| Issue Date | 23.11.2021 |
|---|---|
| Source of Information | Centre for Food Safety |
| Food Product | Raw Oysters |
| Product Name and Description | Ready-to-eat Raw Oysters |
| Reason For Issuing Alert |
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| Action Taken by the Centre for Food Safety |
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| Advice to the Trade |
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| Advice to Consumers |
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| Further Information | The CFS press release |
Posted in Contaminated water, food contamination, food handler, Food Hazard, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Pathogen, Food Poisoning, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Food Toxin, Vibrio, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Water, water microbiology, Water Safety
Date published: 19 November 2021
SA Health has issued an emergency order to recall raw Pacific oysters (Magallana gigas) produced in Coffin Bay, SA, including fresh and frozen products.
The oysters have been available for sale direct from farms, seafood outlets, grocery stores and supermarkets in SA, NSW, ACT, QLD, VIC, NT and WA.
All production dates from and including 4 September 2021 up to and including 16 November 2021.
The recall is due to microbial (Vibrio parahaemolyticus) contamination.
Food products contaminated with (Vibrio parahaemolyticus) may cause illness if consumed.
Australia
Consumers are advised not to eat raw Pacific oysters from Coffin Bay, including fresh and frozen products. Any consumers concerned about their health should seek medical advice. Consumers should dispose of the oysters or return the oysters to the place of purchase for a full refund.
For further information please contact:
Posted in Contaminated water, food contamination, food handler, Food Hazard, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Pathogen, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, FSANZ, Vibrio, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Water, water microbiology, Water Safety
A global food safety network was involved in 65 incidents from July to September, which is more than earlier this year.
It is the third successive quarter that events involving the International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN) have gone up, with 63 from April to June and 56 in the first quarter of this year.
Salmonella was part of 46 incidents involving a biological hazard followed by Listeria with 11. Next was E. coli with four, a couple each for Bacillus cereus, Hepatitis A, Norovirus and Vibrio parahaemolyticus and one each for Clostridium botulinum and Staphylococcus aureus.
Vulnerable South Australians are reminded to avoid eating uncooked oysters after dozens of food-related illnesses linked to the consumption of raw oysters were reported in the past two months.
South Australia (SA Health’s) Acting Director of Food and Controlled Drugs Branch, Joanne Cammans, said 36 cases of Vibrio parahaemolyticus infections linked to eating raw oysters have been notified since September 2021, compared to no cases in 2020 and eight cases in 2019.
Posted in Contaminated water, food contamination, food handler, Food Hazard, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Pathogen, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Vibrio, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Water, water microbiology, Water Safety
The amount of coastal water in which harmful bacteria can live has increased 56% over the past few decades, a report published Wednesday found.
That bacteria family, called Vibrio, lives in salty or brackish coastal waters, including in the US and Canada. The infection it causes, vibriosis, is usually contracted by eating raw or undercooked seafood or by exposing a wound to bacteria-infested seawater. Mild cases resolve in about three days, but Vibrio can also cause severe diseases, including gastroenteritis, life-threatening cholera, dangerous wound infections, and sepsis.
One species of Vibrio bacteria, Vibrio vulnificus, is referred to as flesh-eating because the bacteria can aggressively destroy body tissue. Those infections, though rare, often require intensive care or amputation. And they can be fatal, killing one in five infected people, usually within two days, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The reasons Vibrio is becoming a greater threat are that sea surface temperatures are rising and seawater is getting saltier. That’s one of many alarming findings from the medical journal The Lancet’s sixth annual report on health and climate change. In it, researchers from academia and the United Nations tracked 44 indicators of health effects linked to climate change.
Posted in Contaminated water, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Research, Vibrio, Vibrio alginolyticus, Vibrio cholera, vibrio cholerae, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Vibrio vulnificans, Vibrio vulnificus, Water, water microbiology, Water Safety
The genus Vibrio, which belongs to the family Vibrionaceae and the class Gammaproteobacteria, includes many species that are potential human pathogens [1]. V. cholerae is a highly diverse species that consists of more than 200 serogroups [2]. Strains within the serogroups O1 and O139 produce cholera toxin and are the causative agents of endemic and epidemic cholera, which represent an important cause of morbidity and mortality in countries with inadequate access to clean water and sanitation facilities [3]. V. cholerae strains not included in these serogroups as well as other Vibrio spp. are referred to as non-cholera Vibrio spp. and are ubiquitous aquatic bacteria with a worldwide distribution, especially in warm estuarine and marine ecosystems [2]. These halophilic bacteria prefer low to moderate salinity (less than 25 parts per thousand (ppt) NaCl) [4]. The abundance of Vibrio spp. in marine and estuarine waters closely corresponds with the sea surface temperatures (SSTs) since they proliferate in warm water [5]. Thus, regional variations in environmental conditions are paramount importance in understanding the ecology of Vibrio spp.
Human infections with non-cholera Vibrio spp. can manifest as wound infections, ear infections, gastroenteritis, and primary septicaemia and have been predominantly reported in tropical and subtropical regions [6]. In Europe, cases are rare, and infections associated with the Mediterranean Sea [7–9], the Atlantic Ocean [10–12], or the Baltic Sea [13,14] have only been sporadically reported. However, a rapidly warming marine environment accompanied by an increase in extreme weather events such as heatwaves has resulted in unprecedented peak SSTs favouring the spread of Vibrio spp. worldwide. Recently, larger Vibrio spp. outbreaks have been reported in temperate regions such as Spain [15], Sweden, and Finland [16]. In Germany, Vibrio spp. other than toxigenic V. cholerae strains were not classified as reportable pathogenic agents before March 2020; to date, only a few cases have been reported and few case series of autochthonous infections have been published [17–20]. Over the last decades, resistance to various antibiotics, including to ampicillins, tetracyclines, and carbapenems, has emerged among Vibrio spp [21,22]. As a result of resistant isolates, the monitoring of antibiotic profiles of clinical and environmental Vibrio spp. has become of increasing importance. However, information on the number of human cases and the abundance of Vibrio spp. in coastal waters is scarce in most other European countries.
When we became aware of a high number of human infections with virulent Vibrio strains contracted in the Baltic Sea during the summer months of 2018 and 2019 (data not shown), we decided to conduct an observational retrospective multi-centre cohort study of domestically-acquired Vibrio infections. This study describes the epidemiology and the clinical impact of those infections and assesses antibiotic resistance patterns and phylogenetic relationships among clinical isolates. To determine the association between Vibrio infections and SST anomalies, we analysed the degree of warming in the south-western Baltic Sea, where the majority of the infections occurred.
Posted in Contaminated water, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Research, Vibrio, Vibrio albensis, Vibrio alginolyticus, Vibrio cholera, vibrio cholerae, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Vibrio vulnificans, Vibrio vulnificus, Water, water microbiology, Water Safety
Consumption of prawns as a protein source has been on the rise worldwide with seafood identified as the predominant attributable source of human vibriosis. However, surveillance of non-cholera Vibrio is limited both in public health and in food. Using a population- and market share-weighted study design, 211 prawn samples were collected and cultured for Vibrio spp. Contamination was detected in 46 % of samples, and multiple diverse Vibrio isolates were obtained from 34 % of positive samples. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) and phylogenetic analysis illustrated a comprehensive view of Vibrio species diversity in prawns available at retail, with no known pathogenicity markers identified in Vibrio parahaemolyticus and V. cholerae . Antimicrobial resistance genes were found in 77 % of isolates, and 12 % carried genes conferring resistance to three or more drug classes. Resistance genes were found predominantly in V. parahaemolyticus , though multiple resistance genes were also identified in V. cholerae and V. vulnificus . This study highlights the large diversity in Vibrio derived from prawns at retail, even within a single sample. Although there was little evidence in this study that prawns are a major source of vibriosis in the UK, surveillance of non-cholera Vibrio is very limited. This study illustrates the value of expanding WGS surveillance efforts of non-cholera Vibrios in the food chain to identify critical control points for food safety through the production system and to determine the full extent of the public health impact.
Posted in food contamination, Food Hazard, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Pathogen, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Temperature Abuse, Food Testing, Food Toxin, Research, Vibrio, Vibrio alginolyticus, Vibrio cholera, vibrio cholerae, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Vibrio vulnificans, Vibrio vulnificus
Presenza vibrio parahaemolyticus in mitili/presence of Vibrio parahaemolyticus in mussels from Spain in Italy
Posted in food contamination, food handler, Food Hazard, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Pathogen, Food Poisoning, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Food Toxin, RASFF, Vibrio, Vibrio parahaemolyticus
The Florida Department of Health reported Friday an additional Vibrio vulnificus case and death in Orange County, bringing the state total to 19 cases and seven deaths so far in 2021.
The even fatalities have been reported in Manatee (2), Duval, Escambia, Lee, Orange and Polk counties.
Since 2008, state officials have reported 471 cases and 124 deaths, including 36 cases and 7 deaths in 2020.
Vibrio vulnificus can cause disease in those who eat contaminated seafood or have an open wound that is exposed to warm seawater containing the bacteria. Ingestion of Vibrio vulnificus can cause vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain. Vibrio vulnificus can also cause an infection of the skin when open wounds are exposed to warm seawater; these infections may lead to skin breakdown and ulcers.
Vibrios are some of the most unwelcome bacteria in the global shrimp farming sector, causing diseases including EMS and costing the sector billions as year. However, as we explain in this article, there are a huge number of ways for farmers to reduce the risks of vibrio-related diseases.
FoodWorld 