In the news

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Fuji Food Products, Inc. recalls ready-to-eat Sushi, salads and spring rolls due to Listeria monocytogenes

The FDA announced that Fuji Food Products, Inc. (Fuji) voluntary recall of ready to eat sushi, salads and spring rolls sold to select retailers and distributors along the East Coast and Upper Midwest, due to potential Listeria monocytogenes contamination. No reported any illness associated with these products. The problem was discovered in their Brockton Massachusetts facility by a routine inspection conducted by the FDA. The company has ceased production and distribution of its products in this facility. The products are packed in plastic trays with clear lids, and the sell-by dates are on the labels. The products were sold and/or distributed in the following states Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Washington D.C., West Virginia, and Wisconsin The products were sold at 7 Eleven, Walgreens, Food Lion, Hannaford, Trader Joe’s, Giant Eagle Supermarkets, Porkys, Bozzutos, Supreme Lobster and Superior Foods. @ https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/fuji-food-products-inc-voluntarily-recalls-ready-eat-sushi-salads-and-spring-rolls-manufactured-east

Fuji Food Products, Inc. (Fuji) announced today the voluntary recall of ready to eat sushi, salads and spring rolls sold to select retailers and distributors along the East Coast and Upper Midwest.

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Increased cases of contamination of poultry meat with Salmonella infantis in the EU

The EU Regulation of fresh poultry meat considers only S. enteritidis or S. typhimurium as Food Safety Criteria, but not the isolation of other Salmonella spp. According to the CDC, last year in the USA, an outbreak caused by S. infantis strain, resistant to multiple antibiotics, ended with 129 sick people, 25 hospitalizations, and a death. In a study published in the European Journal of Public Health and presented at the European Public Health conference this past November in Marseille In 2019, highlighted several outbreaks caused by fresh chicken meat contaminated with S. infantis strains. 

The food control department of IZSLER analyzed 156 samples, for a total of 780 sampling units, for Salmonella spp. A total of 72 samples were positive for Salmonella. 42 strains were serotyped as S. enteritidis, 149 as S. infantis, 26 as S. newport, 4 as S. kentucky, and 1 as S. mbandaka. This study indicates that there is a trend of increasing isolation of S. infantis from poultry. Therefore, many of the contaminated chicken will be considered compliant. @ https://academic.oup.com/eurpub/article/29/Supplement_4/ckz186.609/5623768

Contamination of Poultry Meat with Salmonella infantis should be considered a Risk for Food Safety?

AbstractIssue/problem. EU Regulation regarding fresh poultry meat considers only S. enteritidis or S. typhimurium as Food Safety Criteria. On the contrary, the

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UNFI recalls Wild Harvest® Organic All-Purpose Flour due to E. coli

The FDA announced on its website that UNFI a voluntary national recall of five-pound bags of its Wild Harvest® Organic All-Purpose Flour, Unbleached, due to the potential presence of E. coli. During routine FDA sampling of the product, positive results were found for results E. coli.     To date, UNFI has not received any direct consumer reports of confirmed illnesses related to this product. This recall only affects the following code date of Wild Harvest® Organic All-Purpose Flour, Unbleached five-pound bags currently in stores or consumers’ pantries. No other types of Wild Harvest® Flour are affected by this recall. @ https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/unfi-voluntarily-recalls-wild-harvestr-organic-all-purpose-flour-unbleached

UNFI announced today a voluntary national recall of five-pound bags of its Wild Harvest® Organic All-Purpose Flour, Unbleached

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Comparison of survival and heat resistance of Escherichia coli O121 and Salmonella in muffins

A study was conducted to validate that a commercial baking process for plain muffins will eliminate E. coli O121 (isolated from the recent illness outbreak associated with flour). The thermal inactivation parameters (D- and z-values) of E. coli O121was compare to inactivation parameters of cocktails of four isolates of E. coli O121 and three serovars of Salmonella (Newport, Typhimurium, and Senftenberg) in muffin batter. Flour samples were spray inoculated with the E. coli O121 or Salmonella cocktails, dried back to the pre-inoculation weight to achieve ~7 log10 CFU/g, and used to prepare muffin batter. For the muffin baking validation study using E. coli O121, muffin batter was baked at 375 °F (190.6 °C) oven temperature for 21 min followed by 30 min of ambient cooling. The E. coli O121 population decreased by >7 log10 CFU/g in muffins by 17 min of baking and was completely eradicated after 21 min of baking and ambient cooling. The D-values of E. coli O121 and Salmonella cocktails in muffin batter at 60, 65, and 70 °C were 42.0 and 38.4, 7.5 and 7.2, and 0.4 and 0.5 min, respectively; whereas the z-values of E. coli O121 and Salmonella were 5.0 and 5.2 °C, respectively. @ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0168160519303538

Comparison of survival and heat resistance of Escherichia coli O121 and Salmonella in muffins

This study was conducted to validate a simulated commercial baking process for plain muffins against E. coli O121 (isolated from the recent illness ou…