In the news

ruth

Salmonella Outbreak due to Recalled Honey Smacks Continues to Grow

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had updated the investigation related to Salmonella outbreak linked to Honey Smacks cereal. CDC advises consumers and retailers not to eat, serve, or sell any Kellogg’s Honey Smacks cereal, which is linked to a Salmonella outbreak and continues to make people sick. Although Kellogg recalled the cereal on June 14, 2018, the cereal continues to make people sick. The FDA reports that the recalled Kellogg’s Honey Smacks cereal is still being sold in some locations, despite the recall earlier this summer. Since the last update on July 12, 2018, 30 more illnesses have been reported due to outbreak strain of Salmonella Mbandaka, bringing the total to 130 cases from 36 states with 34 people hospitalized. Since the cereal has a shelf-life of one year it still might be in many houses pantries. People who recently became ill report eating Kellogg’s Honey Smacks cereal that they had in their homes. In interviews, 61 (77%) of 79 people specifically reported eating Kellogg’s Honey Smacks cereal. Ill people in this outbreak reported this cereal more often than any other cereals or food items. After the initial recall, the Kellogg Co. reported it distributed the implicated cereal to foreign countries of Netherlands Antilles also known as Aruba/Curaçao/Saint Maarten; the Bahamas; Barbados; Tortola also known as British Virgin Islands; Costa Rica; Guatemala; Haiti; Mexico, Panama; and Tahiti also known as French Polynesia. Neither government officials nor the Kellogg Co. has released the name of the contractor that produced the recalled cereal for Kellogg. @ https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2018/s0904-salmonella-outbreak-honey-smacks.html

CDC public health news, press releases, government public health news, medical and disease news, story ideas, photos.

ruth

Evaluation of a novel cocktail of six lytic bacteriophages against Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli in broth, milk and meat

A team of scientists from Argentina tested the effect of a cocktail of six lytic phages on pathogenic E. coli in meat and milk. The cocktail was found effective against pathogenic E. coli strains in milk and meat especially at room and abusive temperatures. The phage cocktail remained viable at high numbers after challenges in food matrices. The cocktail was effective against DH5α, an enteropathogenic (EPEC) and two Shiga-toxigenic (STEC) E. coli strains. At 4 °C, cell counts were significantly lower (2.2–2.8 log10 CFU/mL) when E. coli strains (∼109 CFU/mL) were challenged against the phage cocktail (∼109 PFU/mL) in Hershey-Mg broth after 24 h. The reductions were higher (3.2–3.4 log10 CFU/mL) after a 48 h exposure for all the strains tested. In milk, the cocktail was highly effective since bacterial counts were below the detection limit (<101 CFU/mL) at 4 °C, while the reductions ranged from 2 to 4 log10 CFU/mL at 24 °C after a 24 h exposure. At 37 °C, DH5α was eliminated within 2 h, and an average cell decrease of 4 log10 CFU/mL was observed for the three pathogenic strains tested. When the assays were performed in meat, the count reduction ranged from 0.5 to 1.0 log10 CFU/mL after 48 h at 4 °C, while a higher cell inactivation was achieved at 24 °C (2.6–4.0 log10 CFU/mL) and 37 °C (3.0–3.8 log10 CFU/mL). @ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S074000201731184X?dgcid=rss_sd_all

Phages are potentially useful as antimicrobial agents in food, especially cocktails of different phages which may prevent the development of bacterial…

ruth

J.T.M. Provisions Company Recalls Cooked Ground Beef Products Due To Possible Listeria Contamination

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced that J.T.M. Provisions Co., a Harrison, from Ohio recalled approximately 960 pounds of cooked ground beef patty products that may be adulterated with Listeria monocytogenes. The cooked, ready-to-eat beef patty crumble items were produced on May 17, 2018. 20-lb. cases containing four 5-lb sealed pouches of “COOKED BEEF PATTY CRUMBLES. These items were shipped to distribution centers located in California. FSIS inspection program personnel discovered the problem on August 31, 2018 during routine inspection duties. The product was tested by the establishment and found to be positive for L. monocytogenes under their sampling program. There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of these products. @ https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/recalls-and-public-health-alerts/recall-case-archive/archive/2018/recall-073-2018-release

J.T.M. Provisions Co., a Harrison, Ohio establishment, is recalling approximately 960 pounds of cooked ground beef patty products that may be adulterated with Listeria monocytogenes.

ruth

Publix Supermarkets Recalls Ground Chuck Products Due To E. coli O26

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced that Publix Supermarkets of Lakeland FL recalled 29 different ground chuck products made from chuck that may be contaminated with Escherichia coli O26. The ground chuck products include burgers, sliders, and meatballs in flavors such as bacon and fried onion to stuffed peppers and meatloaf grillers. The items were shipped to a variety of stores in Florida. On Aug. 16, 2018, FSIS was notified of an investigation of E. coli O26 illnesses, it was determined that raw ground chuck was the probable source of the reported illnesses. The epidemiological investigation identified 18 case-patients, predominantly from Florida, with illness onset dates ranging from July 5 to July 25, 2018. @ https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/recalls-and-public-health-alerts/recall-case-archive/archive/2018/recall-072-2018-release

Publix Super Markets Inc., a Lakeland, Fla., retail grocery store chain is voluntarily recalling an undetermined amount of ground beef products made from chuck that may be contaminated with Escherichia coli O26.