News Headlines: 28 August - 03 September 2010


Home \| Text Size \| Tell a Friend \| Search \| MEMBER LOGIN

News

Feature Articles

Food Safety Matters

Fact-Sheet Index

Microbial Hazards

Biological Toxins

Legislation & HACCP

About Membership

About this Site

Help

home | News | News Headlines: 28 August - 03 Septe . . .

News Headlines: 28 August - 03 September 2010

FSANZ issues new bisphenol A factsheet; Multistate Salmonella outbreak linked to eggs - update; Recalled beef linked to E. coli cases; Salmonella Java cases investigated; Food businesses cutting back on food safety training

FSANZ issues new bisphenol A factsheet

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has published a new factsheet on its website providing information about the controversial industrial chemical bisphenol A (BPA) found in some types of packaging.

The factsheet covers basic information on the uses of BPA in food packaging, its known effects on human health and recent actions taken to ban its use in other countries such as Canada. Information on research and monitoring activities and the efforts being made to reduce BPA levels in food is also included.

However, FSANZ has not changed it policy on BPA, which is that the chemical does not present any health risk to consumers at the low levels found in foods. The fact sheet can be found on the FSANZ website via the link below.

http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/scienceandeducation/factsheets/factsheets2010/bisphenolabpaandfood4911.cfm

Multistate Salmonella outbreak linked to eggs - update

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have issued more information about the investigation into a sharp rise in cases of infection by one strain of Salmonella Enteritidis across many states.

CDC now estimates the number of reported cases associated with the outbreak at approximately 1470, but says that standard sub-typing methods are not sufficient to identify those cases definitely linked to the outbreak. Epidemiological investigations have linked the outbreak to shell eggs from two suppliers in Iowa and approximately 500 million eggs have been recalled.

The FDA investigation has been focusing on the two egg suppliers, Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms. Almost 600 samples have been collected for testing and most of the results are still awaited. However, the outbreak strain has already been isolated from six environmental samples from the Wright County Egg farm and feed mill.

The FDA has also released inspection reports relating to the two egg producers. These reveal a number of serious flaws in hygiene and bio-security measures at both sites, including rodent infestations, uncaged birds carrying chicken manure into the egg laying areas and missing documentation.

http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/MajorProductRecalls/ucm223522.htm
http://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/enteritidis/

Recalled beef linked to E. coli cases

The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has announced that Cargill Meat Solutions Inc in Pennsylvania is recalling around 8,500 pounds of ground beef that could be associated with cases of E. coli O26 infection.

The recalled beef is packed in 42-pound cases labelled with a product code of W69032 and a use/freeze by date of 07/01/10. The product was packed on 11 June and shipped to distribution centres in Connecticut and Maryland for repackaging and sale under various brand names.

The problem was identified when the authorities in the state of Maine notified FSIS of a cluster of two cases of infection caused by the same strain of E. coli O26. A further case has been reported in New York state. FSIS says that it has found an association between these cases and the recalled beef and is continuing its investigation.

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/Recall_050_2010_Release/index.asp

Salmonella Java cases investigated

The UK Health Protection Agency (HPA) is currently investigating 67 human cases of Salmonella Java infection reported in England since 27 July. The source of the outbreak is not yet known.

All the cases have been caused by the same Salmonella Java phage type (PT3B Var9) and are widely spread around the country, with the highest number of cases being reported in the East of England and in London. Initial interviews with 12 confirmed cases have identified several common risk factors and further epidemiological studies are now being undertaken to identify the source.

Salmonella Java causes typical symptoms of gastro-enteritis, but can also be invasive and result in serious typhoid-like symptoms. At least nine of the people affected by the present outbreak have required hospital treatment, but no deaths have occurred to date.

http://www.hpa.org.uk/hpr/news/default.htm#java

Food businesses cutting back on food safety training

A recently conducted survey by the Chartered Institute of Environmental health (CIEH) has found that UK food businesses are investing less in food safety and hygiene training in order to cut costs.

The survey of 5000 food safety trainers and training centres revealed that about half of the respondents thought that the uptake of training was being negatively affected by the economic climate as businesses sought to cut their costs. The CIEH is concerned that training cutbacks could result in increased levels of foodborne disease and also warns food businesses that proper training of food handlers is a legal requirement.

The CIEH survey also identified growth in the use of cheap online training packages, but the Institute advises businesses to make sure that training packages and other information comes from a reputable source and is up to date.

http://www.cieh.org/media/media3.aspx?id=32504