Tag Archives: Ireland

New guidelines in Ireland for ready-to-eat sprouted seeds

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The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has published guidelines for the safe production of sprouted seeds to be consumed raw, following the recent outbreaks of E. coli O104:H4 in Germany and France linked to the consumption of these seeds.

These guidelines introduce pathogen control measures for seed suppliers and sprouted seed producers. These include testing and certification requirements for seeds and a disinfection step and testing for sprouted seeds. The measures are being introduced to reduce risks to consumers’ health.

Most sprouted seed outbreaks have been attributed to contamination of the seeds used for sprouting. The moist, warm conditions of sprouting can allow small numbers of pathogens present on seeds to multiply by several orders of magnitude during the sprouting period.

To avoid confusion among consumers, the FSAI is advising producers of sprouted seeds who are using these guidelines; to label their products as ‘ready-to-eat’. Sprouted seed producers who cannot implement the control measures specified in the new guidelines should continue to ensure that their products are labelled as ‘cook before consumption’. Retailers and caterers should check that their suppliers of ready-to-eat sprouted seeds are following these FSAI guidelines.

The FSAI is advising members of the public who choose to sprout seeds at home, that they should continue to cook these products before consumption. This is because seeds certified free of pathogenic bacteria are unlikely to be widely available for some time. These guidelines can be accessed on our website on the following link http://bit.ly/o9VWuW.

Unfortunately, no one knows if any particular sprouter is following the guidelines.

A table of sprout-related outbreaks is available at http://bites.ksu.edu/sprouts-associated-outbreaks.

Children under four have highest incidence of campylobacter in Ireland

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Children under 4-years-old present the highest incidence of illness from campylobacter the Food Safety Authority of Ireland said yesterday.

The authority’s scientific committee published a report recommending increased controls by poultry producers, retailers and consumers to reduce illness.

The bacteria found in the intestinal tract of birds causes four times more illness than salmonella in Ireland, the authority said.

More than 1,600 cases were reported in Ireland last year but the reality was much higher as there was “substantial under-reporting”, authority chief executive Prof Alan Reilly said. “What is particularly worrying is that we are seeing one-to-four-year-old Irish children having the highest incidence of the illness. There were 165 cases per 100,000 of the population within that age group reported in 2009,” Prof Reilly said.
 

Irish say do not eat raw sprouts

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The Food Safety Authority of Ireland gets it right, and said this morning, don’t eat sprouts.

The German outbreak of E. coli O104 that has killed 45 and sickened some 3,800 has now spread to the Bordeaux region of southern France and sickened at least 10 people.

The N.Y. Times reports this morning what food safety types have been saying all along: a common supplier sprout seed might be the ultimate source of the E. coli O104 and if those seeds are still in circulation, other outbreaks could occur.

William E. Keene, a senior epidemiologist at the Oregon Public Health Division, said it was urgent to find out if the seeds used by the German grower had come from the same source as the seeds linked to the French cases.

At least five of the French cases involved kidney failure, and tests on two of those people showed they were infected with the O104:H4 strain. The eight people infected in the Bègles area were adults, age 31 to 78. In addition, two children were sickened in another town and they were presumed also to have E. coli infections, although it was not clear if they had the same strain.

The source of the bean sprouts or the seeds from which they were sprouted is not known at this time and is the subject of ongoing investigation. The implicated bean sprouts are unlikely to have originated in the German organic bean sprout farm as this farm is closed and it is known not to have exported bean sprouts.

This raises the possibility that contaminated seeds are on the market. Therefore as a precautionary measure, and until investigations are concluded, FSAI advises, for the time being that consumers should not to eat raw bean sprouts or other sprouted seeds and caterers should not serve raw bean sprouts or other sprouted seeds.

Who knows what kind of crap is sprouting by your kitchen windowsill or in your herb garden.

Given the number of dead and dying related to this outbreak, the traceback has been an enormous failure.

A table of international sprout outbreaks is available at http://bites.ksu.edu/sprouts-associated-outbreaks.
 

Salmonella outbreak in Ireland linked to raw milk

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A 30-year-old man and his three-year-old niece were diagnosed with salmonella on a family farm in Kildare last year, the Health Protection Surveillance Centre has revealed in a report.

They both drank unpasteurised — or raw — milk produced by cows on the farm before contracting salmonella.

The warning comes as new legislation is to be introduced in Ireland later this year banning the sale of unpasteurised milk.

Restaurant closed, owner fined in Ireland; filthy premises

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A former restaurant operator whose premises had a ‘horrendous’ level of cleanliness has been fined a total of €1,000. At Westport court, Peter Langan, with an address at Carrowholly, Westport, was also directed to pay €1,500 towards the costs of the HSE, who prosecuted him.

The Connaught Telegraph reports the prosecution arose following an inspection at the Quay Cottage restaurant, The Harbour, Westport Quay, which Langan no longer operates, on August 12, 2010.

Following the inspection, Langan agreed to the voluntary closure of the restaurant as environmental health officers felt there was a grave and immediate danger to public health, Mr. Patrick Durcan, solicitor, prosecuting, told the court.

After he complied with their requests, the closure order was lifted the following day.

On a charge that the premises was not kept clean and in good repair and condition, witness said a fly screen on a door was open and the screen was filthy. Doorframes into the kitchen and onto the rear yard were engrained with dirt.
In the main kitchen, under the cooking equipment was filthy with food debris on the floor and dirt and grease on the tiles. There was a hole in the walk area adjacent to the grease trap leading outside to the yard.

In the rear yard, the wall around an extractor unit was filthy. Fruit and vegetables were stored out there on rough timber shelving, allowing ingress of pests.

The rear dry good store and walk-in freezer was being used as a storage area for manufacturing. The floor was worn and beside the freezer was engrained with dirt and crab claws. The freezer door was filthy.

Witness said meat was in boxes on the floor. Cooked meats were stored on top of each other with no proper labelling.

There was an abundance of insects in the dry goods store, where there were open bags of flour.

The third charge related to the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP). In this case, no HACCP records were available.

The chef on duty, Ms. Lawlor said, did not know how to operate a probe monitor and admitted to not carrying out temperature checks since starting work six weeks previously.

There was also no cleaning schedule.
 

One in four 2010 food complaints in Ireland related to food premises

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Food contaminated with teeth, zips and washers were among the 10,898 queries and complaints received by the folks that run the food batphone in Ireland in 2010.

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland reports that one in four of all calls related to consumers reporting issues concerning food and food establishments. Representing an increase of over 7% on 2009, these 2,126 (1,981 in 2009) complaints ranged from reports of unfit food, low hygiene standards, inaccurate labelling information and suspected food poisoning.

The 2,126 complaints lodged by consumers were:

• 914 complaints on unfit food
• 433 complaints on suspect food poisoning
• 402 complaints on hygiene standards
• 156 complaints on incorrect information on food labeling
• 25 complaints on incorrect advertising of food products
• 196 other.

The FSAI confirms that contamination with foreign objects was frequently reported by consumers. In 2010, these reports included food contaminated with live and dead insects; a tooth; a needle; safety pins; stones; and a cotton bud.

Infant in Ireland stricken with botulism from pet turtle, reptiles not suitable as pets for under fives

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An infant in Ireland is recovering after a bout with botulism type E, most likely due to exposure to a pet turtle or turtle feed.

Dr Paul McKeown, a specialist in public health medicine at the national Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) warned that reptiles are not appropriate pets for children under the age of five.

Reptiles such as snakes, lizards, tortoises, turtles and terrapins have become extremely popular as pets, he said, but they require careful handling as they carry a range of germs that can lead to illness. Washing hands after touching them is very important.

“Given the risks, reptiles should not be kept as pets in a house where there are children under the age of five,” he added.

There are a number of different types of botulism toxin but the type which the baby picked up – type E – is so rare it was only the seventh case ever reported in an infant worldwide, the centre said.
 

Pre-packaged sandwiches stored at wrong temps in Ireland

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Almost one in three pre-packed sandwiches are stored or displayed at the wrong temperature, increasing the risk of food poisoning, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has warned.

The authority has just published a study into the microbiological safety of pre-packed sandwiches. While the findings show that 99% of sandwiches were satisfactory when tested for the foodborne bacteria, Listeria, there was concern over the storage of these food items.

Altogether, 29% of pre-packed sandwiches were being stored or displayed at temperatures higher than five degrees Celsius. Pre-packed sandwiches should be stored at five degrees Celsius or cooler, as this stops or slows down the growth of bacteria.

Meanwhile the study found that four of the five sandwiches, which were classified as unsatisfactory or unacceptable/potentially hazardous, were stored above eight degrees Celsius, with one sandwich displayed unrefrigerated at almost 18 degrees Celsius.

The study involved the testing of 948 pre-packaged sandwiches from retailers and caterers across the country. Sandwiches made to order, unwrapped sandwiches and sandwiches which receive heat-treatment, e.g. toasted sandwiches and paninis. were excluded from study.
 

Handwashing at hospital in Ireland gets worse, not better

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With all the attention being paid to handwashing, especially in hospitals, it’s unique when compliance rates get worse rather than better (unless the evaluation techniques are becoming more rigorous).

The Irish Examiner reports an independent hygiene audit of a Dublin hospital has found a drop in standards since it was last assessed two years ago.

The unannounced inspection of the Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital by health watchdog, the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA), concluded it had "not maintained its level of performance in relation to the delivery of hygiene services" since it was inspected in 2008.

* Bathrooms/washrooms were visibly unclean in three areas visited (out-patients and emergency departments share these facilities).

* Patients’ personal items were observed in bathrooms/washrooms in one of the areas visited.

* While overall, ward kitchen areas visited were clean, separate hand-wash sinks were not compliant with best practice and in one kitchen no soap was available.

* Clinical waste was stored centrally in a locked unit at the rear of the hospital, however, hazard notices were only observed on one of the locked doors and special hazardous clinical waste was not segregated from this waste.

* Waste destruction documentation was incomplete and the organisation did not demonstrate a consistent approach for monitoring this documentation.

* The majority of handwash sinks in the areas visited did not comply with guidelines for hand hygiene and hand-washing technique — essential for infection control — did not always comply with best practice.

18 sick with salmonella from duck eggs in Ireland

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That’s Sorenne (right, pretty much as shown) enjoying a duck egg omelet made with duck eggs from our friend, Kate the vet. Kate is exceedingly conscientious about cleanliness and I take pains to avoid cross-contamination in the kitchen.

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) today reissued its advice on the safe consumption of duck eggs, following the confirmation of five new cases of Salmonella Typhimurium DT8.

The FSAI states that these five cases are in addition to the thirteen cases associated with duck egg consumption during an outbreak earlier in the year.

It is reiterating its advice to consumers to only consume duck eggs that have been thoroughly cooked and to cease using raw duck eggs in any dishes that will not be cooked thoroughly prior to eating. It continues to recommend that good hygiene practices are followed, such as washing hands and preparation surfaces after handling or using duck eggs.

In light of these new cases, the FSAI advises caterers to be particularly strict in adhering to best hygiene practices and to only serve duck eggs or duck egg products that have been thoroughly cooked prior to consumption. It also reiterates the need for strict procedures to be followed at all times to avoid cross contamination between raw and cooked foods.