Category Archives: Uncategorized

UK – Cheesemaker cleared of breaching food safety laws -E.coli

Posted on July 9, 2018 by | Leave a comment

BBC–

A cheesemaker blamed for an outbreak of E.coli poisoning that led to the death of a three-year-old girl has been cleared of breaching food safety laws.

Errington Cheese had been accused of failing to comply with legal standards of food hygiene.

But in a 254-page ruling Sheriff Robert Weir QC said the allegations were “not well founded”.

The 2016 outbreak involved Dunsyre Blue but that did not form part of the case, which focused on sheep’s milk cheeses.

Stocks of Dunsyre Blue – which is made with cow’s milk and was not considered during the Sheriff’s ruling – were seized by South Lanarkshire Council after the outbreak and are still withheld from sale.

This case was brought against the company by South Lanarkshire Council and Food Standards Scotland.

Sheriff Weir rejected the council’s application to destroy the company’s entire stock of cheese but ruled that four batches of cheeses made with raw milk – one Lanark Blue and three Corra Linn – contained levels of Shiga toxin-producing E.coli (STEC).

The council said this made them potentially unfit to eat.

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USA – More than 200 people ill from parasite in Del Monte vegetable tray recall

Posted on July 9, 2018 by | Leave a comment

CNN

An outbreak of cyclosporiasis has sickened 212 people in four states since May, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday. Seven of those individuals have been hospitalized.

 Illnesses linked to Del Monte vegetable trays have been reported in Michigan, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
The outbreak is linked to Del Monte vegetable trays with fresh broccoli, cauliflower, celery sticks, carrots and dill dip. A recall of these 6-,12- and 28-ounce trays in clear, plastic clamshell packaging that contain these items was issued on June 15. The trays have a “Best if used by” date of June 17, 2018 and were sold at Kwik Trip, Kwik Star, Demond’s, Sentry, Potash, Meehan’s, Country Market, FoodMax Supermarket, and Peapod stores in Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan.

 

CDC – 

Multistate Outbreak of Cyclosporiasis Linked to Del Monte Fresh Produce Vegetable Trays — United States, 2018

 

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Posted in CDC, Cyclospora, food contamination, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Pathogen, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Uncategorized

Information – Listeria in your freezer – how to avoid food poisoning

Posted on July 9, 2018 by | Leave a comment

Plymouth Herald

Supermarkets across the UK have withdrawn 43 lines of frozen vegetables amid fears they could be contaminated with a lethal listeria bug that has killed nine people – two in this country.

The frozen veg, mostly sweetcorn, was produced in a factory in Hungary and was being sold under different brand names by supermarkets including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Aldi and Lidl.

The products could contain listeria bugs which can cause potentially deadly listeriosis food poisioning.

The Food Standards Agency has issued a product recall – so how do you make sure the food in your freezer is safe.

Firstly, check the list of recalled frozen vegetable products and if you have any don’t eat them.

With everything else, there are simple rules to make sure food you keep in your freezer is as safe as possible – so you avoid food poisioning.

Dr Lisa Ackerely, who campaigns and writes online as The Hygiene Doctor and regularly appears on TV, has drawn up a list of simple-to-follow freezer instructions.

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Posted in Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Uncategorized

Europe – Listeria in Frozen Corn

Posted on July 9, 2018 by | Leave a comment

Barf Blog

My daughters ate a lot of frozen peas and corn when they were young.

Now I’m being told by Europeans I’m stupid.

As I’ve written before, Chapman and I did a bunch of work with the processing vegetable growers in Ontario (that’s in Canada).

We didn’t do any testing, but all the plants we visited had internal Listeria testing and used test-and-hold procedures. That was over 15 years ago.

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Kuwait – Kuwaiti hospitals put on alert amid a food poisoning outbreak

Posted on July 9, 2018 by | Leave a comment

Gulf News

Dubai –  More than 287 suffered food poisoning this weekend in Kuwait, after eating from a falafel restaurant in Hawally area according to Kuwait News Agency KUNA.

The Ministry of Health activated emergency plans as the number of people suffering from food poisoning rose dramatically yesterday.  A video on twitter showed a number of ambulances rushing to one of the hospital’s emergency doors.

“A group of 192 patients was rushed to Mubarak Al Kabeer Hospital, 17 cases were admitted to Amiri Hospital, 23 to Farwaniya hospital, 6 to Alsabah hospital, 6 to Aladan hospital, 17 to Jahraa hospital, while private hopitals reported 22 cases” according to a statement by the Ministry of health.

The ministry has also assured the public that most of patients were allowed to leave the hospital after their condition improved, with the exception of 53 cases. They are still in hospitals but none is critical.

The deputy director of Public Authority for Food and Nutrition, Dr. Amal Al Rashdan, issued an order shutting down the restaurant.

 

 

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Posted in Uncategorized

Ireland – Recall of Dunnes Stores and Spar Pesto Due to the Possible Presence of Salmonella

Posted on July 9, 2018 by | Leave a comment

FSAI

Summary
Category 2: For Information
Alert Notification: 2018.24
Product: Please refer to below table
Batch Code: Please refer to below table
Country Of Origin: Belgium

Message:

As a precautionary measure, Dunnes Stores and Spar are initiating a recall of their own brand pestos, due to the possible presence of Salmonella. Consumers who have bought the implicated batches should dispose of the product or return it to the place of purchase.

Table for Pesto Alert
DS Basil Pesto

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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, FSAI, Salmonella, Uncategorized

UK – Alert type Food Alert UPDATED: Greenyard Frozen UK Ltd recalls various frozen vegetable products due to possible contamination with Listeria monocytogenes

Posted on July 9, 2018 by | Leave a comment

FSA

Greenyard Frozen UK Ltd has taken the precautionary step of voluntarily recalling various frozen vegetable products because they might contain Listeria monocytogenes. Greenyard Frozen UK Ltd has provided an amended product list, detailed at the link above

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Hong Kong – Not to consume prepackaged frozen vegetable products suspected to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes

Posted on July 9, 2018 by | Leave a comment

CFS logo

Issue Date 7.7.2018
Source of Information The United Kingdom Food Standards Agency
Food Product Several kinds of prepackaged frozen vegetable products produced by the Greenyard Frozen UK Ltd
Product Name and Description 1. Product name : Sainsbury’s Mixed Vegetables

Packing: one kilogram per pack

Importer: The Dairy Farm Company Limited

Best before date: All codes to January 2020 inclusive

 

2. Product name : Waitrose Love Life Vegetable Medley Steamers

Packing: four small packs of 160 grams each per pack

Importer: PARKnSHOP (HK) Limited

Best before date: May, July, September 2018

 

3. Product name : Growers Pride Mixed Vegetables

Packing: 450 grams per pack

Importer: PARKnSHOP (HK) Limited

Best before date: All codes to July 2021 inclusive

 

4. Product name : Ross Mixed Vegetables

Packing: one kilogram per pack

Importer: PARKnSHOP (HK) Limited

Best before date: All codes to July 2020 inclusive

 

5. Product name : Ross Sweetcorn

Packing: 450 grams per pack

Importer: PARKnSHOP (HK) Limited

Best before date: All codes to July 2021 inclusive
Reason For Issuing Alert
  • The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) through its Food Incident Surveillance System, learned of a notice issued by the United Kingdom Food Standards Agency that the Greenyard Frozen UK Limited is recalling several kinds of frozen vegetable products as they might have been contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.
Action Taken by the Centre for Food Safety
  • The CFS immediately contacted major local importers and retailers for follow-up. Preliminary investigation found that two local importers, The Dairy Farm Company Limited and PARKnSHOP (HK) Limited, had imported the above affected products into Hong Kong for sale at their chain supermarkets. The importers concerned have already stopped sale and removed from shelves the affected products and initiated a recall.
  •  The CFS will alert the trade to the incident, and will continue to monitor the case and take appropriate follow-up action. Investigation is ongoing.
Advice to the Trade
  • Stop using or selling the product concerned immediately if they possess them.
Advice to Consumers
  • Not to consume the affected products if they have bought any.
  • Members of the public can contact the importers and the supermarkets concerned for enquiries about the recall.
Further Information

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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, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Uncategorized

Australia – Consumer alert: frozen vegetable product recalls – Listeria monocytogenes

Posted on July 9, 2018 by | Leave a comment

FSANZ 

 

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) today warned vulnerable people to check their freezers for recalled frozen vegetable products that are possibly contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

Acting FSANZ CEO Peter May said pregnant women, people whose immune systems are compromised (e.g. cancer patients) and elderly people, are at a much greater risk from Listeria infection.
 
“The products affected contain a particularly dangerous strain of Listeria and are being recalled as a precautionary measure to ensure consumers are protected, but particularly vulnerable populations,” Mr May said.
 
“While many people will follow cooking instructions properly (which should kill Listeria bacteria) we are aware that some people eat frozen vegetables straight from the freezer and there is a risk of some people not cooking produce properly.
 
Consumers who have the product in their freezer should return it to the place of purchase for a full refund or dispose of it. Consumers who have eaten the product and feel unwell should see a health professional.
 

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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, FSANZ, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Uncategorized

Research – Whole genome sequencing in food safety: the state of play – WGS

Posted on July 8, 2018 by | Leave a comment

EFSA

EFSA has published two reports which provide a picture of how whole genome sequencing (WGS) can be used in food safety and how extensively such techniques are used in Europe.

WGS is increasingly used in public health and food safety laboratories, but it is used in different ways in different countries and for different purposes.

Survey on use of WGS

The findings of a survey carried out by EFSA and the European Commission in 2016 on the use of WGS for food- and waterborne pathogens isolated from animals, food, feed and their environment in EU/EFTA countries include:

  • By the end of 2016 WGS was already being used in laboratories in 17 out of 30 countries.
  • The main reason for not using WGS is a lack of expertise and financial resources.
  • WGS was mainly used to support outbreak investigations.

ENGAGE project

The final report of the project “Establishing next generation sequencing ability for genomics analysis in Europe” (ENGAGE) includes a description of all milestones achieved – these include public release of bacterial sequences, scientific publications, benchmarking exercises, workshops, trainings, and e-learning materials.

The aim of the project, co-funded by EFSA, was to boost scientific cooperation among European laboratories to use WGS in food safety and public health protection.

All materials produced can be found in the report and the ENGAGE website.

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Posted in Uncategorized, WGS