Category Archives: Uncategorized

Food Safety.gov

Just like cereal boxes sometimes have prizes inside, the whole chicken in your refrigerator may also have prizes inside.  The prizes inside whole poultry are the giblets, which do not look similar to wings or other raw poultry items, but they still require the same safe food handling practices to prevent foodborne illness.

USDA

By Dennis O’Brien
January 20, 2016

An Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientist in Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania, and his collaborators have developed an antimicrobial wash that reduces the risk of foodborne pathogens contaminating fresh produce.

Joshua Gurtler and scientists at NatureSeal Inc. have found that a combination of lactic acid, fruit acids, and hydrogen peroxide can be used in a produce rinse for commercial food distributors. NatureSeal, based in Westport, Connecticut, already markets an anti-browning wash developed by another ARS team in the 1990’s for sliced apples and 18 other types of produce.

E. coli, Listeria, Salmonella and other foodborne pathogens sicken approximately 1 in 6 Americans (48 million people) each year. A recent U.S. outbreak of Salmonella associated with cucumbers sickened over 765 people in 36 states and killed 4.

First Step+ 10 is designed to reduce those numbers, and is expected to be used in the commercial flumes and rinse tanks that wash fresh produce, Gurtler says. The ingredients are all classified as Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The wash also has been approved for use in Canada; is U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) certified organic; is biodegradable; and does not affect the taste, texture, smell, or appearance of produce.

To save water, some food processors reuse wash water, a practice that can contaminate produce in subsequent washes. Along with reducing the risk of contamination, the new rinse will cut back on waste water because processors won’t have to replace water in their tanks as frequently.

To test First Step+ 10, Gurtler inoculated fresh cut apples, baby spinach, cantaloupe rind, and cherry tomatoes with highly resistant outbreak strains of E. coli O157:H7, Listeria, and Salmonella. He soaked them in the wash for 5 minutes and then measured pathogen levels in the wash water and on the produce. The antimicrobial wash reduced pathogen levels on the produce by 99.99 percent. It also rid the wash water of 100 percent of pathogens, making it safer to reuse.

Along with securing FDA approval, Gurtler and his collaborators at NatureSeal have filed a patent application and presented findings at scientific meetings.

ARS is USDA’s chief intramural scientific research agency.

Read more about this work in the January 2016 issue of AgResearch.

E.coli Blog

Pizza Ranch desserts have been linked to E. coli O157:H7 food poisonings in nine states.

The outbreak started in December, mainly among people who had eaten at the Iowa-based chain’s restaurants.  The CDC reports that 13 people were sickened in Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, North Carolina, Nebraska, New Jersey, South Dakota and Wisconsin . Nine of the people said they recently had eaten at Pizza Ranches.  Two children, in Kansas and Nebraska, suffered kidney failure (hemolytic uremic syndrome – HUS) and had to be hospitalized.

The investigation has focused on a dry dough mix used to make desserts

FDA

SAN DIEGO – Bumble Bee Foods, LLC announced today that it is voluntarily recalling 3 specific UPC codes of canned Chunk Light tuna due to process deviations that occurred in a co-pack facility not owned or operated by Bumble Bee. These deviations were part of the commercial sterilization process and could result in contamination by spoilage organisms or pathogens, which could lead to life-threatening illness if consumed. It is important to note that there have been no reports of illness associated with these products to date. No other production codes or products are affected by this recall.

There are a total of 31,579 cases that are included in the recall which were produced in February 2016 and distributed nationally. The products subject to this recall are marked with a can code that starts with a “T” (example: TOA2BSCAFB) and have the following “best by” dates: see link above

FSANZ

FDA

Ashland Food Co-op is recalling Organic Raw Macadamia nuts because it has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella, an organism which 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 (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis.

Ashland Food Co-op (AFC) sold affected Organic Raw Macadamia nuts in random weight bags between January 5th, 2016 and February 4th, 2016. The nuts have a one month shelf life if refrigerated and were packaged in clear cellophane bags of random weights with an AFC bulk label (see example below).

No illnesses have been reported to date in connection with AFC product. We initiated this recall because we were notified by our supplier, Hummingbird, of the bulk Organic Raw Macadamia nuts recall.

Food Safety Brazil Blog – Translated by Google

you follow the Food Safety Brazil blog, you know that two new laws published in the Official Gazette in recent months are “making the rounds” here and in many meetings of food safety teams of Brazilian companies, is not it?

 They are the RDC 24/2015 and RDC 26/2015 which deal, respectively, procedures for collection and labelling of allergens in food. . The deadlines for compliance are 180 days for payment and twelve months to allergens, ie, in July 2016 we both resolutions into effect and suitable for inspection and / or assessment by the Health Surveillance.

The Times of India

NAVI MUMBAI: As many as 40 female students pursuing BSc Nursing at MGM College in Kamothe have been hospitalised after dinner at the college, the cause of the food poisoning is not known.

The Union Democrat

A boil-water advisory for customers of the Blue Bell Valley Mutual Water Company remained in effect Monday near Standard as a technician flushed system pipes in response to tests last week that showed unacceptable levels of fecal coliform. “We’re going to let the chlorine set overnight and take bacteriological samples tomorrow morning,” John Turner, a licensed contract water operator for Blue Bell, said Monday afternoon.

13WIBW

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – They may look cute and cuddly, but the Kansas Department of Health and Environment is warning that those sweet baby chicks could make people sick.

KDHE says live baby poultry can carry salmonella, which can be easily spread to people, especially children.

Many people raise poultry for meat or egg production and, this time of year, many children receive them as gifts during Easter or visit feed stores where they may interact with the birds.

To avoid infection, KDHE says to wash hands thoroughly with soap and water right after handling live baby chicks; clean any equipment where baby chicks or being raised; never let children under five or with weak immune systems handle or touch chicks or ducklings; and do not kiss, snuggle, drink or eat around live poultry.