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Disinfection with mercury-vapor UV lamps (light emission at 254nm) is a common practice in the food industry because it is effective in killing bacteria and viruses by destroying their genetic material. Due to toxic heavy metals in these lamps, researchers at Fraunhofer Institute of Optics in Germany are investigating the use of UV LED as a greener alternative. UV light with a wavelength of 265nmwas studied as an alternative. Additional disadvantages of the conventional UV lamps are their long warm-up phases, their short service lives, and the fact that they cannot be deployed flexibly due to their bulky design. UV LEDs do not require any warm-up phase – they reach full power instantly; they offer high mechanical stability, are non-toxic and will operate at low voltage. The researchers are now able to operate the UV LEDs directly in water without the need for a tube to encase them. Thus they eliminate reflections to increase the performance yield of the radiation sources. T...

The International Journal of Food Microbiology (August 2019) published an article from a team of researchers that had investigated the prevalence, serovar diversity, multilocus sequence types, and antimicrobial resistance of non-typhoidal Salmonella contamination in retail eggs produced and sold in Western Australia (WA).  In the last 5 years, the number of Salmonellosis cases has more than doubled.  Salmonella was detected in 11.5% of the tested eggs, Salmonella was isolated from 4.5% and 3% of eggshells and egg contents, respectively. In 4% of the samples, Salmonella was recovered from both eggshell and egg contents. Isolates from positive retail egg samples were serotyped as S. Typhimurium in 52.2% or S. infantis in 39.1%. Both serotypes were concurrently recovered from two different retail egg samples. Most (39/41) of Salmonella isolates were susceptible to a panel of 14 antimicrobials, demonstrating minimal risk from ant...

The FDA announced on its website that AWERS, Inc. of Bellevue, WA recalled Grained Salmon Caviar 95g (Sockeye Salmon Caviar) because it has the potential to be contaminated with Clostridium botulinum. The product was distributed in California, New York, Oregon, and Washington and may have further distributed to other states and Canada. Product is packed in a metal tin with Cyrillic lettering. No illnesses have been reported to date. The product was reviewed by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and sent to a lab for testing. The analysis showed a lower than normal salt content, which can foster an anaerobic environment which is necessary to breed the Clostridium botulinum bacteria. No Clostridium botulinum bacterium was detected in the product. @ https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/awers-inc-recalls-grained-salmon-caviar-95g-because-possible-health-risk?utm_campaign=AWERS%2C%20Inc.%20Recalls%20Grained%20Salmon%20Caviar%2095g%20Because%20of%...

On August 16 FDA and CDC issued an update of their report issued on July 25th. The FDA, and CDC, and state and local partners are investigating a multistate outbreak of Cyclospora illnesses linked to fresh basil exported by Siga Logistics de RL de CV located in Morelos, Mexico. Siga Logistics de RL de CV recalled the potentially affected basil on July 24, 2019.  At this time, the recommendation not to buy or serve any fresh basil exported by Siga Logistics de RL de CV remains the same. As this outbreak investigation continues, the FDA will update this advisory as more information becomes available. This outbreak involves 205 ill people with 5 hospitalizations. Cases were reported in CT, FL, GA, IA, MA, MN, NY, OH, RI, SC, WI. Exposures occurred at restaurants in five states: FL, MN, NY, OH, and WI. @ https://www.fda.gov/food/outbreaks-foodborne-illness/outbreak-investigation-cyclospora-illnesses-linked-imported-fresh-basil-july-2019