Always the kids: It’s not a cute turtle, it’s a Salmonella factory

Posted on December 25, 2015 by Douglas Powell

Brandon Childs and Cordelia Roass write for 2 Minute Medicine that a total of 8 multi-state Salmonella infections were identified during the 29-month study period, which included 473 individually confirmed cases.

The majority of cases were seen in children younger than 5 years old, and 68% of patients reported a recent exposure to a small turtle.

In the past, exposure to reptiles and amphibians led to thousands of Salmonella infections, particularly in young children. Due to these infections and the potential for developing invasive disease, a federal ban was created in 1975 on the sale and distribution of small turtles less than 4 inches. However, recent multistate outbreaks prompted the current investigative study. Authors of this study sought to understand the epidemiology of turtle-associated salmonellosis and turtle care by case-patients, and to determine where these outbreaks originated. A total of 8 individual, multistate outbreaks were identified. The majority of cases were accounted for by young children, who reported recent exposure to small turtles. A minimal amount of participants were previously aware of the Salmonella reptile association. Investigative efforts traced many cases to 2 turtle farms in Louisiana. After distribution from these farms was halted, the number of new cases of Salmonella infections decreased drastically. Data may be limited as several cases were linked to untraceable sources. Nonetheless, this study should encourage pediatricians to warn their patients and parents about the potential dangers of animal exposure, particularly to small turtles.

In order to identify outbreaks of Salmonella, researchers used data between May 2011 and September 2013 from local and state reference laboratories as well as from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Outbreaks were described as epidemiological and environmental sampling links between ≥2 case-patients including multiple serotypes. Cases were defined as an infection with ≥1 of the outbreak strains. Case-patients were interviewed and completed a questionnaire detailing contact with turtles and their knowledge of the association between reptiles and Salmonella. Swab and water samples were collected by state and local health agencies from patient homes and retail establishments where cases were reported. Researchers identified 8 separate, multi-state Salmonella outbreaks for a total of 473 individual cases. Affected patients <5 years old accounted for 55% of all cases and Hispanic ethnicity was reported in 45% of cases. Turtle exposure was identified in 68% of interviewed patients, and 88% of these were due to contact with small turtles. The association between reptiles and Salmonella was previously known in only 15% of case-patients. Salmonellae were confirmed to be present in 5 retail stores in Florida, which were subsequently traced back to 2 separate Louisiana turtle farms.

Lettuce is overrated: Bad bugs in leafy greens

Posted on December 25, 2015 by Douglas Powell

Microbial pathogen infiltration in fresh leafy greens is a significant food safety risk factor.

In various postharvest operations, vacuum cooling is a critical process for maintaining the quality of fresh produce. The overall goal of this study was to evaluate the risk of vacuum cooling-induced infiltration of Escherichia coliO157:H7 into lettuce using multiphoton microscopy.

Multiphoton imaging was chosen as the method to locate E. coli O157:H7 within an intact lettuce leaf due to its high spatial resolution, low background fluorescence, and near-infrared (NIR) excitation source compared to those of conventional confocal microscopy. The variables vacuum cooling, surface moisture, and leaf side were evaluated in a three-way factorial study with E. coli O157:H7 on lettuce. A total of 188 image stacks were collected. The images were analyzed for E. coli O157:H7 association with stomata and E. coli O157:H7 infiltration. The quantitative imaging data were statistically analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA).

The results indicate that the low-moisture condition led to an increased risk of microbial association with stomata (P < 0.05). Additionally, the interaction between vacuum cooling levels and moisture levels led to an increased risk of infiltration (P < 0.05). This study also demonstrates the potential of multiphoton imaging for improving sensitivity and resolution of imaging-based measurements of microbial interactions with intact leaf structures, including infiltration.

Influence of vacuum cooling on Escherichia coli O157:H7 infiltration infresh leafy greens via a multiphoton-imaging approach

Appl. Environ. Microbiol. January 2016 82:106-115; Accepted manuscript posted online 16 October 2015, doi:10.1128/AEM.02327-15

Erica Vonasek and Nitin Nitin

http://aem.asm.org/content/82/1/106.abstract?etoc

Harmless Harvest (not so harmless) to temporarily suspend bottling operations following FDA warning letter

Posted on December 24, 2015 by Douglas Powell

With a bullshit name like Harmless Harvest, you gotta except some extra harmless scrutiny.

Coconut water company Harmless Harvestd will temporarily halt bottling products due to concerns by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) over the safety of processing methods used in the company’s Thailand facility.

The company, which for several years marketed its product as “raw”, has long leaned on high pressure processing (HPP) and proprietary processes shared with the FDA to ensure the safety of its products. But a recent warning letter from the FDA to the San Francisco-based company indicates that no longer may be enough.

In a letter dated Nov. 13, William A. Correll Jr., director of the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition’s office of compliance, informed Harmless Harvest of several “serious violations” of the juice Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HAACP) regulations, relating to its ability to eliminate potentially hazardous spores through microfiltration at its Thailand processing facility.

“Our review of the information and documentation provided by your firm reveals that the coconut juice products manufactured by your firm and offered for entry into the United States are processed in a manner that does not comply with the juice HACCP regulation, 21 CFR Part 120,” wrote Correll.

Among the violations listed in the letter is the claim that Harmless Harvest’s HAACP plan does not adequately demonstrate a 5-log reduction of spores of Cholostridium botulinum, which can cause botulism.

Harmless Harvest’s recently appointed CEO, Gianella Alvarez, addressed the issue in a statement published on Harmless Harvest’s website, saying the company is currently working alongside “FDA regulators, other oversight agencies and expert consultants” to make “process enhancements” that will ensure compliance with the FDA’s regulatory regulations.”

Pasteurization works, and don’t eat poop: 70 sickened with crypto from cow shit in cider

Posted on December 24, 2015 by Douglas Powell

The cause of the cryptosporidiousis from the Pike County Fall Color Drive in apple cider is now known.

A test done by the CDC on environmental and human specimens has confirmed that this illness was due to cow manure contamination.

This unpasteurized apple cider was made on a private family farm in Adams County specifically for family consumption and sale at the Pike County Fall Color Drive October 17-18.

This cider was not produced at a licensed cider manufacturer or orchard.

Cattle were on the farm near the site of the apple cider press.

The stories of ill children are never easy to read

Posted on December 24, 2015 by Ben Chapman

The holidays always remind me that I’m pretty lucky. Neither of my kids has ever been really sick. A few stitches and ear infections are about all we’ve had to deal with. Between skating, playing road hockey, Drake-inspired dance parties and multiple The Force Awakens viewing this week I’ve thought about how good things are.

During non-family, non-hockey times I’m immersed in food safety. 2F987B5E00000578-3373030-Nicola_Jackson_39_donated_a_kidney_to_save_her_three_year_old_so-m-17_1450950567932

Reading about the seriousness of the issues and how illnesses happen shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone who works with food – farmers, processors, food handlers (commercial or domestic).

A decade or so into things and you start seeing the same stories and mistakes repeated.

But the narrative is still emotional and shocking when you read about a kid getting sick, like three year-old Reuben Jackson. He picked up E. coli O157 during a visit to a farm, developed HUS and required a kidney transplant. The Daily Mail writes that his mother, according to Nicola, gave him one of hers.

For Reuben, the infection triggered haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS), where blood cells begin destroyed, and start to clog up the filtering system in the kidneys.

Mrs Jackson said: ‘It was a living nightmare. Reuben was in intensive care and then had to have his large intestine removed and a stoma pouch fitted.’

He spent time on dialysis, where a machine filters the blood, and regained around 25 per cent of kidney function, but earlier this year they began to fail again.

The mother-of-two was tested to see if she would be a match to donate a kidney to her son.

When Mrs Jackson received the news that she would be able to donate a kidney, she describes the moment as sheer relief.

She said: ‘I remember thinking at the last test, please let this one be okay, each positive result felt like one step closer.

Mrs Jackson spent four days in hospital, and said Reuben was instantly better after the operation.

She said: ‘It was remarkable to see him. He was instantly better.

‘He was running around the ward and was back to his old, bright self, laughing and being cheeky.’

Now, Reuben has been selected as a Little Hero by the baby and toddler swim school Water Babies as – with the agreement of doctors – he swam throughout his treatment.

‘Reuben’s time in the pool is his fun time, he just loves it,’ Mrs Jackson said.

That’s a good end to a terrifying story.

Chipotle’s processing changes: soundbite edition

Posted on December 24, 2015 by Ben Chapman

I missed out on chatting with Jim-don’t-call-me-Louis-CK-Cramer but CNBC’s Closing Bell continues to cover the Chipotle outbreak anthology.

CNBC also has a decent breakdown of how outbreaks are investigated (good background for food company executives so they don’t say that CDC is picking on them).

Doctors and lab technicians are required to alert health authorities if a patient is diagnosed with any of a number of diseases, including many food borne illnesses. The reports made to state health departments help to collect data and determine disease trends.

The state health departments use techniques such as serotyping, which identifies more particular types of a given bacteria, like Salmonella. They also do DNA “fingerprinting,” which isolates variable elements in a string to be matched to other DNA found in a cluster.

They input their findings into a system called PulseNet.

One problem for the CDC in identifying fresh produce as the source of an outbreak is that by the time investigators find the food, the infected produce could be spoiled and no longer available for testing. Between physicians, state health authorities and CDC lab testing, the whole process can take weeks.

That means it’s likely that once you read about people taken ill in the news, they were infected a while ago. The illnesses that were reported the week of Dec. 21 started between Nov. 18 and 26, for example.

Raw is risky: I only eat cooked oysters (and didn’t get any for our 7 fishes feast tonight)

Posted on December 23, 2015 by Douglas Powell

Although Salmonella has been isolated from 7.4 to 8.6% of domestic raw oysters, representing a significant risk for food-borne illness, little is known about the factors that influence their initial colonization by Salmonella.

This study tested the hypothesis that specific regulatory changes enable a portion of the invadingSalmonella population to colonize oysters.

An in vivo promoter probe library screen identified 19 unique regions as regulated during colonization. The mutants in the nearest corresponding downstream genes were tested for colonization defects in oysters. Only one mutation, in ssrB, resulted in a significantly reduced ability to colonize oysters compared to that of wild-type Salmonella. Because ssrBregulates Salmonella pathogenicity island 2 (SPI-2)-dependent infections in vertebrate macrophages, the possibility that ssrB mediated colonization of oyster hemocytes in a similar manner was examined. However, no difference in hemocyte colonization was observed.

The complementary hypothesis that signal exchange between Salmonella and the oyster’s native microbial community aids colonization was also tested. Signals that triggered responses in quorum sensing (QS) reporters were shown to be produced by oyster-associated bacteria and present in oyster tissue. However, no evidence for signal exchange was observed in vivo.

The sdiAreporter responded to salinity, suggesting that SdiA may also have a role in environmental sensing. Overall, this study suggests the initial colonization of live oysters by Salmonella is controlled by a limited number of regulators, includingssrB.

Influence of Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium ssrB on colonization of eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica) as revealed by a promoter probe screen

Appl. Environ. Microbiol. January 2016 82:328-339; Accepted manuscript
posted online 23 October 2015, doi:10.1128/AEM.02870-15

Clayton E. Cox, Anita C. Wright, Michael McClelland, and Max Teplitski

http://aem.asm.org/content/82/1/328.abstract?etoc

From the Salmonella-in-low-moisture-foods file: survival for 180+ days in cookie and cracker sandwiches

Posted on December 23, 2015 by Ben Chapman

In 2009 when PCA was distributing Salmonella-contaminated peanut paste products to lots of manufacturers, many were asking questions about how the pathogen survived in the low-moisture environment and whether the outbreak was an indicator that the snack food industry was facing a larger issue. Since then there have been numerous low-moisture food outbreaks (here’s a nice review from Sofia Santillana Farakos and Joe Franks).

Friends of barfblog Larry Beuchat (right, exactly as shown) and Scott Burnett did some work on peanut butter and Salmonella and showed that the pathogen could survive for a long, long time, ‘Post-process contamination of peanut butter and spreads with Salmonella may to result in survival in these products for the duration of their shelf life at 5 degrees C and possibly 21 degrees C, depending on the formulation.’

Larry has published another great paper on Salmonella in low moisture foods, Survival of Salmonella in Cookie and Cracker Sandwiches Containing Inoculated, Low-Water Activity Fillings in JFP. From the abstract, ‘The ability of Salmonella to survive for at least 182 days in fillings of cookie and cracker sandwiches demonstrates a need to assure that filling ingredients do not contain the pathogen and that contamination does not occur during manufacture.’

Yep

Or in his own words,

“There have been an increased number of outbreaks of diseases associated with consumption of contaminated dry foods. We wouldn’t expect salmonella to grow in foods that have a very dry environment,” said Beuchat, who works with the Center for Food Safety on the UGA campus in Griffin.

Focusing on cookie and cracker sandwiches, the researchers put the salmonella into four types of fillings found in cookies or crackers and placed them into storage. The researchers used cheese and peanut butter fillings for the cracker sandwiches and chocolate and vanilla fillings for the cookie sandwiches.

These “are the kind that we find in grocery stores or vending machines,” Beuchat said.

“The salmonella didn’t survive as well in the cracker sandwiches as it did in the cookie sandwiches,” Beuchat said.

In some cases, the pathogen was able to survive for at least to six months in the sandwiches.“That was not expected,” he said.

Norovirus-linked Chipotle reopens in Boston; manager and employee fired

Posted on December 23, 2015 by Ben Chapman

Following an all-clear (which means, you’re meeting the basic food code requirements) from health officials, the Chipotle location linked to over 140 norovirus illnesses is all set to open. Minus at least two employees – the manager and ill employee have, according to WCVB, both been fired.

Chipotle is expected to be cleared to reopen its Cleveland Circle location Wednesday after more than 100 customers got sick with norovirus earlier this month.

Boston Inspectional Services said the restaurant has been disinfected and a second round of samples tested negative for norovirus. All employees also tested negative for the virus.

City inspectors were at the restaurant for a final rundown Wednesday.

One hundred and forty people, most of them Boston College students, got norovirus after eating at the restaurant.

Health officials said a sick employee was the source. The company said that employee and the manager on duty at the time have been fired.

There was some organizational/food safety culture issue at work in this outbreak. The chain offers paid sick leave to its employees – so why was there an ill food handler working?

That’s a values/not understanding risk issue and a management fail.

Are you sure about that? Is that roast needle tenderized? Does it matter?

Posted on December 23, 2015 by Douglas Powell

After a few days at the beach and being disappointed with restaurant food, it was good to be home, with my BBQ and a rib roast.

It was fairly delicious.

But the question arises, was it needle tenderized, potentially passing pathogens from the exterior to the interior and requiring a higher cooking temperature for safety.

I know the butcher where I purchased the meat, he knows what I do, and they cut the carcass up at the shop, so I believe him when he says it wasn’t needle tenderized.

All food purchases are faith-based.

Boneless beef rib eye roasts were surface inoculated on the fat side with ca. 5.7 log CFU/g of a five-strain cocktail of Salmonella for subsequent searing, cooking, and warm holding using preparation methods practiced by restaurants surveyed in a medium-size Midwestern city.

A portion of the inoculated roasts was then passed once through a mechanical blade tenderizer. For both intact and nonintact roasts, searing for 15 min at 260°C resulted in reductions in Salmonella populations of ca. 0.3 to 1.3 log CFU/g.

For intact (nontenderized) rib eye roasts, cooking to internal temperatures of 37.8 or 48.9°C resulted in additional reductions of ca. 3.4 log CFU/g. For tenderized (nonintact) rib eye roasts, cooking to internal temperatures of 37.8 or 48.9°C resulted in additional reductions of ca. 3.1 or 3.4 log CFU/g, respectively.

Pathogen populations remained relatively unchanged for intact roasts cooked to 37.8 or 48.9°C and for nonintact roasts cooked to 48.9°C when held at 60.0°C for up to 8 h. In contrast, pathogen populations increased ca. 2.0 log CFU/g in nonintact rib eye cooked to 37.8°C when held at 60.0°C for 8 h. Thus, cooking at low temperatures and extended holding at relatively low temperatures as evaluated herein may pose a food safety risk to consumers in terms of inadequate lethality and/or subsequent outgrowth of Salmonella, especially if nonintact rib eye is used in the preparation of prime rib, if on occasion appreciable populations of Salmonella are present in or on the meat, and/or if the meat is not cooked adequately throughout.

Microbiological safety of commercial prime rib preparation methods: Thermal inactivation of Salmonella in mechanically tenderized rib eye

Journal of Food Protection, Number 12, December 2015

Alexandra Calle, Anna C.S. Porto-Fett, Bradley A. Shoyer, John B. Luchansky, and Harshavardhan Thippareddi

http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/iafp/jfp/2015/00000078/00000012/art00003

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