In the news

The FDA announced that Townsend Farms, Inc. has notified Costco that a recent FDA test indicated that a domestic conventional frozen blackberry product manufactured by Townsend Farms, Inc., may be contaminated with Hepatitis A. The domestic conventional frozen blackberry from Townsend Farms was used to manufacture the Kirkland Signature Three Berry Blend product. The product has a Best By Dates between February 16, 2020, and May 4, 2020. The product was sold in Costco stores located in San Diego and Los Angles, California and Hawaii. No product manufactured for Costco by Townsend Farms has tested positive for Hepatitis A. Costco has no product in its current inventory. Costco has been notifying its members about the potential health risk. According to the FDA and CDC, there have been no customer illness reports to date related to any product manufactured by Townsend Farms, Inc., using these blackberries. @ https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/townsend-farms-inc-notifies-costco-possible-health-risk-and-recalls-conventional-frozen-kirkland

A new method for the rapid detection of Salmonella is described (Food Control, Vol 104, Pages 9-19 (2019) https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0956713519301616). The method combines loop-mediated isothermal amplification with lateral flow dipstick (LAMP-LFD) targetting hilA gene. Compared with PCR and real-time PCR methods, the LAMP-LFD assay has the same specificity and higher sensitivity and required only 40 min (10 min for LFD detection) at 65 °C. The 52 strains of Salmonella tested, yielded positive results using the LAMP-LFD assay, and showed no cross-reactivity with 37 tested non-Salmonella strains. The detection limit of the LAMP-LFD assay was 6.7 CFU/mL (1000X more sensitive than conventional PCR and 100X more sensitive than real-time PCR). The new method could detect Salmonella in artificially contaminated food samples (milk, pork, beef, and chicken) when present as low as 144 CFU/mL or CFU/g and without the use of an enrichment step. After an enrichment step at 37 °C for 6 h, the results showed 100% accuracy compared to the standard culture-based.

Researchers at Urmia University in Iran developed a novel pH sensor to test the freshness on rainbow trout. The sensor was prepared by incorporation of alizarin in a starch-cellulose paper and had a good color change from yellow to purple at pH 2–11 and greater color stability after two months of storage at 4 °C. The research found that the color change was correlated to bacteria count in the fish. The study was published in the International Journal of Biological Macromolecules Vol. 132, Pages 157-165 @ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0141813019304635

The FDA announced that Brodt Zenatti Holding LLC of Jupiter, Florida recalled all retail and bulk Karawan brand Tahini, sold in Jars and Buckets that were imported from Palestine between the dates of December 2018 to April 2019 and SoCo Brand Tahini; due to potential to be contaminated with Salmonella. Karawan brand Tahini was directly distributed to New York and Texas. Distributors have thereafter shipped the product to Massachusetts and Virginia. Four illnesses have been reported to date. This recall has been initiated due to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene laboratory results from two samples of Karawan brand tahini testing positive for Salmonella. Brodt Zenatti Holding LLC has ceased the importation and distribution of the product. @ https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/brodt-zenatti-holding-llc-recalls-karawan-brand-tahini-soco-brand-tahini-because-possible-health-0?utm_campaign=Brodt%20Zenatti%20Holding%20LLC.%20Recalls%20Karawan%20Brand%20Tahini%20%26%20SoCo%20Brand%20Tahini&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua