News Headlines: 23 December 2011


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home | News | News Headlines: 23 December 2011 - 1 . . .

News Headlines: 23 December 2011 - 13 January 2012

Listeria outbreak report turns spotlight on food safety audits; High levels of antibiotic resistant bacteria found in German retail meat; New decontamination method for beef; Agency publishes consumer views on targeted safety inspections; CDC investigates Salmonella outbreak linked to recalled beef; FDA to test orange juice for fungicide; FDA prohibits use of some antibiotics in animals; Toxoplasma risk profile - views sought

Listeria outbreak report turns spotlight on food safety audits

A report by the US House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce into the 2011 Listeria outbreak associated with cantaloupes, in which 30 people died, has highlighted the role of third party food safety auditors.

The outbreak took place in September and October last year and affected at least 146 people in 28 states. It was linked to contaminated cantaloupe melons grown by Jensen Farms in Colorado. FDA inspectors visited the Jensen Farms facility on three occasions during September to take product samples and conduct an environmental assessment to identify the source of the contamination.

The House report states that the FDA inspectors found a number of potential problems at the plant, including the lack of a pre-cooling step before the melons were cold-stored, design flaws allowing water to collect near equipment and cleaning problems. The most likely causes of the contamination were concluded to be the use of new processing equipment originally used for a different commodity and the absence of any sanitising chemical, such as chlorine, in water used to wash the melons before packing.

The Committee also found that two third party food safety auditing companies, Primus Labs and Bio Food Safety, which audited the plant in 2010 and 2011 respectively, had reported high compliance ratings despite some aspects of FDA safety guidelines not being followed. According to the FDA itself, complying with that guidance could have prevented the outbreak.

The House report also contains responses from the auditors, who point out that they are only required to look for compliance with mandatory food safety regulations, rather than with safety guidelines. Democrat Committee members are now calling for tougher standards for food safety audits in response to the report.

The House report can be found in full via the link below.

http://thehill.com/images/stories/blogs/healthwatch/listeria.pdf

High levels of antibiotic resistant bacteria found in German retail meat

Germany's Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) is drawing attention to the dangers illustrated by a new study of antibiotic resistant bacteria in meat on retail sale in the country.

The study, conducted by the Association for Environmental Protection and Nature Conservation (BUND) found that 10 out of 20 samples of meat purchased were contaminated with bacteria carrying the antibiotic resistance factor ESBL (extended-spectrum beta-lactamase). Two of the samples also contained MRSA bacteria.

BfR says that these findings are not a surprise, pointing to a study of broiler it conducted in 2009, which revealed that 22% of 629 samples contained suspected MRSA. E. coli strains producing ESBL have also been found before in food producing animals and in foods.

The Institute says that it finds the large scale use of antimicrobials in food animals "alarming" and recommends that the practice be reviewed to prevent the development of resistant bacteria and their transfer to food products.

http://www.bfr.bund.de/en/press_information/2012/01/bacteria_resistant_to_antimicrobials_found_on_broiler_meat_not_a_new_development-128379.html

New decontamination method for beef

A newly published study by researchers at Fort Valley State University in Georgia and Virginia Tech has found that a short treatment with a low voltage alternating current is an effective means of destroying E. coli growing on the surface of fresh beef.

Lead researcher Ajit Mahapatra and colleagues inoculated beef samples with high numbers of E. coli O157:H7 and found that the electrical treatment could inactivate nearly all of the bacteria. The process is said to be cheap and easy to apply and could easily be developed into a practical decontamination measure for meat.

The study is published in the International Journal of Food Safety, Nutrition and Public Health and an abstract can be found via the link below.

http://www.inderscience.com/search/index.php?action=record&rec_id=44624&prevQuery=&ps=10&m=or

Agency publishes consumer views on targeted safety inspections

The UK Food Standards Agency has published a new report of consumers views about a proposal to reduce food safety inspections on compliant businesses in order to focus more attention on higher risk operations.

The report details the outcome of a series of 'citizens' forums' convened to consider the proposed 'Earned Recognition' scheme, which would reduce the burden of inspection on businesses with a history of meeting the requirements of legislation or private food safety assurance schemes.

The report concludes that consumers are generally in favour of the proposal, provided that there is still sufficient regulation of food businesses and that the scheme is fairly applied.

The full report can be found at the link below.

http://www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/earnedrecog.pdf

CDC investigates Salmonella outbreak linked to recalled beef

The US Centers for Disease Control and prevention (CDC) continues to investigate a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium infection linked to consumption of ground beef purchased from Hannaford Supermarkets.

Between 8 October 2011 and 5 January 2012, 19 cases of illness had been reported across seven US states. Seven people have been hospitalised, but no deaths have been recorded. The Salmonella strain responsible is resistant to a number of antibiotics.

Epidemiological evidence provided a strong link to ground beef purchased from Hannaford stores and the outbreak strain of S. Typhimurium has also been isolated from ground beef samples taken from the homes of victims.

Although the implicated beef products were recalled in mid December, it is possible that consumers and caterers have frozen beef purchased before the recall. They are advised to check freezers and not to eat or serve any found.

http://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/typhimurium-groundbeef/010512/index.html

FDA to test orange juice for fungicide

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has written to the US Juice Products Association to inform the juice industry that it will be testing orange juice for the fungicide carbendazim.

The announcement follows the detection of the fungicide, which is not permitted for use on oranges in the USA, in juices on retail sale and in juice concentrates. The discovery was made by a juice company, which then alerted the FDA to its findings.

The levels found are low and not thought to present any health hazard to consumers and there are no plans to recall any contaminated juices. However, the FDA intends to monitor the situation and has requested that the juice industry implement measures to prevent future contamination.

http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodSafety/Product-SpecificInformation/FruitsVegetablesJuices/ucm286302.htm

FDA prohibits use of some antibiotics in animals

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an order prohibiting some uses of the clinically important cephalosporin class of antibiotics in cattle, pigs and poultry.

The new ban takes effect on 5 April 2012 and is designed to help protect the efficacy of cephalosporin drugs for treating human infections by reducing the risk of bacterial pathogens developing resistance to them in animals.

Prohibited uses of the drugs include use at unapproved doses and frequencies, and use to prevent infections in animals. However, veterinarians will still be able to prescribe cephalosporins for food animals in a limited way providing that they follow recommended guidelines.

http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm285704.htm

Toxoplasma risk profile - views sought

The UK Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of the Food Chain (ACMSF) is seeking the views of the food industry on a draft risk profile for the parasite Toxoplasma in the food chain.

An Ad Hoc group within the Committee considered data on the prevalence of toxoplasmosis in humans and in animals and also looked at studies relating to the presence and survival of Toxoplasma in food before drawing up the risk profile.

The group found that there was a need for more information about the significance of foodborne infection in the overall burden of the disease and on the seroprevalence of the parasite in UK livestock. They also recommended further research on the contamination rates in different foods and the effect of various food preparation processes on survival.

The draft risk profile is now the subject of a consultation process and comments from interested bodies in the food and healthcare industries, plus consumer groups and legislators are requested by 7 March. More information can be found via the link below.

http://www.food.gov.uk/consultations/ukwideconsults/2011/riskprofiletoxoplasmafoodchain