In the news

The FDA announced that Midwestern Pet Foods (Evansville, Indiana) recalled many dog and cat food brands because they can be contaminated with Salmonella. The brands recalled include CanineX, Earthborn Holistic, Venture, Unrefined, Sportmix Wholesomes, Pro Pac, Pro Pac Ultimates, Sportstrail, Sportmix, and Meridian brands.  All these products were produced at its Monmouth, Illinois Production Facility.  No human or pet illnesses have been reported to date. Products were distributed to retail stores nationwide and online retailers. The unique Monmouth Facility identifier is located in the date code as an “M.” The recall resulted from a company’s routine sampling program that revealed that the finished products might contain Salmonella. @ https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/midwestern-pet-foods-voluntarily-recall-due-possible-salmonella-health-risk

The Maryland Department of Health (MDH) warned consumers not to eat the La Cieba, La colonia, and Sector Latinos cheeses because they may be contaminated with Staphylococcus aureus and E. coli. These cheeses come under a variety of names such as Cuajada el Terron, Queso Morolique con Chile, Queso Con Loroco, Queso Con Chile, Queso Frijolero, Queso Duro Blando Salvadoreno, Queso Salvadoreno, and Queso Seco Salvadoreno. @ https://health.maryland.gov/newsroom/Pages/Maryland-Department-of-Health-issues-consumer-advisory-for-La-Cieba,-La-Colonia-and-Selectos-Latinos-cheeses-amid-contamina.aspx

Kareem Mart (Garden City, MI) is recalling its Kareem Chef brand “Halva”, “Halva with Pistachio”, and “Halva with Chocolate” because they have the potential to be contaminated with salmonella. The recalled “Halva” were distributed, between March 2020 to February 2021, through Mediterranean food stores and wholesalers in Michigan, Illinois, Missouri, New York, Ohio, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania. The products come in 1lb and 2lb plastic tubs. There is only one lot distributed. No illnesses have been reported to date in connection with the problem. The potential for contamination was noted after routine testing from samples in the stores by the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD). Production of the product has been suspended while the FDA and the company continue their investigation as to the source of the problem. @ https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/kareem-mart-recalls-halva-because-possible-health-risk

Scientists from the FDA published in J Food Prot (84 (4): 639–646, 2021) published a comparison of methods for the enrichment and detection of Listeria spp. and Listeria monocytogenes from environmental samples. Different enrichment procedures involving buffered Listeria enrichment broth (BLEB), University of Vermont medium (UVM), and Fraser broth (FB) were evaluated to determine the limits of detection (LODs) for L. monocytogenes and to assess the efficacy of composite sampling by wet (pooling of primary enrichments) and dry (pooling of swabs) procedures. A single-step BLEB yielded 0.33 CFU/225 ml, and two-step UVM-FB enrichment yielded 0.49 CFU/225 mL. The use of either two-step BLEB-FB or UVM-FB enrichments for stainless steel swabs yielded similar growth of L. monocytogenes. Compositing L. monocytogenes from culture up to 1:7 (1 positive sample to 7 negative samples) worked well. The BLEB-FB method allowed significantly faster detection (after 24 h of FB incubation) in composites of 1:4 and 1:7 samples compared with the UVM-FB method. @ https://meridian.allenpress.com/jfp/article-abstract/84/4/639/448753/Evaluation-of-Methods-of-Enrichment-and?redirectedFrom=fulltext