Posts from the "Microbial Contamination" category
US: Managing ‘Black Gold’: animal manure and antibiotic resistance
Food Safety News: Many farmers refer to manure as “black gold†and rightly so because it adds nutrients to the soil, which helps crops grow and be more productive.
In earlier times, before the advent of synthetic fertilizers, crop farmers would often buy a cow solely for the manure it would produce and use the manure for fertilizer. In modern times, many farmers still rely on manure — oftentimes raw manure — to improve their soil and boost productivity.
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US: Reusable plastic containers are difficult to clean
Food Safety News: New research continues to demonstrate that typical cleaning doesn’t actually sanitize the reusable plastic containers (RPCs) used to transport fruits, vegetables, poultry and other foods.
In a study publicized earlier this year, Steven Ricke, director of the University of Arkansas Center for Food Safety, and his team grew Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes, and E. coli O157:H7 on RPC surfaces and then subjected them to cleaning and sanitizing practices typical in the industry. They found that bacterial biofilms could still survive on the surface of RPC material.
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US: Sick employees insist on serving up food
Food Safety Magazine: More than half of food industry workers go to work sick, according to the annual Mind of the Food Worker study conducted by the Center for Research and Public Policy and commissioned by Alchemy Systems.
A few highlights from the poll:
· 51 percent of workers say they “always or frequently†go to work when sick.
· More than 45 percent say they go to work because they can’t afford not to.
· More than 46 percent said they don’t want to let their fellow coworkers down by not showing up for their scheduled shift.
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AU: Global handwashing day 15 October 2015
Food Safety Information Council: On Global Handwashing Day the Food Safety Information Council has recommended Australians take the time to wash their hands for the time it takes them to hum ‘Happy Birthday’ twice.
Food Safety Information Council Chair, Rachelle Williams, said there was evidence that Australians did know how to wash their hands correctly as the Council’s telephone surveys consistently showed that 98% of respondents recognised that you should wash your hands using soap and dry thoroughly on a clean towel.
Read Article →US: Growth of Listeria monocytogenes within a caramel-coated apple microenvironment
American Society for Microbiology: Neither caramel nor apples are a food where the pathogenic bacterium Listeria monocytogenes should grow, as caramel does not contain enough free water and apples are too acidic. Caramel-coated apples, however, were recently linked to a deadly outbreak of listeriosis. We hypothesized that inserting a stick into the apple releases juice to the interface between the apple and caramel, providing a more hospitable environment than either component alone. To test this hypothesis, apples were inoculated with L. monocytogenes prior to caramel dipping. Some apples had sticks inserted into them before dipping, while others did not. No growth of L. monocytogenes occurred on refrigerated caramel apples without sticks, whereas slow growth was observed on refrigerated caramel apples with sticks. In contrast, significant pathogen growth was observed within 3 days at room temperature on caramel apples with sticks inserted. Food producers should consider interfaces between components within foods as potential niches for pathogen growth.
Click here to read the full research report from the American Society for Microbiology.
US: Multistate outbreak of Salmonella poona infections linked to imported cucumbers
US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:· Since the last update on September 29, 2015, 61 more ill people have been reported from 24 states. Given the 14-day shelf life of cucumbers and the gap between when someone gets sick and when that illness is reported to public health, it is not unexpected to continue to see illnesses reported after the recalls.
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AU: An A-Z of common types of food poisoning
ABC Health & Wellbeing: Do you know which foods are more likely to cause Campylobacter? Or how many hours it takes to develop symptoms of Salmonella [infection] after eating a contaminated egg? Get the low-down on some of our most common causes of food poisoning.
Read Article →UK: E. coli evolved to become deadly 30 years ago, new study finds
Food Poisoning Bulletin: E. coli O157:H7 evolved to become deadly 30 years ago, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Edinburgh and Public Health England. The study explains why deadly outbreaks began in the 1980s and demonstrates why the bacteria should be monitored closely, researchers say.
Read Article →![Golden Kiwifruit [growing in an orchard] Geof Wilson https://flic.kr/p/acMdBE CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/](https://fpsc-anz.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/6040514844_4fc8027346_b-e1443577182727.jpg)
CN: Survey of microbial contamination and characterization of Escherichia coli in kiwifruit orchards in Shaanxi, China, 2013
Foodborne Pathogens and Disease: The aim of the study was to survey three foodborne pathogens in kiwifruit orchards as a continuous monitoring program. A total of 193 samples were collected from 11 kiwifruit orchards in Shaanxi province in October 2013. Among the 193 samples, 68 Escherichia coli isolates were recovered, while no Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella was recovered.
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