Posts from the "Microbial Contamination" category
Norway: Spinach suspected in Norwegian Yersinia outbreak
Food Safety News: The source of a national Yersinia outbreak in recent weeks in Norway that affected 23 people is believed to have been salad with spinach or baby spinach.
The Norwegian Institute of Public Health (Folkehelseinstituttet) said the Yersinia enterocolitica O3 outbreak was considered to be over.
It started in mid-May and people fell sick from mid to late May. There are 15 women and eight men affected aged 2 to 58 years old. More here.
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US: Fast detection of Cyclospora cayetanensis in berries
Fresh Plaza: The consumption of raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries has increased worldwide in recent years because these fruits are considered an important source of antioxidant compounds. Unfortunately, consumption of berries is associated with a risk of foodborne parasites, such as Cyclospora cayetanensis.
In the USA and Canada, many cyclosporiasis cases have been linked to consumption of berries, while at the farm level, the presence of this human pathogen in berries is directly associated with the presence of the parasite in soil. For these reasons, it is fundamental that producers monitor the presence of this pathogen on farms and packing facilities.
Conventionally, detection of C. cayetanensis in clinical and environmental samples is based on identification of oocysts by microscopy, following modified acid fast staining or by UV-light autofluorescence under ultraviolet, this technique is time-consuming, non-specific, and lacks sensitivity. To overcome these issues, food producing industry requires a molecular method able to detect a low oocyst concentration (40 – 1500 oocyst per gram) as found in food and environmental samples. More.
Read Article →Outbreaks, occurrence and control of norovirus and Hep A in berries
The team from the ARC Training Centre for Food Safety in the Fresh Produce Industry has published a review paper in Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition on norovirus and Hep A in berries. Dr Hayriye Bozkurt, Dr Kim-Yen Phan-Thien, Dr Floris van Ogtrop, A/Prof Tina Bell and Prof Robyn McConchie co-authored “Outbreaks, occurrence, and control of norovirus and hepatitis a virus contamination in berries: A review”. The review found that inadequate handler hygiene was the predominant source of pre- and post-harvest contamination, but that the current industrial processing methods (freezing, storage and washing) provided limited efficacy in reducing viral load. They recommended key interventions in personal and environmental hygiene and the development of alternative processing technologies to induce sufficient viral inactivation in berries while maintaining sensory and quality attributes.
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USA: Researchers confirm flies can transfer E. coli from feedlots to produce fields
By Coral Beach on July 31, 2019
Along with feedlot dust blowing in the wind and surface irrigation water flowing adjacent to feedlots, flies captured in leafy greens plots near feedlots are capable of transferring E. coli from animal operations to produce fields.
Set for publication in August in the “Journal of Food Protection,” new research from a team of experts links contamination of leafy greens with E. coli from concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), also referred to as feedlots, via “pest flies.”
“Most fly isolates were the same predominant pulsed-field gel electrophoresis types found in feedlot surface manure and leafy greens, suggesting a possible role for flies in transmitting E. coli O157:H7 to the leafy greens,” according to the research abstract.
Reducing listeria contamination from salad vegetables
Research conducted in 2010 found that Listeria monocytogenes was not predominantly spread by water and chicken manure, two common farm inputs in Australian vegetable farming. It is however more prevalent in summer and in particular in Victoria.
Silage and baled hay produced high numbers of L. monocytogenes which are fed to and ingested by ruminants (cows, sheep, goats). This issue with this feed is that it passes through the animals usually without causing infection to them and becomes trapped within dust when the faeces become dry in hot weather.
The dust carrying the L. monocytogenes can then settle on and contaminate vegetables after being blown large distances by strong winds. Leafy vegetables (eg. curly parsley) can trap dust more effectively and show higher levels of detection than smooth leaf vegetables, such as cos lettuce.
A project recommendation is that intensive livestock operations (feedlots) and grazing cattle, sheep and goats should be kept as far from vegetable production as possible and particularly in the direction of prevailing summer winds.
Foreign object contamination of fresh produce
This fact sheet addresses the issue of physical contamination of fresh produce. It is divided into two sections: part 1 addresses pests and part 2 covers other physical contaminants.
View: Fact sheet: Foreign object contamination of fresh produce
Fruit and vegetable purchases may occasionally contain unintended additional contents, such as physical contaminants or foreign objects. Growers aim to eliminate these from the fresh produce sent to retailers and processors. Most retail and food service specifications have a zero tolerance for pests, dead or alive, or other physical contaminants. Consumers also have a low tolerance of additional contents.
Physical contaminants is a broad category that includes but is not limited to soil, stones, sticks, weeds, insects, frogs, glass, nails, plastic and rubber, pens, pins, paper clips and jewellery. Some are a social media novelty while others have genuine injury potential. Some come from the environment and others are from harvest, handling and packing. Some can result in withdrawals, recalls and negative media coverage.
FPSC has produced a fact sheet to address the topic of contamination of pests and objects.
Read Article →US: Industry members, food safety veterans urge companies to invest in traceability
Produce Retailer: Panelists at the Center for Produce Safety Symposium described better traceback as essential to containing foodborne illness outbreaks and urged companies to invest in that infrastructure. The somber and frank discussion, moderated by Produce Marketing Association CEO Cathy Burns, started with a review of the recent spate of E. coli outbreaks linked to romaine lettuce. Burns asked each member of the group to share his biggest takeaway from the romaine debacle.
Read Article →US: Recovering From A Pathogen-Related Recall
Global Food Safety Resource: More than half of the secret to recovering from a pathogen-related product recall lies in being prepared before it even happens, according to Keith Warriner, a professor of food science at Canada’s University of Guelph. “Have a recall team that includes someone with decision-making authority,” he says, noting that, depending on the company, the team should also have staff from quality assurance, production, marketing and distribution.
Read Article →NZ: Yersinia infection still a mystery after 2014 outbreak in NZ
Stuff.co.nz: New Zealanders were surprised to learn that those forces for good in human health – lettuce and carrots – were identified as a common link in the outbreak of Yersinia infections that made at least 220 people sick and sent 70 to hospital in 2014. [T]he source of the New Zealand outbreak was never proven, and this was mainly because of the difficulty of tracing all the ingredients of a mixed salad.
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