Tag Archives: health

Canada – 24 Cases E.coli 0157 Source Unknown

Posted on May 5, 2012 by | Leave a comment

CBCNEWS

At least 24 people in New Brunswick are sick with symptoms of E. coli infection, including eight who are in hospital, but the source of the outbreak remains unclear.

“While laboratory testing continues, several cases have been confirmed as E. coli O157:H7, a severe strain that can sometimes cause serious illness.”

Authorities do have suspicions of the cause, based on some common food sources, he said. But he doesn’t want to say anything definite yet, he said.

“It is common products at this point that people have eaten. I don’t want to name one versus another one without any good evidence at this stage because it wouldn’t be good for people to, for example, stop eating any of a particular food, just because they might be afraid that they may become sick. We really don’t have good evidence.”

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has been involved in testing some food products.

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Posted in Bacteria, E.coli, E.coli O157, EHEC, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Poisoning, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen

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New Zealand Hummus Recall – Listeria

Posted on May 4, 2012 by | Leave a comment

The Press NZ

A popular brand of hummus has been recalled because it may contain a bug which can cause severe diarrhoea and vomiting. Life Health Food (LHF) announced yesterday that they were recalling Lisa’s Organic Hummus Roasted Garlic dip with an expiry date of May 11 2012, because it had tested positive for listeria during routine testing. Listeria is a bacteria which can cause the serious illness listeriosis, symptoms of which can include fever, headache, diarrhoea and vomiting.

About 300 tubs of the hummus have already been sold, virtually all in the South Island.

There have been no reports of illness as of yet, but consumers who felt unwell after eating the product were advised to seek medical advice.

 

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USDA – New Food Safety Initiatives

Posted on May 3, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Food Poisoning Journal

The U.S. Department of Agriculture today announced a series of policy measures that will better protect consumers from foodborne illness in meat and poultry products. These measures will significantly improve the ability of both plants and USDA to trace contaminated food materials in the supply chain, to act against contaminated products sooner, and to establish the effectiveness of food safety systems.

Some of these actions include:

• Zero tolerance policy for six Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) serogroups. Raw ground beef, its components, and tenderized steaks found to contain E. coli O26, O103, O45, O111, O121 or O145 will be prohibited from sale to consumers. USDA will launch a testing program to detect these dangerous pathogens and prevent them from reaching consumers.

• Test and hold policy that will significantly reduce consumer exposure to unsafe meat products, should the policy become final, because products cannot be released into commerce until Agency test results for dangerous contaminants are known.

• Labelling requirements that provide better information to consumers about their food by requiring nutrition information for single-ingredient raw meat and poultry products and ground or chopped products.

• Public Health Information System, a modernised, comprehensive database about public health trends and food safety violations at the nearly 6,100 plants FSIS regulates.

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Posted in Bacteria, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Safety, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, USDA

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Wales Cryptosporidium Outbreak Update

Posted on May 1, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Public Health Wales 

A further four people have been clinically diagnosed with cryptosporidiosis and are linked to the outbreak associated with a farm in Cwmbran.
 
The four new cases bring the total number of confirmed cases investigated as part of the outbreak to eight. All cases were either members of staff or volunteers who bottle fed unwell animals. These animals have now been removed from the farm.
 
Public Health Wales and Torfaen County Borough Council with the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency are continuing to investigate the outbreak of cryptosporidiosis, and extra control measures are now in place to ensure that risks to farm visitors and staff are kept to a minimum.
 

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Posted in Cryptosporidium, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Safety, Foodborne Illness, Microbiology, Pathogen

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Soya Bean Sprouts Recall Listeria monocytogenes

Posted on April 28, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Listeria Blog

The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) announced today that Henry’s Farm Inc. of Woodford, VA is recalling all packages of Soybean Sprouts because they may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections to individuals with weakened immune systems.

No illness has been reported to date.

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Posted in Bacteria, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Microbiology, Pathogen, Recall

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FDA Reportable Food Registry – Microbiology/Allergens

Posted on April 26, 2012 by | Leave a comment

The Reportable Food Registry is an electronic portal where food companies report issues with a food where that food is likely to cause illness. This report has a lot of interesting data about the break down of which commodities caused food safety issues.

Link to FDA PDF Report

Web Page Link

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Posted in Bacteria, Clostridium botulinum, E.coli, E.coli O157, EHEC, Eurofins Laboratories, FDA, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Technology, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen, Research, Toxin

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New Salmonella Infection Research

Posted on April 26, 2012 by | Leave a comment

PhysOrg

BBSRC-funded researchers at Cambridge University have shed new light on a common food poisoning bug. Using real-time video microscopy, coupled with mathematical modelling, they have changed our assumptions about Salmonella and how it infects human cells. The research was published in Interface.

Their research found that many incorrect assumptions had been made about Salmonella infection, particularly that macrophages are highly susceptible to infection. Their data showed that infection occurrences after initial contact between a bacterium and macrophage were low. The probability of that bacterium infecting the cell is less than 5 per cent. However, they also showed that an infected macrophage can be reinfected by a second bacterium. The concept of reinfection by Salmonella had not been considered before and this previously overlooked mechanism may make an important contribution to total bacterial numbers in infection studies.

The study also highlighted the fact that some cells are far more susceptible to infection than others. Rather than grouping all macrophages together in terms of their susceptibility to infection, the research shows that there is a spectrum of susceptibility.

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Posted in Bacteria, Food Technology, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Microbiology, Research, Salmonella

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UK – Salmonella Control for Pigs

Posted on April 24, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Farming UK 

Animal nutrition specialists Optivite have launched a new salmonella control programme for pigs. The programme looks at meeting an overall need rather than looking at problems in isolation.

The programme includes:

1. Good bacterial control in feed and the intestine which helps the sow maintain a more positive intestinal microflora.

Preparing the sow is an important part of the programme. A piglets first contact with the outside environment is through the sow as birth involves the passing of the piglet from a sterile environment within the sow, through the birth canal and into the farrowing house where the Salmonella cell count will be much higher.

2. Enabling a successful continuity through the life cycle. It is important to ensure the protection of the baby pigs once they have lost the passive protection of their mothers’ milk.

Powerful water disinfectants can also be included in the drinking water as part of the programme to remove other potential sources of salmonella infection, especially in older systems where exposed header tanks may become contaminated.

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Posted in Bacteria, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Hygiene, Food Technology, Food Testing, Microbiology, Pathogen, Research, Salmonella

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Foot Long Subs – Listeria monocytogenes

Posted on April 18, 2012 by | Leave a comment

FDA

M.E. Thompson, Inc. is expanding the recall of its Anytime Deli Turkey & Ham Footlong, to include Italian Footlong, and Classic Cuban, because the products have the potential to be contaminated with Listeria Monocytogenes, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.  Healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea.  Listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.

The initial date of the recall was January 24, 2012.

The following products with expiration dates from January 19th through May 2nd and lot number from 00112 through 10412 are being recalled:

Turkey & Ham Footlong  UPC 0543200194
Italian Footlong UPC 0543200196
Classic Cuban UPC 0543200156

The sub sandwiches were distributed on January 2nd through April 13th to convenience and grocery stores nationwide under the labels Anytime Deli, Sandwich Central and Dandee.  All sandwiches are packaged in white butcher wrap.  The Best Buy date and/or the Lot Number are located on the white press on circular label. The UPC Code is located on the bottom of the product beneath the Ingredient and Nutrition Facts label.

No confirmed illnesses have been reported to date.

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Posted in Bacteria, Eurofins Laboratories, FDA, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Microbiology, Pathogen, Recall

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Norovirus at Tennis Tournament

Posted on April 18, 2012 by | 3 comments

mydesert.com

A highly contagious stomach flu contracted through touch was the cause of some cases of nausea, diarrhea and chills that afflicted players and staff at the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament in March.

The illness knocked several top players out of the world-class BNP event at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

“Some individuals were tested and we did have some positive results for norovirus,” said Barbara Cole, director of disease control for the Riverside County Department of Health.

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Posted in Eurofins Laboratories, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Virus, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen

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