Category Archives: Uncategorized

Canada – Salmonella triggers recall of coconut meat in Canada

Posted on April 16, 2019 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety News Salmonella kswfoodworld

Feeding Change Canada is recalling Feeding Change brand Young Thai Coconut Meat from the marketplace because of a risk of possible Salmonella contamination.

According to the recall notice posted on the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) website, the recall was triggered by CFIA test results.

“The CFIA is conducting a food safety investigation, which may lead to the recall of other products. If other high-risk products are recalled, the CFIA will notify the public through updated Food Recall Warnings,” the agency statement said.

The CFIA said it is verifying that industry is removing the recalled product from the marketplace.

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

Australia – Recall: Steve’s Farm Fresh Eggs – Salmonella

Posted on April 16, 2019 by | Leave a comment

The NSW Food Authority advises:

Steve’s Fresh Farm Eggs is conducting a recall of Fresh Eggs From My Farm products. The products have been available for sale at butchers and independent stores in NSW.

Product details:

  • Fresh Eggs From My Farm 12 Free Range Eggs, 700g, cardboard box
  • Fresh Eggs From My Farm Cage Eggs, 700g, cardboard box
  • Use By 6-5-2019

Problem: The recall is due to potential microbial Salmonella Enteritidis contamination.

Food safety hazard: Food products contaminated with Salmonella may cause illness if consumed.

Country of origin: Australia

What to do: Any consumers concerned about their health should seek medical advice and should return the products to the place of purchase for a full refund.

For further information please contact Steve’s Fresh Farm Eggs on 0438 081 860.

See also: all current NSW food alerts

 

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

Research – Petting zoos could potentially transmit highly virulent drug-resistant bacteria to visitors

Posted on April 16, 2019 by | Leave a comment

Science Daily

New research presented at this year’s European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) in Amsterdam, Netherlands (13-16 April) shows that petting zoos can create a diverse reservoir of multidrug resistant (MDR) bacteria, which could lead to highly virulent drug-resistant pathogens being passed on to visitors.

The study is by Professor Shiri Navon-Venezia of Ariel University, Ariel, Israel and colleagues, and aimed to explore the prevalence, molecular epidemiology, and risk factors for animals in petting zoos becoming colonised by MDR bacteria. Petting zoos are a popular attraction around the world, allowing direct and indirect exposure of both children and adults to a diverse range of animal species. They are different from regular zoos because rather than visitors just looking at the animals, petting zoos are interactive with children visiting, holding and petting the animals.

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Posted in Bacteria, Uncategorized

Research -Superbugs’ found on many hospital patients’ hands and what they touch most often

Posted on April 16, 2019 by | Leave a comment

Science Daily

For decades, hospitals have worked to get doctors, nurses and others to wash their hands and prevent the spread of germs.

But a new study suggests they may want to expand those efforts to their patients, too.

Fourteen percent of 399 hospital patients tested in the study had “superbug” antibiotic-resistant bacteria on their hands or nostrils very early in their hospital stay, the research finds. And nearly a third of tests for such bacteria on objects that patients commonly touch in their rooms, such as the nurse call button, came back positive.

Another six percent of the patients who didn’t have multi-drug resistant organisms, or MDROs, on their hands at the start of their hospitalization tested positive for them on their hands later in their stay. One-fifth of the objects tested in their rooms had similar superbugs on them too.

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Posted in Uncategorized

Information – What to do during an E. coli and Salmonella Outbreak

Posted on April 15, 2019 by | Leave a comment

Food Poison Journal

Avoid ground beef until the source of the E. coli contamination in known.  Do not eat the cut fruit that has been recalled because of Salmonella.

General Advice During an E. coli and Salmonella Outbreak

  • Be especially careful during “unsolved” outbreaks. Until health officials have the facts, do not assume anything about the source of an ongoing outbreak.
  • Educate yourself about foodborne illness.  Resources about E. coli, Salmonella and other foodborne pathogens are widely available online.

Eating at Home During an E. coli and Salmonella Outbreak

  • WASH YOUR HANDS! This is one of the best ways to avoid getting sick.
  • Until the outbreak is solved avoid foods and drinks that are not fully cooked. This is especially true for the most vulnerable – small children, the elderly or immune-compromised individuals.
  • At the grocery store, keep raw meat – especially beef or chicken – separate from “ready to eat” food. Also, get your food into the refrigerator or freezer sooner rather than later.
  • Keep your counters and kitchen clean and your refrigerator clean and set at the correct temperature. Keeping “hot things hot” and “cold things cold” will help control bacterial growth.

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Posted in Uncategorized

Canada -Health unit pinpoints bacteria in Strathroy Portuguese Club food poisoning -Clostridium perfringens

Posted on April 15, 2019 by | Leave a comment

Global News

CDC Clost perf

Image CDC

The investigation gathered food samples from the event and stool samples from those who attended.

In lab reports, Clostridium perfringens enterotoxin turned up in two stool samples and Clostridium perfringens was found in a sample of roast beef — the former is what the latter bacteria turns into once digested.

“We did take other food samples… it was only the roast beef that came back growing bacteria,” said Mary Lou Albanese, the manager of infectious disease for the MLHU.

Albanese added that the bacteria is quick-moving, often making people ill within 12 hours after ingesting.

 

 

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Posted in Clostridium perfringens, food contamination, Food Hygiene, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Pathogen, Food Poisoning, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Food Toxin, foodborne disease, Uncategorized

France – Two sick in France from Listeria in cheese

Posted on April 15, 2019 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety News

Two people in France are seriously ill with listeriosis after eating contaminated cheese, according to the public health agency.

A spokeswoman for Santé publique France told Food Safety News that both cases of listeriosis occurred in early March and two women were seriously ill.

“Investigations into two cases of listeriosis that occurred in March 2019 made it possible to identify the consumption of cheeses produced by Société Fromagère de la Brie as a source of contamination for these cases,” she said.

The spokeswoman said as part of national listeriosis surveillance both cases were reported to the agency.

“Strains of Listeria monocytogenes isolated from the two patients were sent to the Centre National de Référence des Listeria (Institut Pasteur de Paris) for molecular typing. These analyses showed that strains isolated from these two individuals had the same microbiological characteristics,” she said.

“Food samples taken at a patient’s home showed the presence of Listeria monocytogenes in a cheese produced by Société Fromagère de la Brie. Additional microbiological analyzes have confirmed the link between strains isolated from patients and strains found within the company.”

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

USA- CDC suspects ground beef is the source of recent E. coli outbreak

Posted on April 15, 2019 by | Leave a comment

CNBC ecoli

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is homing in on ground beef as the source of the latest E. coli outbreak in the U.S., the agency said Friday, citing preliminary findings in its ongoing investigation.

“Traceback investigations are ongoing to determine the source of ground beef supplied to grocery stores and restaurant locations where ill people ate,” said the CDC.

The agency is looking at the grocery stores and restaurants where people said they ate beef just before they fell ill, it said. It hasn’t narrowed in on a specific supplier, distributor or brand of ground beef yet.

As of Friday, 109 people from six states have been infected with the strain of E. coli implicated in the latest outbreak, federal health officials said. The last reported illness began on March 26.

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Posted in E.coli, E.coli O103, food contamination, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Pathogen, Food Poisoning, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Food Toxin, Uncategorized

Research – Chicken superbug CAN’T be treated with antibiotics: Warning as common bacteria found in half of supermarket poultry turns drug resistant

Posted on April 15, 2019 by | Leave a comment

Daily Mail

campy2

Image CDC

  • Campylobacter is found at low levels on half of chickens sold by major stores 
  • The bug is responsible for an estimated 500,000 cases of illness in the UK
  • More than nine per cent of one strain is resistant to three types of antibiotic 
  • Farmer using antibiotics to treat animals have raised levels of resistance 

 

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Posted in Antibiotic Resistance, antimicrobial resistance, Antimicrobials, Campylobacter, food contamination, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Uncategorized

USA – Salmonella Carrau Outbreak Linked to Caito Foods Precut Melons

Posted on April 15, 2019 by | Leave a comment

Food Poisoning Bulletin

A Salmonella Carrau outbreak is linked to Caito Foods precut melons, and has sickened at least 93 people in 9 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Twenty-three people are hospitalized because their illnesses are so severe.

Salmonella Carrau Caito Foods Melon Outbreak 41219

The patient case count by state is: Alabama (1), Illinois (5), Indiana (18), Kentucky (16), Michigan (19), Minnesota (3), Missouri (3), Ohio (27), and Wisconsin (1). Illness onset dates range from March 4, 2019 to March 31, 2019. The patient age range is from less than one to 98. No deaths have been reported in this outbreak.

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