Posts from the "Topics" category
US: Guilty verdict puts food safety responsibility where it belongs
Food Safety News: Guilty! The perpetrator of the 2008-09 Salmonella outbreak, Stewart Parnell of the Peanut Corporation of America, just received a 28-year sentence for knowingly distributing Salmonella-containing peanuts. The familiar refrain will be that this is evidence that our food safety system is broken. But those who believe that the response in 2010, the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), is the answer have it completely wrong. In fact, the results of this court case provide a strong incentive for everyone involved in food safety, from farms to restaurants, to exercise due diligence.
Read Article →US: Arizona woman is third victim of widespread Salmonella outbreak
Reuters: An Arizona woman has died after eating Salmonella-tainted cucumbers grown in Mexico, marking the third fatality from the widespread outbreak, health officials said on Friday.
The woman in her late 50s, who suffered from serious underlying health problems, died on Sept. 4 at a Tucson, Arizona-area hospital, said Pima County Health Department spokesman Aaron Pacheco.
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US: IFIC research highlights changes in consumer perceptions of food safety risks
Quality Assurance Magazine: The top food safety concern among Americans is no longer “foodborne illness,†having been overtaken by “chemicals in food,†according to the International Food Information Council (IFIC) Foundation’s 2015 Food and Health Survey.
This year, 36% of Americans cited “chemicals in food,†such as pesticide residues, as the most important food safety issue for them and their family, edging out “foodborne illness from bacteria†(34%).
Read Article →US: The 5 most dangerous foodborne pathogens
Food Safety News: It can be tricky business to say that one foodborne pathogen is more dangerous than another. Are the criteria the number of illnesses, number of deaths, or percentage of victims who die? Do the severity of an illness or chronic side effects factor into the ranking?
The first three pathogens on this list are fairly obvious dangers and ones on which federal agencies, such the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, focus most of their attention. The other two are much rarer, but they’re still important pathogens to watch out for.
Read Article →UK: National E. coli O157 outbreak reported in the UK
Food Safety Watch:Â Public Health England is investigating a national outbreak of Verocytotoxigenic E. coli (VTEC) serotype O157 phage type 8 vero-toxin type 2a infection that may be associated with consumption of pre-packed salad.
Genetic analysis of VTEC O157 isolates from people affected in the outbreak has identified 38 confirmed cases with one further probable case and four more awaiting test results. The confirmed cases all became ill between 29 July and 12 August and are widely distributed across England, with one case in Wales, but none in Scotland.
Read Article →NZ: Fact sheet for microbiolgical limits for L. monocytogenes in fresh leafy salads, fresh fruit salads, sprouted seeds and smoked and gravadlax seafood
NZ Ministry for Primary Industries:Â This fact sheet provides general advice to processors of certain ready-to-eat (RTE) food (e.g. fresh leafy salads, fresh fruit salads, sprouted seeds and smoked and gravadlax seafood) in applying the microbiological limits for Listeria monocytogenes in RTE foods in accordance with the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code (the Food Standards Code) Standard 1.61.
Occasional low level contamination of such products by L. monocytogenes may be unavoidable but may not present a risk provided that growth cannot occur and there is less than 100 cfu/g within the stated shelf life.
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EU: Risk factors for Salmonella, shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli and Campylobacter occurrence in primary production of leafy greens and strawberries
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health: The microbiological sanitary quality and safety of leafy greens and strawberries were assessed in the primary production in Belgium, Brazil, Egypt, Norway and Spain by enumeration of Escherichia coli and detection of Salmonella, Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) and Campylobacter. Water samples were more prone to containing pathogens (54 positives out of 950 analyses) than soil (16/1186) and produce on the field (18/977 for leafy greens and 5/402 for strawberries). The prevalence of pathogens also varied markedly according to the sampling region. Flooding of fields increased the risk considerably, with odds ratio (OR) 10.9 for Salmonella and 7.0 for STEC.
Read Article →US: Recalls of organic foods and all foods on the rise
Food Poisoning Bulletin: According to a new report from Stericycle, recalls of organic foods for microbial reasons has increased in the past year. In fact, recalls of all foods is up significantly from the first quarter of 2015. That company analyzed data from the FDA and USDA for their study.
According to the USDA, 70% of consumers think that food is safer or of high quality if it is labeled organic. But organic food is just as susceptible to bacterial contamination as conventionally grown food.
There were 178 FDA food recalls in the second quarter of 2015, which is an increase of 47% from the previous quarter. Sixty-two percent of those recalls were for bacterial contamination, mostly for Salmonella and Listeria. Vegetables were 61% of the recall activity.
Click here to read the full article from Food Poisoning Bulletin.
US: Battle of the birds: how to keep birds out of restaurants and food production facilities
Food Safety Magazine: Simply put, birds of all feathers need to be kept out of restaurants and food manufacturing areas for a variety of reasons. Not only do they transmit diseases, they’re not exactly the cleanest creatures—even if they do use a birdbath from time to time.
What makes birds especially dangerous is that they often travel great distances, meaning they have the ability to spread contagion rapidly. Fowl also harbor over 40 types of parasites and host over 60 types of infectious diseases.
US: New study says keeping wildlife habitat next to farm fields is perfectly safe.
Monterey County Weekly: Nearly a decade ago, a deadly outbreak of E. coli linked to bagged spinach grown and processed on the [California] Central Coast sickened more than 205 people and killed three.
The outbreak triggered some major changes to farming and food safety practices, originating on Salinas Valley farm fields.
Growers formed the Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement, a voluntary set of guidelines designed to prevent pathogens from coming into contact with salad greens.
Those guidelines are largely based on common sense: Ensure there are enough portable toilets and sinks for field workers at their work sites; don’t pick salad greens from a flooded area; don’t apply raw animal manure as compost.
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