Posts from the "Topics" category
US: Whole-Genome Technology Solving More Outbreak Investigations
James Andrews writes: A common disclaimer supplied by public health officials while in the midst of a foodborne illness outbreak investigation goes something like this: “We’re doing our best to find the food source of the outbreak, but it’s important to remember that the majority of outbreaks are never traced back to a source.”
In other words, most outbreaks go unsolved because it’s just too difficult to pinpoint a food source given the constraints of technology and resources. While that may still be the case, more public health agencies are beginning to adopt technology that will help close the gap between the number of solved and unsolved outbreaks.
That technology is whole-genome sequencing (WGS), a method of identifying organisms such as bacteria and other pathogens by analyzing their entire DNA sequence. By comparison, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), the decades-old industry-standard epidemiological technology, looks at less than 1 percent of a pathogen’s genome.
Click here to read the full article from Food Safety News.
Image credit: Col Ford and Natasha de Vere / Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
NZ: Keep food poisoning at bay this summer
NZ Govt: “As summer weather approaches and we look to pull the barbeque out of the shed, Food Safety Minister Jo Goodhew reminds New Zealanders to remember basic food safety rules.
“New Zealand produces some of the safest food in the world, but it is still common for foodborne illnesses to peak over the summer months,” Mrs Goodhew says.
“We have already seen cases trending up, with over 700 people diagnosed with food poisoning due to campylobacter in November.”
Click here to read the full media release from Jo Goodhew, NZ Food Safety Minister.
US: Advances in nanotechnology can improve food safety and prep
Elizabeth Crawford writes: “A consumer backlash based on the fear of the unknown may have temporarily blocked marketing of nanotechnology in foods, but the ability to manipulate particles 100,000 times smaller than a strand of hair could improve food safety and prep, according to a Cornell University associate professor.”
Click here to read the full article in Food Navigator.
US: Food safety agencies debut ads featuring dancing E. coli and salmonella
Heidi Parsons / Food Production Daily: “Don’t let E. coli mosh with your food. An estimated 3,000 Americans die from a foodborne illness each year. You can’t see these microbes, but they might be there. So always separate raw meat from vegetables. Keep your family safe… at FoodSafety.gov.”
Click here to read the full article including a link to the advertisement.
US: Effect of Proximity to a Cattle Feedlot on Escherichia coli O157:H7 Contamination of Leafy Greens and Evaluation of the Potential for Airborne Transmission
American Society for Microbiology: “The impact of proximity to a beef cattle feedlot on E. coli O157:H7 contamination of leafy greens was examined. E. coli O157:H7 was recovered from 3.5% of leafy green samples per plot at 60 meters, which was higher (P < 0.05) than the 1.8% of positive samples per plot at 180 meters, indicating a decrease in contamination as distance from the feedlot was increased. Current leafy green field distance guidelines of 120 meters (400 feet) may not be adequate to limit the transmission of E. coli O157:H7 to produce crops planted near concentrated animal feeding operations.”
Read Article →US: Chlorine Dioxide Gas Offers Hope for Sprout Sanitation
Researchers at Rutgers University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) have found that chlorine dioxide gas is more effective at killing Salmonella on bean sprouts than chlorine wash — the industry-preferred decontamination technique.
Sprouted seeds have a long, and poor, contamination record. Since 1995, at least 51 outbreaks in the U.S. and Canada have been linked to sprouts. Of those outbreaks, 39 were linked to Salmonella.
While the sprouted seed industry has been searching for a surefire way to sanitize its product, cleaning sprouts is tricky because the food is sensitive and any harsh treatment could affect its color or taste. Sprouts are also harder to treat because, as with other fresh produce, the porous, uneven surface of sprouted seeds provides many places for bacteria to tuck themselves away.
Click here to read the full article at Food Safety News.
NZ: Investigation into the source of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis
The Ministry for Primary Industries investigation into the source of the Yersinia pseudotuberculosis outbreak in September has been completed. It did not find source of the pathogen.
This is not unusual in Yersinia outbreaks from around the world, where very few are pinned down to a definitive source.
Click here to read the full item from the Ministry for Primary Industries including a link to the report.
US: Could Yelp and Twitter Become Tools to Detect Foodborne Outbreaks?
Social media platforms such as Yelp and Twitter have significantly altered the online landscape for restaurants. Now anyone with an Internet connection and an opinion can broadcast their thoughts to others interested in visiting.
But what if public health officials could use Yelp and Twitter to track people mentioning foodborne illnesses online to detect outbreaks at restaurants? That’s exactly what researchers at Virginia Polytechnic Institute say is possible today, thanks to the number of people who take to social media to mention bouts of illness after eating out.
Click here to read the full article from Food Safety News.
AU: Microbial Food Safety Assurance
The 2014 Keith Farrer Award of Merit was awarded at this year’s AIFST Convention to Dr Tom Ross for his outstanding contribution to food science. This article is based on his address.
Most people know the basic rules of food hygiene, don’t they? They’re simple rules that reflect our awareness that invisible microbes might make us sick, to minimise contamination of food and limit growth of those organisms if contamination occurs, or to kill them before we eat the food. It’s hardly rocket science, is it? And if these are simple rules that ordinary people apply, how much safer must it be when food professionals prepare and process foods?
If it’s that easy, then it’s hard to understand why – particularly given the enormous advances in biological science and technology over the last few decades – there seems to have been no reduction in the incidence of microbial food-borne illness in decades.
Click here to read the full article in Food Australia magazine.
US: E. coli victims appeal to workers in LGMA training video
Victims of the 2006 E. coli outbreak linked to fresh spinach tell their stories in a new food safety training video co-produced by the California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement and the non-profit group STOP Foodborne Illness.
Lauren Bush tells her story in the video, describing how as a 20-year-old college student she contracted an infection from a spinach salad that ultimately sent her to the hospital with hemorrhaging and other severe symptoms.
Click here to read the full article in The Packer.