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UK-HPA

Posted on March 11, 2013 by | Leave a comment

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HPA welcomes move to put antibiotic resistance on the national risk register

11 March 2013

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) welcomes the move by England’s Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Professor Dame Sally Davies to add antibiotic resistance to the national risk register.

Its addition to the risk register will mean that this issue will be given full attention by politicians here in England as well as the G8 and World Health Organization.

This announcement was made at the launch of the Annual Report of the Chief Medical Officer – Infections and the rise of antimicrobial resistance which was published today.

Figures from the HPA’s Antimicrobial Resistance Reference Laboratory show that in 2003 there were three samples which tested positive for antibiotic resistance compared to 800 in 2012.

It is this dramatic rise in the numbers of cases that warrants active intervention not just from Government but also from healthcare institutions, the pharmaceutical industry, patients and the general public to address this very serious problem.

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Posted in Antibiotic Resistance, Bacteria, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Safety, Food Technology, Food Testing, HPA, Microbiology, Research

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Bulgaria – Hightened Alfatoxin Level in Raw Milk

Posted on March 11, 2013 by | Leave a comment

HACCP Europa

BULGARIA – A heightened content of Aflatoxin M1 in a sample of raw milk has been found during regular control carried out by the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency in farming centers for collecting raw milk, announced the Agency.
In a farming center in the northwestern town of Vidin the Agency found Aflatoxin M1 content that is a little bit higher than the maximum level allowed in Europe per a kilogram of raw milk. Heightened contents of the aflatoxin were established also in farming centers in the districts of Gabrovo and Sofia. It is banned to sell the whole amount of milk and it will be destroyed. The farming centers are prohibited from trading in milk until there are negative aflatoxin lab tests.

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Posted in Aflatoxin, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Safety, Food Testing, Microbiology, Mycotoxin, Pathogen, Research

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Canada – Prison Food Makes You Ill

Posted on March 10, 2013 by | Leave a comment

CBC News

Some 250 prisoners and 25 employees of a Quebec City prison have been ill since last night with what the director of Public Health is calling food poisoning.

A dishwasher at the prison, in the Charlesbourg borough of Quebec City, may be the cause. The hot steam cycle of the machine, which sterilizes the dishes, had stopped working.

The dishwasher was reportedly installed four weeks ago.

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Research – USA v UK Eggs

Posted on March 10, 2013 by | Leave a comment

ForbesEGGS

Believe it or not, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) graded eggs would be illegal if sold in the UK, or indeed anywhere in the European Union (EU). It’s all to do with the fact that commercial American eggs are federally required to be washed and sanitized before they reach the consumer. EU egg marketing laws, on the other hand, state that Class A eggs – those found on supermarkets shelves, must not be washed, or cleaned in any way.

“In Europe, the understanding is that this mandate actually encourages good husbandry on farms. It’s in the farmers’ best interests then to produce to cleanest eggs possible, as no one is going to buy their eggs if they’re dirty, ” explained Mark Williams, Chief Executive, British Egg Industry Council in a phone interview.

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Reserch European Legionella Outbreaks 2009-2010

Posted on March 8, 2013 by | Leave a comment

EurosurveillanceLegionella_Plate_01

The surveillance of Legionnaires’ disease (LD) in Europe is carried out by the European Legionnaires’ Disease Surveillance Network (ELDSNet) and coordinated by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). All cases reported in 2009 and 2010 and meeting the European case definition were electronically transmitted to The European Surveillance System (TESSy) database. A total of 5,551 and 6,305 cases were reported by 29 European countries in 2009 and 2010, respectively. The age-standardised rate of all cases was 1.20 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2010, 12% higher than in 2009, which was consistent with the increasing trend observed since 2005. Most of this increase consisted of community-acquired cases reported by France, Germany and the Netherlands with dates of onset in August–September. The exceptionally hot summer of 2010 in some parts of Europe may have played a role in this increase.

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Posted in Bacteria, Legionella, Pathogen, Research, Water

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Research – Various Studies on Product Microbial Decontamination – Salmonella – E.coli O157 – Clostridium

Posted on March 8, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Wiley Online – Essential Oils Inactivation of Salmonella on Cherry Tomato’s

Wiley Online – The Efficacy of Satureja khuzistanica Essential Oil Treatment in Reducing Escherichia coli O157:H7 Load on Alfalfa Seeds Prior to Sprouting

Ingenta Connect – Commercial Thermal Process for Inactivating Salmonella Poona on Surfaces of Whole Fresh Cantaloupes

Ingenta Connect – Dynamic Effects of Free Chlorine Concentration, Organic Load, and Exposure Time on the Inactivation of Salmonella, Escherichia coli O157:H7, and Non-O157 Shiga Toxin-Producing E. coli

Ingenta Connect – Effect of Packaging Systems and Pressure Fluids on Inactivation of Clostridium botulinum Spores by Combined High Pressure and Thermal Processing

 

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Posted in Bacteria, Clostridium botulinum, E.coli, E.coli O157, EHEC, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Safety, Food Technology, Food Testing, Methods, Microbiology, Pathogen, Research

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Research – Salmonella/Listeria/Airborne Contamination – Poultry

Posted on March 8, 2013 by | Leave a comment

IngentaConnect– Frequency of Salmonell and Listeria on Chicken Eggs

IngentaConnect– Airborne Contamination in Poultry Slaughter Houses

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Posted in Bacteria, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Methods, Microbiology, Research, Salmonella

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USA – Seattle – E.coli O157 Restaurant Based Outbreak

Posted on March 8, 2013 by | Leave a comment

E.coli Blog

King County Public Health agency shut down an Ethiopian restaurant in Seattle’s central district on Wednesday afternoon after connecting the establishment to an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7, health agency spokeswoman Kathryn Ross has confirmed to Food Safety News.

At least two people have fallen ill in the outbreak, and Ross said the likelihood of others being sickened is uncertain.

In its closure notification, the agency cited Ambassel Ehtiopian Cuisine & Bar with five safety violations, including the outbreak.

Other violations included foods not being protected from cross-contamination, improperly sanitized equipment, and poor personal hygiene among employees due to inadequate handwashing facilities.

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Posted in Bacteria, E.coli, E.coli O157, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Pathogen

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Germany – Fungus Found in Raw Milk – Aflatoxin

Posted on March 8, 2013 by | Leave a comment

The LocalAspergillus WM

High levels of a cancer-causing fungus has been found in raw milk from a western German farm. The authorities in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) suspect contaminated cow feed from Serbia.

Before being pasteurised, milk from the farm had twice as much aflatoxin – produced by the Aspergillus species of mould – than national standards allow.

There was a possibility that the contaminated raw milk had already been sent to dairies for processing, the state Consumer Protection Ministry said. Until the milk has levels below 50 nanogrammes of aflatoxin per kilogramme of milk it may not be sold. Current levels were around 100 nanogrammes.

Milk from cows which have ingested aflatoxin – one of the strongest naturally occurring carcinogens – is “particularly dangerous,” said Udo Paschedag from Lower Saxony’s Agriculture Ministry.

 

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Posted in Aflatoxin, Food Chemistry, Food Hygiene, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Microbiology, Moulds, Mycotoxin, Pathogen, Toxin

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Australia- Gastroenteritis Linked to Swimming Pool Water

Posted on March 8, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Courier Mail

Victoria’s chief health officer Dr Rosemary Lester said there has been a three-fold increase in gastro cases after hot weather sparked people seeking to cool off at public swimming pools.

She urged those who have had diarrhoea not to go into a swimming pool for at least 14 days after symptoms had stopped for fear of passing on the bug.

Dr Lester said the cryptosporidium gastro parasite could not be killed by normal levels of chlorination.

“Cryptosporidiosis is typically caused by swallowing contaminated water, household contact with a case and contact with farm animals,” she said.

Authorities are working with swimming pool owners to implement extra measures to kill the parasite.

Symptoms included watery diarrhoea, stomach cramps and vomiting, Dr Lester said.

Dr Lester urged sufferers to shower before swimming to avoid infecting others, with children and the elderly particularly at risk.

There were 155 Victorian cases of gastro caused by the cryptosporidium parasite last month, three times the February average of 53.

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Posted in Cryptosporidium, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Microbiology, Pathogen, Protozoan, Water

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