on Sunday, January 26, landed in the hospital after they reportedly complained of having symptoms of food poisoning.

 The City of Naga Disaster and Rescue Unit (DRU) confirmed this in a phone interview with Cebu Daily News Digital this Sunday afternoon.

They said they received the alert at around 4 p.m. and immediately deployed ambulances to transport the patients from Barangay Uling to a hospital in Barangay East Poblacion of City of Naga, which is about 24 kilometers south of Cebu City.

 The six persons, all from Barangay Uling of the city, got sick after eating a lunch viand made of pork, reports from the city’s response unit said.

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Posted in food contamination, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Food Toxin, Poisoning, Uncategorized