In the news

An investigation conducted by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH)resulted in the closing of a Massachusetts restaurant indefinitely following a salmonella outbreak complaint. DPH received 39 complaints about Kitty’s Restaurant and Lounge in early July. Of those complaints, nine were confirmed cases of salmonella, with an additional 30 suspected cases. The North Reading Board of Health narrowed the suspected contaminated food to be the antipasto salad. Officials recommended that management close the restaurant for a full cleaning and sanitization after another reported illness was linked to the restaurant on June 25. They also recommended Kitty’s test 46 employees believed to have worked during the outbreak. All tested employees need to be cleared by DPH before they return to work. The restaurant was briefly able to reopen on July 6 after following recommendations and directions from the North Reading Board of Health but has since closed again. @ https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local/Kittys-Restaurant-Closure-North-Reading-Massachusetts-Possible-Salomnella-Outbreak–487769471.html

A team of researchers at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont. are developing a plastic packaging strip that could one day tell consumers if a meat sample is safe to eat. They’ve developed a thin, plastic patch they call Sentinel Wrap that changes color under UV light when it comes into contact with meat contaminated with E. coli. The thin, flexible plastic patch looks simple, but it’s taken 15 years of research to get it to work, according to Tohid Didar, an assistant professor in McMaster’s chemical and mechanical engineering department. A printer deposits small droplets of DNA molecules onto a thin, flexible plastic film. Exposure of the strip to sample contaminated with E. coli followed by its exposure to UV light make the strip light up, signaling the presence of bacteria. The patches also detect contamination in water and other liquids. The findings were published journal ACS Nano. They are hoping to have a commercial product in 2 years. @ https://www-cbc-ca.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.cbc.ca/amp/1.4736801

A cluster of illnesses connected to a Gatlinburg tourist attraction has triggered the Tennessee Health Department probe after clients had diarrhea. At least 550 people at a Gatlinburg area zip line attraction due to an E. coli infection. East Tennessee Region Health Department Assistant Director Gail Harmon said well water samples are en route to Nashville for advanced tests because initial tests showed E. coli bacteria and total coliforms were present in CLIMB Works’ water. The Tennessee Department of Health used CLIMB Works online sales records to email 2,901 surveys asking patrons of the business if they became ill after visiting the attraction. Nearly 808 people have responded to the survey, 548 of whom reported illness. Harmon said of the 548 people who reported illness, 505 said they were traveling as part of a group that ranged from two to 30 people. The business says they plan to have swabs taken from its harnesses and countertops to check for anything they might find. @ https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/2018/07/10/health-dept-gatlinburg-climb-works-zipline-canopy-tour-patrons-get-tested-after-illnesses/770600002/

In a study appearing in the American Chemical Society’s journal Nano Letters scientists from the University of Texas at Austin and Nanjing University in China have developed a wireless device that can send signals to smartphones warning consumers and food distributors when meat and other perishables have spoiled. The sensor is composed of a nanostructured, polymer-based gas sensor that can detect substances called biogenic amines (BAs), which give decomposing meat its odor. The sensors were embedded into near field communication (NFC) devices placed next to meats. After the meats had been stored for 24 hours at 86 degrees Fahrenheit, the researchers found that the gas sensors successfully detected significant amounts of BAs. When the concentration of biogenic amines is over a preset threshold, the information can be transmitted to a nearby smartphone. @ https://www.meatingplace.com/Industry/News/Details/80532