Fw: [BITES-L] bites Aug. 15/10 -- II
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Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2010 18:55:33 -0500
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Subject: [BITES-L] bites Aug. 15/10 -- II
bites Aug. 15/10 -- II
Waiter, there's a roach on you: mall food courts overrun by roaches, rodents, mallrats
E. coli O26 positive; Carrefour in FRANCE recalls frozen hamburger patties
Glamazon Aussie model says I'm skinny because I barfed
Expanded health hazard alert – Certain green onions sold at Highlands Farms supermarkets in ONTARIO may contain Salmonella bacteria
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: Food safety violators taken to task
Evaluation of a norovirus detection methodology for soft red fruits
Enumeration and strain characterization of fecal Escherichia coli associated with feeding triticale dried distillers grain with solubles in beef cattle diets
CTX-M-Type extended-spectrum β-lactamases present in Escherichia coli from the feces of cattle in Ohio, United States
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Waiter, there's a roach on you: mall food courts overrun by roaches, rodents, mallrats
15.aug.10
barfblog
Doug Powell
http://www.barfblog.com/blog/143678/10/08/15/waiter-there%E2%80%99s-roach-you-mall-food-courts-overrun-roaches-rodents-mallrats
Australia is an Internet backwater.
In that context, the best thing about Australia is, McDonalds.
Every café and bakery and bookstore, they'll provide 15 minutes of wi-fi if a purchase is made. Hotels will sell it to guests at $10/hour (I'm not making this up).
Not McDonalds – free wi-fi at many of their stores.
So I've been hanging out at a mall in Brisbane's CBD (central business district) for the past few days, tapping McDonalds' free wi-fi.
I never hang out at the mall.
Food courts and restaurants in shopping malls are particularly vulnerable to roach and rodent infestations because clothing stores, electronics outlets and other mall standbys aren't subject to health regulations or inspections, and pests often sneak into malls by hiding in shipping and packaging boxes.
Kevin Chinnia, manager of Montgomery County's health inspectors, told the Washington Examiner,
"Malls are a wide-open space, and it's a lot more difficult to manage than if you have a stand-alone structure that you can monitor yourself."
Virginia and Maryland health inspectors cited roughly three-quarters of all mall food vendors for violating critical health regulations during the past year, according to an analysis of health records at 12 local malls conducted by The Washington Examiner.
The Food and Drug Administration defines critical violations as those posing an "imminent health hazard" to diners. Such violations range from improper hand washing to serving contaminated food, and, depending on the severity of the infraction, can lead to a restaurant losing its food service license.
Local health officials spotted live rodents, rodent droppings or cockroaches -- dead and alive, clinging to food preparation machines and even to workers -- at more than 10 percent of mall eateries.
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/Pest-fest_-Mall-food-courts-overrun-by-roaches_-rodents-1009649-100653949.html
E. coli O26 positive; Carrefour in FRANCE recalls frozen hamburger patties
15.aug.10
barfblog
Doug Powell
http://www.barfblog.com/blog/143680/10/08/15/e-coli-o26-positive-carrefour-france-recalls-frozen-hamburger-patties
Escherichia coli O26 H11 has been found in ground beef, prompting the large distribution group Carrefour to recall a batch of frozen hamburger patties sold under the brand name Carrefour Discount with a best-by date of June 18, 2011.
The frozen hamburger patties, sold in Carrefour, Carrefour Market, Carrefour City and Carrefour Contact, have a sanitation stamp IE 565 EC.
The Carrefour group explained in a press release that consumers who have purchased products with this stamp should not eat them and must return them to the store where they will be reimbursed.
That's different from advice with other recalls in France, where consumers have been advised to simply cook the burgers until well-done. The new advice probably takes into account the risks of cross-contamination in any kind of kitchen. There was no explanation how the E. coli O26 was detected – whether it was through regular testing or part of a foodborne illness investigation.
Carrefour has set up this toll-free number (for France): 0805 909 809.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iEzWV9l-pu8O8_QMRXXSwizsy0MQ
Glamazon Aussie model says I'm skinny because I barfed
16.aug.10
barfblog
Doug Powell
http://www.barfblog.com/blog/143681/10/08/15/glamazon-aussie-model-says-i%E2%80%99m-skinny-because-i-barfed
The Aussies have a way with words, as the Herald Sun proclaims this morning that Miss Universe 2004 and "glamazon Jennifer Hawkins has revealed a bout of food poisoning was the cause of her extra-skinny appearance at the Myer Summer Collection launch this month."
Hawkins has told New Idea magazine she dropped weight quickly after falling ill while on holidays with her boyfriend, Jake Wall, adding,
"I had a severe case of food poisoning while I was in Europe recently and it took its toll on me. I knew I was smaller than usual, but there was nothing I could do. I ate lots of healthy food before the parade and my mum even came to Sydney to cook Jake and me a yummy meal. I do maintain a healthy lifestyle and love to exercise and eat well, but things like getting sick happen. I am only human."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jennifer_Hawkins
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/entertainment/confidential/jennifer-hawkins-blames-food-poisoning-for-skinny-appearance-at-myer/story-e6frf96o-1225905592029
Expanded health hazard alert – Certain green onions sold at Highlands Farms supermarkets in ONTARIO may contain Salmonella bacteria
15.aug.10
CFIA
http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/corpaffr/recarapp/2010/20100815e.shtml
OTTAWA -- The public warning issued on August 14, 2010 has been expanded to include additional distribution information.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is warning consumers not to consume Green Onions described below as they may be contaminated with Salmonella.
The affected Green Onions were sold unwrapped with a rubber band. There is no lot code sticker, UPC or product name on the individual bunch of onions.
The product was sold on July 30, 31 and August 1, 2010 from Highland Farms Supermarkets, at the following locations in Ontario:
* 4750 Dufferin Street, North York,
* 3300 Rutherford Road, Vaughan,
* 850 Ellesmere Road, Scarborough,
* 148 Bennett Road, Scarborough,
* 50 Matheson Boulevard, Mississauga.
CFIA is aware of an ongoing investigation into an outbreak of Salmonella Oranienburg in Ontario. The CFIA investigation is continuing.
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: Food safety violators taken to task
16.aug.10
Khaleej Times
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/theuae/2010/August/theuae_August429.xml§ion=theuae&col=
RAS AL KHAIMAH -- The Ras Al Khaimah Municipality has destroyed more than 197 kg of damaged food products and imposed fines on as many as 210 food outlets in different areas of the emirate for violating food safety and hygiene laws, especially in the month of Ramadan
Fines amounting to Dh1,000 and above were slapped on the owners of each of the outlets for not complying with the municipal laws. The destroyed food products include meat, dairy products, fruits and vegetables,
Mubarak Ali Al Shamsi, Chairman of the RAK Municipality, said the violators were caught during a series of inspection campaigns carried out on outlets including restaurants, cafeterias, supermarkets, grocery shops, fruits and vegetable shops and vendors on the streets since the beginning of the month of Ramadan.
He noted that the inspectors found out that refrigerators and cooling systems in some restaurants, supermarkets and groceries were not functioning despite the high temperature in which fresh products can easily get poisoned if they are not properly stored.
"The kitchens in some restaurants and cafeterias were in poor hygienic conditions. Some equipment used for preparing food in restaurants and cafeterias were also not conforming to the hygiene standards," said Al Shamsi.
Evaluation of a norovirus detection methodology for soft red fruits
14.aug.10
Food Microbiology
Ambroos Stals, Leen Baert, Els Van Coillie and Mieke Uyttendaele
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6WFP-50SGPCW-5&_user=10&_coverDate=08%2F14%2F2010&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=886d8abf5cb45b485fe4b10efd9b6bf1
Summary
In the present study, a proposed methodology for detection of GI and GII noroviruses (NoV) in soft red fruits was validated. The murine norovirus-1 (MNV-1), a recently described cultivable NoV surrogate was integrated in the detection methodology as full process control, reverse transcription control and real-time PCR internal amplification control.
Both the performance and robustness of the proposed methodology were analyzed.
Firstly, the performance of the method was examined by analysis of the recovery of MNV-1, GI and/or GII NoV inoculated on frozen raspberry crum samples. Results showed that the recovery of MNV-1 was not significantly influenced bythe inoculum incubation time (30 minutes or overnight incubation) or the inoculum level (106 or 108 genomic MNV-1 copies / 10g of frozen raspberry crum sample). In contrast, a significant influence of the GI and GII NoV inoculum level (104 or 106 genomic MNV-1 copies / 10g of frozen raspberry crum sample) was noticed on the recovery of respectively GI and GII NoV from frozen raspberry crum samples.
Secondly, the robustness of the methodology was evaluated by subjecting three types of artificially MNV-1, GI and/or GII NoV contaminated soft red fruit products (deepfrozen forest fruit mix, fresh raspberries and fresh strawberry puree) to the method. Results showed a significant influence of the soft red fruit product type on the recovery efficiency of GI NoV and MNV-1, while no significant differences could be shown for GII NoV. In general, the recovery of GI and GII NoV in strawberry puree was more efficient from the strawberry puree compared to the two other soft red fruit types.
In conclusion, results show that this methodology can be used for detection of NoV in different soft red fruits, although NoV recovery efficiencies can be influenced by (1) the NoV concentration on the soft red fruit type and (2) the tested soft red fruit type.
Enumeration and strain characterization of fecal Escherichia coli associated with feeding triticale dried distillers grain with solubles in beef cattle diets
14.aug.10
Foodborne Pathogens and Disease
Ranjana Sharma, Laura Keffer-Wilkes, Ruibing Wu, Jin-Quan Li, Sushil Jacob John, Edward Topp
http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/abs/10.1089/fpd.2010.0557
Abstract
Triticale dried distillers grain with solubles (TDDGS), a major by-product of the bioethanol industry, has potential for utilization in animal feed. This study investigated the changes in generic fecal Escherichia coli strains associated with inclusion of TDDGS in cattle diets. Within this study, a longitudinal experiment (112 days) examined the effect of step-up increasing TDDGS inclusion from control to a final diet containing 30% TDDGS among cattle (n=4), and a short-term experiment (28 days) compared animals (n=16) fed control, 20%, 25%, or 30% TDDGS diets. We found that incorporation of either 20%, 25%, or 30% TDDGS did not have any effect on the amount of total E. coli shedding over either the longitudinal (p=0.06) or the short-term (p=0. 87) study. In both the experiments, 67% of the total E. coli isolates were found to be resistant to one or more of the 17 antimicrobials tested. Among the resistant isolates, cephalothin was the most prevalent resistance (44% isolates). Over the duration of the study, tet(C) was a commonly detected resistance gene in tetracycline-resistant E. coli. Significant diversity was observed among isolates with 33 and 31 pulsed-field gel electrophoresis patterns clustering into 11 and 10 restriction endonuclease digestion pattern clusters for the longitudinal and short-term studies, respectively. Neither the duration of feeding nor increasing the proportion of TDDGS within the diet affected the diversity of E. coli resistance phenotypes or the clonal relatedness of the observed strains. Individual animals retained similar or closely related strains. Based on this study, inclusion of TDDGS as a protein and fiber source in cattle diets is not associated with increased maintenance, shedding, or proliferation of resistant strains of generic E. coli, which is an important reservoir of antimicrobial resistance among cattle.
CTX-M-Type extended-spectrum β-lactamases present in Escherichia coli from the feces of cattle in Ohio, United States
14.aug.10
Foodborne Pathogens and Disease
Thomas E. Wittum, Dixie F. Mollenkopf, Joshua B. Daniels, Anne E. Parkinson, Jennifer L. Mathews, Pamela R. Fry, Melanie J. Abley, Wondwossen A. Gebreyes
http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/abs/10.1089/fpd.2010.0615
Abstract
CTX-M extended-spectrum β-lactamases are enzymes produced by bacteria that are capable of inhibiting the antimicrobial effects of cephalosporin drugs. Recently, the first domestically acquired Salmonella in the United States expressing blaCTX-M was reported. This is a concern because expanded-spectrum cephalosporins are the treatment of choice for invasive Gram-negative infections, including salmonellosis in children. Because Salmonella transmission is primarily foodborne, there is also concern that resistant enteric bacteria from livestock can be transferred through the food supply chain to consumers. blaCTX-M has not been previously identified in bacterial isolates from food animal populations in the United States. We report the recovery of CTX-M-type extended-spectrum β-lactamases from fecal Escherichia coli of sick and healthy dairy cattle in Ohio. Four individual fecal samples yielded E. coli isolates representing three clonal strains that carried blaCTX-M on transferable plasmids. Two distinguishable plasmids were identified, each encoding blaCTX-M-1 or blaCTX-M-79. Transferrable blaCTX-M genes in bovine E. coli have the potential to serve as a reservoir of resistance for pathogens and may represent a public health concern.
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