Category Archives: Uncategorized

RASFF – Listeria monocytogenes (1200 CFU/g) in chilled smoked salmon trout slices from Poland in Switzerland

RASFF – high count of Escherichia coli (850 CFU/g) in hairy basil from Laos in Norway

RASFF – Campylobacter jejuni (100 and 3100 CFU/g) in chilled chicken breast filets from France in Denmark

RASFF-Campylobacter (presence /25g) in frozen chicken half breasts from Brazil in Spain

RASFF – norovirus (Gll /g) in live oysters (Crassostrea gigas) from France in Italy

RASFF-norovirus (GI /100g) in cherry tomatoes from Morocco, via France in the Czech Republic

RASFF – foodborne outbreak caused by histamine (623 mg/kg – ppm) in defrosted tuna loins (Thunnus albacares) from Spain in Spain

RASFF-foodborne outbreak suspected (histamine poisoning) to be caused by skipjack tuna pieces in sunflower oil from France, with raw material from Thailand in the Netherlands

RASFF-foodborne outbreak caused by histamine (up to 4058 ppm) in thawed yellowfin tuna slices (Thunnus albacares) from Italy in Italy

RASFF-histamine (244 mg/kg – ppm) in canned skipjack tuna in vegetable oil from Vietnam in Slovenia

RASFF-histamine (535 mg/kg – ppm) in chilled sardines from France in France

RASFF-histamine (886.7 mg/kg – ppm) in thawed vacuum-packed yellowfin tuna loins from Spain in Italy

RASFF-histamine (1849 mg/kg – ppm) in thawed vacuum packed yellowfin tuna slices (Thunnus albacares) from Italy in Italy

RASFF-histamine (220; 392 mg/kg – ppm) in frozen vacuum-packed yellowfin tuna fillets from Spain in Italy

Public Now 

A woman has been fined a total of $28,000 and ordered to pay professional costs of $25,000 after she pleaded guilty to four charges relating to the sale of unpasteurised or ‘raw’ milk in Goulburn Local Court.On Thursday 8 June 2017, Julia Ruth McKay from Bungonia on the southern tablelands was fined under section 104 of the Food Act 2003 for selling milk which was not pasteurised in contravention of Food Regulation 2010, and for conducting a food business without a licence as required by the Regulation.

She also pleaded guilty to two charges under section 21 of the Act for selling unpasteurised milk that exceeded acceptable microbiological limits for standard plate counts and Listeria.

Eurosurveillance

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) is transforming microbiology [1]. With the increased accessibility and decrease in the costs of sequencing and the optimisation of the ‘wet laboratory’ components of NGS i.e. the quality and throughput of DNA extraction, library preparation and sequencing reactions, whole genome sequencing (WGS) of bacterial isolates is rapidly revolutionising clinical and public health microbiology. WGS is a ‘disruptive technology’ that has the potential to become a one-stop-shop for routine bacterial analysis. By replacing multiple parallel steps in the microbiology diagnostic cycle, which currently involves traditional and molecular methods, it achieves accurate and speedy species identification, inference of antimicrobial susceptibility and virulence and high-resolution subtyping [2].

Blog Comment

I still think that it has a quite a way to go before it becomes routine contract laboratory testing, the price will have to come down even further.

Image – parkyang

Listeria Blog  

Happy Sprout Inc. voluntarily recalled all packages of soybean sprouts because they have the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections to individuals with weakened immune systems.

Although healthy individuals may suffer only short term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea. Listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.

The following products are being recalled by the firm.

• 1 lb. bags of soybean sprouts in clear plastic bags labeled “Good Seed Soy Bean Sprouts” “Keep Refrigerated” with a UPC Code of 21111 10035, produced on or after May 1, 2017.
• 2 lb. bags of soybean sprouts in clear plastic bags labeled “Good Seed Soy Bean Sprouts” “Keep Refrigerated” with a UPC Code of 21112 58772, produced on or after May 1, 2017.
• 10 lb. bags of soybean sprouts in black plastic bags labeled with a sticker “Good Seed Soy Bean Sprouts” produced on or after May 1, 2017.

No illnesses have been reported to date.

CFIA

Ottawa, June 7, 2017 – Rogers Foods Ltd. is recalling Rogers brand All Purpose flour from the marketplace due to possible E. coli O121 contamination. Consumers should not consume the recalled product described below.

The following product has been sold from Costco warehouse locations in British Columbia.

Science Daily

Researchers have discovered that bacteria living in the gut provide a first line of defense against severe Listeria infections. The study suggests that providing these bacteria in the form of probiotics could protect individuals who are particularly susceptible to Listeria, including pregnant women and cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.

Researchers at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York have discovered that bacteria living in the gut provide a first line of defense against severe Listeria infections. The study, which will be published June 6 in The Journal of Experimental Medicine, suggests that providing these bacteria in the form of probiotics could protect individuals who are particularly susceptible to Listeria, including pregnant women and cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.