Czech Republic – Officials warn of increase in E. coli infections

Posted on July 5, 2022 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety News

A rise in Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) infections has prompted a warning by health officials in the Czech Republic.

The National Institute of Public Health (SZU) reported that in the first six months of this year 25 cases have been recorded and 15 of them occurred in the past two months.

Eight were reported in May and seven in June. That is more than half of all cases so far in 2022. The majority of those sick are children under the age of five. In 2021, 46 cases were recorded.

Sick people come from across the country but mostly Prague, the South Moravian and South Bohemian regions. Twelve infections were caused by E. coli O26 and six by E. coli O157.

People can become infected by contact with animals, eating insufficiently cooked meat, drinking unpasteurized milk, or by contact with an infected person.

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Posted in E.coli, E.coli O157, E.coli O157:H7, E.coli O26, 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

Hong Kong – Smoked Norwegian Salmon Slices with Dill – Listeria monocytogenes

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CFS

CFS urges public not to consume a kind of prepackaged chilled smoked salmon suspected to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes

Issue Date 30.6.2022
Source of Information The Centre for Food Safety – Routine Food Surveillance Programme
Food Product Prepackaged chilled smoked salmon
Product Name and Description Product name: Smoked Norwegian Salmon Slices with Dill

Place of origin: Hong Kong

Net weight: 100 grams per pack
Use-by date: All batches on or after June 25, 2022
Distributor: Polyfood Service Co. Ltd
Reason For Issuing Alert
  • The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) collected the above-mentioned smoked salmon sample from an online shop for testing under its routine Food Surveillance Programme. The test result showed the presence of Listeria monocytogenes in 25 grams of the sample, exceeding the standard of the Microbiological Guidelines for Food which states that Listeria monocytogenes should not be detected in 25 grams of food.
Action Taken by the Centre for Food Safety
  • The CFS has informed the manufacturer concerned of the test result and instructed it to stop sale and remove from shelves the affected product, and initiate a recall.
  • The CFS visited the concerned production facilities immediately for investigation and instructed the management to perform cleansing and disinfection.
  • The CFS will alert the trade to the incident, and will continue to follow up and take appropriate action. Investigation is ongoing.
Advice to the Trade
  • Stop using or selling the product concerned immediately if they possess it.
Advice to Consumers
  • Not to consume the affected product if they have bought any.
Further Information  The CFS press release

For enquiries about the recall, members of the public may call the manufacturer at 2898 9962/ 6366 0067 during office hours.

(For reference only)

Centre for Food Safety
Food and Environmental Hygiene Department
2022-6-30

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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 Testing, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes

India – 15 students fall ill after suspected food poisoning in UP residential school

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India Tv News

Food poisoning in school: At least 15 girl students of a residential school in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur district were admitted to a community health centre following complaints of vomiting and uneasiness, a senior official said on Monday.

The incident took place on Sunday at the Kasturba Gandhi Residential School in Mehngi village, District Magistrate Akhilesh Singh said. Among the 15, condition of three was stated to be serious, he said, adding prima facie it appears to be a case of food poisoning.

A magisterial probe has been ordered into the matter by Additional District Magistrate, Administration, Chief Medical Officer and district basic education officer. The team of officers will give their report within 48 hours, the DM said.

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Posted in Decontamination Microbial, Food Illness, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Poisoning, Foodborne Illness, Illness, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, Poisoning

USA – Hy-Vee Voluntarily Withdraws All Potato Salad Varieties Due to Presumptive Positive Microbial Test Result

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Hy Vee

Out of an abundance of caution, Hy-Vee, Inc. is voluntarily withdrawing all varieties and all sizes of its Hy-Vee Potato Salad and Mealtime Potato Salad due to a presumptive positive microbial result on the line that the potatoes were processed on. While final test results are not expected for approximately 7-10 days, due to the holiday weekend Hy-Vee elected to withdraw all product today from its shelves and service cases pending final test results.

The voluntary withdrawal includes all varieties and all sizes of Hy-Vee Potato Salad and Mealtime Potato Salad available from grab-and-go refrigerated cases and/or deli service cases in all Hy-Vee, Hy-Vee Drugstore and Dollar Fresh Market locations – as we well as Hy-Vee Fast and Fresh convenience stores – across the company’s eight-state region of Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wisconsin. The expiration dates are between July 31, 2022, and Aug. 4, 2022.

The list below outlines the products that have been withdrawn. No other Hy-Vee or Mealtime branded salads are impacted. To date, there have been no reports of illness or complaints involving the products addressed in this withdrawal.

• HY-VEE OLD FASHIONED POTATO SALAD
• HY-VEE COUNTRY STYLE POTATO SALAD
• HY-VEE DIJON MUSTARD POTATO SALAD
• HY-VEE GREEN ONION & EGG POTATO SALAD
• HY-VEE CHIPOTLE RANCH POTATO SALAD
• HY-VEE DICED RED SKIN POTATO SALAD
• HY-VEE LOADED BAKED POTATO SALAD
• MEALTIME OLD FASHIONED POTATO SALAD
• MEALTIME COUNTRY STYLE POTATO SALAD
• MEALTIME DIJON MUSTARD POTATO SALAD

Customers who have purchased any of these products are urged not to consume the product and dispose of it or return it to their local Hy-Vee for a full refund.

Consumers with questions may contact Hy-Vee Customer Care at customercare@hy-vee.com.

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Posted in Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk

USA – Big Olaf Ice Cream Listeria Outbreak Joins List of Other Brands

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Food Poisoning Bulletin

The Big Olaf Ice Cream Listeria monocytogenes outbreak joins a list of other brands that have caused illnesses over the past decade. The CDC has named Big Olaf ice cream in the new outbreak centered in Florida that has sickened at least 23 people. A recall has not been issued, but the company is contacting their customers to “recommend” against selling their products.

Big Olaf ice cream is only sold in Florida, where most of the ill persons live. And among the 82% of patients who ate ice cream before they got sick and were interviewed by government officials, six said they ate Big Olaf Creamery brand ice cream or ate at restaurants where that ice cream was served.

Over the years there have been dozens of recalls of ice cream for possible Listeria contamination. In fact, in 2019 the FDA improved ice cream production safety after a string of recalls for Listeria monocytogenes contamination. During an investigation that year, the FDA found Listeria monocytogenes in 19 of the 89 ice cream establishments, and in 65 of the 5,295 subsamples.

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Posted in food bourne outbreak, 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 recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Illness, outbreak

New Zealand – Jif brand Creamy Peanut Butter -Salmonella

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MPI

Jar of Jif brand Creamy Peanut Butter (1.13kg)

Jif brand Creamy Peanut Butter
5 July 2022: Martha’s Backyard Ltd is recalling a specific batch of Jif brand Creamy Peanut Butter due to the possible presence of Salmonella.

Product identification
Product type Peanut butter
Name of product (size) Jif brand Creamy Peanut Butter (1.13kg)
Batch marking 2060 425
Date marking Best If Used By: MAR 01 2024
Package size and description The product is sold in a 1.13kg plastic jar.
Distribution The product is imported from the United States of America.

The product was sold at Martha’s Backyard, Unit K, 44 Mount Wellington Highway, Auckland between 1 July and 4 July 2022.

The product has not been re-exported.
Notes This recall does not affect any other Jif brand products or any other products imported by Martha’s Backyard Ltd.

Consumer advice

Customers are asked to check the batch and date mark on the back of the product.

Affected product should not be consumed. There have been reports of illness in the United States of America linked to Jif brand Peanut Butter. If you have consumed this product and have any concerns about your health, seek medical advice.

Customers should return the product to their retailer for a full refund.

More information on Salmonella

Who to contact

If you have questions, contact Martha’s Backyard Ltd:

  • Phone: 09 570 7976
  • Address: Unit K, 44 Mount Wellington Highway, Auckland.

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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, MPI, Salmonella, Salmonella Peanut Butter

Austria – S-BUDGET ASTORIA Natural still mineral water in a 1.5 liter non-returnable bottle – Coliforms

Posted on July 5, 2022 by | Leave a comment

AGES

AGES informs about a recall of the company SPAR. On July 4th, 2022, the company recalled the product S-BUDGET ASTORIA still natural mineral water in the 1.5 liter non-returnable bottle:
recall reason
coliform bacteria
Marketed by
SAVE
Manufacturer
SPAR S BUDGET
Expiry Date
06/01/2023

As a precaution, SPAR is recalling S-BUDGET ASTORIA natural mineral water still in the 1.5 liter non-returnable bottle

Salzburg (OTS) – SPAR continuously controls the products of the SPAR brands to ensure the highest quality. During a routine quality control, the product “S-BUDGET ASTORIA natural mineral water still in the 1.5 liter disposable bottle” with best-before dates (MHD) 05/31/2023 and 06/01/2023 was found to contain a small amount of coliform bacteria that is greater than the permissible limit established. For this reason, SPAR is recalling the product with the above best before dates.

Customers are asked not to drink the “S-BUDGET ASTORIA natural mineral water still in the 1.5 liter disposable bottle”. All other S-BUDGET products or mineral water from other SPAR brands are not affected by this recall.

All customers who have already bought one of the products that may be affected can of course return it to the nearest SPAR, EUROSPAR or INTERSPAR store or Maximarkt. Customers are reimbursed the purchase price even without proof of purchase.

Customers who have questions about this are welcome to contact customer service at office@spar.at or call the freephone number 0800 / 22 11 20 .

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Posted in Coliforms, Contaminated water, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, Water, water microbiology, Water Safety

Research – Is Our Ground Meat Safe to Eat?

Posted on July 4, 2022 by | Leave a comment

Consumer Reports

Americans love meat—especially ground meat.

We shape it into burgers, meatballs, and meatloaf; stir it into chili and pasta sauce; and stuff it into peppers, lasagna, and tacos. Americans like it so much that in 2021 alone, we purchased more than $13 billion worth of ground beef, turkey, pork, and chicken.

But our love of ground meat comes at a price: It’s a leading cause of food poisoning. Since 2018, 11 outbreaks of illness have been traced back to raw meat, sickening a reported 1,264 people—and at least eight of them involved ground meat, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

To assess the current state of the nation’s ground meat supply, Consumer Reports recently tested 351 packages of ground beef, pork, chicken, and turkey purchased at stores throughout the country. (Read more about how we tested (PDF).) What we found was alarming.

Almost a third of the ground chicken packages we tested contained salmonella. We also found those bacteria in a few samples of ground beef, pork, and turkey. Particularly worrisome: Every single strain of salmonella was resistant to at least one antibiotic (see “Why Superbugs Are in Your Meat,” below).

CR also found a strain of E. coli in a sample of ground beef that is so dangerous that we immediately alerted the Department of Agriculture to our findings, triggering a recall of more than 28,000 pounds of the meat from major grocery chains in seven Western states.

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Posted in E.coli, 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, Salmonella

France – BURRATA CON LATTE DI BUFALA – Listeria monocytogenes

Posted on July 4, 2022 by | Leave a comment

Gov france

Identification information of the recalled product

  • Product category Feed
  • Product subcategory Milk and dairy products
  • Product brand name GIOVANNI FERRARI
  • Model names or references125g jar
  • Identification of products
    GTIN Batch Date
    8001230018430 from lot L22152 to lot L22169 Use-by date between 06/29/2022 and 07/16/2022
  • Packaging dark blue plastic pot (see photo)
  • Marketing start/end date From 06/13/2022 to 07/01/2022
  • Storage temperature Product to be stored in the refrigerator
  • Health mark IT 15 630 EC
  • Further information dark blue plastic pot (see photo)
  • Geographic area of ​​sale Whole France
  • Distributors carrefour, carrefour market, Auchan, hyper and super casino, cora, Intermarché, Leclerc, super U, Prodilac

Practical information regarding the recall

  • Reason for recall Presence of listeria monocytogenes
  • Risks incurred by the consumer Listeria monocytogenes (causative agent of listeriosis)

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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 Testing, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes

France – White chocolate ganache tartlet / raspberry coulis -Salmonella

Posted on July 4, 2022 by | Leave a comment

Gov france

Identification information of the recalled product

  • Product category Feed
  • Product subcategory Sweet products
  • Product brand name BAKERY INTERMARCHE MONTRICHARD
  • Model names or references White chocolate ganache tartlet / raspberry coulis
  • Identification of products
    GTIN Date
    0000000000000000 Use-by date between 05/29/2022 and 06/10/2022
  • Packaging Sold individually in a traditional department, packaged according to customer demand (individually, several)
  • Marketing start/end date From 05/27/2022 to 06/08/2022
  • Storage temperature Product to be stored in the refrigerator
  • Further information White chocolate ganache tartlet / raspberry coulis
  • Geographic area of ​​sale Whole France
  • Distributors INTERMARCHE

Practical information regarding the recall

  • Reason for recall SALMONELLA
  • Risks incurred by the consumer Salmonella spp (causative agent of salmonellosis)

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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 Testing, Salmonella