All Posts Tagged: Microbiology

No confirmed cause of Clostridium botulinum outbreak

Posted on December 16, 2011 by Richard Mallett

Food Quality News reports that a spokesperson from the Food Standards Agency has said that no confirmed cause of the family outbreak from the Lloyd Grossman Korma sauce, produced by Premier Foods, has yet been found. Investigations are ongoing but it seems to us that this one may slip away. The fact that only one jar was implicated is something of a hindrance to a typical outbreak investigation that looks for common links that may point towards a single mistake or contamination point. It seems perhaps unlikely that it was an overall process error, or further jars would most likely have become contaminated or survival of the organism (if inherited within raw materials) permitted. So it may not necessarily be a HACCP related issue? We wait to see if any more information is released by the FSA.

Botulism outbreak in France

Posted on September 11, 2011 by Richard Mallett

The Food Standards Agency is reporting on an outbreak from pastes contaminated with Clostridium botulinum, the bacterium behind the deadly botulism disease. The product has not been distributed within the UK but caution is exercised if the affected products were purchased by anyone visiting France. Meanwhile in France the products have been withdrawn from market. The bacterium grows well if allowed to contaminate certain meat and fish products that have been processed or packaged to exclude oxygen, which is actually toxic to the organism. It then produces a toxin that, if consumed, can culminate in neural paralysis and lead to death in about 40-50% of cases. For those lucky enough to pull through, the convalescence period can be many months. It is a very unusual outbreak – they are very rare. The cause will certainly be investigated by the French authorities. Such contamination is normally caused by a breakdown of a HACCP food safety management system, or failure to review such a system when changes are made to the processing operation. If this is found to be the case then it points again to the importance of an audited, reviewed and validated HACCP plan, a procedure which is mandatory not only under food hygiene legislation but also for the common global food safety standards such as BRC, IFS and ISO 22000. Read about the outbreak here - http://www.food.gov.uk/news/newsarchive/2011/sep/botulism

Stomach Upsets

Posted on September 7, 2011 by Richard Mallett

The results of some very interesting research has just been released by the Food Standards Agency. The study looked at the impact of all cases of Infectious Intestinal Disease (IID), both linked to and not linked to food. It found that there are 17 million cases of IID (approximately 1/4 of the population) and that as a result there are 11 million working days lost. For every reported case there are no less than 147 unreported ones.

The majority of cases were caused by Norovirus and Camplyobacter – both agents that have a low infective dose (about 100 virus particles or bacterial cells are thought to be sufficient for infection) and are commonly spread through cross contamination This supports very well the priorities of the Food Standard Agency’s Foodborne Disease Strategy for 2010-2015 (an earlier post and summarised well here http://www.haccpeurope.com/documents/haccpinterissue3.pdf)

The Food Standards Agency commented that “This study has confirmed that the burden of IID is substantial in the UK. However, a large proportion of the illnesses reported can be prevented by adopting good basic hygiene. The FSA’s advice on preparation and handling of food will help to minimise the risk from bacteria and viruses linked to food.”

For advice on food hygiene audits to verify good food safety and hygiene procedures please do call us now.

Food Standards Agency report – Food safety behaviours in the home

Posted on September 1, 2011 by Richard Mallett

The Food Standards Agency has released the final report called Food Safety behaviours in the home. This lengthy report makes fairly grim reading overall concerning people’s awareness of food safety and risk in the home when dealing with food. There are significant gaps in people’s knowledge concerning correct cooking temperatures, cross contamination prevention, correct refrigeration and thawing practices and knowledge of Use By dates. One part of the report states that “People‘s self rated level of their understanding of food safety was higher than that found when observed by researchers” which probably explains the lack of awareness of risk. Another reference in the report points to a study of barbecue and stir fry chicken in 30 homes showing no less than a 75% incidence of the food borne pathogen Campylobacter. It’s concerned us here at MQM! We need to go forward not backwards! If you are in the catering or food processing industry or simply a consumer and are worried then do call us…remember that we offer a bespoke food hygiene audit service to help raise food safety competence and awareness. The Food Standards Agency study can be found from a link on this page http://www.food.gov.uk/news/newsarchive/2011/aug/homehygiene

New Salmonella outbreak – Ground turkey U.S.A.

Posted on August 8, 2011 by Richard Mallett

Just as the E. coli outbreak in Germany is over, just-food ( http://www.just-food.com/  )is reporting an outbreak of salmonella in the US which has killed one person and made another 70 ill. The article states “the quick succession of these two events definitely reminds us that such contaminations – while technically avoidable and therefore not ‘inevitable’ – do happen. It is an apparent and regrettable truth that the one we are currently dealing with – or reporting on – will not be the last”.  Dozens of people are ill and one person is dead. Cargill is recalling 18000 tons of fresh and frozen ground turkey from market.

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