More than 50 people have fallen ill and at least nine have been admitted to hospital after a salmonella outbreak at a newly-opened Dickson restaurant.
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Tag Archives: science
USA Research- USDA/FDA Report on Listeria in Retail Deli’s
The Draft Interagency Risk Assessment –
Listeria monocytogenes in Retail Delicatessens provides a scientific assessment of the risk of foodborne illness associated with consumption of ready-to-eat (RTE) foods commonly prepared and sold in the delicatessen (deli) of a retail food store and examines how that risk may be impacted by changes to common or recommended practices. This quantitative risk assessment (QRA) was conducted collaboratively by the Department of Health and Human Service (DHHS), Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (FDA/CFSAN), and United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), in consultation with the DHHS Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and input from industry, academic institutions, and consumer advocacy group stakeholders. The White House Food Safety Work Group identified this risk assessment as a priority. It provides information useful to those responsible for implementing policies, programs and practices that target the prevention of listeriosis in the population.
Posted in Bacteria, FDA, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Hygiene, Illness, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Microbiology, Pathogen, Research, USDA
Tagged quantitative risk assessment, research, retail food store, science, usda food safety
USA – Live Chick Salmonella Outbreak Continues
Two separate outbreaks linked to live baby poultry are sickening people across the country, according to two announcements from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Friday.
Research – Norovirus Killed by Electron Beam
Researchers at Texas A&M University have developed a way to pasteurize oysters without chemicals or heat using an electron beam. A study measuring the method’s efficacy on norovirus and hepatitis A appears in the June issue of the scientific journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology.
Although the CDC recommends that all shellfish be cooked to an internal temperature of 140˚, many people enjoy raw eating oysters raw. Pasteurization is one way to address the health risk of raw foods. And it’s one of the electron beam or E beam applications being explored at the National Center for Electron Beam Research at Texas A&M University.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has already approved E beam technology as a way to control Vibrio vulnificus, a naturally occurring bacteria in shellfish that can cause life- threatening illness or death. In this study, researchers measured E beam’s efficacy on different levels of viral concentration. They found that at high levels of contamination the E beam was able to reduce norovirus levels by 12 percent and hepatitis A levels by 16 percent and at more moderate levels of contamination the method was able to reduce norovirus by 26 percent and hepatitis A by 90 percent
Posted in Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Technology, Food Testing, Food Virus, Hepatitis A, Hepatitis E, Illness, Methods, Microbiology, Norovirus, Pathogen, Research
Tagged applied and environmental microbiology, climate, eating oysters, environment, food and drug administration fda, science
USA – E.coli O121 Outbreaks Expands
The E. coli O121 outbreak linked to Farm Rich brand frozen food products has grown again to include 35 people in 19 states. Nine people have been hospitalized in this outbreak, and no deaths have been reported. Two patients have developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). The outbreak has grown from 32 people since the last update in late April.
Posted in Bacteria, E.coli, E.coli O121, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Illness, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen
Tagged e coli, frozen food products, hemolytic uremic syndrome, science
USA – Update Salmonella – Cucumber Outbreak
An outbreak of Salmonella Saintpaul linked to imported cucumbers has sickened at least 81 people in 18 states, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
That’s up from the 78 illnesses CDC reported April 25. The number of patients hospitalized as a result of their infections has risen from 14 to 16 since that time.
The updated number of victims, by state, is as follows: Arizona (11), California (28), Colorado (1), Idaho (2), Illinois (3), Louisiana (1), Massachusetts (1), Maryland (1), Minnesota (9), Nevada (1), New Mexico (2), North Carolina (3), Ohio (3), Oregon (2), South Dakota (2), Texas (6), Virginia (3) and Wisconsin (2).
The first outbreak victim fell ill on January 12 of this year, and the latest known illness onset was April 19. However, health officials note that illnesses with an onset date of April 7 or later may not have been reported yet.
Posted in Bacteria, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen, Salmonella
Tagged centers for disease control and prevention, food safety news, research, science
USA – Texas E.coli O157:H7 Outbreak
Health investigators in Texas’ Brazos County are looking into eight possible infections of E. coli O157:H7 they suspect may be linked to food.
The Brazos County Health Department has confirmed five of the illnesses, and investigators believe another three patients are infected with the same strain of bacteria.
Two related children under the age of five have been hospitalized at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston for the past week, The Eagle reports. The other six cases are adults and were not hospitalized.
Investigators are still searching for a possible outbreak source, saying that the patients did not eat at the same restaurant.
UK – Cotswold Farm – Cryptosporidium
FIVE visitors to Countryfile presenter Adam Henson’s farm in the Cotswolds and one member of staff are being treated for the intestinal infection cryptosporidium.
Public Health England (PHE) is working closely with the Health and Safety Executive, Cotswold District Council, Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA) and Cotswold Farm Park to investigate the outbreak at Cotswold Farm Park, Guiting Power, near Bourton-on-the-Water.
Everyone affected is recovering well at home and the farm park has put in extra measures to reduce the risk of infection to visitors over the coming bank holiday Monday.
USA – Salmonella Sickens 80 – Las Vegas Restaurant
The Southern Nevada Health District is investigating a Salmonella outbreak associated with Firefly Tapas Restaurant and Bar at 3900 Paradise Road in Las Vegas. Public health officials believe more than 80 people have been sickened in this outbreak. The health department closed Firefly on April 26, 2013 after reports of illness began coming into the office.
The health department has identified the cause of the outbreak as Salmonella. The symptoms of salmonellosis, the illness associated with a Salmonella infection, include diarrhea, which can be bloody, fever, abdominal cramps, headache, loss of appetite, nausea, and sometimes vomiting. People usually get sick 6 to 72 hours after infection. Investigators do not know what food is the source of the outbreak.
USA – USDA – Recall – Meatballs -Listeria monocytogenes
P.E. & F. Inc., a St. Louis establishment, is recalling approximately 123
pounds of frozen, ready-to-eat meatballs due to possible contamination with
Listeria monocytogenes, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food
Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.
The problem was discovered by FSIS routine sampling for Listeria
monocytogenes. The company inadvertently did not hold the product pending
test results. FSIS and the company have received no reports of illnesses
associated with consumption of these products.
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