Belgium – Additive in Barry Callebaut chocolate Salmonella case came from Hungary

Posted on July 11, 2022 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety News

The contaminated raw materials that forced Barry Callebaut to halt chocolate production in Belgium came from Hungary.

One batch of lecithin was unloaded at the Wieze factory on June 25. Barry Callebaut confirmed Salmonella Tennessee has been identified in the lecithin system of the factory and in samples of the delivered material. This batch came from a lecithin manufacturer in Hungary and was transported by a third party. The lecithin involved is only used at this site.

On June 27, Barry Callebaut detected a Salmonella positive on a production lot manufactured in Wieze and lecithin was identified as the source of the contamination on June 29.

Lecithin is used in all chocolate production lines in Wieze, so the company decided to stop the lines and to block all chocolate products manufactured from June 25 to 29, except for cocoa production which is not linked to the lecithin circuit.

On July 1, Barry Callebaut confirmed that, based on its internal investigation, no affected products had entered the retail food chain. No implicated chocolate has been exported by the company outside Europe.

Leave a comment

Posted in food contamination, food handler, 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 Safety Management, Food Testing, Salmonella, Salmonella in Chocolate

USA – Starbucks withdraws new chicken sandwich over quality concerns

Posted on July 11, 2022 by | Leave a comment

NBC

Starbucks has withdrawn a recently introduced breakfast chicken sandwich from its locations, saying Friday the seasonal item failed to meet its standards for quality.

The Seattle-based company said it issued a voluntary “stop sell” for its chicken, maple butter and egg sandwich on June 26. Any claims the item caused specific illness are simply false, Starbucks said.

Unverified reports on social media claim the sandwich made a few people sick. The crowdsourced website iwaspoisoned.com, which is dedicated to tracking foodborne illness outbreaks and credited with helping identify several outbreaks, logged five claims the sandwich made customers feel ill, at least temporarily.

“The quality issue that was identified by Starbucks would not lead to food borne illness and any reports linking the stop sale to illness are inaccurate,” Starbucks said in a statement.

Leave a comment

Posted in Food Illness, Foodborne Illness, Illness

Luxembourg – E.coli – COCKLES (MOLLUSCS) ON SALE AT CORA FOETZ

Posted on July 11, 2022 by | Leave a comment

SAP

COCKLES (MOLLUSCS) ON SALE AT CORA FOETZ

Cora Group is recalling the following product:

 

Last name

Cockles (molluscs)

Mark

/

Unity

UNIT_PRODUCT

bar code

0218450000000

DLCs ​​/ DDMs

on sale at the Store between 06/07 and 08/07/2022

Batch

/

 

E. coli is a common bacterium in the digestive tract of humans and animals.It indicates faecal contamination that could be related to the presence of other faecal pathogens

Sale in Luxembourg by: Cora Foetz

A sale by other operators cannot be excluded.

Source of Information: Cora Group Recall Notification

Communicated by: Government Commission for Quality, Fraud and Food Safety .

Cora Foetz

Leave a comment

Posted in E.coli, 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

Germany – Wilhelm Brandenburg farmer ham, cooked ham, smoked – Listeria monocytogenes

Posted on July 11, 2022 by | Leave a comment

LMW

Alert type: Food
Date of first publication: 07/08/2022
Product name:

Wilhelm Brandenburg farmer ham, cooked ham, smoked

Product images:

Farmer-Schinken.jpg

Wilhelm Brandenburg GmbH & Co. oHG

Manufacturer (distributor):

Wilhelm Brandenburg GmbH & Co. oHG Waechtersbacher Strasse 101 60386 Frankfurt am Main

Reason for warning:

Detection of Listeria monocytogenes

Packaging Unit: 100 g
Durability: 07/31/2022
Lot identification: 0009532970
Further information:

Please refer to the attached press release.

Manufacturer’s website:

https://www.wilhelmbrandenburg.de/

Leave a comment

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 recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Safety Management, Food Testing, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes

France – ALBACORE TUNA LOIN – Histamine

Posted on July 11, 2022 by | Leave a comment

Gov france

Identification information of the recalled product

  • Product category Feed
  • Product subcategory Fishery and aquaculture products
  • Product brand name/
  • Model names or references ALBACORE TUNA LOIN SOLD AT THE FISH STALL OF THE FOLLOWING STORES
  • Identification of products
    Batch
    ALBACORE TUNA LOIN SOLD BETWEEN 28/06 AND 07/07/2022 AT THE FISH STALL OF THE FOLLOWING STORES
  • Products List poster_thon.pdf Attachment
  • Packaging/
  • Marketing start/end date From 06/28/2022 to 07/07/2022
  • Storage temperature Product to be stored in the refrigerator
  • Health mark/
  • Further information/
  • Geographic area of ​​sale Auchan de Plaisir stores, Saint-Jean-de-la-Ruelle, Saint-Sébastien, Chambray Les Tours, Saint Cyr, Roncq, Englos, Louvroil, Dunkirk, Cambrai, Fâches Thumesnil, Saint-Omer, Aubière, Cosne sur Loire, Dury Amiens, Soisy, Bi1 stores in Saint Savine, Buxy and La Chapelle La Reine.
  • Distributors Auchan and Bi1 stores

Practical information regarding the recall

  • Reason for recall Presence of histamine, risk of acute allergy
  • Risks incurred by the consumer Endogenous toxins: histamine (fish, cheese, alcoholic beverages, meats)

Leave a comment

Posted in food contamination, food handler, Food Hazard, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Poisoning, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Food Toxin, Histamine, Toxin

Research – Risk factors for campylobacteriosis in Australia: outcomes of a 2018–2019 case–control study

Posted on July 10, 2022 by | Leave a comment

BMC

Campylobacter kswfoodworld

Background

We aimed to identify risk factors for sporadic campylobacteriosis in Australia, and to compare these for Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli infections.

Methods

In a multi-jurisdictional case–control study, we recruited culture-confirmed cases of campylobacteriosis reported to state and territory health departments from February 2018 through October 2019. We recruited controls from notified influenza cases in the previous 12 months that were frequency matched to cases by age group, sex, and location. Campylobacter isolates were confirmed to species level by public health laboratories using molecular methods. We conducted backward stepwise multivariable logistic regression to identify significant risk factors.

Results

We recruited 571 cases of campylobacteriosis (422 C. jejuni and 84 C. coli) and 586 controls. Important risk factors for campylobacteriosis included eating undercooked chicken (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 70, 95% CI 13–1296) or cooked chicken (aOR 1.7, 95% CI 1.1–2.8), owning a pet dog aged < 6 months (aOR 6.4, 95% CI 3.4–12), and the regular use of proton-pump inhibitors in the 4 weeks prior to illness (aOR 2.8, 95% CI 1.9–4.3). Risk factors remained similar when analysed specifically for C. jejuni infection. Unique risks for C. coli infection included eating chicken pâté (aOR 6.1, 95% CI 1.5–25) and delicatessen meats (aOR 1.8, 95% CI 1.0–3.3). Eating any chicken carried a high population attributable fraction for campylobacteriosis of 42% (95% CI 13–68), while the attributable fraction for proton-pump inhibitors was 13% (95% CI 8.3–18) and owning a pet dog aged < 6 months was 9.6% (95% CI 6.5–13). The population attributable fractions for these variables were similar when analysed by campylobacter species. Eating delicatessen meats was attributed to 31% (95% CI 0.0–54) of cases for C. coli and eating chicken pâté was attributed to 6.0% (95% CI 0.0–11).

Conclusions

The main risk factor for campylobacteriosis in Australia is consumption of chicken meat. However, contact with young pet dogs may also be an important source of infection. Proton-pump inhibitors are likely to increase vulnerability to infection.

Leave a comment

Posted in Campylobacter, campylobacter coli, Campylobacter jejuni, Decontamination Microbial, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, Research

Research – Genomic analysis of Listeria monocytogenes from US food processing environments reveals a high prevalence of QAC efflux genes but limited evidence of their contribution to environmental persistence

Posted on July 10, 2022 by | Leave a comment

Researchgate

Background Quaternary ammonium compound (QAC) efflux genes increase the minimum inhibitory concentration of Listeria monocytogenes ( Lm ) to benzalkonium chloride sanitizer, but the contribution of these genes to persistence in food processing environments is unclear.

The goal of this study was to leverage genomic data and associated metadata for 4969 Lm isolates collected between 1999 and 2019 to: (1) evaluate the prevalence of QAC efflux genes among Lm isolates from diverse US food processors, (2) use comparative genomic analyses to assess confounding factors, such as clonal complex identity and stress tolerance genotypes, and (3) identify patterns in QAC efflux gene gain and loss among persistent clones within specific facilities over time.

Results The QAC efflux gene cassette bcrABC was present in nearly half (46%) of all isolates. QAC efflux gene prevalence among isolates was associated with clonal complex (𝛘 ² < 0.001) and clonal complex was associated with the facility type (𝛘 ² < 0.001). Consequently, changes in the prevalence of QAC efflux genes within individual facilities were generally attributable to changes in the prevalence of specific clonal complexes. Additionally, a GWAS and targeted BLAST search revealed that clonal complexes with a high prevalence of QAC efflux genes commonly possessed other stress tolerance genes. For example, a high prevalence of bcrABC in a clonal complex was significantly associated with the presence of the SSI-1 gene cluster ( p < 0.05). QAC efflux gene gain and loss were both observed among persistent populations of Lm in individual facilities, suggesting a limited direct role for QAC efflux genes as predictors of persistence.

Conclusion This study suggests that although there is evidence that QAC efflux genes are part of a suite of adaptations common among Lm isolated from some food production environments, these genes may be neither sufficient nor necessary to enhance persistence. This is a crucial distinction for decision making in the food industry. For example, changes to sanitizer regimen targeting QAC tolerance would not address other contributing genetic or non-genetic factors, such as equipment hygienic design which physically mediates sanitizer exposure.

Leave a comment

Posted in Decontamination Microbial, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, Research

Research – Effect of citral on the thermal inactivation of Escherichia coli O104:H4 in ground beef

Posted on July 10, 2022 by | Leave a comment

Journal of Food Protection

The objective of the present study was to analyze the combined effect of heat treatment (55 to 62.5 °C) and citral (0 to 3%) on the heat resistance of Escherichia coli O104:H4 inoculated in ground beef. Inoculated meat packages were immersed in a circulating water bath stabilized at 55, 57.5, 60 and 62.5 °C for different times. The surviving microbial cells were counted in tryptic soy agar. A factorial design (4 x 4) was used to analyze the effect and interaction of heat treatment and citral. The results showed that heat and citral promoted E. coli O104:H4 thermal inactivation, suggesting a synergistic effect. At 55 °C, the incorporation of citral at 1, 2 and 3%, decreased D values (control: 42.75 min) by 85, 89, and 91%, respectively ( p < 0.05). Similarly, other evaluated temperatures exhibited a citral concentration-dependent effect ( P < 0.05). In conclusion, the findings could be a valuable tool for the food industry in designing a safe thermal process for inactivating E. coli O104:H4 in ground beef under similar thermal inactivation conditions.

Leave a comment

Posted in Decontamination Microbial, E.coli O104, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, Research, STEC, STEC E.coli

Research – Microbiological quality of ready-to-eat salad products collected from retail and catering settings in England during 2020-21 

Posted on July 9, 2022 by | Leave a comment

Journal of Food Protection

Salad and other fresh produce were collected in England from retail and catering during 2020-21 and  were tested for Salmonella, Shiga-toxin producing Escherichia coli (STEC), Listeria , Bacillus cereus , and generic E. coli. Of the 604 samples collected , 57% were from retail and 43% from catering: 61% were either salad leaves or salad leaves mixed with other products. Equal numbers of samples were prepacked or loose and 50% were refrigerated at the time of sampling. Combining results for all microbiological parameters, 84% were interpreted as satisfactory, 12% as borderline and 4% as unsatisfactory. One sample (prepacked  leaves, cucumber and tomato from a caterer) was categorised as unacceptable/potentially injurious due to detection of STEC O76, no STEC from human infections in the UK matched this isolate. No Salmonella enterica were detected but L. monocytogenes was recovered from 11 samples, one at 20 CFU/g the remainder at <20 CFU/g. B. cereus was detected at borderline levels (10 3 – <10 5 CFU/g) in 9% of samples and at an unsatisfactory level (>10 5 CFU/g) in one. E. coli were detected in 3% of samples at borderline (20 – <10 2 CFU/g) and in 4% at unsatisfactory (>10 2 CFU/g) levels. There was a significant association between the detection of L. monocytogenes and borderline/unsatisfactory levels of E. coli . There were no generic risks detected in association with the higher levels of B. cereus, STEC or Listeria but elevated levels of E. coli were predominantly confined to loose products from the UK and collected from caterers in the summer or autumn of 2021. Amongst the L. monocytogenes isolates, only one matched that from human cases and was recovered from a prepacked mixed salad from a catering business in 2021. This isolate was the same strain as that responsible for a multi country outbreak (2015-18) associated with Hungarian-produced frozen sweetcorn: no link to the outbreak food-chain was established.

Leave a comment

Posted in Bacillus cereus, Decontamination Microbial, E.coli, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, O76, Research, Salmonella, STEC, STEC E.coli

Research – Antimicrobial Susceptibility and Molecular Characterization of Escherichia coli Recovered from Milk and Related Samples

Posted on July 9, 2022 by | Leave a comment

MDPI

There is a rising concern about illnesses resulting from milk consumption due to contamination by pathogenic microorganisms including Escherichia coli. This study examined the occurrence and antimicrobial susceptibility of E. coli isolated from cow milk and related samples. Furthermore, partial sequencing was done to ascertain the genetic relatedness and possible cross contamination among the samples. In all, 250 samples, that is, 50 each of raw milk, cow teat, milkers’ hands, milking utensils, and fecal matter of cows, were cultured for the identification of E. coli. E. coli was detected in 101/250 samples (40.4%). Milk and fecal samples recorded the highest percentages of 68.0% and 66.0%, respectively. Forty-two (42) E. coli strains examined for antimicrobial resistance showed an overall 25.5% resistance, 15.0% intermediate resistance, and 59.5% susceptibility. The isolates had a high level of resistance to teicoplanin (100.0%), but were susceptible to chloramphenicol (95.2%) and azithromycin (92.9%). The Multiple Antibiotic Resistance (MAR) index pattern ranged from 0.1 to 0.5, and 40.5% exhibited multiple drug resistance. The E. coli strains formed 11 haplotypes, and a phylogenic tree analysis showed relatedness among the isolates in other African countries. This observation is an indication of cross contamination among the milk and its related samples. View Full-Text

Leave a comment

Posted in antimicrobial resistance, Antimicrobials, cross contamination, Decontamination Microbial, E.coli, Enteropathogenic E. coli, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Pathogen, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, Pathogen, pathogenic, Research