Hostess Brands, LLC, headquartered in Lenexa, Kansas, and operates bakeries in Emporia, Kansas, Chicago, Illinois, Columbus, Georgia, Indianapolis, Indiana, and through its Voortman Cookies Limited subsidiary, Burlington, Ontario. The company recalled certain Hostess® Raspberry Zingers® because the product may develop mold before the best by date. The recalled products include Hostess Raspberry Zingers Multi-Pack fresh, Multi-Pack frozen, Single-Serve fresh, Single-Serve frozen, and Single-Serve grocery 3 counts. The products were sold to mass merchandisers, grocery stores, distributors, dollar and discount stores, and convenience stores throughout the United States. @ https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/hostess-brands-llc-issues-voluntary-recall-certain-hostessr-raspberry-zingersr-due-potential-mold
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Hostess Brands, LLC (“Hostess Brands”) is voluntarily recalling certain Hostess® Raspberry Zingers® because the product may develop mold prior to the best by date.
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The CDC announced the investigation of a rapidly growing outbreak of Salmonella Newport, with 125 people infected from 15 states. Twenty-four hospitalizations have been reported and no deaths. The source of the outbreak is unknown. Whole Genome Sequencing showed that bacteria isolated from ill people were closely related genetically. Therefore, they share a common source of infection. As of July 20, 2020 infections were found in the following states: California (3), Illinois (1), Iowa (3), Michigan (12) Minnesota (3), Missouri (2), Montana (11), North Carolina (3), Ohio (5), Oregon (42), Tennessee (1), Utah (28), Washington (1), Wisconsin (1), and Wyoming (9). Of 72 ill people with information available, 24 hospitalizations have been reported. No deaths have been reported. On July 10, the CDC’s PulseNet identified the outbreak of 13 Salmonella Newport infections in three states. Over the next 10 days, the outbreak rapidly grew to 125 infections in 15 states. @ https://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/newport-07-20/index.html
Read about CDC’s outbreak investigation of Salmonella Newport infections – July 2020
A study published in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology (Vol 86, issue 15) by scientists from Department of Food Science and Technology, University of California, Davis, Davis, California studied the effect of adjacent (35 m from the first row of trees) to a poultry operation on the microflora of almond orchards. Swabs of orchard soil surface and air, soil, and almond leaf samples were collected over 2 years. As a control, samples were also collected from two almond orchards that were surrounded by other orchards. Samples were evaluated for aerobic plate count, generic Escherichia coli, other coliforms, the presence of Salmonella. Bacterial community structure (analyzed through sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene). By far, E. coli was isolated more frequently from air samples near the poultry farm (41samples (20%)) than from air samples in control (1 sample (0.48%)). Salmonella was not isolated from any of the 529 samples evaluated. Members of the family Staphylococcaceae—often associated with poultry—were, on average, significantly (P < 0.001) more abundant in the phyllosphere of trees closest to the poultry operation than in trees 120 m into the orchard or from any of the trees in control orchards. The movement of microorganisms, including foodborne pathogens, from animal operations into adjacent plant crop-growing environments, is not well characterized. This study provides evidence that dust and bioaerosols moved from a commercial poultry operation a short distance downwind into an almond orchard and altered the microbiome recovered from the leaves. @ https://aem.asm.org/content/86/15/e00573-20.abstract?etoc @https://aem.asm.org/content/86/15/e00573-20
Over a 2-year period, drag swabs of orchard soil surface and air, soil, and almond leaf samples were collected in an almond orchard adjacent to (35 m from the first row of trees) and downwind from a poultry operation and in two almond orchards (controls) that were surrounded by other orchards. Samples were evaluated for aerobic plate count, generic Escherichia coli, other coliforms, the presence of Salmonella , bacterial community structure (analyzed through sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene), and amounts of dry solids (dust) on leaf surfaces on trees 0, 60, and 120 m into each orchard. E. coli was isolated from 41 of 206 (20%) and 1 of 207 (0.48%) air samples in the almond-poultry and control orchards, respectively. Salmonella was not isolated from any of the 529 samples evaluated. On average, the amount of dry solids on leaves collected from trees closest to the poultry operation was more than 2-fold greater than from trees 120 m into the orchard or from any of the trees in the control orchards. Members of the family Staphylococcaceae —often associated with poultry—were, on average, significantly ( P < 0.001) more abundant in the phyllosphere of trees closest to the poultry operation (10% of relative abundance) than in trees 120 m into the orchard (1.7% relative abundance) or from any of the trees in control orchards (0.41% relative abundance). Poultry-associated microorganisms from a commercial operation transferred a short distance into an adjacent downwind almond orchard.
IMPORTANCE The movement of microorganisms, including foodborne pathogens, from animal operations into adjacent plant crop-growing environments is not well characterized. This study provides evidence that dust and bioaerosols moved from a commercial poultry operation a short distance downwind into an almond orchard and altered the microbiome recovered from the leaves. These data provide growers with information they can use to assess food safety risks on their property.
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An article in Journal of Food Protection, 2020,(Vol. 83 (8): 1289–1295) by scientists at the Bureau of Microbial Hazards, Food Directorate, Health Canada investigated the reasons of multiple foodborne outbreaks that have occurred in Canada due to the presence of Salmonella enterica in frozen breaded chicken products. These chicken products were raw and required cooking in conventional household ovens to inactivate any pathogens that they may have been present. During the investigations associated with these outbreaks, many consumers reported using alternative household appliances such as air fryers for cooking these products. The effectiveness of these appliances for the inactivation of pathogens in food is not known. The researchers compare the ability of a toaster oven, air fryer, deep fryer, and conventional oven to inactivate a cocktail of Salmonella Enteritidis in frozen breaded chicken strips. Deep frying was the most effective cooking method, demonstrating a median 7-log reduction; the conventional oven was next with a median 6-log reduction. Both the air fryer and toaster oven performed poorly, with respective median 4- and 3-log reductions. Overall, the results of this study suggest the revision of cooking instructions is required for the safe household use of toaster ovens and air fryers. @ https://doi.org/10.4315/JFP-19-601
