Blog

Listeriosis is a severe, foodborne infection linked with high case fatality and hospitalization. The CDC estimated 1,600 people get listeriosis yearly, and about 260 die. The infection is most likely to sicken susceptible populations. Quantitative risk assessment is a practical method to assess the risks associated with microbial contamination of foods. The risk analysis models are developed by combing Monte Carlo probabilistic simulation with probability distributions inserted into the model. A quantitative risk assessment model was developed to estimate the probability of infection with Listeria monocytogenes in various RTE foods at various levels of contamination. Removing lots with counts higher...

The CDC issued a on its investigation of multistate outbreaks between 2017-2020 caused by Salmonella, STEC, and Listeria monocytogenes. The analysis includes 470 possible multistate outbreaks. The investigation showed that 250 (53%) of these were multistate outbreaks, and the investigation solved 199 (80%) of the outbreaks. There was enough information to confirm the source for 134 (67%) outbreaks as solved. The increase in investigated outbreaks, especially between 2018 and 2019, probably resulted from the implementation of whole genome sequencing in PulseNet. The number of investigated outbreaks fell in 2020, probably due to the COVID-19. The 250 multistate outbreaks investigated included...

In 2017, the WHO identified a list of bacteria that present a significant threat to human health and require new antibiotics. Bacterial resistance to antibiotics is a critical global public health threat, killing at least 1.27 million people worldwide and associated with nearly 5 million deaths in 2019. In the US, more than 2.8 million antimicrobial-resistant infections occur each year. According to the CDC’s report, more than 35,000 people die as a result. WHO concludes that one of the biggest threats to global health is the lack of new antibiotics. Developing new drugs involves lots of time, effort, scientific research,...

In 2015, the USDA/FSIS developed a new pathogen reduction standard for Salmonella. The standard for chicken parts permitted 15.4 % positivity; it represents a 30 % reduction in the occurrence of Salmonella-in chicken parts samples. In 2022 the FSIS demonstrated over 75% reduction in Salmonella contamination of chickens and chicken parts. The study found that the intended 25 % reduction of Salmonella contamination was probably achieved for minced turkey, but not for minced chicken. However, the reduction in the presence of Salmonella did not result in a reduction in Salmonella illnesses. Consumer Report (CR) published their own data, they found...