RV: [BITES-L] bites Sep. 1/10
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Date: Wed, 1 Sep 2010 13:05:06 -0500
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Subject: [BITES-L] bites Sep. 1/10
bites Sep. 1/10
New Food Safety Infosheet: Be ready for storms
1 dead, 8 sick from salmonella after UK wedding
US: Pointing fingers in recall of eggs
US: Safer eggs
CALIFORNIA: Battling salmonella squeezes egg farmers
FDA seeks court order against MICHIGAN dairy
A foodborne outbreak of Cyclospora infection in Stockholm, Sweden
Large Listeriosis outbreak linked to cheese made from pasteurized milk, Germany, 2006–2007
Bacteriophage-based rapid and sensitive detection of Escherichia coli O157:H7 isolates from ground beef
New approach to study the mechanism of antimicrobial protection of an active packaging
Tracking Salmonella contamination in various watersheds and phenotypic and genotypic diversity
A randomized controlled trial to assess the impact of dietary energy sources, feed supplements, and the presence of super-shedders on the detection of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in feedlot cattle using different diagnostic procedures
Listeria monocytogenes efficiently invades Caco-2 cells after low-temperature storage in broth and on deli meat
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New Food Safety Infosheet: Be ready for storms
01.sep.10
bites
Benjamin Chapman
http://bites.ksu.edu/sites/default/files/foodsafetyinfosheet-9-1-10.pdf
The newest food safety infosheet, a graphical one-page food safety-related story directed at food businesses, is now available at www.foodsafetyinfosheets.com
Food Safety Infosheet Highlights:
- Hurricanes and storms can cause power outages and lead to food safety concerns.
- Protect your food by being prepared.
- Place a thermometer in your fridge and freezer.
- Plan ahead by preparing coolers and knowing where dry ice and block ice suppliers are.
Food safety infosheets are created weekly and are posted in restaurants, retail stores, on farms and used in training throughout the world. If you have any infosheet topic requests, or photos, please contact Ben Chapman at benjamin_chapman@ncsu.edu.
You can follow food safety infosheets stories and barfblog on twitter @benjaminchapman and @barfblog
1 dead, 8 sick from salmonella after UK wedding
01.sep.10
barfblog
Doug Powell
http://www.barfblog.com/blog/143906/10/09/01/1-dead-8-sick-salmonella-after-uk-wedding
Nothing says, "I do" like wedding guests barfing and in this case, tragically, one dying after consuming the post-nuptial meal.
Rene Kwartz, 82, was one of four guests who needed hospital treatment after a meal at a hotel in Prestwich, Greater Manchester.
Three of those taken to hospital recovered and were discharged but Mrs Kwartz died last week.
Lawyers representing the guests at the wedding of Stephen Wicks and Jennifer Harris on August 8 are taking legal action against the outside caterers to the function.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5gp4JbtYbcC48wmKwepJIb-qfwgOw
US: Pointing fingers in recall of eggs
01.sep.10
Wall Street Journal
Alicia Mundy and Bill Tomson
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704421104575464032381844548.html?mod=rss_US_News
Companies have begun pointing fingers at one another and offering conflicting theories about the possible source of salmonella contamination that has sickened 1,470 people and led to the recall of 550 million eggs.
Wright County Egg of Galt, Iowa, whose chicken-feed samples tested positive for salmonella, has suggested the contamination might have come from a feed ingredient, bone meal, supplied by another company.
That company, Central Bi-Products of Redwood Falls, Minn., strongly disagreed Tuesday and said its heat-processed bone meal was untainted when it was shipped.
The Food and Drug Administration said it still didn't know where the contamination found by its inspectors originated. It issued a report Monday citing many sanitation problems at Wright's facilities, such as flies, frogs, pigeons, piles of chicken manure, and bird droppings.
The tainted eggs haven't been tied to any deaths, according to the U.S. government. The strain of bacteria linked to the illnesses was found in feed made by Wright's parent company, Quality Egg LLC, which also supplies the other major egg producer in the recall, Hillandale Farms of Iowa.
Wright raised the issue of its supplier Thursday when the FDA said the feed and bone meal showed traces of salmonella. Wright spokeswoman Hinda Mitchell said the company kept bone meal in an overhead bin and the ingredient was tested separately by FDA officials.
"This finding obviously is of great concern to us," Wright said in a statement, adding that the company provided the FDA with information about its supplier and immediately notified that company of the testing results.
Central Bi-Products's president, Don Davis, said in an interview that he was "shocked and surprised" that anyone was suggesting his bone-meal ingredients were tainted, in light of recent FDA reports on Wright County Egg farms.
US: Safer eggs
01.sep.10
Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-salmonella-20100901,0,896926.story
How did bacteria spread through two Iowa egg farms, leading to the largest Salmonella enteritidis outbreak ever recorded in the U.S.? Take your pick. Stomach-turning inspection reports released Monday by the Food and Drug Administration found wild birds, which can carry the disease, flying and nesting near caged chickens and a feed mill. They found workers who didn't wear protective clothing, and chicken manure piled so high that it bulged through barn doors, providing access to rodents.
A better question would be, who's guarding the henhouse? Not government regulators. FDA officials claim new egg safety rules that went into effect in July could have prevented the outbreak had they been in place earlier, but that's true only if big egg producers actually obeyed them. Austin "Jack" DeCoster, the owner of Wright County Egg in Iowa, has allegedly been flouting federal environmental and workplace rules for decades with little consequence; his company has recalled 380 million eggs following the salmonella outbreak.
A bill to give regulators more authority probably would have died quietly in the Senate if not for the crisis, which has focused public attention on food security lapses. The Food Safety Modernization Act, already approved by the House, would give regulators the power to order mandatory recalls of tainted foods and suspend the registration of food facilities. Crossing the 60-vote threshold needed to overcome a Senate filibuster on this bill still won't be easy considering the extraordinary power of Big Agriculture, but the failure of the current system shows how badly reform is needed.
Meanwhile, a simple and inexpensive way of preventing salmonella exposure is being neglected: vaccines for chickens. U.S. regulators examined such vaccines before the current outbreak but decided not to mandate them, apparently based on outdated studies, according to a recent report in the New York Times. Yet vaccination in Britain has all but wiped out salmonella in eggs there, and California vaccination guidelines have done the same in the Golden State. The FDA should reconsider the evidence.
CALIFORNIA: Battling salmonella squeezes egg farmers
01.sep.10
Los Angeles Times
P. J. Huffstutter
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-egg-farm-20100901,0,214760.story?track=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+latimes%2Fbusiness+%28L.A.+Times+-+Business%29
A strict quality assurance program has virtually wiped out salmonella in California henhouses, but it makes locally produced eggs more expensive.
Reporting from Valley Center, Calif. -- Amid a rolling landscape of browning chaparral and battered trailers, Alan and Ryan Armstrong's metal henhouses line up like military barracks. Keeping their 450,000 birds safe — and Salmonella enteritidis out of their henhouses — is a daily battle.
Since they were old enough to drive the family skip loader and shovel chicken droppings, the Armstrong brothers followed a state-sanctioned quality-assurance program designed to curtail salmonella in eggs. So have dozens more California egg farmers, who helped develop the guidelines alongside federal and state officials following a salmonella outbreak 15 years ago that sickened thousands of people.
The program, which includes vaccinating hens and testing barns regularly for bacteria, has essentially wiped out salmonella on California farms, industry officials say. Yet only nine other states have enacted similar government-sponsored efforts.
One reason, the Armstrongs and other California farmers contend, is cost. Injecting chickens and swabbing cages takes money — not a fortune, but enough to send egg distributors searching for lower-cost sources.
"We have lost contracts over pennies a dozen," Ryan Armstrong said. "They want cheap eggs."
As the nation grapples with a salmonella outbreak that has made more than 1,500 people ill and led to the recall of 550 million Iowa eggs, the Food and Drug Administration has enacted rules that it said would prevent future outbreaks. The regulations force large operators to buy chicks and young birds, known as pullets, from firms that check for salmonella; create protocols to keep out pests; and perform salmonella tests in henhouses.
Yet farmers, food-safety experts and lawmakers alike warn that the FDA's new regulations may not do enough to prevent another massive recall.
The problem is not a lack of oversight. Fifteen federal agencies and more than two dozen congressional committees are in the business of tracking America's food supply as it moves from farm to fork. There are scores of lobbyists, environmentalists and animal rights groups. But there was no single entity that made sure the Iowa eggs the public ate were, in fact, safe.
What went wrong at Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms underscores how regulatory confusion has made it difficult to protect the public and how, say farmers, there are economic incentives to cut corners.
FDA seeks court order against MICHIGAN dairy
31.aug.10
FDA
http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm224574.htm
The U.S. Department of Justice, on behalf of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, has filed a complaint for permanent injunction against Scenic View Dairy of Hamilton, Mich., its president, and three of its managers alleging that they sold dairy cows for human consumption that contained illegal drug residues in edible tissues.
The complaint, filed Aug. 31, 2010, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, also alleges that the defendants, despite numerous warnings, sold for slaughter dairy cows that were treated with drugs contrary to the drugs' FDA-approved labeling and without a valid veterinary prescription authorizing such use.
The complaint alleges that violations occurred from 2002 through 2010 at Scenic View Dairy's three farms, located in Fennville, Freeport, and Gowen, Mich. Company president Michael D. Geerlings, Fennville farm manager Mark A. Lucas, Freeport farm manager Michael J. Van Dam, and Gowen farm manager Jeremy A. Portell were all named in the complaint.
Between 2001 and 2010, the FDA notified the defendants of its inspectional findings on at least eight occasions, and USDA sent Scenic View at least 11 letters regarding illegal tissue residues. The complaint alleges that the defendants continue to violate the law despite these warnings.
The complaint is based, in part, upon illegal neomycin, penicillin, and sulfadimethoxine drug residues that the USDA found in the edible tissue of dairy cows that defendants had offered for sale for human consumption.
Neomycin, penicillin, and sulfadimethoxine are antibiotics. The sale of animals for human food that contain illegal levels of drugs can lead to the development of bacteria that resist antibiotics and can cause reactions in people with drug allergies. FDA regulations for animal drugs include a specified time to withdraw an animal from treatment prior to slaughter so that a drug is depleted from edible tissue to levels safe for humans.
Scenic View Dairy buys cows primarily from New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Vermont and sells to slaughterhouses in other states, including Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
A foodborne outbreak of Cyclospora infection in Stockholm, Sweden
31.aug.10
Foodborne Pathogens and Disease
Mona Insulander, Bo Svenungsson, Marianne Lebbad, Lillemor Karlsson, Birgitta de Jong
http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/abs/10.1089/fpd.2010.0628
Abstract
During May and June 2009 an outbreak of Cyclospora cayetanensis infection involving 12 laboratory-confirmed and 6 probable cases was detected in Stockholm County, Sweden. Imported sugar snap peas from Guatemala were the suspected vehicle, based on information obtained from patient questionnaires. This is the first reported outbreak of cyclosporiasis in Sweden and the second in Europe.
Large Listeriosis outbreak linked to cheese made from pasteurized milk, Germany, 2006–2007
31.aug.10
Foodborne Pathogens and Disease
Judith Koch, Regine Dworak, Rita Prager, Biserka Becker, Stefan Brockmann, Amal Wicke, Heidi Wichmann-Schauer, Herbert Hof, Dirk Werber, Klaus Stark
http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/abs/10.1089/fpd.2010.0631
Abstract
A commercial cheese (acid curd) made from pasteurized milk caused a large listeriosis outbreak in Germany from October 2006 through February 2007. The Listeria monocytogenes outbreak strain was identified in humans and in cheese samples from a patient's home and from the production plant. During the outbreak period, 189 patients were affected, which was 97% above the mean case number for the respective time period of the years 2002 to 2005. Of patients with available detailed information on cheese consumption (n=47), 70% reported to have consumed the incriminated cheese product. Recent European food safety alerts due to Listeria-contaminated cheeses more often concerned products made from pasteurized or heat-treated milk than from raw milk. The findings should be considered in prevention guidelines addressing vulnerable populations.
Bacteriophage-based rapid and sensitive detection of Escherichia coli O157:H7 isolates from ground beef
31.aug.10
Foodborne Pathogens and Disease
Porteen Kannan, Ho Yao Yong, Lucy Reiman, Claire Cleaver, Pradip Patel, Arvind A. Bhagwat
http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/abs/10.1089/fpd.2010.0634
Abstract
We investigated the efficacy of bacteriophage-based detection technology to detect Escherichia coli O157:H7 from ground beef. The assay involved a short enrichment period of 8h followed by capture of the pathogen on O157-specific immunomagnetic beads. The captured cells were treated with O157-specific lytic bacteriophage, CSLO157. Upon phage-induced lysis, the enzyme adenylate kinase, which was released from the lysed cells, was measured in terms of relative light units using luciferin–luciferase assay. The plaque forming efficiency (e.g., phage susceptibility) and ability to capture cells with immunomagnetic beads were examined using an array of 74 E. coli O157:H7 isolates obtained from various clinical and foodborne samples. Immunmagnetic beads successfully captured all 74 isolates; however, only 53 isolates showed susceptibility toward the bacteriophage. Susceptible isolates were further classified into two broad groups, moderately sensitive isolates, which generated phage titer 107pfu/mL (group I, n=15), and highly susceptible isolates, which generated high phage titer 109pfu/mL (group II, n=38). We selected 15 isolates (9 from group I and 6 from group II) and individually spiked beef samples (ca. 3–8cells/25g beef) to evaluate the bacteriophage-based detection system. Eight out of nine isolates from group I and all six isolates from group II were successfully detected. Pathogenic E. coli strains belonging to other serogroups (12 serogroups, 67 isolates) as well as nontarget microorganisms (n=18) were not lysed by the bacteriophage and hence were not detected. The method is high-throughput compatible, is rapid, and can provide live culture the following day by streaking an aliquot before phage lysis on conventional selective agar media.
New approach to study the mechanism of antimicrobial protection of an active packaging
01.sep.10
Foodborne Pathogens and Disease, 7(9): 1063-1069
Laura Gutiérrez, Ramón Batlle, Cristina Sánchez, Cristina Nerín
http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/abs/10.1089/fpd.2009.0516
Abstract
This article reports on the antimicrobial efficiency of a new active packaging concept based on the use of two essential oils (cinnamon and oregano) and their chemical descriptors (cinnamaldehyde, thymol, and carvacrol) against the Gram-positive bacterium Listeria monocytogenes, the Gram-negative bacterium Salmonella choleraesuis, the yeast Candida albicans, and the mold Aspergillus flavus. Complete inhibition of these microorganisms with either bactericidal or bacteriostatic effect has been demonstrated. It has been proven that the inhibition provided by these solutions is related not to the total amount of the active chemical released but to the amount of active compounds that reach the agar surface at a critical time. This critical time is notably related with the duration of the lag phase, as demonstrated for the bacteria, and shows that kinetic behavior has a critical role in the antimicrobial properties of the active packaging. Two different active films, polypropylene and the complex polyethylene-ethylenvynil alcohol, have been studied and a higher efficiency was found for polypropylene, mainly because of the mentioned kinetic reasons. These results can be used to understand the mechanism of action of the chemicals and provide valuable data for the development of the active packaging concept.
Tracking Salmonella contamination in various watersheds and phenotypic and genotypic diversity
01.sep.10
Foodborne Pathogens and Disease, 7(9): 1113-1120
Prapas Patchanee, Bayleyegn Molla, Nancy White, Daniel E. Line, Wondwossen A. Gebreyes
http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/abs/10.1089/fpd.2010.0572
Abstract
Salmonella enterica is an important foodborne pathogen, and contamination of surface and ground water that may result from various human activities, such as animal production and urbanization, may contribute to the public health burden. The aims of this study was to determine the sources of Salmonella contamination in four different types of watersheds and to assess the relative contribution of multidrug-resistant strains. Eighty-six water samples collected from four different watershed systems, including those impacted by swine production (n=12), residential/industrial (n=34), crop agriculture (n=12), and forestry (n=28), were cultured for Salmonella and further characterized by serotyping, antimicrobial susceptibility testing, and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis genotyping. Salmonella prevalence was high in all four watersheds: residential/industrial area (58.8%), forestry (57.1%), crop agriculture (50%), and swine production (41.7%). Majority of the Salmonella isolates (87.1%) were pansusceptible. Multidrug resistance up to eight antimicrobials (R-type: AmStTeAxChCeKmGm) was detected in water samples that originated from swine production systems only. Serovars identified included Anatum, Gaminara, and Inverness (18.3% each) and Muenchen and Newport (8.7% each), Bredeny (7.6%), and Montevideo (6.8%). Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis analysis indicated genotypic relatedness among Salmonella recovered from residential/industrial and forestry-associated watersheds (genotypic cluster types A, C, D, E, F, G, H, and J), sites with relatively close geographic proximity. Swine-production-associated isolates were distinctly different from the others (genotypic cluster types B and I), corroborating the phenotypic findings. Overall, the findings suggest that all the various watersheds, including natural forest, remain important contributors of Salmonella contamination. While swine-production-associated water samples were not found to have a disproportionately high prevalence, it was the most important reservoir of multidrug-resistant strains.
A randomized controlled trial to assess the impact of dietary energy sources, feed supplements, and the presence of super-shedders on the detection of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in feedlot cattle using different diagnostic procedures
01.sep.10
Foodborne Pathogens and Disease, 7(9): 1071-1081
Natalia Cernicchiaro, David L. Pearl, Scott A. McEwen, Henry N. Zerby, Francis L. Fluharty, Steve C. Loerch, Michael D. Kauffman, Jaime L. Bard, Jeffrey T. LeJeune
http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/abs/10.1089/fpd.2009.0531
Abstract
Alteration of the gastro-intestinal tract through manipulation of cattle diets has been proposed as a preharvest control measure to reduce fecal shedding of Escherichia coli O157:H7. The objective of this study was to examine the effects of the energy source's moisture content (high moisture corn and dry whole-shelled corn), two natural feed supplements (Saccaromyces cerevisiae boulardii CNCM 1079-Levucell and Aspergillus oryzae-Amaferm®), and two levels of vitamin A (2200IU/kg and no supplementation) on the fecal excretion of E. coli O157:H7 in naturally infected cattle. One hundred sixty-eight Angus-cross beef steers were randomly allocated to 24 pens, and each pen was assigned 1 of 12 dietary treatments in a randomized complete block design. E. coli O157:H7 was detected by rectoanal mucosal swab (RAMS) and fecal grab samples using immunomagnetic separation (IMS) and standard microbiological techniques. On the basis of multivariable multilevel logistic regression models, we found a statistically significant (p<0.05) increase in the prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 in animals fed dry whole-shelled corn in models based on fecal-IMS, and this effect was increased if a super-shedding animal (shedding>104 colony forming units of E. coli O157:H7 per gram of feces) was present in the pen at the time of testing relative to animals fed high moisture corn and nonexposed to super-shedders. However, in similar models based on RAMS-IMS testing, the effect of corn type on the prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 varied with the type of feed additive used. Being exposed to a super-shedding pen-mate also increased the odds of being positive to E. coli O157:H7 in the RAMS-IMS models. These models demonstrate that the impact of different supplements may vary with the diagnostic test used, and that further research into the biological significance of differences between RAMS- and fecal-IMS test results is warranted.
Listeria monocytogenes efficiently invades Caco-2 cells after low-temperature storage in broth and on deli meat
01.sep.10
Foodborne Pathogens and Disease, 7(9): 1013-1018
Marianne Halberg Larsen, Anette Granly Koch, Hanne Ingmer
http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/abs/10.1089/fpd.2009.0470
Abstract
The objective of this study was to investigate how various growth conditions influence the virulence of Listeria monocytogenes monitored by its ability to invade the epithelial cell lines Caco-2 and INT-407. The growth conditions examined were modified atmosphere-packaged deli meat and brain heart infusion broth (BHI) with and without salt. Five strains of L. monocytogenes were selected to investigate their invasiveness and all strains invaded Caco-2cells at higher levels than INT-407cells. Further, the clinical strains (3443 and 3734) were more invasive (p<0.05) than the strains isolated from meat and food-processing environments (3008, 3126, and 4140) after grown in BHI at 30°C. This attenuation could not be ascribed to a defective Internalin A as all strains encoded an intact inlA gene. To determine the influence of food products on virulence, the ability of L. monocytogenes to invade Caco-2cells was compared after growth on a fermented sausage and on cured cooked ham to that of bacteria grown in BHI broth supplemented with salt. Samples were stored under chilling conditions for up to 4 weeks. The results showed no difference (p>0.05) in invasiveness after 7 days at 10°C in BHI broth or on sausage, whereas a slight increase (p<0.05) was observed after incubation on ham for 2 and 4 weeks compared to that in BHI broth. Most importantly, our results show that L. monocytogenes efficiently invade Caco-2cells even after 4 weeks of storage at chilled temperature. This is highly relevant for safety assessment of this organism in food as these conditions reflect storage of ready-to-eat food products in domestic refrigerators.
bites is produced by Dr. Douglas Powell and food safety friends at Kansas State University. For further information, please contact dpowell@ksu.edu or check out bites.ksu.edu.
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