Tag Archives: France

Sustainability and safety; expired French food will suddenly be OK to eat

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I really have no idea what sustainable means.

But, as explained by Rachel Feltman of Quartz, France has announced its plan to cut food waste, and one of it targets is sell-by dates found on france_500x213packages, which tend to be overly cautious and poorly communicated.

The move by Food and Agriculture Minister Guillaume Garot is part of in an effort to comply with a European Union initiative to halve food waste by 2025. France currently throws away an average of 20 kilograms of food each year per capita.

A key problem with sell-by dates is that consumers often don’t understand what they mean. A 2012 paper in Food Engineering & Ingredients explains what’s flawed about the EU’s policies for stamping food with ‘use by’ dates for safety purposes and ‘best before’ dates for quality:

There is survey evidence that many consumers do not understand the difference between ‘use by’ and ‘best before’ dates. This has sometimes been exacerbated by the use of other date labels, such as ‘display until’ and ‘sell by’, which have no status in law and are mainly used by retailers for stock control purposes.

This confusion, the paper says, could lead to consumers eating foods that have become unsafe. But it’s more likely to lead consumers to throw out Food-Labels-Organic-and-Naturalfood that’s still edible.

A good example of a commonly mislabeled food is yogurt: Because it has a low pH and usually uses pasteurized milk as a base, yogurt is extremely unlikely to cause foodborne disease for some time past its expiration date, even when it’s past peak quality in terms of texture and taste. (A bulging package and visible mold are signs of yogurt spoilage—but absent them it’s generally safe to eat and usually still tasty up to 10 days after its sell-by date.)

But a 2010 retail survey by the anti-food-waste non-profit Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) showed that 75% of yogurt in the EU carried a ‘use by’ date, which many consumers took to mean that the product would be unsafe to eat after only a week or two on the shelves. 

The French government is likely to tweak labeling regulations so that safety periods more accurately reflect a product’s real shelf-life. For example, ‘best before’ will be replaced with ‘preferably to be consumed before.’ After that, hopefully consumers can figure it out themselves.

Shop cooking caterpillar stew shut down in France

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During a routine check, French health inspectors uncovered a pot of curious meat boiling on a stove at an Aubervilliers store.

Upon further investigation, the officers discovered the contents of the pot were Caterpillar stewactually a caterpillar stew.

According to the Agence France-Presse, inspectors tossed three hundred kilos (about 661 pounds) of the meat when they could not determine its origin. French police later closed the shop, citing hygiene violations.

Dishes containing caterpillar meat are apparently quite common in some African countries.

Re-emergence of brucellosis in cattle in France and risk for human health via raw milk cheese

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In January 2012, a human case of brucellosis was diagnosed by blood culture in a district of the French Alps. The isolated strain was identified as Brucella melitensis biovar 3. Excerpts from the paper by Mailles et al. in the current issue of Eurosurveillance appear below.

In April 2012, brucellosis was confirmed in a dairy cow in a herd of the same district of the French Alps. The seropositive cow had aborted in late January, and a strain of Brucella melitensis biovar 3 was isolated from the milk sampled from the animal. The animal belonged to a herd 21 dairy cows, and no other animal in the herd presented with symptoms suggesting brucellosis or showed any serological reaction. Approximately 20 kg of Reblochon cheese (soft raw milk cheese) are usually produced daily on the affected farm.

France has been officially free of brucellosis in cattle since 2005, and the last outbreak of brucellosis in sheep and goats was reported in 2003. In order to detect and prevent any re-emergence of the disease, annual screening using Rose Bengale test or complement fixation test is carried out in all cattle, sheep and goat farms producing raw milk as well as in all cattle herds, and every one to three years in small ruminant, according to EU regulations. Moreover, abortion in ruminants is mandatorily notifiable and the investigation of abortion includes examination for brucellosis.

Reblochon cheese is a raw milk soft cheese, requiring a maturation period of three weeks to one month. The cheese from the affected farm had been commercialised after the abortion in seven districts. Cheese was sold directly at the farm, and as whole pieces or in parts in supermarkets. Cheese produced by the affected farm had not been exported to other countries but might have been bought by foreign tourists during their winter holidays in several ski resorts in the area. For this reason, the European rapid alert system for food and feed (RASFF) was informed.

After the identification of the first bovine case, the human case was interviewed again to investigate any direct or indirect epidemiological link with the infected herd. During the second interview, it became clear that the patient and their family had visited the infected farm in autumn 2011, although it was not possible to determine the exact date. During this visit, the family had bought Tome Blanche cheese, a fresh cheese obtained during the first step of Reblochon production. The four family members had shared the Tome Blanche on the same day, but the index case was the only one who later presented with symptoms.

All cheese pieces produced by the affected farm and still within the shelf life were withdrawn from retailers. In addition, a recall of already sold products was carried out via a national press release by the cheese producer and by posters in the sale points. Medical doctors in the concerned districts were informed by the regional health authorities. Consumers of these products were advised to seek medical attention should they present symptoms consistent with brucellosis.
The release of cheese from the affected farm was immediately stopped. The movements of animals from other herds that had epidemiological links with the infected herd (those that were geographically close to the infected herd, or had been bought from the infected herd) have been restricted until the end of the investigation. Furthermore, raw cheese products from farms with epidemiological links to the infected farm were put on sale only after negative bacteriological tests results had been obtained.

E. coli O26 found in Roquefort cheese in France

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E. coli O26 has been found in Roquefort Designation of Origin (PDO) cheese sold under a dozen brands including La Petite Cave and Monoprix Gourmet, and withdrawn from sale.

The producer, Gabriel Coulet SA, based in Roquefort, said a check revealed E. coli O26:H11. Consumers were asked to return the cheese.

The bacteria was detected during internal testing by French retailer, Monoprix.

Hamburger sends 4 kids, 1 adult to hospital in France

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France3.fr reports four children aged 2-14-years-old and one adult were hospitalized this week at Bordeaux University Hospital after suffering symptoms of E. coli. All reported eating hamburgers made by Société des Viandes Elaborées in Estillac although a direct link has not been established.

But that didn’t stop Intermarché and Netto supermarkets, who sold the steaks hamburgers, to recall some hamburger and ask their consumers to be vigilant.

A hotline has been set up: 0800 100 233.

Victims of French E. coli O157 outbreak want to know why it happened; courts slow to respond

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Nine-year-old Ugo Picot was stricken with E. coli O157:H7 linked to frozen meatballs in tomato sauce in June 2011.

Ugo was one of eight children in Northern France confirmed with E. coli O157 after eating beef bought from German retailer, Lidl.

When his mother took him to the hospital because of persistent vomiting, she was told, “gastroenteritis is seven days, it is only five,” and was sent home.

As reported in today’s edition of La Voix du Nord, "One morning, Ugo is not well at all. I felt like my heart would stop beating. Back in the hospital and the beginning of the nightmare. Helicopter transfer to hospital of Lille, a tube in his stomach: dialysis, to flush the kidneys.”

Didier Picot and Virginia were told Ugo had developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS); Virginia still trembles at the memory of a psychiatrist come "talk of death" to his son.

A year later, Ugo is a small boy of nine who tires more easily than others, and his kidneys will return to normal functioning.

In the corridors of the hospital in Lille, she met the parents of other small children, and that most had bought ground meat brand Country Steak at Lidl.

The parents have launched legal action, but progress is slow.

Albert Amgar writes on his blog that it is rare in France to hear the voice of those who have suffered from food poisoning.

Hygiene certification on France’s restaurant doors: what does it mean?

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Albert, our friend in France, has some things to say about restaurant inspections, the various certifications and what they really mean. Translation into English by Amy Hubbell.

This question was already raised in an article on food safety and communication in food service in May 2011. Now La Dépêche is reporting "Three tables certified for good behavior" (7 June 2012).

Is this about putting scores on doors in France?

Is it about a controlled inspection that has just certified the hygiene holy grail?

And well no… but let’s just see what it’s about:

“A master restaurateur and his team chose to take a year to prepare to get the hygiene certification logo from the Food Service Food Safety Association (ASAR), validated by the BVC (audit office and council). This means that this professional obtained a minimum of 70% compliance out of 330 evaluation points. “My team and I have been tested over an entire day,” explained the restaurateur. “It’s an extremely thorough evaluation that leaves nothing to chance in matters of hygiene and food quality. From maintenance of the kitchen up to the quality of referenced products and the state of the dining room. He added, “Nothing is possible without the willingness and training of the team. It’s a partnership.”

And then the newspaper asks this very touching question: “But why would they want to undergo such a drastic certification process?”

Doesn’t this “drastic certification process” with only 70% compliance also mean there was 30% non compliance?

In short, the answer is of interest:

“Simply because I believe that many restaurateurs call themselves professionals and are not. It’s also a choice to take a qualitative step for me and my clients who are reassured to know that they can come to … with peace of mind.” [Note: names of restaurants have been removed.] This hygiene certification attracts few restaurateurs in Toulouse mainly because of the personal investment and the financial cost. A pioneer in the field, … of the … Brasserie: “In this profession, rigor must be everywhere: from the way the personnel are dressed to the traceability of the food.” Another candidate for this strict evaluation: … manager and founder of … “This process is truly a constraint but it is a guarantee of our profession where close is never good enough.” “To undertake this evaluation, the company must free up a certain amount of money,” admits Patrice Rotat, head of the BVC for Toulouse who clearly stipulates that this evaluation does not replace the veterinary inspections.”

It’s an age-old problem. Hygiene has a price; we also know that it has no price, for the consumers/clients. You might as well get started…

It would be interesting to know, if with 70% compliance and, perhaps, 30% non compliance, what the veterinary services would have thought, as they are the ones who do the “real” inspections.

Seventy per cent compliance to get a safety certificate? Why not? Everyone has to make a living, but does the consumer know what this really means?

How can we distinguish a restaurant that obtained 100% compliance from one that only got 70% and puts up the same certificate? The reality of this type of certification, even if it is a step in the right direction, can also be challenged because the restaurateur says that he prepared with his team for a year. The inspection by this company, was it announced or was it impromptu? We don’t know. Nothing is said either about the next goal: more than 70% compliance?

Preparing for a year to obtain what seems to be normal hygiene says it all.

In the end, what should we take from this report, closer to marketing food safety than the culture of food safety, is that there is still work to be done in spite of the total number of inspections undertaken by the DGAL. This time, change is not for now.

Blame the consumer – French style; 18 kids with E. coli O157 in burgers, 2011; just cook it

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In June, 2011, eight children in Northern France were initially diagnosed with E. coli O157 after eating beef burgers bought from German discount retailer, Lidl.

The current bulletin from Institut de veille sanitaire has a research paper summarizing the outbreak, and reveals 18 children were sickened, 16 from E. coli O157-O177 and 1 due to E. coli O157-O26.

The authors write that all strains isolated from patient stool samples were non-motile and fermented sorbitol, a rare characteristic for strains of E. coli O157 isolated in France.

The authors conclude, “this outbreak … reminds us of the importance of thoroughly cooking beef burgers destined for consumption by young children.”

Cooking is one aspect in reducing E. coli O157 and other STEC loads from farm-to-fork, but fails to acknowledge cross-contamination. Maybe it was in the paper and lost in translation.

Foodborne disease surveillance in France: a foundation for food safety

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The French published their own series of detailed foodborne disease surveillance papers, and did it the day before the Americans.

A special issue of the Bulletin épidémiologique hebdomadaire (BEH) and the Bulletin épidémiologique Anses-DGAL, May 2012, number 50, Microbiological hazards in food products of animal origin: monitoring and evaluation contains 13 research papers.

In an editorial, the author writes foodborne illness surveillance is an important and complex issue. Important because tens of thousands of cases of foodborne outbreaks are still reported each year, complicated by the difficulty in assessing and controlling the risk throughout the supply chain — from the farm to the fork.

Thanks to Albert Amgar for passing along the information and some translation.

The abstracts are available at http://www.anses.fr/bulletin-epidemiologique/Documents/BEP-mg-BE50.pdf and are available in English. They are also available in the daily bites-l listserv and at bites.ksu.edu.

Reasons to cook meat: Toxoplasma gondii associated with the consumption of lamb meat, Aveyron (France), November 2010

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Thanks to our French friend, Albert Amgar, for forwarding this item.

On 15 November 2010, 3 confirmed cases of toxoplasmosis of the same family were reported to the Midi-Pyrénées Regional Health Agency. A collective outbreak of food poisoning was suspected with regard to the single common meal taken on 3 October 2010 that included undercooked lamb’s leg. Clusters of toxoplasmosis cases are rare; therefore, investigations on the episode were conducted.

Epidemiological, clinical and serological data were collected from the participants in the meal. Genotyping of the strain isolated in the suspected food was performed as well as a traceability investigation.

All five sensitive people of the seven persons exposed during the meal had a recent uncomplicated evolutionary toxoplasmosis (attack rate 100 %; mean age 21 years). DNA genotyping in the frozen half lamb’s leg revealed a type II. The farm of origin of the lamb could not be identified.

Our investigations contributed to describe a Toxoplasma food poisoning limited in size, and to determine the origin of the contamination. However, other cases may have gone unnotified, considering the infection is usually asymptomatic. Toxoplasma foodborne illnesses are poorly documented and information on the possibility of contamination due to insufficiently cooked lamb meat should be spread more widely.