A recent test of packaged raw chicken products bought at grocery stores across the country found that roughly half of them were contaminated with the bacteria E. coli.
Personally I am not really suprised by this, there are also no enumerations, so no levels are ascertained and as it was produced by a group that advocates vegetarian diets.
Sushi is the likely source of a Salmonella outbreak, with spicy tuna roll sushi closely associated with Salmonella illnesses.
Seven students at a primary school in Southwest China remain in the hospital after they had eaten a free meal provided by the government and got sick, according to a local official.
The rest of the 79 students, who all attend the Babuzhen Central Primary School, in Bijie city’s Zhijin county, Guizhou province, have been discharged, according to Chen Guangshi, director of the county’s publicity department.
Eighty-six students at the school began to vomit and suffer abdominal pains after they had eaten the free breakfast on March 29.
Posted in Bacteria, Food Inspections, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Microbiology, Pathogen
Tagged health
A vaccine could be developed to prevent Campylobacter being carried in chickens. This approach could drastically cut the number of cases of food poisoning, saving the UK economy millions each year, says an American scientist presenting his work at the Society for General Microbiology’s Spring Conference in Dublin.
Scientists at Washington State University are studying the maternal antibodies that are passed from hens to their chicks. “These antibodies protect chicks from becoming colonized by Campylobacter in the first week of life,” explained Professor Michael Konkel who is leading the research. “Our group has now identified the bacterial molecules that these antibodies attack, which has given us a starting point for a vaccine against Campylobacter,” he said. “We have already found that chickens injected with these specific molecules – found on the surface of Campylobacter jejuni – produce antibodies against the bacterium. This response partially protects them from colonization.”
A vaccine could be a powerful weapon to help control food-borne illness. “Preventing contamination of poultry at slaughter has not been effective at reducing illness in humans. It has been shown that about 65% of chickens on retail sale in the UK are contaminated with Campylobacter,” explained Professor Konkel. “Ideally, the best way to prevent contamination is to stop chickens on the farm from becoming colonized with this microorganism in the first place, which could be achieved by vaccination. Our goal within the next 6 months is to test a vaccine for chickens that will reduce Campylobacter colonization levels. There’s still a long way to go, but I’m confident our lab and others are moving in the right direction.”
Posted in Bacteria, Campylobacter, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Safety, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Microbiology, Pathogen
Tagged health
The New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services (NJDHSS) Food and Drug Safety Program (FDSP) is warning the public not to consume any cheese products produced by El Ranchero del Sur, LLC of South River, NJ. On March 2, 2012, a 38-week pregnant woman was diagnosed with Listeria monocytogenes infection at a New Brunswick hospital.
Subsequent investigation by the Middlesex County Health Department and product analysis by NJDHSS Public Health Environmental and Agricultural Laboratories confirmed the presence of L. monocytogenes in a sample of Los Corrales Queso Fresco Fresh Cheese and Banana Leaf code dated 03/16/12.
The sick and unfit will have to pass medical tests under a new order passed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). This is interesting but I am not convinced that a yearly check would have any massive effect on Food Safety.
The order asks manufacturers to ensure that these food-handlers, regardless of the safety precautions they take at work, undergo a mandatory medical examination for ratifying their physical fitness in order to pursue their trade.
FoodWorld 