The first scientific study of cannabis resin sold on the streets of Madrid reveals that the vast majority contains traces of bacteria from human faeces, and poses a serious health risk to those who smoke it.
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USA -Lean Culinary Services, LLC, recalling (RTE) chicken salad products that may be adulterated with Listeria monocytogenes,
Lean Culinary Services, LLC, a Hollywood, Fla. establishment, is recalling approximately 223 pounds of ready-to-eat (RTE) chicken salad products that may be adulterated with Listeria monocytogenes, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.
The RTE chicken salad items were produced on February 12, 2019. The following products are subject to recall: [View Labels (PDF only)]
- 14.9-oz. plastic tub packages containing “classic chicken salad Made with Bell & Evans White Meat Chicken” and a Best By date of 2-17-19.
- 8-lbs plastic bags containing “classic chicken salad Made with Bell & Evans White Meat Chicken” and a Sell By date of 2-19-19 for use behind the deli counter.
- 7.8-oz plastic tub packages containing “DeliverLean CLASSIC CHICKEN SALAD” and a Use By date of 2/17/19.
- 5.5-oz plastic tub packages containing “DeliverLean CHICKEN SALAD BENTO BOX” and a Use By date of 2/17/19.
The products subject to recall bear establishment number “P-46167” inside the USDA mark of inspection. These items were shipped to retail locations in Florida.
The problem was discovered on February 18, 2019 when FSIS inspection program personnel verified the status of product that had tested positive for the presence of Listeria monocytogenes.
Research – Pregnant Women and Toxoplasma
Pregnant Women and Toxoplasma: Causes, Dangers, and Treatment
According to the Center for Disease Control, “toxoplasmosis is considered to be a leading cause of death attributed to foodborne illness in the United States” (CDC) – by most counts, the second most-deadly food borne pathogen. Toxoplasmosis is an infection attributed to Toxoplasma gondii, a single-celled parasite that is the third-highest cause of food borne hospitalizations. Although over 40 million people in the United States are affected (22.5% of US residents over the age of 12 have had Toxoplasma), few ever experience symptoms because a healthy immune systems typically keep the parasites at bay.
In some third-world countries, 95% of the population has contracted Toxoplasmosis.
USA -Wholesome Pantry Nut Butters Recalled For Possible Listeria
Wakefern Food Corporation, which owns and operates ShopRite stores in Maryland, is recalling several of their organic nut butter products because they may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes bacteria, according to news reports. There is no information about this recall on the FDA web site.
Czech Republic – SALMONELLA AGAIN FOUND IN IMPORTED POLISH MEAT, THIS TIME IN CHICKEN
Image CDC
The Czech Veterinary Administration (SVS) has discovered salmonella bacteria in a half-ton shipment of chicken imported from Poland, destined for catering facilities.
The infected meat came from the Polish company Dromico and in the Czech Republic it was distributed by Astra meat from Nový Bydžov in the Hradec Králové region, the news agency ČTK reports.
Last week, the Czech Republic ended blanket checks on beef imported from Poland.
The Czech Ministry of Agriculture said Poland had provided guarantees that it had done all it could to prevent meat from cattle unfit for human consumption from reaching the market.
Namibia -Shellfish Poisoning Halts Oyster, Mussel Exports – DSP
OYSTER and black mussel producers who mainly export to Asia have stopped harvesting and exporting since last week after routine tests revealed the delicacies were contaminated with ‘diarrhoeatic shellfish poisoning’ (DSP), which can make people very sick.
The fisheries ministry issued an alert last week, warning people not to eat oysters or mussels from Lüderitz and Walvis Bay.
Chief fisheries biologist Frikkie Botes said such spells of contamination, which is a seasonal occurrence – mainly during summer from October to April – result in the shellfish industry suffering economic losses.
Posted in Algal Blooms, Algal Toxin, Diarrhoeic Shellfish Poisoning, Dinoflagellates, DSP, food contamination, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Poisoning, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Food Toxin, Uncategorized
France -Four dead after suspected food poisoning at French retirement home
Four residents at a retirement home in southern France have died and over a dozen others were sickened in a suspected case of food poisoning, officials said Monday.
Twenty-two people at the Cheneraie residence in Lherm, a town south of Toulouse, began showing symptoms including vomiting after dinner on Sunday, police said in a statement.
Fifteen of the 82 residents at the site remained in serious condition.
The meals involved have been kept for analysis, the regional health agency said, and residents were being questioned about what they ate.
“We suspect food poisoning because these events occurred after the meal,” deputy prosecutor Marie-Paule Demiguel told BFM television, adding that the kitchens at the residence would also be investigated.
Research – Modeling the Risk of Salmonellosis from Consumption of Peanuts in the United States
Peanut products were the target of the largest food recall in United States history from 2008 to 2009, with more than 3,200 products implicated, economic losses estimated at $1 billion, and more than 700 reported illnesses and 9 deaths. Predictive modeling tools such as quantitative microbial risk assessment can be used to aid processors in making risk management decisions that may reduce the chances of foodborne illness, but published risk assessment for peanuts is not currently available. A quantitative microbial risk assessment was performed to quantify salmonellosis risk from consumption of peanuts in the United States. Prevalence and concentration data for Salmonella on raw, shelled peanuts were used in combination with probability distributions of simulated log reductions achieved during production steps before consumption. Data for time-temperature combinations used in each step were obtained from published literature, industry surveys, or expert opinion, and survival data were obtained from the literature. A beta-Poisson dose-response model was used to predict probability of illness from ingestion of Salmonella cells. The model predicted 14.2 (arithmetic mean) or 0.0123 (geometric mean) illnesses per year. Sensitivity analysis showed that thermal inactivation log reductions applied had the biggest impact on predicted salmonellosis risk, followed by consumer storage time, Salmonella starting concentration, Salmonella starting prevalence, and number of originally contaminated 25-g servings per originally positive 375-g sample. Scenario analysis showed that increasing log reduction variability increased mean salmonellosis risk. Removing the effect of storage on Salmonella survival increased the arithmetic and geometric means to 153 and 0.598 illnesses per year, respectively. This study indicated that the risk of salmonellosis from consumption of peanuts can be lowered by reducing field contamination, control of storage steps, and monitoring of appropriate critical limits in peanut roasting.
Research – Bacteria partners with virus to cause chronic wounds
A common bacterial pathogen called Pseudomonas aeruginosa produces a virus that substantially increases the pathogen’s ability to infect us, according to a study by investigators at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
P. aeruginosa weaponizes its resident virus to exploit the immune system’s distinct responses to bacterial versus viral infections.
This marks the first time a bacteria-infecting virus, otherwise known as a bacteriophage or just phage, has been observed inducing the immune system to mount an antiviral response and, in doing so, causing it to ignore the bacterial infection. When the scientists generated a vaccine directed at the virus, they showed that it dramatically lowered the bacteria’s ability to infect wounds in mice.
USA – Salmonella cases linked to hedgehogs spread to more states, CDC warns
Two months after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advised people not to “kiss or snuggle hedgehogs” because of a salmonella outbreak, the federal health agency announced that six more people in three more states, including Virginia, have fallen ill after coming into contact with the prickly pets.
As of Friday, 17 people nationwide have been infected with a strain of Salmonella typhimurium that the CDC first warned in January could be linked to pet hedgehogs.
No one has died, but two people were hospitalized.
