Foodborne hepatitis A outbreak associated with bakery products in northern Germany, 2012

Posted on December 19, 2014 by Douglas Powell

In October 2012, a hepatitis A (HA) outbreak with 83 laboratory-confirmed cases occurred in Lower Saxony.

We defined primary outbreak cases as people with laboratory-confirmed HA and symptom onset between 8 October and 12 November 2012, residing in or visiting the affected districts. Secondary outbreak cases were persons with symptom onset after 12 November 2012 and close contact with primary cases. We identified 77 primary and six secondary cases. We enrolled 50 primary cases and 52 controls matched for age and sex, and found that 82% of cases and 60% of controls had consumed products from a particular bakery (OR=3.09; 95% CI: 1.15–8.68). Cases were more likely to have eaten sweet pastries (OR=5.74; 95% CI: 1.46–22.42). Viral isolates from five selected cases and three positively tested surfaces in the bakery had identical nucleotide sequences. One additional identical isolate derived from a salesperson of the bakery suffering from a chronic disease that required immunosuppressive treatment.

Epidemiological and laboratory findings suggested that the salesperson contaminated products while packing and selling. Future risk assessment should determine whether food handlers with chronic diseases under immunosuppressive treatment could be more at risk of contaminating food and might benefit from HAV immunisation.

India bakery closed after food safety raids

Posted on July 9, 2014 by Douglas Powell

The production centre and outlets of a city-based bakery-chain were closed down following raids conducted by food safety inspectors here on Tuesday.

According to officials, they organised the raid after they received a complaint from the Accountant-General’s Office. Here, sandwiches brought from the bakery’s outlet inside a retail store at Statue were being served during a conference and the bread was found to have fungus on it, a food safety inspector said.

Inspectors visited the bakery’s production centre at Vanross Junction. They alleged that it was functioning in a very unhygienic environment, citing examples of food being laid out without any netting or protection against pests or contamination.

Officials said a few freezers were not working and that bulk of the meat and vegetables found here was unfit for consumption. The outlets at Bakery Junction and Kowdiar were also inspected. Food safety inspectors said they found cakes and pastries marked with expiry dates that extend their natural shelf-life.

Is it safe to keep a pig’s head with baked goods? Judge reserves decision on New Zealand bakery

Posted on April 18, 2014 by Douglas Powell

The Bulls Bakery could be closed down because of problems with food safety, including a pig’s head kept with baked goods.

In Wanganui District Court on April 11, Judge David Cameron heard the Rangitikei District Council’s case for closing the High St business run by Santhya Sun.

Judge Cameron reserved his judgment until this week.

However, Mr Sun said he had tried hard to remedy problems and the council was unfairly targeting him.

Over the past year an inspector found mould growing on meat, rice and a tin of syrup, uncovered food, cooked and uncooked found placed together and a pig’s head from a home kill in the freezer with loose cakes like doughnuts and eclairs. Other problems included a pastry flan base uncovered with a plate of mince left on top, a mincer with old encrusted meat on it, fly spotting, and a sick baby playing with kitchen implements.

The council ordered the shop closed in December 2013 because of the unsafe food practices, but the owner defied the order and reopened it.

In January council did not renew Mr Sun’s registration and gave chief executive Ross McNeill the go-ahead to prosecute him.

$25K fine; Australian Woolworths supermarket fined for food safety breach

Posted on March 25, 2014 by Douglas Powell

Woolworths Noranda in Western Australia was issued with a fine of $25,672.40 on 28 February 2014 for offences dating back to 23 September 2013 involving the in-house bakery.

WA Today reports that further investigation of the site found that metal from equipment was discovered in baked goods that were intended for sale.

A spokesperson for the supermarket giant told WA Today that it has since rectified the issue.

“We have replaced the equipment in the store to ensure there can be no further incidents of this type.”

Australian bakery fined $12K food safety breaches

Posted on July 31, 2012 by Douglas Powell

The Canberra courts are on a roll, first convicting a cafe for serving Salmonella and now fining a bakery $12,000 for breaches of food safety laws.

The bakery in Charnwood is the latest Canberra food outlet to be convicted in the ACT Magistrates Court for having poor food handling standards and a dirty kitchen.

The court heard since the charges were laid last year the owners have spent more than $100,000 on a renovation and have improved their practices to meet the ACT’s legal guidelines.

The court heard on the day of the inspection the kitchen had been found with dirt, flour and grease caked on various items.

A batch of pies had also been out of the oven and not refrigerated for more than six hours.

Love letters from FDA: fishy fish, bad buns

Posted on April 19, 2012 by Douglas Powell

It’s like a game show: This Week in Warning Letters from FDA.

Take your chances, make mistakes, let the U.S. Food and Drug Administration lay out your food failings in public view.

Seafood was a repeat offender, and some others:

• General Tuna Corporation, based in the Philippines, cited for having a HACCP plan that really sucked;

• Chung’s and Son Company of Temple Hills, Maryland, cited for having a HACCP plan that really sucked, your vegetable and shrimp egg roll is adulterated, in that they have been prepared, packed, or held under insanitary conditions whereby they may have been rendered injurious to health;

• Custom Seafood Services Inc. of Seattle, Washington, cited for having a HACCP plan that really sucked, your Dungeness crab sections and King crab legs and claws are adulterated;

• Concept Asia Food Service, another Seattle fish processor with a lousy HACCP plan,
your sushi roll products, including the salmon roll, eel roll, tai roll, imitation crab roll, and tuna roll, are adulterated

• Sugar Bakers, Inc. of Catonsville, Maryland, you have lousy handwashing trash all over the place, and poor storage choices;

• Panaderia El Angel of Arlington, Washington, a Hispanic bakery, you have serious violations of Good Manufacturing Practices, your products are all adulterated;

• K-Brand Farms of Woodridge, New York, you have serious violations of the Prevention of Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) in Shell Eggs During Production, Storage, and Transportation regulation (the shell egg regulation), your shell eggs are adulterated; and,

• Societe Fromagere de Bouvron of Bouvron, France, you produce cheese with substandard equipment.

Join us again next week.

Your moment of homage, from Second City TV in 1981,

and, something else.

2 dead, 75 sick from salmonella in zeppoles

Posted on May 2, 2011 by Douglas Powell

The Boston Globe recaps the salmonella outbreak that killed two and sickened 75 others linked to DeFusco’s Bakery in Rhode Island in March.

State inspectors found a host of health violations at the bakery, from gallons of pastry cream left unrefrigerated for hours to pastry shells stored in egg crates tainted with salmonella bacteria. It was most likely the shells, which had come into contact with the salmonella-infected eggs, that ignited the outbreak, disease detectives said. The state issued an immediate recall of the bakery’s goods, and the shop agreed to close its two locations immediately.

“These were gross health violations, literally and figuratively,’’ said Annemarie Beardsworth, spokeswoman for the Rhode Island Department of Health.

In mid-April, the state ordered the bakery to remain closed until the violations are fixed. The bakery’s phone number has been temporarily disconnected, and the bakery’s lawyer could not be reached for comment.

The outbreak was discovered March 25 when a nursing home in Warwick reported that 15 residents and two staff members had fallen ill. Investigators discovered that all had eaten zeppole from DeFusco’s to commemorate St. Joseph’s Day, and the store owners closed the bakery the same day.

Over the next week, the state received dozens of similar reports of salmonella symptoms, and all but one person had eaten zeppole from DeFusco’s, which supplied the pastries to other bakeries and catered events for the holiday. DeFusco’s also had a retail store in Cranston, but health officials said the contaminated pastries all came from the Johnston store.

Unannounced state inspections before the outbreak, including one in December, did not find serious violations, Beardsworth said. But the most recent review, conducted March 25, found nine. The hand sink in the bathroom did not have running water, and employees reported washing their hands in a three-bay sink without soap or paper towels. The staff failed to sanitize equipment and utensils after washing them, and left calzones filled with deli meats and cheeses unrefrigerated.

Even worse, Beardsworth said, pastry cream filling used for the zeppole and eclairs was tested at a temperature of 125 degrees. “That’s a breeding ground for bacteria,’’ she said.

Earning a baking badge

Posted on April 3, 2011 by Sol Erdozain

Browsing through the channels the other night, I came across one of the many food porn shows on TV, DC Cupcakes. Being the food safety observer I’ve become, I thought I’d watch for food safety faux pas. I wasn’t disappointed.

The owners were hosting the Girl Scouts of America, who needed to earn their baking badges. This was especially significant because the bakers had failed to earn their baking badges back in the day.

The cupcake experts started with egg and butter tips. One of them told the girls that the cupcake batter would be better if the eggs and butter were at room temperature prior to mixing them. As she said this, she handed an egg to each of the girls, one of which dropped it on the counter.

After they all cracked their eggs in a bowl, including the cracked one, they proceeded to feel how soft the butter was. No handwashing featured after touching the eggs or before contaminating the butter (and everything else they came in contact with for that matter).

As demonstrated by a recent salmonella outbreak in a Rhode Island bakery, which may have been the outcome of contaminated eggs, it’s important to follow simple safety practices such as handwashing. Especially in the food production business.

Maybe that’s why the DC ladies didn’t earn their baking badge when they were Brownies.

Nuevo Folleto Informativo: Más de 100 enfermos a causa de 4 brotes relacionados con pasteles en Illinois

Posted on January 14, 2011 by Douglas Powell

Traducido por Gonzalo Erdozain

Resumen del folleto informativo mas reciente:

– Las pruebas revelaron Staphylococcus aureus en productos de “Rolf’s Patisserie”
– Productos de pastelería rellenos con crema, ya sean tortas o eclairs de chocolate, por lo general se ven involucrados en brotes ?de Staphylococcus aureus
– Brotes en panaderías y pastelerías son a causa de pobre higiene personal, equipo contaminado y abuso de temperatura.

Los folletos informativos son creados semanalmente y puestos en restaurantes, tiendas y granjas, y son usados para entrenar y educar a través del mundo. Si usted quiere proponer un tema o mandar fotos para los folletos, contacte a Ben Chapman a benjamin_chapman@ncsu.edu.

Puede seguir las historias de los folletos informativos y barfblog en twitter
@benjaminchapman y @barfblog.

Près de 100 personnes malades dans quatre foyers dus à des pâtisseries vendues dans l’Illinois

Posted on January 11, 2011 by Douglas Powell

Translated by Albert Amgar

Les produits de pâtisseries tels que les gâteaux à la crème comme les tartes à la crème et les éclairs au chocolat sont souvent impliqués dans des intoxications alimentaires à Staphylococcus aureus.

Une analyse a révélé la présence de Staphylococcus aureus dans des produits de la pâtisserie Rolf

Une pâtisserie de Lincolnwood dans l’Illinois a été à l’origine de quatre foyers d’intoxications alimentaires à staphylocoque en novembre et décembre 2010. Ces foyers liés au travail du traiteur, ont rendu au moins 100 personnes malades. La pâtisserie Rolf, l’entreprise en cause, a fermé ses portes et a rappelé un certain nombre de produits vendus au détail pour limiter de nouvelles maladies.

Les cas ont été liés à la consommation de pâtisseries dans un restaurant ou autre. Des prélèvements d’aliments analysés par les autorités sanitaires locales ont confirmé la présence de Staphylococcus aureus. La pâtisserie a réouvert après avoir écarté tous les ingrédients alimentaires, un nettoyage et désinfection intensif de l’installation, et, une nouvelle formation des personnels aux bonnes pratiques d’hygiène.

Staphylococcus aureus peut se développer dans des aliments riches en protéines, à faible teneur acide (comme les pâtisseries fourrées à la crème) et conservés à température ambiante. Lorsque les bactéries croissent, elles créent des toxines entraînant diarrhée, nausée, vomissements et crampes abdominales lorsqu’elles sont consommées. L’apparition des symptômes peut être très rapide, près d’une heure après consommation des aliments contaminés.

Staphylococcus aureus est souvent retrouvé sur la peau humaine. Les épidémies dans les pâtisseries sont souvent liées à une mauvaise hygiène personnelle, des équipements contaminés et des températures insuffisantes.

QUE POUVEZ-VOUS FAIRE ?
• AYEZ UNE BONNE HYGIENE PERSONNELLE
• NETTOYER ET DÉSINFECTER UN EQUIPEMENT APRÈS SON UTILISATION POUR LIMITER LA CONTAMINATION DES ALIMENTS
• CONSERVER AU FROID LES PÂTISSERIES À LA CRÊME LORS DU STOCKAGE ET DU TRANSPORT
POUR PLUS D’INFORMATION, CONTACTEZ BEN CHAPMAN, BENJAMIN_CHAPMAN@NCSU.EDU OU DOUG POWELL, DPOWELL@KSU.EDU

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