Category Archives: Uncategorized

LMW

Food Poison Journal

Abbie Coleman from WSLS report that The Virginia Department of Health is investigating complaints of gastrointestinal illness in people who attended the Blue Ridge Rock Festival.
10 News has spoken with several attendees who say they became sick after going to the festival, including one woman who said she tested positive for something she never expected.

Food Safety News

At least 55 people are sick with Salmonella infections after eating food from a Chicago taqueria. Initial reports said 20 people were sick, with ten people hospitalized.

The Chicago Department of Public Health and the Illinois Department of Public Health are investigating the outbreak. The agencies reported that Carniceria Guanajuato voluntarily closed the taqueria on Sept. 8, 2023. The operator is cooperating with health officials to find the source of the Salmonella.

The strain of Salmonella involved is particularly virulent, or the contaminated foods had large amounts of the pathogen because of the high hospitalization rate.

Public health officials are asking people who ate at the taqueria and became ill to seek medical treatment and ask for Salmonella testing. Salmonella infections can mimic other illnesses.

AGES

As part of internal quality controls, bacteria were detected in the designated batch of the product “Santa Maria Cheddar Cheese Sauce 3kg”.

There is therefore the possibility of microbiological contamination in individual packages of the product. For reasons of precautionary consumer protection, Maresi Austria is recalling this item. Health impairments cannot be ruled out 100 percent. We therefore advise against consuming the following product.

Santa Maria Cheddar Cheese Sauce 3kg

Batch number: 2329020

Best before date: June 7th, 2024

GTIN: 7311312007759

Products with the best before date mentioned above can be returned to the stores where they were purchased. Customers will receive a refund of the purchase price even without proof of purchase. This warning does not indicate that the hazard was caused by the producer, manufacturer, importer or distributor.

Other Santa Maria batches and products are not affected and can be consumed safely.

For more information, a Maresi hotline has been set up on +43 664 45 63 206 .

Original recall

Food Safety News

The Alliance to Stop Foodborne Illness has announced its list of the Top 40 Food Safety Professionals Under 40, spotlighting young leaders making significant contributions to the field of food safety. Among the honorees is Joe Whitworth, a writer at Food Safety News.

Congratulations Joe, keep up the good work.

MDPI

Abstract

GovIL

You are invited to participate in an online seminar (webinar) on the topic: What will be the source of the next epidemic? Zoonoses and the factors driving their decline organized by the Council for Research in Biological Pathogens and the Office of the Chief Scientist, Ministry of Health.

FDA

Product

Oysters from Groton Approved area in Connecticut harvested from 8/28/2023 through 8/30/2023 from dealers CT-393-SS, AQ, CT-004-SS, AQ, and CT-020-SS, AQ with lots, L-30 and L-26B1.

Purpose

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is advising consumers not to eat, and restaurants and food retailers not to sell, and to dispose of oysters harvested from Groton Approved area in Connecticut from 8/28/2023 through 8/30/2023 from dealers CT-393-SS, AQ, CT-004-SS, AQ, and CT-020-SS, AQ with lots, L-30 and L-26B1 due to sample results showing potential contamination. Oysters were directly distributed to retailers and distributors in CT, MA, NY, PA, and VA. Oysters may have been distributed further from these states.

Contaminated oysters can cause illness, especially if eaten raw, particularly in people with compromised immune systems. Food contaminated with pathogens may look, smell, and taste normal. Consumers of these products who are experiencing food poisoning symptoms such as diarrhea, stomach pain or cramps, nausea, vomiting, or fever should contact their healthcare provider, who should report their symptoms to their local Health Department.

Symptoms of Food Poisoning

People can get sick with food poisoning after ingesting certain pathogens, like Salmonella or E. coli. Symptoms may vary, depending on the pathogen and can range from mild to serious. The most common symptoms of food poisoning are diarrhea, stomach pain or cramps, nausea, vomiting, and fever. Symptoms may start within a few hours or may take a few days and can last for a few hours or several days.

FDA

Constituent Update

August 25, 2023

Yesterday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) signed a Regulatory Partnership Arrangement (RPA) with Ecuador’s seafood regulatory authority to strengthen food safety in shrimp intended for the U.S. market. Shrimp is the most consumed seafood in the United States, the vast majority of which is imported. Ecuador is one of the leading exporters of aquacultured shrimp to the United States.

The first of its kind, this regulatory partnership serves as an arrangement between the FDA and the Vice Ministry of Aquaculture and Fisheries (VMAF) to work more closely to reinforce food safety practices along the entire supply chain. Such arrangements aim to leverage commodity-specific oversight systems — in this case, involving imported aquacultured shrimp — along with data and information, to strengthen food safety before and at the port of entry.

In preparing for the RPA with Ecuador, in August 2022, the FDA and VMAF signed a confidentiality commitment (CC) that allows for the exchange of confidential information, including inspection records, sample findings, and other non-public documents.

In addition, the FDA did a rigorous assessment of the strength of Ecuador’s aquacultured seafood safety system and examined important parts of VMAF’s programs and capabilities.

Science Alert

Despite their salubrious sounding name, fruit flies (Drosophila species),
eat food that is decaying. They inhabit rubbish bins, compost heaps or any place where food is present, including drains. Rotting food is rich in germs, any of which a fly can pick up on their body and transfer to where it next lands.

These bacteria include E coli, Listeria, Shigella, and Salmonella, any of which can cause a potentially serious infection in even healthy people. The fruit fly, you realise, may have just deposited potentially lethal microbes in your wine, so you toss it in the sink and pour a fresh glass.

Alcohol is well known to be inhibitory to germs and is one reason wine can be stored for so long. Several laboratory studies have also shown that the combined effects of wine alcohol and organic acids, such as malic acid, can prevent the growth of E coli and Salmonella.