E. coli in Australian fetta

Gallo Farms Pty Ltd has recalled Gallo Marinated Fetta in Far North QLD only, due to microbial (E.coli) contamination. Food products contaminated with E.coli may cause illness if consumed. Consumers should not eat this product. Any consumers concerned about their health should seek medical advice. The product can be returned to the place of purchase for a full refund.

marinated-fettaDate notified to FSANZ

02/11/2016 

Food type

Marinated Fetta in oil with added parsley and pepper

Product name

Gallo Marinated Fetta

Package description and size

Plastic tamper-evident tub, 250g

Date marking

All best before dates between 06.11.16 and 30.11.16

Country of origin

Australia

Reason for recall

Microbial (E.coli) contamination

Distribution

Selected IGA supermarkets and small grocery stores in Far North QLD.

Consumer advice

Food products contaminated with E.coli may cause illness if consumed. Consumers should not eat this product. Any consumers concerned about their health should seek medical advice. The product can be returned to the place of purchase for a full refund.

Contact

Gallo Farms Pty Ltd

07 40 952 388

www.gallodairyland.com.au

Polysorbate as possible E. coli food poisoning fix

Chris Waters, an associate professor of microbiology and molecular genetics at Michigan State University and colleauges report in the journal Biofouling that polysorbate, a safe additive found in everything from ice cream to cosmetics, seems to slow the toxic effects of E. coli poisoning.

alfalfa-sprouts-featuredThe findings show that polysorbates attack the protective biofilm in which E. coli lives and renders the deadly bacteria harmless.

“Biofilms are multicellular communities of bacteria that are usually encased in a protective slime,” says Waters. “We found that polysorbate 80 obliterates the biofilm and takes away the E. coli’s ability to damage the host during infection. We think this is due to blocking the ability of E. coli to produce toxin.”

Specifically, the team focused on the potent strain isolated from Germany that swept through Europe in 2011, causing thousands of infections and more than 50 deaths. Waters and Shannon Manning have previously studies this strain. Having samples of the bacteria at hand helped the team, led by Rudolph Sloup, a graduate student in microbiology and molecular genetics, isolate compounds that inhibited biofilms.

However, the results didn’t come easily. Waters and his team scoured scientific literature to identify anti-biofilm compounds, but none of them inhibited biofilms of this E. coli strain. Finally, the team found that the 20th compound tested, polysorbate 80, obliterated E. coli’s ability to form biofilms in the lab.

The next step was to determine if the compound was effective in an animal model of the disease by administering polysorbate 80 to infected mice in their drinking water.

“During our animal infection studies, polysorbate 80 had no effect on the numbers of infecting E. coli. This was a little shocking, especially based on how promising our earlier tests had been,” Waters says. “Later, though, our pathology tests showed that polysorbate 80 essentially blocked all toxicity, even though it didn’t reduce the number of bacteria.”

“Antibiotic use can often cause more harm than good with these types of E. coli infections because it causes the bacteria to release more toxin and it drives antimicrobial resistance,” Waters says. “Our results indicate that polysorbate 80 makes this strain of E. coli harmless, without these negative side effects. This approach also doesn’t disrupt patients’ natural microbiome leading to a healthier gut.”

Since polysorbate 80 is categorized as a GRAS (generally regarded as safe) compound, it doesn’t require FDA approval to be used as a treatment. Along with its potential for disarming the deadly German E. coli outbreak, polysorbate 80 could potentially help tackle more-common E. coli infections such as traveler’s diarrhea.

The next steps for this research will be to identify how polysorbate 80 inhibits biofilm formation and test its activity in other infection models.

Additional researchers from Michigan State and the University of Texas contributed to the study. Partial funding came from the National Institutes of Health and a Strategic Partnership Grant from the MSU Foundation.

Polysorbates prevent biofilm formation and pathogenesis of Escherichia coli O104:H4

The Journal of Bioadhesion and Biofilm Reseach, Volume 32, Issue 9, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08927014.2016.1230849

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08927014.2016.1230849?journalCode=gbif20&

Escherichia coli biotype O104:H4 recently caused the deadliest E. coli outbreak ever reported. Based on prior results, it was hypothesized that compounds inhibiting biofilm formation by O104:H4 would reduce its pathogenesis. The nonionic surfactants polysorbate 80 (PS80) and polysorbate 20 (PS20) were found to reduce biofilms by ≥ 90% at submicromolar concentrations and elicited nearly complete dispersal of preformed biofilms. PS80 did not significantly impact in vivo colonization in a mouse infection model; however, mice treated with PS80 exhibited almost no intestinal inflammation or tissue damage while untreated mice exhibited robust pathology. As PS20 and PS80 are classified as ‘Generally Recognized as Safe’ (GRAS) compounds by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), these compounds have clinical potential to treat future O104:H4 outbreaks.

7 sick: Kansas investigating E. coli outbreak linked to Louisburg Cider Mill

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment is currently conducting an investigation of an outbreak of E. coli among people who attended the Louisburg Cider Mill Ciderfest, which was held Sept. 24-25 and Oct. 1-2, according to a KDHE news release on Wednesday.

louisburg-ciderTo date, there are seven laboratory-confirmed cases associated with this investigation, KDHE said. However, the investigation is ongoing and information is subject to change. The Kansas Department of Agriculture along with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and KDHE performed an on-site assessment on Oct. 27.

Celebrity barf: Ryan McCartan spent Halloween in hospital

Ryan McCartan of Minnetonka High School in Minnetonka, Minnesota, who plays Diggie on the Disney Channel sitcom Liv and Maddie, spent Halloween in hospital with food poisoning.

ryan-mccartanRyan posted an Instagram picture of himself in the hospital, hooked up to an IV and looking pretty miserable. He’s doing better now, but Ryan wrote he landed in the hospital because of food poisoning, dehydration and diabetes-related complications. Yikes!

“This is how I spent my Halloween after a series of food-poisoning, dehydration and diabetes-related complications… Life is precious but fragile, and boy did I get that reminder!” Ryan wrote under his picture.

Six die in Kenya after consuming camel meat

Six people have died in Tiaty Village, Baringo County after consuming meat from the carcass of a camel.

camel-meat-for-sale-in-a-market-in-the-gold-mining-are-of-northern-dj02h2The six died Wednesday afternoon at Akwachatis Clinic in the county after doctors tried for a week to treat them.

According to doctors of at the clinic, the six were among over 100 people alleged to have consumed the meat last week.

“They all came here complaining of stomach pains and diarrhea. It is then that we found out that they had consumed meat from the carcass of a camel that died as a result of disease without knowing that that the sickness was deadly,” said Paul Chebet, a nurse at the clinic.

Salmonella found in prepackaged cut papaya in Hong Kong

The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (November 2) that a sample of prepackaged cut papaya was found to contain a pathogen, Salmonella. The CFS is following up on the case.

solopapayaProduct details are as follows:

Product name: Thailand solo papaya

Use-by date: October 26, 2016

A spokesman for the CFS said, “The CFS has previously announced that a prepackaged cut papaya sample taken from a supermarket in Diamond Hill was found to contain Salmonella. In its follow-up investigation, the Centre detected a similar irregularity in another sample of the same kind but of a different batch from the same vendor.

The test result showed the presence of Salmonella in a sample size of 25 grams, exceeding the standard of the Microbiological Guidelines for Food which states that Salmonella should not be detected in 25 grams of food.”

The spokesman said that the CFS has informed the vendor concerned of the irregularity. Prosecution will be instituted should there be sufficient evidence. It was noted that the retail outlet concerned had stopped selling the affected product and the above-mentioned unsatisfactory sample was taken before the sale suspension.

The Centre has also provided health education on food safety and hygiene for the person-in-charge and staff of the vendor concerned, and has requested the vendor to carry out thorough cleaning and disinfection.

18 sick: E. coli O157 outbreak in Sweden

(Thanks to our Swedish correspondent for passing this along; something may be lost in translation)

Since September, 16 cases of E. coli O157 have occurred in Sweden, and three have developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS).

As of today, a further two cases have been linked to the outbreak using whole genome sequencing.

Tracking suspect foods are ongoing and relevant infectious disease units, NFA, National Veterinary Institute, Agriculture and Public Health Agency are working together to investigate possible links and causes.
lost-in-translation

Don’t drink the jello: Organic online business fined for selling toxic apricot kernels as food

Giselle Wakatama of ABC News Australia reports the sale of apricot kernels as food was banned in December by Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ), killing the $600,000 a year industry.

apricot-kernelBefore the ban, FSANZ said about 20,000 kilograms of apricot kernels were sold for human consumption in Australia each year.

Since the ban, inspectors from the New South Wales Food Safety Authority have been keeping an eye out for illegal sales.

The authority has revealed a Singleton-based online company, Fourbody, has been fined nearly $900 for selling the kernels illegally.

The company’s online website said it sourced the kernels from Turkey.

Fourbody did not respond to the ABC’s requests for comment.

Another supplier, Heal Yourself Australia, operating from Greenacre in Sydney, was fined the same amount for selling the kernels illegally earlier this year.

It too was found to have sold food that did not comply with the requirements of the Food Standards Code.

Consumer group Choice has previously said the apricot kernels, which are found inside the fruit’s stone and look similar to almonds, can be toxic.

Choice reported the apricot kernels had been sold as a miracle cancer cure since the 1950s, under the misguided premise that the cyanide targeted only cancerous cells, leaving healthy cells alone.

It came out of the sky: Human poop falls over India

A former senior army man has moved the National Green Tribunal alleging dumping of human waste by aircraft over residential areas near the IGI airport in Delhi, which led the green panel to order an inspection of his South Delhi house.

unknownLt Gen (Retd) Satwant Singh Dahiya has sought criminal proceedings against commercial airlines and levy of hefty fines on them for endangering the health of residents, terming the act as violation of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.

Noting the submissions of the petitioner, the green panel directed Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to depute a senior environmental engineer to inspect his house and check the existence of human excreta on the walls.

It also asked CPCB that if excreta was found, samples should be collected for analysis and the report placed before the tribunal.

A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar also issued notices to the Ministries of Environment and Forests and Civil Aviation and CPCB, seeking their replies within two weeks.

Plane toilets store human waste in special tanks. These are normally disposed of by ground crew once the plane lands, but aviation officials acknowledge that lavatory leaks can occur in the air at times. There have been instances, including in India, when people have been injured.