Category Archives: Listeria

Food Safety Talk 93: Does your dog poop outside

Posted on by
Reply

Food Safety Talk, a bi-weekly podcast for food safety nerds, by food safety nerds. The podcast is hosted by Ben Chapman and barfblog contributor Don Schaffner, Extension Specialist in Food Science and Professor at Rutgers University. Every two weeks or so, Ben and Don get together virtually and talk for about an hour.

Show notes so you can follow along at home:

International Association for Food Protection

Reconcilable Differences #16: Ancient Bird – Relay FM

Tom Jones (@mmbagelz) | Twitter

Conference for Food Protection

Chipotle may be safer than ever. Seriously!

Health department inspection criteria more likely to be associated with outbreak restaurants in Minnesota. – PubMed – NCBI

Chipotle will close Feb. 8 for company wide meeting on food safety | OregonLive.com

Chipotle Sabotaged by GMO Activists? : snopes.com

‎www.cdc.gov/phlp/docs/forensic_epidemiology/Additional%20Materials/Articles/Torok%20et%20al.pdf

Winter’s the Time for Norovirus | North Carolina Health News

Farmers Markets and Food-Borne Illness – The New York Times

‎marcfbellemare.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/BellemareKingNguyenFarmersMarketsJuly2015.pdf

farmers markets microbiology – Google Scholar

Air driers suck; just ask local graffiti artists | barfblog

Evaluation of bacterial contaminants found on unused paper towels and possible postcontamination after handwashing: A pilot study – American Journal of Infection Control

Food Dehydrator

R.E.M. – What’s The Frequency, Kenneth? (Official Video) – YouTube

Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lemmy | Documentary Film – Cosmos Documentaries | Watch Documentary Films Online

Motörhead – Ace Of Spades – YouTube

MC5 – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

R.E.M. LYRICS – It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)

Smoked salmon recalled for Listeria

Posted on by
Reply

Loki Fish Company of Seattle, WA is voluntarily recalling two lots of Wild Smoked Pink Salmon Portions, due to a positive test result for Listeria monocytogenes.

loki.list.salmonThe affected Wild Smoked Pink Salmon Portions comes in a 4-7 ounce, clear plastic package. The lot 121215 5594 or 121215 5613 is found on the back of the package.

Product was distributed to retail stores in Oregon and Washington, via mail order, and sold at Seattle area farmers markets. For a list of retail outlets and farmers markets that may have carried the identified product, and for other updates, please go to www.lokifish.comdisclaimer icon.

No illnesses have been reported to date in connection with Loki Fish Company product. The product is processed by Felix Custom Smoking, a Loki Fish Company co-packing vendor.

The retail sample was collected during routine sampling activities conducted by Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) and presence of Listeria monocytogenes was confirmed. This recall is being made with the knowledge of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and WSDA.

Consumers who have purchased the identified product are urged not to consume and return it to the place of purchase for a full refund. In addition to the Loki Fish Company website, consumers may contact the company directly with questions at 206-937-1048 between Monday-Friday, 9am-4pm PST.

“As a family owned fishing business that direct markets our catch, nothing is more important to us than the safety of the products we sell,” said Loki Fish Company General Manager, Dylan Knutson. Knutson continued, “We have ordered additional tests to make sure we isolate the contamination and fully understand its cause. As soon as we have additional information, we will share it with the public as well as with the FDA and WSDA.”

7 sickened, 1 death in 2014 Listeria outbreak; cheese plant fined $100k

Posted on by
Reply

A federal judge has ordered a Delaware cheese company that was the source of a listeria outbreak in 2014 to pay a $100,000 fine.

roos-foods-logo-300x187The judge issued the sentence Thursday after Roos Foods Inc. pleaded guilty in January to a misdemeanor criminal charge. The company also agreed to a permanent injunction prohibiting it from distributing any food products unless it proves compliance with federal food safety laws.

Court records show that federal investigators found significant sanitation problems at Roos Foods after a listeria outbreak killed one person in California and sickened seven others in the Maryland suburbs of Washington.

The Kenton-based company ceased operations in 2014 after the Food and Drug Administration suspended its food facility registration. It has not reopened.

Listeria in cantaloupes triggers recall at Georgia store

Posted on by
Reply

BI-LO, LLC, today announced an immediate recall for one BI-LO store in Glennville, GA (#5744) for fresh products containing cantaloupe, because they have the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

list.cantaloupe.mar.16The address of the affected store is:
Store #5744
312 S. Veterans Blvd. 
Glennville, GA 30427

No other BI-LO stores are affected by this recall.

The recall is in response to a positive test of Listeria monocytogenes from a sample taken by the Georgia Department of Agriculture, from a medium-sized container of cantaloupe chunks, as communicated to BI-LO on Feb. 29, 2016.

The product is marked on the scale label as “BI-LO Cantaloupe Chunks Medium,” in medium plastic bowls with a lid, and had a sell-by date of 2/24/16.

Out of an abundance of caution, all BI-LO brand products containing fresh cantaloupe with a sell-by date of 2/24/16, are also being recalled at this store as follows:

Cantaloupe Chunks (sizes medium and large) in plastic bowl with lid

Cantaloupe Halves in Styrofoam trays wrapped in clear plastic

Cantaloupe Slices in Styrofoam trays wrapped in clear plastic

Mixed Melon Chunks (sizes medium and large) in plastic bowl with lid

Mixed Fruit Bowl (sizes medium and large) in plastic bowl with lid

Fruit Tray Cantaloupe in plastic tray with lid

FDA and Virginia to Henry’s Farm: you can’t sell sprouts anymore

Posted on by
Reply

Sometimes it’s time for a career change.

Folks change jobs for lots of reasons: boredom, a new challenge, opportunity, and others.

Or because of a consent decree of permanent injunction from a federal court.kevin.allen_.sprout-300x158

According to an FDA news release, a Virginia soy bean sprout company Henry’s Farm Inc and owner Soo C. Park are not allowed to receive, process, manufacture, prepare, pack, hold or distribute ready-to-eat soybean and mung-bean sprouts.

Henry’s farm has been the example of a bad food safety culture with FDA warning them that the place was a dump in 2012. And the situation continued in 2014. And then a recall in 2015.

The FDA worked with the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) in conjunction with the Virginia Rapid Response Team to conduct multiple inspections and collect an extensive amount of environmental, in-process, and finished sprout product samples from Henry’s Farm, Inc., several of which tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes (L. mono).

Under the consent decree, the company cannot process or distribute food until they demonstrate that its facility and processing equipment are suitable to prevent contamination in the food that it processes, prepares, stores and handles. Henry’s Farm, Inc. must, among other things, retain an independent laboratory to collect and analyze samples for the presence of L. mono, retain an independent sanitation expert and develop a program to control L. mono and to eliminate unsanitary conditions at its facility. Once the company is permitted to resume operations, the FDA may still require the company to take action if the agency discovers future violations of food safety practices.

Remain calm: CFIA says no Canadian meat plants at risk of being delisted in US, but questions remain

Posted on by
Reply

Kelsey Johnson of iPolitics reports the Canadian Food Inspection Agency says no Canadian meat plants are at risk of losing their trade status with the United States and that issues raised in a 2014 U.S. Department of Agriculture audit of meat, poultry and egg plants have been resolved.

remain.calm.animal.house“There are no outstanding issues and there was never any impact on trade,” CFIA Associate Director of Operations Barbara Jordan said in teleconference Tuesday afternoon.

“The final audit report confirms that Canada’s meat, poultry and egg inspection systems are equivalent to the U.S. inspection systems and that all Canadian federally registered establishments permitted to export to the U.S. can continue to export goods.”

The CFIA’s response came after The Globe and Mail reported Monday the agency had until March to respond to the Americans final findings. Failure to do so, the Globe report indicated, could see audited Canadians plants lose their ability to export products to the United States.

That’s simply not the case, the CFIA said Tuesday. “No, there is no risk of delisting,” Jordan stressed.

Canada’s food safety system, Jordan said, undergoes “routine” international equivalency audits and conducts similar audits on other countries. These audits, she said, are expected to “identify opportunities for improvement” in Canadian plants.

“This is very routine to have findings in all audits. It would be an unusual to have an audit that results in no findings.”

Still, the 2014 USDA audit of five meat inspection plants came two years after another USDA audit of seven meat plants raised similar sanitary concerns.

At the time, then Health Minister Rona Ambrose defended the CFIA, insisting Canada had one of the “healthiest and safest food safety systems in the world.”

Asked Tuesday about the USDA findings on plant sanitation, Jordan said the agency takes immediate action to rectify issues at the plant level. “Certainly, the sanitation issues are dealt with immediately, on the spot and inspectors have a range of tools they can use.”

So who does the Listeria and other microbial testing, the plants or CFIA or both? And why aren’t those results public?

Surveys still suck, but what do old people say about Listeria?

Posted on by
Reply

Consumer implementation of recommended food safety practices, specifically relating to time and temperature control of ready-to-eat (RTE) food products associated with listeriosis are crucial.

family.guy.herbertThis is particularly the case for at-risk consumers such as older adults, given the increased listeriosis incidence reported internationally among adults aged ≥60 years. However, data detailing older adults’ cognitive risk factors associated with listeriosis are lacking. Combining data about knowledge, self-reported practices, and attitudes can achieve a cumulative multilayered in-depth understanding of consumer food safety behavior and cognition. This study aims to ascertain older adults’ cognition and behavior in relation to domestic food handling and storage practices that may increase the risks associated with L. monocytogenes.

Older adults (≥60 years) (n = 100) participated in an interview and questionnaire to determine knowledge, self-reported practices, and attitudes toward recommended practices. Although the majority (79%) had positive attitudes toward refrigeration, 84% were unaware of recommended temperatures (5°C) and 65% self-reported “never” checking their refrigerator temperature. Although most (72%) knew that “use-by” dates indicate food safety and 62% reported “always” taking note, neutral attitudes were held, with 67% believing it was safe to eat food beyond use-by dates and 57% reporting doing so. Attitudes toward consuming foods within the recommended 2 days of opening were neutral, with 55% aware of recommendations and 84% reporting that they consume RTE foods beyond recommendations.

Although knowledgeable of some key practices, older adults self-reported potentially unsafe practices when storing RTE foods at home, which may increase risks associated with L. monocytogenes. This study has determined that older adults’ food safety cognition may affect their behaviors; understanding consumer food safety cognition is essential for developing targeted food safety education.

Older adult consumer knowledge, attitudes, and self-reported storage practices of ready-to-eat food products and risks associated with listeriosis

Journal of Food Protection®, Number 2, February 2016, pp. 184-344, pp. 263-272(10)

Evans, Ellen W.; Redmond, Elizabeth C.

http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/iafp/jfp/2016/00000079/00000002/art00010

Not just cabbage and lettuce and cantaloupes: Listeria in produce

Posted on by
Reply

Foodborne transmission of Listeria monocytogenes was first demonstrated through the investigation of the 1981 Maritime Provinces outbreak involving coleslaw.

sheep.cabbageIn the following two decades, most listeriosis outbreaks involved foods of animal origin, e.g., deli meats, hot dogs, and soft cheeses. L. monocytogenes serotype 4b, especially epidemic clones I, II, and Ia, were frequently implicated in these outbreaks. However, since 2008 several outbreaks have been linked to diverse types of fresh produce: sprouts, celery, cantaloupe, stone fruit, and apples. The 2011 cantaloupe-associated outbreak was one of the deadliest foodborne outbreaks in recent U.S. history.

This review discusses produce-related outbreaks of listeriosis with a focus on special trends, unusual findings, and potential paradigm shifts. With the exception of sprouts, implicated produce types were novel, and outbreaks were one-time events. Several involved serotype 1/2a, and in the 2011 cantaloupe-associated outbreak, serotype 1/2b was for the first time conclusively linked to a common-source outbreak of invasive listeriosis. Also in this outbreak, for the first time multiple strains were implicated in a common-source outbreak.

In 2014, deployment of whole genome sequencing as part of outbreak investigation validated this technique as a pivotal tool for outbreak detection and speedy resolution. In spite of the unusual attributes of produce-related outbreaks, in all but one of the investigated cases (the possible exception being the coleslaw outbreak) contamination was traced to the same sources as those for outbreaks associated with other vehicles (e.g., deli meats), i.e., the processing environment and equipment. The public health impact of farm-level contamination remains uncharacterized.

This review highlights knowledge gaps regarding virulence and other potentially unique attributes of produce outbreak strains, the potential for novel fresh produce items to become unexpectedly implicated in outbreaks, and the key role of good control strategies in the processing environment.

Fresh produce–associated listeriosis outbreaks, sources of concern, teachable moments, and insights

Journal of Food Protection®, Number 2, February 2016, pp. 184-344, pp. 337-344(8)

Garner, Danisha; Kathariou, Sophia

http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/iafp/jfp/2016/00000079/00000002/art00020

Adequate: Results of targeted surveillance on Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat food in Hong Kong

Posted on by
Reply

The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (March 1) announced the results of a recently completed targeted food surveillance project on Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat food, which showed that all samples passed the test.

listeria4About 450 samples of ready-to-eat food, including various types of high-risk food, such as cheese, frozen confections, cold cuts, fruit, salad, sashimi, smoked salmon and other smoked seafood, were collected from different retailers, including online retailers, for testing for Listeria monocytogenes.

“Listeria monocytogenes may continue to grow slowly at refrigerated temperatures as low as zero degrees Celsius. Refrigerated ready-to-eat food with a long shelf life is a potential high-risk item for

Listeriosis as prolonged storage in a refrigerator (excluding the freezer) may allow Listeria monocytogenes to have sufficient time to grow and thus increase the consumers’ risk of contracting Listeriosis,” a spokesman for the CFS said.

Listeriosis is usually caused by eating food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. Most healthy individuals do not develop symptoms or only have mild symptoms like fever, muscle pain, headache, nausea, vomiting or diarrhoea when infected.

However, severe complications such as septicemia, meningitis or even death may occur in newborns, the elderly and those with a weaker immune system. Although infected pregnant women may just experience mild symptoms generally, the infection of Listeria monocytogenes may cause miscarriage, infant death, preterm birth, or severe infection in newborns.

Despite the fact that the test results of the samples were all satisfactory, the spokesman reminded the trade and the public not to take the risk lightly. They should always maintain good personal and food hygiene to ensure food safety.

There’s wood in my cheese: Listeria edition

Posted on by
1

A couple of weeks ago many private label brand parmesan cheeses made by Castle Cheeses were the subject of late night show jokes, and Facebook shares, after FDA documents showed misbranding and the use of cellulose as filler.

CBS News followed up and surprise, there was some Listeria at the plant too.

View More: U.S. News|Live News|More News Videos