Posts from the "Microbial Contamination" category


CA: Everything you need to know about fresh produce and E. coli

Dr. Jeffrey M. Farber, University of Guleph / The Conversation: While the recent outbreak of E. coli infections linked to romaine lettuce has been declared over, Canadian public health officials are still working to determine the cause of the contamination.

Several people in the U.S. and eastern Canada were sickened after eating romaine, with two reported deaths.

I am a food safety expert. Here’s what consumers need to know about E. coli and produce

Read Article →
US: New DNA technique suggests Salmonella took out the Aztecs

Food Safety News: Research, published Monday in the journal Nature, reports DNA analysis has unmasked Salmonella enterica bacteria as the cause of a 16th century epidemic that affected large parts of Mexico and wiped out an estimated 800,000 people in the Aztec Empire.
Read the full article at the Food Safety News website

Read Article →
AU: Cold plasma used to kill pathogens on fresh produce

Fresh Plaza: [Cold plasma] has the capacity to kill microbial pathogens on the surface of fresh produce and nuts without leaving any chemical residues. Other spoilage-causing moulds can also be suppressed, offering a longer shelf-life and reduced food waste.
Read the full article at the Fresh Plaza website
[vimeo 240577105 w=640 h=360]
HORT FRONTIERS / SUPERCHARGED AIR TECHNOLOGY from Hort Innovation on Vimeo.
 

Read Article →
AU: Food safety becoming a serious issue for South Australians

Australian Institute of Food Safety: 2017 was one of the worst years in recent history for food poisoning cases in SA. Does it need to come into line with the stricter requirements of other states?
Read the full article at the Australian Institute of Food Safety website

Read Article →
ZA: Listeriosis outbreak worst ever, experts say

Herald Live: A further 167 people have contracted deadly listeriosis in the past month‚ bringing the total number of confirmed cases in South Africa to 717. It is the worst documented listeriosis outbreak in global history, according to food scientists. Sixty one deaths have been reported.
Read the full article at the Herald Live

Read Article →
AU: Yet another cruise ship gastro outbreak

Australian Institute of Food Safety: It’s proving difficult to keep track of gastroenteritis outbreaks on cruise ships these days with 6 outbreaks being reported in Australian waters within the last 12 months. In the latest incident, approximately 200 passengers on the Sea Princess, a cruise ship bound for Brisbane from New Zealand, were struck with norovirus.
Read the full article at the AIFST website

Read Article →
AU: Average annual Salmonella cases in South Australia have risen to 1200 in past four years

The Advertiser: The salmonella outbreak linked to the Gawler South Bakery is only the tip of a food hygiene problem causing illness across South Australia. Food poisoning has become a growing problem in recent years, prompting repeated warnings from authorities about the need for good food-handling hygiene.
Read the full article at The Advertiser (adelaidenow.com.au)

Read Article →
US: Deadly outbreak tied to romaine ongoing; no recall, few details

Food Safety News: Little information is available to the public in the U.S. or Canada more than six weeks into a deadly E. coli O157:H7 outbreak linked to romaine lettuce. Almost 60 people are confirmed to have fallen ill, including one in Canada who died, since mid-November. Whole genome sequencing shows E. coli O157:H7 samples from sick people in both countries are the same strain, which is evidence that a single source is likely, the CDC reports.
Read the full article at the Food Safety News website

Read Article →
CA: E. coli outbreak from lettuce shows problems with produce traceability: expert

Photo: Chimpr / Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
The Canadian Press: A Canadian expert in food distribution says he is surprised by how long it is taking for a recall to be issued after one death and dozens of illnesses in recent weeks have been linked to romaine lettuce contaminated with E. coli.
Read the full article at richmond-news.com

Read Article →
CA: Canadians warned to avoid romaine lettuce until further notice

Food Safety News: Canadian officials are advising the public to avoid eating romaine lettuce until further notice because of an expanding E. coli outbreak, but they have not revealed the supplier or brands involved. At least one person has died and 40 have been confirmed infected with E. coli O157:H7.
Read the full article at the foodsafetynews.com

Read Article →