Posts from the "Microbial Contamination" category

AU: Recall of Creative Gourmet frozen pomegranate linked to Hepatitis A outbreak

NSW Health: NSW Health and the NSW Food Authority are working with Entyce Food Ingredients Pty Ltd which is conducting a precautionary recall of its Creative Gourmet branded frozen pomegranate product sold at Coles supermarkets.

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AU: Rockmelon Listeriosis investigation summary

NSW Food Authority: How did this outbreak happen? The investigation found that the contamination is likely to have occurred due to adverse weather (localised storm over the farm and subsequent dust storms during the season) increasing the levels of Listeria on the fruit prior to harvest. On this occasion and despite following industry best practice, the washing and sanitising at Rombola Family Farms was not able to remove all the trapped bacteria from the rockmelon surfaces, resulting in a low level of Listeria being present.
Read the full summary at the NSW Food Authority website

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AU: Melon Industry welcomes positive response from consumers

FreshPlaza: Australian melon growers are buoyed by support from retailers, consumers and export markets.

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US: FDA Finds hazards lurking in parsley, cilantro, guacamole

National Public Radio: Last fall, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration started looking for dangerous bacteria in a few of America’s most beloved fresh foods: parsley, cilantro, basil, and prepared guacamole. The very freshness of these foods carries a risk. Since they aren’t normally cooked, they may harbor nasty bugs like Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes.
 Read the full article at the National Public Radio website

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US: European listeriosis outbreak blamed on frozen corn: 6 dead

Food Safety News: Week-old speculation about frozen corn being responsible for a three-year listeriosis outbreak in Europe, which has had an 18.75 percent fatality rate, is probably correct.
Read the full article at the Food Safety News website

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AU: Listeria outbreak: Sixth person dies in NSW

ABC News: A woman in her nineties from New South Wales has become the sixth person to die from a Listeria outbreak linked to contaminated rockmelon.

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AU: Foodporn helps researcher hungry for data to curb gastro disease Campylobacter

ABC News: A Darwin-based researcher with the University of Queensland is hoping that our culture of obsessive food documentation — foodporn — will eventually improve prevention of a widespread gastrointestinal disease.

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AU: Listeriosis outbreak linked to rockmelon

The NSW Food Authority is advising consumers who are most vulnerable to Listeria infection such as older persons, and people who have weakened immune systems due to illness or pregnancy, to avoid eating rockmelon after a recent spike in listeriosis cases in elderly people has been linked to the fruit.

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US: Death count in South Africa’s Listeria outbreak tops 100

Food Safety News: The source of the South Africa outbreak that started in January 2017 is thought to be a food product or range of products from one company, but that is still just a theory. Victims include people from various social and economic backgrounds.
Read the full article at the Food Safety News website

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US: Food Safety: Once More Into the Ozone

Growing Produce: We are riding another wave of keen interest in the potential for ozone-treated water (ozonation) to supplement or wholly substitute for current antimicrobials added to postharvest wash and cooling water. Similarly, gaseous ozone and ozone-fogging applications are triggering cautious interest for surface sanitization in pre-coolers and cold storage.
Read the full article at the growingproduce.com website

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