Carlos Filipe, a chemical engineer and colleagues at McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada, have developed a new a transparent, durable, and flexible sensing surface that generates a fluorescence signal, under UV light, in the presence of a specific target bacterium. Their first target was E. coli. The authors claim that the material is capable of monitoring microbial contamination in various types of food products in real time without having to remove the sample or the sensor from the package. They tested their sensor with contaminated apple juice and meat. the researchers report online April 6 in ACS Nano.@ https://www.sciencenews.org/article/new-plastic-film-glows-flag-food-contaminated-dangerous-microbes and https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsnano.7b08010
Doug-B
Plastic patches that glow when they touch some types of bacteria could be built into food packaging to reduce the spread of foodborne illness.
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According to a CDC statement, “Information collected to date indicates that chopped romaine lettuce from the Yuma, Arizona growing region could be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7 and could make people sick.” “Consumers anywhere in the United States who have store-bought chopped romaine lettuce at home, including salads and salad mixes containing chopped romaine lettuce, should not eat it and should throw it away, even if some of it was eaten and no one has gotten sick,” the CDC advised. “If you do not know if the lettuce is romaine, do not eat it and throw it away.” @ https://www.cdc.gov/ecoli/2018/o157h7-04-18/index.html. Did this recommendation go too far?
Multistate Outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 Infections Linked to Chopped Romaine Lettuce
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced Fresh Foods Manufacturing Co., of Freedom, PA, recalled approximately 8,757 pounds of ready-to-eat salad products that were produced from April 9, 2018, to April 12, 2018, and may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7.
Fresh Foods was notified by their supplier that romaine lettuce used by the establishment of the products was being recalled due to E. coli O157:H7 concerns. The cause of the recall seems to be chopped romaine lettuce grown in Yuma Arizona found contaminated with E. coli O157: H7. The lettuce was used as an ingredient in the meat and salad product. @ https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/recalls-and-public-health-alerts/recall-case-archive/archive/2018/recall-033-2018-release
Fresh Foods Manufacturing Co., a Freedom, Pa., establishment, is voluntarily recalling approximately 8,757 pounds of ready-to-eat salad products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7.
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K9 Natural dog food recalled Natural Frozen Chicken Feast raw pet food due to potential contamination with Listeria monocytogenes. K9 Natural said that they were notified by the Colorado Department of Agriculture that Natural Frozen Chicken Feast a 2.2-pound bag was contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. The New Zealand K9 website said that the recall covers four batches with expiration dates on 15-17 November 2018. The batches were distributed in Texas, California, Pennsylvania, Washington and Colorado. The post didn’t state the numerous distributor-to-retailer paths, so bags in the recall could have been sent to pet retail stores anywhere in the United States. No pet or human illnesses, injuries or complaints have been reported to date. @ http://www.miamiherald.com/living/pets/article208902254.html
K9 Natural announced a recall of four batches of its K9 Natural Frozen Chicken feast over the possibility of listeria. The batches were imported to the United States in June 2017.