Yearly Archives: 2015

‘We strongly advise you not to Google search ‘Hepatitis A’ as you may access inaccurate and possibly worrying information.’

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I play hockey with a bunch of technology nerds and last night’s post game dressing room chatter included a discussion on recalled emails. Instead of the intended message of ‘oh, I made a mistake, don’t read that last one,’ it leads to increased attention and urgency in reading the recalled message to see what the sender didn’t want you to see.

Sort of like telling someone not to Google something likely leads to that person immediately Googling it.yorkshire-puddings

That’s what a school in the UK did in an effort to reduce panic after 20 cases of hepatitis A was identified in a couple of schools, according to the Yorkshire Evening Post.

An outbreak of Hepatitis A in two Leeds schools has seen national health chiefs offer mass vaccinations in the LS9 area.

Public Health England (PHE) stepped in after around 20 cases of the rare virus were confirmed in the area, sparking a vaccination program that will impact thousands of school staff and residents.

The YEP understands that the 630-pupil Richmond Hill Primary School, in Clark Lane, and 460-pupil Brownhill Primary Academy, in Torre Drive, are the two schools where all staff and pupils are being immunized.

A message put out to parents at Richmond Hill Primary School urges them not to “panic” over the situation. It reads: “We strongly advise you not to Google search ‘Hepatitis A’ as you may access inaccurate and possibly worrying information.”

PHE is working with Leeds City Council and the NHS in Leeds to vaccinate those most likely to have come into contact with the carriers. Around 300 people have taken up the vaccine when offered so far, and PHE is stressing that anyone who has not yet been offered the vaccination does not need it at the current time.

There were only 367 reported cases of Hepatitis A infection in England and Wales during 2010.

I Googled hepatitis A and found some good information sources.

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‘It looks like a staple but is as thick as a nail’: Australia mother says she found a piece of metal in ALDI chicken nugget

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A mother who claims to have found a large piece of metal embedded in a store-bought chicken nugget has taken to social media to ‘warn’ others.

naiil.chicken.nuggett.aldiThe woman shared two photos of the uncooked, frozen chicken nugget that she said had a large piece of metal, shaped like a staple but ‘as thick as a nail’, sticking out.

She said she bought the chicken nuggets from ALDI and had contacted the store about the incident.

An ALDI spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia they were investigating the matter.

Any mummy’s that have bought chicken nuggets from Aldi please be careful,’ she wrote.

‘This is what I found in one tonight.

‘I have contacted Aldi but just want to warn people.’

Many people said it was not ALDI’s ‘fault’, but the suppliers.

Except ALDI chooses their suppliers.

An ALDI spokesthingy said: “ALDI Australia is committed to providing our customers with safe products of the highest quality.

“We take any concerns with our products seriously, logging and monitoring all reports to ensure we track any potential trends.

“ALDI places high expectations on our suppliers to ensure they provide products that are manufactured to the highest possible food safety standards. Only after they meet our stringent criteria are they added to our range of exclusive brands.

“All production facilities of ALDI food and beverage products and pet food products are required to be certified to a Global Food Safety Initiative recognised standard. 

assessments of all products.

“We also conduct regular audits to ensure supplier compliance with our high standards.”

UK FSA publishes local authority food enforcement info

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The information provided by local authorities and compiled by the UK Food Standards Agency, gives a detailed breakdown of enforcement activity across the country.

Monty_Python_reuni_2738729bThe figures for 2014/15 show a continuing trend of increasing compliance levels across the UK.

David Hart, Head of Local Authority Enforcement and Policy Unit, said: ‘I am pleased to see that the figures this year show business hygiene compliance levels are continuing to improve with 93.0% now broadly compliant with hygiene law – this equates to having a food hygiene rating of 3, 4 or 5. The improvement in broad compliance levels was seen in all four countries.’

In Wales the improvement has been more pronounced, increasing over the past three years to 94% from 88% in 2012/13.

For Northern Ireland, the returns covered only the first three quarters of 2014/15. This was agreed, in view of the need for local authorities to focus on preparations for the local government reorganisation, effective from 1 April 2015.

The trend for local authorities to target food hygiene and standards activities at higher risk establishments, rather than carrying out due interventions at lower risk establishments, has continued across the UK. There was a slight reduction in interventions overall – down by 0.8% on the number reported in 2013/14. And there was a further reduction in local authority professional staffing levels – down 3.9% on 2013/14 levels.

The statistics in the report will help the FSA consider  how best to support  its local authority partners.

The FSA monitors local authority performance through Local Authority Enforcement Monitoring System (LAEMS) returns and reports on an annual basis.

Here’s Bobby: Color code grades for restaurants in Dubai next year

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By early next year, Dubai Municipality will roll out its color coding system to grade the level of hygiene and food safety in food outlets, a municipality official told Gulf News.

bobby.bittman.sctv.eugeneThe new grading system will affect 14,000 food establishments in Dubai, including restaurants, cafeterias, catering companies and food manufacturers. “By the beginning of 2016, as early as January, all food establishments will have their inspection ratings on display for customers to see. This system will, in turn, increase transparency and ensure the quality of eateries,” Bobby Krishna (right, not exactly as shown), principal food inspection officer at Dubai Municipality, told Gulf News.

This is the first time such a colour coded scheme will be implemented in the country, and the initiative will complement the role of the municipality’s 70 inspectors who are responsible for monitoring hygiene standards at food outlets.

Sultan Ali Al Taher, head of the Food Inspection Section, said the coding of food outlets will be Dubai’s new system to improve food safety standards. The colour card will be divided into five different categories — green, light green, yellow, red and white — each with its own points to grade the standard of each food establishment.

Dubai Municipality’s ratings will award a green card to eateries that score 95 and above, while a light green card will indicate a satisfactory rating that records less than five minor violations — equivalent to a rating from 90 to 94. A yellow card indicating a conditional pass will be issued when there is either one major violation or a maximum of seven minor violations, which will be scored from 75 to 89.

powell_krishna_feb_12“With this one colour-grading code, we can increase the efficiency of restaurants and also reduce non-compliance issues, as it is normal for any food regulatory system to face instances where food outlets do not comply with safety standards,” Krishna said (left, me in Dubai 2012).

Currently, approximately 200 outlets have been awarded the A-grade green cards, which reflect their high rating with no records of violations during routine municipal inspections.

He explained that countries around the world have already adopted a similar approach where it has been made mandatory for food outlets to display their grade as awarded by regulatory authorities. “We have copied the best global practices and adapted them,” said Krishna.

Toronto uses a red-yellow-green system.

Food detectives: Students investigate mock poisoning in Dubai

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What made many of the guests at Noor’s birthday party sick? Why is the school clinic full of students complaining of stomachache, diarrhea and vomiting?

food.detectives.dubai.nov.15Students from some Dubai schools recently got a chance to investigate such intriguing scenarios, thanks to an initiative launched at the 10th Dubai International Food Safety Conference.

Middle and high school boys and girls donned the roles of “Food Detectives” at the workshops titled so, and used their detective skills to solve the suspected food poisoning cases presented to them.

The Dubai Municipality’s Food Safety Department teamed up with Science Party Dubai to host the special workshops aimed at teaching principles of epidemiological investigation to school children.

Multiple case studies of food poisoning were presented to teams of students who used their detective skills to solve them. They also suggested ways to prevent food poisoning cases.

Arvin Jalali, a ninth grader from GEMS Winchester School told Khaleej Times the students enjoyed learning things that they had not taken seriously earlier.

“Look at all the bacteria around us. How all they can spread! We are really lucky that nothing happened to us so far,” he said.

His schoolmate Imran Hussain Tauqeer said most participants didn’t realise the side effects of what they often do and take for granted.

“Now we know many things about basic food safety. Now we know the importance of hand hygiene, temperature control, and bacteria in raw eggs,” he said.

Teachers present at the workshop echoed the same.

Martha Carol, a teacher with Dar Al Marefa School, said: “They came to know how bacteria grow at certain level of temperature which they feel safe, but is actually not safe. They realized it better when they investigated by themselves.”

Australian researchers summarize surveillance approaches

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Foodborne disease surveillance aims to reduce the burden of illness due to contaminated food.

surveillanceThere are several different types of surveillance systems, including event-based surveillance, indicator-based surveillance, and integrated food chain surveillance. These approaches are not mutually exclusive, have overlapping data sources, require distinct capacities and resources, and can be considered a hierarchy, with each level being more complex and resulting in a greater ability to detect and control foodborne disease.

Event-based surveillance is generally the least resource-intensive system and makes use of informal data sources. Indicator-based surveillance is seen as traditional notifiable disease surveillance and consists of routinely collected data. Integrated food chain surveillance is viewed as the optimal practice for conducting continuous risk analysis for foodborne diseases, but also requires significant ongoing resources and greater multisectoral collaboration compared to the other systems. Each country must determine the most appropriate structure for their surveillance system for foodborne diseases based on their available resources.

This review explores the evidence on the principles, minimum capabilities, and minimum requirements of each type of surveillance and discusses examples from a range of countries. This review forms the evidence base for the Strengthening the Surveillance and Response for Foodborne Diseases: A Practical Manual.

Approaches to the surveillance of foodborne disease: A review of the evidence

Foodborne Pathogens and Disease. -Not available-, ahead of print. doi:10.1089/fpd.2015.2013.

Ford Laura, Miller Megge, Cawthorne Amy, Fearnley Emily, and Kirk Martyn

http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/fpd.2015.2013

Foodborne outbreaks in Canada 2008-2014

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Background: Enteric outbreak investigation in Canada is performed at the local, provincial/territorial (P/T) and federal levels. Historically, routine surveillance of outbreaks did not occur in all jurisdictions and so the Public Health Agency of Canada, in partnership with P/T public health authorities, developed a secure, web-based Outbreak Summaries (OS) Reporting System to address this gap.

canada.colbert.oct.14Objective: This analysis summarizes the foodborne outbreak investigations reported to the OS Reporting System between 2008 and 2014.

Methods: Finalised reports of investigations between 2008 and 2014 for all participating jurisdictions in Canada were extracted and descriptive analysis was carried out for foodborne outbreaks on etiological agent, severity of illness, outbreak duration, exposure setting and outbreak source.

Results: There were 115 reported foodborne outbreaks included in the analysis. This represents 11.2% of all outbreaks reported in the enteric module of the OS Reporting System between 2008 and 2014. Salmonella was the most commonly reported cause of foodborne outbreak (40.9%) and Enteritidis was the most common serotype reported. Foodborne outbreaks accounted for 3,301 illnesses, 225 hospitalizations and 30 deaths. Overall, 38.3% of foodborne outbreaks were reported to have occurred in a community and 32.2% were associated with a food service establishment. Most foodborne outbreak investigations (63.5%) reported a specific food associated with the outbreak, most frequently meat.

Conclusion: The OS Reporting System supports information sharing and collaboration among Canadian public health partners and offers an opportunity to obtain a national picture of foodborne outbreaks. This analysis has demonstrated the utility of the OS Reporting System data as an important and useful source of information to describe foodborne outbreak investigations in Canada.

Funding for this program was provided by the Public Health Agency of Canada.

An overview of foodborne outbreaks in Canada reported through Outbreak Summaries: 2008-2014

CCDR: Volume 41-11, November 5, 2015: Foodborne Illness

Bélanger P, Tanguay F, Hamel M, Phypers M

http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/publicat/ccdr-rmtc/15vol41/dr-rm41-11/ar-01-eng.php#footnote1

fbi.cdn.table.nov.15

Pistachios following the way of the almond industry: developing validated pasteurization interventions

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Nuts and other low moisture foods can be a source of Salmonella. That’s not new. But many folks in the low-moisture foods industries are now conducting risk assessments and validating interventions (like pasteurization) to keep the Salmonella out of the hands of bar patrons everywhere.

The almond industry led the way about a decade ago. The peanut industry, in the wake of two outbreaks followed. According to Growing Produce, the pistachio industry is working with friend of barfblog (and known to her close friends as at the almond queen) Linda Harris and Michigan State’s Bradley Marks on some validation work.pistachios

“At this point in our world, Salmonella is a hazard that is reasonably likely to possibly occur in low-moisture products like nuts. It’s happened before, so we have to assume it’s possible it could happen again,” Marks says. “That being the case, the proposed rules of FSMA require that the processor have a validated process that they can document that they’ve shown achieves the food safety objective.”

Marks and his colleagues are currently working on lab-scale research to evaluate the effects of the pasteurization process and product conditions on the resistance of Salmonella to heating. “We’re doing some mathematical modeling so we can understand the rate of Salmonella activation as a function of temperature, time, and conditions of the product or the process itself,” Marks says.

The second part of the project will involve similar work on a pilot scale. “We have a system where we can inoculate pistachios with Salmonella and subject them to a process like a flatbed roaster,” Marks says. “So we are looking at validating that our prediction of the inactivation of Salmonella is correct, and that a non-pathogenic surrogate (Enterococcus faecium) also is reliable as a means to validate the process.”

Marks is working closely with Linda Harris, co-principal investigator for the Western Center for Food Safety at the University of California, Davis, to develop guidelines and on-site workshop training for pistachio processors. The guidelines and training will focus on what needs to be measured and documented to meet the FSMA requirements.

Health officials exploring mandatory training for Hawaiian food businesses

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Our weekends are dominated by hockey. Jack, the 7-year-old, practices early Saturday morning with games are Sundays. Sam, the 5-year-old, starts a learn to play hockey class this weekend.

Last year I went through 8 hours of in-class instruction and 10 hours of online modules to qualify as a volunteer assistant coach. The worse thing I can do is accidentally hit a kid in the helmet with a puck or fall on one (both of those things have happened this year) but the training is required – and it made me a better coach.

It’s not like I’m handling food that people eat, where if I mess up people could get sick and die.

According to KHON2, Hawaiian health department folks are looking at mandatory food safety education for all food establishments in response to a bunch of poor inspections (maybe this is manager training, maybe for all food employees; I’m not sure).

The state health department says it may soon be asking food establishments to undergo mandatory food safety education in wake of a string of “red-carded” Oahu businesses in October.

Of the over 10,000 restaurant inspections done statewide since July 2014, the DOH says 2,000 restaurants had two or more critical violations. So what has the state learned since the placard system for food establishments was put in place? “One thing in our rules we’re probably going to change later on in the year is have a mandatory food safety education for all restaurants and food establishments in Hawaii,” said Peter Oshiro with the Department of Health.

Since fixing their violations, the North Shore bakery says it’s busier than usual.

“That’s great for the bakery,” Oshiro said. “For us, all we’re concerned with is that they correct violations that impact public health.”

Inspectors also discovered employees were not following proper hygiene or hand-washing rules, something Oshiro says is considered, “one of the most common violations in food establishments.”
“It looks like they may need some form of food safety education so hopefully they might agree to something like that,” Oshiro said.

Best public restroom in the U.S. named; handwashing tools not shown

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Powell famously rated Guelph bathrooms in the 1980s while editor of the University of Guelph’s campus paper, The Ontarion. His idea was resurrected by supply and uniform company, Cintas and according to the Denver Post, a Minturn, Colorado restroom has won the most artsy award (or something like that).20150917__Minturn_bathroom_1~p1

Holding back chuckles, [Minturn planning director Janet] Hawkison said there has been a great sense of humor and jokes around town about being known for their toilets. The town is just happy that a project that was such a big part of the community had its time to shine.

The two restrooms, one for men and one for women, sit a few feet apart and feature fabricated wood pieces — 320 different pieces total — on the sides where they face each other to mimic an adit, or an entrance to a mine in honor of Minturn’s rich mining history. Inside the bathrooms, walls are painted turquoise and copper and feature steel butterflies on the ceiling. Conception, design and construction were all done locally.

Curious parties want to see the award winning handwashing tools and signs.