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News Headlines: 15 - 21 May 2010

Alfalfa sprouts recalled because of Salmonella contamination; CDC issues final update on E. coli O145 outbreak; Sesame seeds recalled over Salmonella contamination; Evira develops contamination evaluation model; Update report on hepatitis A outbreak linked to semi-dried tomatoes; Acrylamide monitoring results published; Paralytic shellfish poisoning outbreak reported in Hong Kong; Ground beef recalled over E. coli risk

Alfalfa sprouts recalled because of Salmonella contamination

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that Caldwell Fresh Foods of California is voluntarily recalling all alfalfa sprouts produced under the Caldwell Fresh Foods, Nature's Choice and California Exotics brands because the sprouts may be contaminated with Salmonella.

Caldwell sprouts have been associated with an outbreak of 22 cases of Salmonella Newport infection in 10 states. The recalled sprouts have been distributed to restaurants and retailers nationwide.

Contaminated alfalfa sprouts have been involved in a number of Salmonella outbreaks over many years and codes of practice for sprout growers have been developed in an attempt to deal with the problem.

http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm213119.htm

CDC issues final update on E. coli O145 outbreak

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a final update on a multistate outbreak of E. coli O145 infections associated with shredded Romaine lettuce from the same supplier.

There have been 26 confirmed cases to date, plus a further seven probable cases in five states. The outbreak investigation has implicated shredded romaine lettuce from a single processing facility. An unopened bag of lettuce from the facility tested positive for the outbreak strain of E. coli O145. The supplier has recalled lettuce from the plant and a second company receiving lettuce from the same grower has also issued a recall.

CDC says that the outbreak is the first reported foodborne outbreak of E. coli O145 in the USA. The investigation is ongoing and attempts are being made to identify the point in the distribution chain where contamination occurred.

http://www.cdc.gov/ecoli/2010/ecoli_o145/index.html

Sesame seeds recalled over Salmonella contamination

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has announced that certain packets of sesame seed mixes supplied by Independent Irish health Foods Ltd are being recalled because of the presence of Salmonella Anatum.

Two products are included in the recall, Organic Sesame Seeds (250g & 500g packs) and Organic Four Seed Mix (250g & 500g packs). Best before dates are from 11/03/2011 to 07/05/2011 and the country of origin is Bolivia. The products have been distributed widely in the Irish Republic.

The FSAI reports that this is the second incident of Salmonella contamination in sesame seeds in the last year and has advised consumers not to eat the affected products.

http://www.fsai.ie/21052010.html

Evira develops contamination evaluation model

The Risk Assessment Unit of the Finnish Food Safety Authority, Evira, reports the development of a mathematical evaluation model, which can be used to assess the prevalence of pathogenic micro-organisms in meat at different stages in production.

The model has been applied to domestic pork production from the farm, through the slaughtering process to the meat packing stage. Microbiological data from testing was fed into the model to evaluate the prevalence of three pathogens, Listeria monocytogenes, Yersinia enterocolitica and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, at different stages in production. The model can be used to evaluate changes in prevalence from one stage to the next and the effectiveness of decontamination measures.

The model is designed to be useful tool for risk analysis and can also be used to determine the optimum monitoring points for microbial contamination in the production chain. The model has been published in the journal Statistical Modelling and can be found at the link below.

http://www.evira.fi/attachments/elaintauti_ja_elintarviketutkimus/statistical_modelling_2010.pdf

Update report on hepatitis A outbreak linked to semi-dried tomatoes

The Dutch health and food safety authorities have issued an update relating to an outbreak of hepatitis A infection associated with semi-dried tomatoes in oil, which affected 13 people in the Netherlands early this year.

The outbreak was linked to another in Australia, which was also associated with semi-dried tomatoes. Epidemiological investigation strongly suggested that semi-dried tomatoes in oil were the food vehicle involved in the outbreak, but microbiological testing did not find HAV in any samples tested.

A trace back operation to identify a common source of the semi-dried tomatoes was undertaken, but the supply chain was found to be very complex and no common source has yet been found, although more information is awaited.

http://www.eurosurveillance.org/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleId=19572

Acrylamide monitoring results published

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published a summary report of levels of the processing contaminant acrylamide in different foods sampled during 2008.

The report is based on more than 3,400 results from 22 EU member states and from Norway. Some 22 different food groups were sampled, with the highest levels of acrylamide (mean 1124 µg/kg) being found in 'substitute coffee' products and the lowest (mean 23 µg/kg) in the 'bread non-specified' category.

EFSA reports that the levels recorded in 2008 were generally lower than in 2007, but that for some food groups, notably substitute coffee, instant coffee and potato crisps, the levels actually rose. The Authority expects the trend to become clearer in the years ahead.

The results from 2008 represent the second of three years of monitoring recommended by the European Commission and designed to determine whether measures taken by industry to reduce acrylamide in foods have been successful. EFSA plans to use the results to carry out an exposure assessment for acrylamide next year.

The full report is available on the EFSA web site via the link below.

http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/scdocs/scdoc/1599.htm

Paralytic shellfish poisoning outbreak reported in Hong Kong

The Hong Kong Centre for Health Protection has warned consumers not to eat fresh scallops, after at least 17 people were affected by paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP).

Those affected are reported to have suffered a variety of symptoms, including facial numbness, limb weakness, blurred vision, vomiting and diarrhoea. Sixteen people required hospital treatment, but all are reported to be stable. Investigation of the outbreak revealed that the illnesses were related to domestic consumption of fresh scallops from 14 to 16 May.

PSP is caused by algal toxins accumulating within the body of bivalve shellfish, which feed on the algae.

http://www.news.gov.hk/en/category/healthandcommunity/100517/html/100517en05004.htm

Ground beef recalled over E. coli risk

The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has announced that Montclair Meat Co., Inc. Montclair, California is recalling approximately 53,000 pounds of ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7.

The recalled products include packs of ground beef of various sizes and packs of 'All Beef Patties'. The packs are marked with the establishment number 6116 and production dates from May 3 2010 to May 13 2010. They were distributed to wholesalers, restaurants and other institutions in the Los Angeles area.

The contamination problem was discovered through FSIS microbiological sampling, but there are no related reports of illness to date.

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/Recall_034_2010_Release/index.asp

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