MAPAQ (ministère de l’Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l’Alimentation du Québec), in collaboration with the company Les Jardins Picoudi, in Saint-Robert , warned not to consume Coriander microgreens they are likely to be contaminated with Salmonella. The product was sold At several locations in Quebec. It was packaged in rectangular transparent plastic boxes and sold refrigerated. No case of illness associated with the consumption of this food has been reported to MAPAQ to date. @ https://www.mapaq.gouv.qc.ca/fr/Consommation/rappelsaliments/2020/09/Pages/4189.aspx
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Impact of hand hygiene of farm workers during harvest
Scientists from Hubert Department of Global Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, in Atlanta, published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology (https://aem.asm.org/content/86/18/e00780-20) about hand hygiene interventions and its criticality for reducing farmworker hand contamination and preventing the spread of produce-associated illness. The study determined if produce commodity influences the ability of handwashing with soap and water or two-step alcohol-based hand sanitizer (ABHS) interventions to reduce soil and bacteria on farmworker hands. Farmworkers (n = 326) harvested produce (cantaloupe, jalapeño, and tomato) for 30 to 90 minutes before engaging in handwashing, two-step ABHS (jalapeño and cantaloupe), or no hand hygiene. Handwashing with soap and water, when tested in three agricultural environments, does not always reduce bacterial loads. Without hand hygiene, bacterial concentrations (0.88 to 5.1 log10 CFU/hand) on hands significantly differed by the produce commodity harvested. There were significant produce-commodity-specific differences in the ability of handwashing and two-step ABHS interventions to reduce soil (P < 0.0001), coliforms (P = 0.002), and Enterococcus sp. (P = 0.003), but not the Bacteroidales markers AllBac (P = 0.4) or BFD (P = 0.3). Contamination on the hands of farmworkers who harvested cantaloupe was more challenging to remove. The study found that a two-step ABHS intervention was similar to handwashing with soap and water at reducing bacteria on hands. @ https://aem.asm.org/content/86/18/e00780-20
Hand hygiene interventions are critical for reducing farmworker hand contamination and preventing the spread of produce-associated illness. Hand hygiene effectiveness may be produce-commodity specific, which could influence implementation strategies. This study’s goal was to determine if produce commodity influences the ability of handwashing with soap and water or two-step alcohol-based hand sanitizer (ABHS) interventions to reduce soil and bacteria on farmworker hands. Farmworkers ( n = 326) harvested produce (cantaloupe, jalapeño, and tomato) for 30 to 90 minutes before engaging in handwashing, two-step ABHS (jalapeño and cantaloupe), or no hand hygiene. Hands were rinsed to measure amounts of soil (absorbance at 600 nm) and indicator bacteria (coliforms, Enterococcus sp., generic Escherichia coli, and Bacteroidales universal [AllBac] and human-specific [BFD] 16S rRNA gene markers). Without hand hygiene, bacterial concentrations (0.88 to 5.1 log10 CFU/hand) on hands significantly differed by the produce commodity harvested. Moderate significant correlations (ρ = −0.41 to 0.56) between soil load and bacterial concentrations were observed. There were significant produce-commodity-specific differences in the ability of handwashing and two-step ABHS interventions to reduce soil ( P < 0.0001), coliforms ( P = 0.002), and Enterococcus sp. ( P = 0.003), but not the Bacteroidales markers AllBac ( P = 0.4) or BFD ( P = 0.3). Contamination on hands of farmworkers who harvested cantaloupe was more difficult to remove. Overall, we found that a two-step ABHS intervention was similar to handwashing with soap and water at reducing bacteria on farmworker hands. In summary, produce commodity type should be considered when developing hand hygiene interventions on farms.
IMPORTANCE This study demonstrated that the type of produce commodity handled influences the ability of handwashing with soap and water or a two-step alcohol-based hand sanitizer (ABHS) intervention to reduce soil and bacterial hand contamination. Handwashing with soap and water, as recommended by the FDA’s Produce Safety Rule, when tested in three agricultural environments, does not always reduce bacterial loads. Consistent with past results, we found that the two-step ABHS method performed similarly to handwashing with soap and water but also does not always reduce bacterial loads in these contexts. Given the ease of use of the two-step ABHS method, which may increase compliance, the two-step ABHS method should be further evaluated and possibly considered for implementation in the agricultural environment. Taken together, these results provide important information on hand hygiene effectiveness in three agricultural contexts.
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New drug could inhibit Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus
Vancomycin-resistant Enterococci (VRE) are the second leading cause of hospital-acquired infections. In the US, an estimated 20,000 patients become infected with it each year, and nearly 10% of people who get it die from it. Researchers from Purdue University published in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry (https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.jmedchem.0c00734) that they have repurposed the FDA-approved carbonic anhydrase drug acetazolamide to design potent antienterococcal agents. Their data suggest the intracellular targets for the molecules are reputed α-carbonic and γ-carbonic anhydrases, and homology modeling and molecular dynamics simulations were performed. The potency of the molecules and the ability to target VRE in different compartments of the body is novel. The discovery may help to change the way people treat VRE in the future. The researchers have been able to improve the effectiveness of this drug 600 times better than where we started in treating VRE. Together, this study presents potential anti-VRE therapeutic options to provide alternatives for problematic VRE infections. The Purdue team’s small molecules have been shown to target VRE and have the properties necessary to treat VRE in both systemic circulations or in the GI tract, where all VRE infections originate. @ https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.jmedchem.0c00734
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After 50 years, USDA modernizes egg products inspection
For the first time in 50 years, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced that it is modernizing egg products inspection methods. The Egg Products Inspection Regulations final rule will be consistent with current requirements in the meat and poultry products inspection regulations. Under the new regulation, federally inspected egg products plants are required to develop and implement HACCP systems and Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (SSOPs). FSIS will continue to test for Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) in egg products. Under the HACCP system, plants will be able to tailor a food safety system that best fits their particular facility and equipment. By removing prescriptive regulations, egg products plants will have the flexibility and the incentive to innovate new means to achieve enhanced food safety. FSIS will be assuming regulatory authority over egg substitutes and freeze-dried egg products that were previously under the FDA. Regulations governing the importation and inspection of foreign egg products will be adjusted to more closely with the rules governing the importation of foreign meat and poultry products. @ https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/newsroom/news-releases-statements-transcripts/news-release-archives-by-year/archive/2020/nr-09092020-01
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) today announced that it is modernizing egg products inspection methods for the first time since Congress passed the Egg Products Inspection Act (EPIA) in 1970.