Category Archives: Uncategorized

BBC News 

A food poising outbreak in Cumbria is linked to the sale of raw milk at a farm, council officials have said.

Six cases of campylobacter have so far been linked to people consuming unpasteurised milk from Low Sizergh Barn Farm in Kendal.

South Lakeland Council said it had launched a joint investigation with the Food Standards Agency (FSA).

The farm said it was co-operating with the inquiry and had suspended sales of raw milk from a vending machine.

Campylobacter is the most common cause of food poisoning and can lead to severe diarrhoea and vomiting.

Sydney Morning Herald 

A summer spent at the public pool is suddenly looking less attractive.

A surge in the number of cryptosporidiosis cases in November has prompted health officials to warn people who have had diarrhoea to stay away from swimming pools, which have harboured infections triggering previous outbreaks.

Science Direct 

Toxoplasma gondii is one of the leading foodborne pathogens in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that T. gondii accounts for 24% of deaths due to foodborne illness in the United States. Consumption of undercooked pork products in which T. gondii has encysted has been identified as an important route of human exposure. However, little quantitative evaluation of risk due to different pork products as a function of microbial quality at the abattoir, during the production process, and due to consumer handling practices is available to inform risk management actions. The goal of this study was to develop a farm-to-table quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) model to predict the public health risk associated with consumption of fresh pork in the United States. T. gondii prevalence in pigs was derived through a meta-analysis of existing data, and the concentration of the infectious life stage (bradyzoites) was calculated for each pork cut from an infected pig. Logistic regression and log-linear regression models were developed to predict the reduction of T. gondii during further processing and consumer preparation, respectively. A mouse-derived exponential dose-response model was used to predict infection risk in humans. The estimated mean probability of infection per serving of fresh pork products ranges from 3.2 × 10⁻⁷ to 9.5 × 10⁻⁶, corresponding to a predicted approximately 94,600 new infections annually in the U.S. population due to fresh pork ingestion. Approximately 957 new infections per year were estimated to occur in pregnant women, corresponding to 277 cases of congenital toxoplasmosis per year due to fresh pork ingestion. In the context of available data, sensitivity analysis suggested that cooking is the most important parameter impacting human health risk. This study provides a scientific basis for risk management and also could serve as a baseline model to quantify infection risk from T. gondii and other parasites associated with meat products.

EFSA 

Authorities in Germany and Spain have reported six cases of foodborne botulism associated with the consumption of dried salted fish in November-December 2016.

EFSA and ECDC worked jointly to assess the extent of this multi-country outbreak and to identify the source of infection.

Food safety authorities in Spain, Germany and other countries in which the concerned fish product was delivered have now halted distribution and issued public warnings.

Foodborne botulism is caused by consumption of improperly processed food or faulty packaging. It is a rare but potentially fatal disease.

EFSA

Food Poisoning Bulletin

According to the Democrat & Chronicle, Clostridium perfringens in gravy was the probable cause of the large food poisoning outbreak at Golden Ponds restaurant in Greece, New York on Thanksgiving 2016. Laboratory testing found the bacteria in gravy samples taken from the restaurant and in stool samples of patients who ate there.

New Food Magazine 

While there are relatively few microbial pathogens which are tested for in foods compared to the number of chemicals which might be sought, the holy trinity of cheap, sensitive and rapid methods remains elusive. As the old saying goes ‘pick any two’!

One of the biggest problems in testing for foodborne pathogens is the need to detect their presence at very low concentrations. Standard cultural methods theoretically can detect 1 cell in a 25g sample, equating to 0.04 cell/g. This level of sensitivity cannot be classed as overkill since pathogens can be present in foods associated with outbreaks at very low concentrations. For example Salmonella has been reported at concentrations of around 1 cell in 20g in outbreaks involving flour, paprika flavoured crisps⁽¹⁾, tahini⁽²⁾, ice cream⁽³⁾ and herbal tea⁽⁴⁾; and as low as 1 cell in 250g in powdered infant formula⁽⁵⁾.

Food Safety News

Members of an offshoot of the same eco-terrorist group that recently took credit for bombings say their new threats of food poisoning are not meant to hurt anyone, they’re just moving on to economic sabotage.

So far they’ve generated a lot of reaction just by showing how they would poison various food and beverage items produced by four major companies. They reportedly place their plans on thumb drives and then deliver them to their targets.

So far targets include Coca-Cola, Nestle, Unilever and Delta. In response to the threats by the Greek eco-anarchy group that calls itself FAI/IRF, the companies have withdrawn certain products from an area of Greece. FAI/IRF, which likely grew out of Italy’s informal Anarchist Federation (FAI), shows how it could poison products with chlorine and hydrochloric acid while leaving packaging intact

FDA

Four Oaks, NC – House-Autry Mills, Inc. is voluntarily recalling limited quantities of House- Autry Buttermilk Cornbread Mix, House-Autry Buttermilk Biscuit Mix, and House-Autry Cheese Biscuit Mix as a precaution because one of the company’s third-party ingredient suppliers, Franklin Farms, had purchased milk powder from Valley Milk Products, Inc. This milk powder is potentially contaminated with Salmonella.

FDA 

Jackson, MI – Dawn Food Products is voluntarily recalling limited quantities of bakery mix products manufactured for Dawn by a third party and affected by a recall from Valley Milk Products of milk powder due to the possible presence of Salmonella.

As a result, out of an abundance of caution, we are recalling affected items distributed by Dawn Foods, including the following items which could become available at retail locations. A full list of the affected products distributed by Dawn Foods has been provided to our wholesale customers:

Manufacturing date ranges for these two products are 05-19-2016 through 10-05-2016. All impacted product should be returned to the place of purchase for proper credit.

Dawn takes food safety very seriously and as such, we are working with affected customers, vendors and the FDA in order to support a prompt response to help address this issue.

FDA

Bickel’s Snack Foods, Inc., of York, PA is voluntarily recalling all snack products that were made with milk ingredients supplied by one of its’ secondary seasoning component suppliers, Valley Milk Products LLC, due to Salmonella contamination. On 12/16/16, Bickel’s Snack Foods, Inc. was notified Valley Milk Products, LLC initiated a recall of products made with milk powders or sour cream. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been made aware of this recall.

Salmonella is an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the blood stream and producing more severe illnesses.

Although no lab tests have confirmed the presence of Salmonella in these products and no illnesses have been reported, we are voluntarily recalling these products out of an abundance of caution.