Yearly Archives: 2015

2 dead, 341 sick from Salmonella in cucumbers

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The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports:

  • CDC, multiple states, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration(FDA) are investigating a multistate outbreak of SalmonellaPoona infections.
  • cucumber341 people infected with the outbreak strains of Salmonella Poona have been reported from 30 states, an increase of 56 cases since the last update on September 4. 
  • 70 ill people have been hospitalized, and two deaths have been reported from California (1) and Texas (1).
  • 53% of ill people are children younger than 18 years.
  • Epidemiologic, laboratory, and traceback investigations have identified imported cucumbers from Mexico and distributed by Andrew & Williamson Fresh Produce as a likely source of the infections in this outbreak.
  • 91 (68%) of 134 people interviewed reported eating cucumbers in the week before their illness began.
  • Eleven illness clusters have been identified in seven states. In all of these clusters, interviews found that cucumbers were a food item eaten in common by ill people.
  • Arizona, California, Montana, and Nevada isolated Salmonellafrom samples of cucumbers collected from various locations that were distributed by Andrew & Williamson Fresh Produce.
  • On September 4, 2015, Andrew & Williamson Fresh Produce voluntarily recalledall cucumbers sold under the “Limited Edition” brand label during the period from August 1, 2015 through September 3, 2015 because they may be contaminated with Salmonella.
  • The type of cucumber is often referred to as a “slicer” or “American” cucumber and is dark green in color. Typical length is 7 to 10 inches. 
  • In retail locations the cucumbers are typically sold in a bulk display without any individual packaging or plastic wrapping.
  • A photo of the packing carton is available.
  • Limited Edition cucumbers were distributed in the states of Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, and Utah. Further distribution to other states may have occurred.
  • Consumers should not eat, restaurants should not serve, and retailers should not sell recalled cucumbers.
  • If you aren’t sure if your cucumbers were recalled, ask the place of purchase or your supplier. When in doubt, don’t eat, sell, or serve them and throw them out.
  • CDC’s National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring Systemlaboratory is conducting antibiotic resistance testing on clinical isolates collected from ill people infected with the outbreak strains; results will be reported when they become available.
  • This investigation is ongoing. CDC will provide updates when more information is available.

Case Count Update

Since the last update on September 4, 2015, 56 new ill people have been reported from Alaska (1), Arizona (6), California (21), Hawaii (1), Illinois (1), Louisiana (1), Missouri (1), New Mexico (3), Oklahoma (3), Oregon (5), Pennsylvania (2), South Carolina (1), Texas (9), and Washington (1).

As of September 8, 2015, a total of 341 people infected with the outbreak strains of Salmonella Poona have been reported from 30 states. The number of ill people reported from each state is as follows: Alaska (9), Arizona (66), Arkansas (6), California (72), Colorado (14), Hawaii (1), Idaho (8), Illinois (6), Kansas (1), Kentucky (1), Louisiana (4), Minnesota (12), Missouri (8), Montana (10), Nebraska (2), Nevada (7), New Mexico (18), New York (4), North Dakota (1), Ohio (2), Oklahoma (8), Oregon (8), Pennsylvania (2), South Carolina (7), Texas (18), Utah (30), Virginia (1), Washington (10), Wisconsin (2), and Wyoming (3).

Among people for whom information is available, illnesses started on dates ranging from July 3, 2015 to August 30, 2015. Ill people range in age from less than 1 year to 99, with a median age of 15. Fifty-three percent of ill people are children younger than 18 years. Fifty-eight percent of ill people are female. Among 214 people with available information, 70 (33%) report being hospitalized. Two deaths have been reported from California (1) and Texas (1).

Illnesses that occurred after August 16, 2015 might not be reported yet due to the time it takes between when a person becomes ill and when the illness is reported. This takes an average of 2 to 4 weeks.

 

UK parents on red alert as medics treat schoolgirl with E. coli

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Parents have been put on red alert after a school pupil contracted deadly E.coli.

e.coliThe girl at Ayr Grammar has been whisked to Glasgow for treatment following the discovery of the bug.

Health chiefs insist there is “no evidence” to suggest the infection originated within the school.

And they say letters have been sent to all parents “as a precaution”.

Food safety dominates first day of Florida tomato conference

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Doug Ohlemeier of The Packer writes that during the opening day of the Florida Joint Tomato Conference, participants heard how the state’s tomato good agricultural practices and tomato best management practices are helping ensure safe shipments.

tomatoSince implementation of TGAPS, tomatoes haven’t experienced any recalls or outbreaks, Keith Schneider, associate professor of Food Science and Human Nutrition with the Gainesville-based University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, said during a Sept. 8 tomato safety session.

He also noted the Sept. 4 multi-state salmonella outbreak of Mexican cucumbers distributed by San Diego-based Andrew & Williamson Fresh Produce.

“All commodities are potential sources of foodborne illnesses,” Schneider said. “No one’s exempt. There is the recall in cucumbers for salmonella. Even things not traditionally associated with foodborne outbreaks (are subject to recalls). Those can be problematic. But I think we’re getting better with tomatoes and the record of tomatoes clearly speaks to that.”

In nine years of state tomato production inspections, the Tallahassee-based Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services has issued 163 corrective actions, 120 failed audits and given 831 audit approvals, which means the farms and packinghouses passed the first time, said Steve Eguino, an agency certification specialist.

The average audit time is 3 1/2 hours and during the 2014-15 season, the agency conducted audits at 76 fields, five greenhouses, 81 packinghouses and 12 repacking operations, he said.

David Gombas, senior vce president of food safety and technology for the Washington, D.C.-based United Fresh Produce Association, said, “I’m getting tired of talking with folks that don’t have it. They did a mock recall last year with an auditor and think that’s enough, but it’s like deer in the headlights. It will always be more expensive doing it that way than having one in advance.” 

Carcass-testing program puts Marcho Farms on the hunt for big six E. coli

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Wayne Marcho, founder of Marcho Farm, has according to this story, had a long history of investment into doing “what’s right” by the company and its consumers — the most recent evidence occurring when its continuous-improvement efforts were turned toward its already-strong food-safety record.

marchoFarmsLogo“We want to be a leader in food safety,” explains Brian Friesen, president of the Harleysville, Pa.-based veal processor. “We’ve had a history of performing extremely well, better than published averages, on our pathogen testing and felt we’re ready to push it up another notch.”

A bump toward this target came, in many ways, from the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) declaration in late 2011 that the “Big 6” non-O157 shiga-toxin producing E. coli serogroups (STECs) would be deemed adulterants. Soon afterward, Marcho Farms saw plenty of information on STECs available for beef processors, but little offered around handling these pathogens for veal processors. As a result, Marcho Farms reached out to Mohammad Koohmaraie, Ph.D., and his team at IEH Laboratories & Consulting Group for assistance.

Among the options discussed with Marcho Farms was a unique approach to pathogen testing that Dr. Mansour Samadpour of IEH Laboratories had developed and Koohmaraie encouraged the Marcho team to consider implementing. The procedures, which are patented by IEH Laboratories, had received a letter of no objection (LNO) from FSIS in 2012, but had yet to be put into a real-world plant. Marcho Farms would soon become that first facility.

One of the reasons Marcho Farms has been successful in actually executing on its continuous-improvement initiatives is its small, long-tenured workforce. When the company embarks upon a mission, it includes the entire team of stakeholders from the processing floor on up through the executive management. With its food-safety strategies, Marcho Farms has acted no differently.

Bob Russell, general manager at Marcho Farms, says the plant used trim testing to verify its sanitary dressing procedures, but even having a small kill floor team, it slowed the process of solving issues when they occurred.

“I can say the kill-floor team is very engaged in what we do,” he says. “But it’s difficult to go back and ask them, ‘Let’s see now, it’s Thursday morning, do you remember what we did differently on Monday?’”

Koohmaraie’s pathogen-testing proposal struck Russell as the innovative process the plant needed, the first piece of the puzzle for Marcho Farms to take that coveted next step.

“Koohmaraie’s team looked at beef trim differently than everybody else — they looked at the pitfalls of trim testing, did DNA testing inside a combo bin and found as many as 40 carcasses,” Russell explains. “So, there’s at least [12 categories of carcass quality and weight ranges] off the kill, and if you have a positive and try to find which one it was, it’s mission impossible. Even as small as we are and as slow as we run, it’s still difficult to go back and say exactly where the process failed.”

For Marcho Farms, however, its size mattered, making the transition simpler. The changes needed to adopt the carcass-testing process were not logistically difficult, says Rick Mesaris, QA/Food Safety manager for Marcho Farms. The plant needed to create a new work station directly in the carcass cooler, immediately after the final carcass-spray intervention, and had to develop a plan to ensure random testing and site selection on the carcasses.

“As far as manpower for collecting the carcass samples, we morphed those positions into it from the trim testing,” he adds. “And I think carcass testing is actually a little bit easier for them, because they don’t have to dig through a box looking for carcass surface: It’s right there in front of them.”

UK says rare burgers OK given a plan; still say cook thoroughly, no thermometer

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Ridiculous.

And the UK Food Standards Agency calls itself a science-based outfit.

hedgehog.dartsThe salaries sitting around the advisory table would be better spent on hedgehogs throwing darts at a food-safety-options board.

The FSA Board today agreed that the preparation and service of rare burgers in food outlets is unacceptable unless a validated and verified food safety management plan is in place.

But they don’t say what a validated and verified plan is, short of irradiation.

The FSA’s long-standing advice to consumers that they should cook burgers thoroughly to kill any bugs that may be present is unchanged.

Use a thermometer and stick it in.

The FSA Board had been asked to consider a range of controls businesses should make sure are in place if they are serving rare burgers. These include sourcing meat only from establishments which have specific controls in place to minimise the risk of contamination of meat intended to be eaten raw or lightly cooked and providing consumer advice on menus regarding the additional risk from burgers which aren’t thoroughly cooked.

hedgehog.suitThe FSA Board voted to support the new approach but with the following requirements:

  • businesses wanting to serve burgers rare pre-notify their local authority;
  • the Board is given reassurances on the controls that suppliers of mince intended for consumption rare or lightly cooked in burgers have in place;
  • effective consumer advisory statements will be required on menus where rare burgers are served;
  • the Board agreed the FSA should take a lead ensuring these statements are consistent; and,
  • an FSA communications plan is implemented to explain the risks and controls to the public infection rates continue to be kept under close review and any changes brought to the attention of the Board.

The approach agreed by the Board will improve consumer protection by making it clear to businesses the circumstances under which service of rare burgers is acceptable and the stringent controls that must apply, and supporting local authority enforcement where controls are not in place or are not applied consistently.

The controls are vague, not stringent.

In light of the Board’s decision, the FSA will continue developing guidance for local authorities, businesses and consumers.

More salaries sitting around a table. I’d rather pay hedgehogs.

barfblog.Stick It In

 

Plant colicins: Old is new in E. coli control

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In 2011, nearly 4,000 people were infected — and 54 of them died — from a foodborne illness.

The infection was traced to organic sprouts, from a farm whose produce had been contaminated with a deadly strain of Enterohemorrhagic E. coli bacteria (EHEC).

Now, scientists have engineered plants that produce a particular protein that, when added to food, kills seven of the deadliest strains of foodborne E. coli, according to a study published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Modern agriculture and food production are constantly increasing the risk of contaminating meat or produce with bacteria, because they combine products from many different farms, said study researcher Yuri Gleba, CEO of the German biotech company Nomad Bioscience.

“The very nature of bacteria is if you have one contaminated batch [of food], you have all contaminated batches,” Gleba told Business Insider.

A bacterial strain known as O157:H7 causes about three-quarters of EHEC infections worldwide, but several emerging strains (referred to as the “Big 6″) are also becoming a serious concern.

sprout.apple.aug.14Some harmless bacteria naturally produce proteins known as collicins that fight more dangerous EHEC strains. Scientists discovered collicins about 90 years ago, but their effects on the microbes that cause foodborne illnesses haven’t been closely studied, until now.

In the study, Gleba and his colleagues tweaked the DNA of spinach, leafy beets, chicory and lettuce to make the plants produce these antimicrobial proteins. They then added these proteins to contaminated food.

In several experiments, the researchers spiked pork fillets with the E. coli strain O157:H7, and sprayed some of the collicins produced by their genetically engineered plants on the meat.

They found that treating the meat with collicins significantly reduced the amount of harmful bacteria present. A “cocktail” of two of these proteins in particular “showed very high activity” against the seven most deadly foodborne pathogens identified by the USDA/FDA.

Gleba thinks you could use these antibacterial proteins as food additives to treat and render contaminated food safe before we consume it — without changing its taste or quality.

The collicins are only effective against a narrow spectrum of microbes, which is why a cocktail of different proteins is needed.

cow.poop.spinachIn future studies, they hope to make their approach more effective against a wider range of harmful bacteria. They also hope to go from the realm of food safety to medicine, where their antimicrobial proteins could possibly be used in lieu of traditional antibiotics.

 Broad and efficient control of major foodborne pathogenic strains of Escherichia coli by mixtures of plant-produced colicins

PNAS

Steve Schulz, Anett Stephan, Simone Hahn, Luisa Bortesi, Franziska Jarczowski, Ulrike Bettmann, Anne-Katrin Paschke, Daniel Tusé, Chad H. Stahl, Anatoli Giritch, and Yuri Gleba

http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2015/09/02/1513311112.abstract

Abstract

Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) is one of the leading causes of bacterial enteric infections worldwide, causing ∼100,000 illnesses, 3,000 hospitalizations, and 90 deaths annually in the United States alone. These illnesses have been linked to consumption of contaminated animal products and vegetables. Currently, other than thermal inactivation, there are no effective methods to eliminate pathogenic bacteria in food. Colicins are nonantibiotic antimicrobial proteins, produced by E. coli strains that kill or inhibit the growth of other E. coli strains. Several colicins are highly effective against key EHEC strains. Here we demonstrate very high levels of colicin expression (up to 3 g/kg of fresh biomass) in tobacco and edible plants (spinach and leafy beets) at costs that will allow commercialization. Among the colicins examined, plant-expressed colicin M had the broadest antimicrobial activity against EHEC and complemented the potency of other colicins. A mixture of colicin M and colicin E7 showed very high activity against all major EHEC strains, as defined by the US Department of Agriculture/Food and Drug Administration. Treatments with low (less than 10 mg colicins per L) concentrations reduced the pathogenic bacterial load in broth culture by 2 to over 6 logs depending on the strain. In experiments using meats spiked with E. coli O157:H7, colicins efficiently reduced the population of the pathogen by at least 2 logs. Plant-produced colicins could be effectively used for the broad control of pathogenic E. coli in both plant- and animal-based food products and, in the United States, colicins could be approved using the generally recognized as safe (GRAS) regulatory approval pathway.

 

Doublespeak: It’s non-O157, but it’s still STEC, Schrader farms meat market recalls beef

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Schrader Farms Meat Market, a Romulus, N.Y., establishment, is recalling approximately 20 pounds of ground beef product that may be contaminated with non-O157 Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.

big-brother-1984The ground beef item was produced on September 2, 2015. The following product is subject to recall:

1-lb. packages containing of “SCHRADER FARMS Meat Market Ground Beef” or “SCHRADER FARMS Meat Market GROUND BEEF, BULK” with a pack date of September 2, 2015. 

The products subject to recall bear the establishment number “Est. 44950” inside the USDA mark of inspection. These products were sold at the Schrader Farms retail store in Seneca County, New York.         

The problem was discovered during routine establishment testing, however this establishment failed to follow FSIS Notice 56-14 “Control of Agency Tested Products for Adulterants” and product was released in to commerce prematurely. FSIS and the company have received no reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of these products.

Many clinical laboratories do not test for non-O157 Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), such as STEC O26, O103, O45, O111, O121 or O145 because it is harder to identify than STEC O157.

‘Industry standards, inspections, QA andHACCP’ Sprout grower sued for salmonella illness despite soundbites

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Coral Beach of The Packer writes that a Rhode Island woman is seeking unspecified damages from Wonton Food Inc. in relation to a salmonella infection she developed after eating the company’s fresh sprouts.

kevin.allen.sproutThe case against the Brooklyn, N.Y.-based company stems from a 2014 salmonella outbreak that sickened at least 115 people in a dozen states, according to reports from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration. 

Amanda Harris, Middleton, R.I., was among the seven Rhode Island residents who developed salmonella infections from Sept. 30 through Dec. 15, 2014, according to the federal court complaint against Wonton Food.

The company’s website states it operates within “industry standards.”

“Our company participates in the strictest of inspections, from both the U.S. government agencies and our valued customers. We also maintain a top notch quality assurance department that has been formally trained and holds HACCP certifications. We are regularly audited by our customers, and independent third party firms such as Silliker Labs & NSF consistently scoring a ‘Superior’ rating,” according to the Wonton Food website.

The federal civil case against the company challenges the effectiveness of Wonton Food’s food safety.

In Africa, a deadly salmonella strain takes hold

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Salmonella is an infectious agent with many faces, appearing in a multitude of strains affecting animals and humans. A distinct form of the bacterial invader has emerged in sub-Saharan Africa and is responsible for severe epidemic outbreaks.

salmonella_figure-finalIts unusual characteristics — including a high rate of lethality, invasiveness, atypical symptomatolgy and resistance to multiple antibiotics — are of rising concern.

In a new study, Cheryl Nickerson and her colleagues at the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University and NASA Johnson Space Center demonstrate for the first time that this pathogen can cause lethal infections not only in humans but in mice, a finding which could potentially extend to other hosts as well.

The salmonella strain used in this study, D23580, belongs to a group of closely related strains collectively known as ST313, and was shown to more rapidly reach and colonize tissues of the spleen and gallbladder in mice, compared with a well-characterized “classic” salmonella strain.

In results appearing in the journal PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, lead authors Jiseon Yang and Jennifer Barrila also establish a critical variable of the pathogen known as LD50 — a measure of the median lethal dose (LD) necessary to produce a fatal infection — marking the first report of the entire natural course of disease for any ST313 strain.

Developing effective means to diagnose and treat deadly salmonella infections, including those caused by ST313, will require a more thorough understanding of the strategies used by such pathogens to infect the body. Establishing LD50 is a necessary step for examining the trajectory of salmonella infection and developing effective vaccines and therapies to combat it. 

“Despite being one of the best characterized pathogens, we still have limited knowledge of the mechanisms used by salmonella to cause disease in humans, including the multidrug-resistant ST313 isolates associated with rampant atypical disease and high mortality in sub-Saharan Africa,” said Nickerson, who is also a professor of microbiology at ASU’s School of Life Sciences.

The current study offers new insight into the virulence and pathogenesis properties of model ST313 strain, D23580, which shows both key similarities and differences between classic Typhimurium and Typhi strains in its virulence and pathogenesis-related properties, thus offering clues as to how it may cause disease in humans.

Thus far, no animal reservoir has been identified for ST313. Unlike conventional foodborne NTS infections, the transmission route for ST313 appears to be human-to-human. Genetic studies of iNTS strains obtained from Malawi, where ST313 is highly prevalent; indicate the strain may be losing genetic diversity, becoming a more specialized pathogen, similar to S. Typhi.

The current study, however, shows that ST313 strain D23580 could also infect mice and thus retains characteristics associated with classic NTS infection.  However, biochemical and phenotypic assays indicated that D23580 also exhibits important differences between classic NTS and typhoidal strains. Collectively, these results provide further evidence that this emerging pathogen is distinct from classic salmonella strains.