Archive of July, 2025

Banquet Chicken Nuggets with Mac & Cheese Banquet Chicken Nuggets with Mac & Cheese has been recalled due to possible salmonella contamination. Frozen dinners contain Chicken Nuggets, mac and cheese and brownies. It is the brownies flour mix that might be the culprit of the Salmonella contamination. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS)alerted  consumers that the brownie mix dessert included in the breaded chicken nugget meal trays produced by Conagra Brands, Inc., of Marshall, Mo, may be contaminated with Salmonella. The recall affects 110,817 pounds of frozen meals, was done out of an abundance of caution after the company notified...

The Public Health Agency of Canada is investigating an outbreak of Escherichia coli O121 that was linked to flour from Robin Hood. So far there have been 25 cases of E. coli O121 in four provinces: British Columbia (12), Saskatchewan (4), Alberta (4) and Newfoundland and Labrador (5) with a matching genetic fingerprint in all these cases. During the food safety investigation, samples of Robin Hood flour were collected and tested positive for E. coli O121. The illness onset dates range from November 2016 to late February 2017. Six individuals have been hospitalized. These individuals have since recovered or are recovering. No deaths have been reported. The...

DNA-based diagnostic, such as Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tends to overestimate the number of live cells because it will also measure the DNA from dead cells. This is because of the relatively long perseverance of DNA after cell death (e.g. up to 3 weeks). DNA extracted from a sample can originate from any cell, regardless of its metabolic state. Consequently, most DNA-based diagnostics cannot distinguish between live and dead bacteria, and this is a major drawback of the techniques. After processes such as pasteurization or disinfections, dead bacteria might be present. While the dead bacteria present no hazard it can...

The recall The Center of disease Control (CDC) and the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) are investigating a multistate outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes infections in raw milk cheeses.  Six people from four states were hospitalized, and two people from Connecticut and Vermont died. One illness was reported in a newborn. The FDA found Ouleout cheese contaminated with L. monocytogenes. Epidemiological and laboratory data indicates that the source of the infections is the cheese made by Vulto Creamery of Walton, NY. Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) performed on clinical isolates from all six ill people shows that the isolates are closely related genetically. This close genetic...