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Improper pasteurization of milk by the Evans Farmhouse Creamery has forced them to voluntarily recall certain milk products.

Evans Farmhouse is a family owned and operated; USDA certified organic creamery located in Norwich, New York. They bottle all their milk and make yogurt in their on-farm creamery using milk from 75 organically raised, pasture-fed Jersey cows.

The Norwich-based company sells the products under the names Evans Farmhouse All Natural Reduced Fat Cream on Top Not Homogenized Milk and Sunrise Family Farms Organic Reduced Fat Vitamin A & D Milk.

These products have a container code of 5-11 and were distributed in New York State.

Pasteurization heats milk to a temperature of >74oC for a minimum of 15 seconds to effectively eliminate all gram -ve bacteria which includes pathogens such as E.coli, Listeria and Salmonella.

Routine sampling and testing has revealed that the milk was improperly pasteurized. One such test is the phosphatase enzyme test, this enzyme occurs naturally in raw milk, however it is destroyed by pasteurization and any presence indicates poor pasteurization.

So far no related illnesses have been reported. This could be due raw milk being processed as soon as the cows are milked which unlike larger dairy processors can take days.

Evan’s Farmhouse Creamery, 5037 State Highway 23, Norwich, NY 13815, 607-334-5339

Although it is rare to have salmonella implicated in chocolate, chocolate products manufactured in England have been implicated as the most likely source of an outbreak of Salmonella Montevideo that affected 37 people in the UK from February to June 2006.

An outbreak in June 2006 prompted the implicated company to reveal their findings. In the findings, a leaking pipe was discovered that leaked waste water into the milk chocolate crumb mix. This mix is the base ingredient in several chocolate bar varieties.

On testing, the company revealed the presence of the rare strain of Salmonella, however they did not report these findings to food regulators or to instigate a public health recall.

It was not until the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) published the results of their own outbreak investigation in June 2006 that the company disclosed their findings and withdrew seven products. This amounted to over a million chocolate bars from the UK market.

In defence, the manufacturer stated in an official media release that the reason they did not initially report their contamination findings was because the low levels of microorganisms found did not warrant such an action. This was a poor response and as part of due diligence should have acted on the results initially. In most developed countries, isolation of salmonella is notifiable.

A report released in July 2006 by the Advisory Committee on Microbiological Safety of Food (ACMSF), an expert committee that advises the FSA, responded with the statement that “the presence of Salmonella in ready-to- eat foods such as chocolate is unacceptable at any level”. The company implicated was under such pressure that it released a further statement declaring that they have changed their protocols and that any products showing traces of Salmonella, regardless of how low the levels are, will be destroyed.

Although rare, the potential hazards associated with Salmonella and chocolate confectionery have long been known. The low moisture and high sugar content in chocolate increase its internal thermal resistance of bacteria and the high fat content provides protection for Salmonella against the low pH of stomach acid resulting in the low infective dose rate of the microorganism when consumed in chocolate.

in one study, heat treatments used to process the chocolate processing (conching) have been shown to be ineffective at inactivating some strains of salmonellae in high fat products. In one particular study, it was found that it took more than 1 hour to inactivate 90 percent of Salmonella Typhimurium in molten chocolate at 90C.

After intensive investigation, the source of a salmonella outbreak at the Broughton Hall nursing home will probably never be known as the microbiological tests on suspect food and water samples were all negative.

Due to the long delay between notifications as well as the major clean-up of the area, all evidence of the source is gone.

According to Victoria’s acting Chief Health Officer, Dr John Carnie, says:

“More than 40 food and water samples were tested, as well as equipment used for preparing food in the kitchen,”

One sample taken from a batch of eggs did test positive for salmonella, Dr Carnie said, but it was not the same strain that caused the gastroenteritis outbreak.

“Also, these eggs were not from the same batch consumed prior to the outbreak,” he said.

Although the faecal samples taken from all 11 residents have tested positive for the salmonella, it was not the same strain as the egg. These did not include samples taken from the five residents whose deaths have been linked to the outbreak.

The risk of water being contaminated with salmonella is extremely rare and as a precaution they have only now being allowed to again drink water from the mains supply.

Sharon Callister, chief executive of Benetas, which runs Broughton Hall, said she was relieved at the test results.

“All of the residents affected by the outbreak are stable, recovering well and no longer showing symptoms,” she said.

“We are currently working with the council on the necessary steps needed to reopen the kitchen at Broughton Hall and, again, the residents are looking forward to that happening.”

A Health Department spokesman said it was still most likely that the salmonella outbreak had originated in food prepared in the home’s kitchen. “Just because we haven’t found anything, the epidemiology still points to something that was present in the kitchen at a point in time,” he said.

The contaminated food which was the only evidence is likely to have been eaten or thrown out, he said.

Earlier this week federal Minister for Ageing Christopher Pyne released the results of an independent audit of Broughton Hall. It found the home had failed 12 out of 44 safety benchmarks, including infection control, continence management and nutrition and hydration. This is very poor management.

Here’s is the offical press release:

Minister for Ageing must ensure consistency of standards
Minister Pyne must explain the inconsistencies in the aged care accreditation process after his statement today showed that Broughton Hall was non-compliant on 12 out of 44 Accreditation Outcomes although the facility passed all 44 out of 44 a year ago. These findings come after an audit by the Aged Care Standards and Accreditation Agency. The last assessment of Broughton Hall was in April 2006. “The Minister for Ageing is responsible for the operation and standards of Australia’s 3000 aged care facilities. It is his responsibility to ensure facilities are complaint with all 44 Accreditation Outcomes.

“The Minister was informed about the incidence at Broughton Hall on Saturday 14 April and it took him till 18 April to do anything about it. The Minister needs to explain why it took him so long to take any action,” Senator McLucas said.

“Why is it that every time there has been an aged care incident reported in the media the Agency will visit and find a facility has failed several Accreditation Outcomes but only a short time previously it would have been given a clean bill of health?

“There is a view in the sector that there is inconsistency in the application of the accreditation standards. The Minister must now respond to that community concern and give an assurance that systems are in place so the public can be assured standards are consistent and reliable in Australia’s aged care facilities.”

Senator McLucas extended her condolences to the families of those who died in the outbreak of gastroenteritis in Broughton Hall Nursing Home, and her best wishes for the recovery of those currently hospitalized.

Contact: Senator Jan McLucas 0407 169 206
Heather Witham 0417 010 734

According to the Leader, Health Authorities were quite about the number of buildings in St George being tested for Legionnaire’s disease.

Air-conditioning cooling towers were being examined in the Kogarah and Rockdale municipalities after two residents contracted the infection.

A man in his early 40s and a woman in her 70s are being treated for the illness in St George Hospital.

The woman was in a serious but stable condition on Monday. The man was listed as being stable.

Legionnaire’s is an infection of the lungs (pneumonia) caused by Legionella bacteria.

It can live in water sources including some air-conditioning systems. The disease can occur when people have breathed in mist from a contaminated cooling tower. The South Eastern Sydney and Illawarra Area Health Service expect to have results of the tests today.

Its public health unit has also been piecing together where the patients had been during the incubation period.

The pair was believed to have contracted the disease between the last week of March and the first week of April.

They were admitted to hospital last week.

Director of Public Health Mark Ferson said local emergency departments, GPs, pathology laboratories and chest and infectious diseases physicians had been warned to be on the lookout for any patients with pneumonia-like symptoms and to test for legionella.

”There have been two cases confirmed and, while this is not an unusually high number, both cases had onset dates around the same time and the patients all live in and frequent the same geographical area,” Professor Ferson said.

”As part of the investigation and response we are working with local council officers.”

Majority of people recover from the illness, however some can become very ill with pneumonia and may die.

A medical epidemiologist from the Public Health Unit, Philippa Binns, would not confirm which buildings had been tested, or how many.
She would also not be drawn on information received by the Leader that the male patient is an employee of a licensed premise in Kogarah which the female patient was believed to have visited.

”The point we do want to make is that people need to be aware of the symptoms and, if concerned, should go to a doctor to get assessed,” Dr Binns said.

Dr Binns said there tended to be more cases at this time of year when the temperature varied and cooling systems were turned off and on.

Councils are required to carry out regular maintenance and testing of cooling towers.

A spokesman for Rockdale Council said the outbreak was not in its area.

A spokesman for Kogarah Council said that there were 12 cooling towers in building towers in its municipality.

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Food Standards Australia New Zealand has raised another food recall due to the food being contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. The implicated food is Prosciutto Parma from Serrano. It includes vacuum packed sliced meat and whole legs with the following Use by Date or Lot Code: Prosciutto Parma lot 11-07/5a, Serrano Ham Leg/Slices - 0705070001

Here’s what they say:

“Italian Foods is conducting a recall of the above product in response to testing which indicates the presence of Listeria monocytogenes.

For further information please call Italian Foods 187 John St Lidcombe NSW Phone: (02) 9807 3082″

According to the Science Daily, scientists at the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) in Peoria, Ill., are thrilled about the latest addition to their team, an automated one armed robot.

With the new robot, they expect it to accelerate studies aimed at harnessing the power of proteins for industrial uses, such as making fuel ethanol from fibrous corn stover.

The blue robotic arm takes over repetitive tasks by moving plates of samples during testing. It is the centerpiece of an automated system called the “plasmid-based functional proteomics work cell.” According to Stephen Hughes, a molecular biologist with the ARS National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research in Peoria, the system is the first of its kind to fully automate several procedures that have traditionally been carried out by human hands.

Some of the main functions includes extracting genetic material from the cells of plants, microbes and other organisms; making DNA copies of genes; inserting the copies into Escherichia coli; culturing these bacteria so that the copies can be sequenced and their proteins identified and inserting desirable genes into yeasts used to make ethanol.

because of its accurate, precise and fast movements of its mechanized arm, the robotic system can carry out such tasks hundreds or even thousands of times faster than a human could, notes Hughes. He and colleagues at the ARS center’s Bioproducts and Biocatalysis Research Unit co developed the system with a team from Hudson Control Group of Springfield, N.J., starting in 2004.

Of particular interest is using the robotic system to genetically modify new strains of Saccharomyces yeast that can metabolize sugars locked up within corn fiber, something these microbial workhorses have so far failed to do.

Currently, only the starch from corn and other grain crops is being converted commercially into the sugars from which ethanol is derived. With the Saccharomyces yeasts now used, this equates to nearly three gallons of ethanol from a bushel of corn. Using new strains capable of breaking down corn fiber could potentially squeeze 10 percent more ethanol from the grain, Hughes and colleagues estimate.

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According to Food Navigator USA, food illness due to food contaminated by E.coli and salmonella were higher in 2006 than previous years. This was could be due to outbreaks in foods previously unaffected such as peanut butter and spinach.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) findings, which reverse the progress made in 2003 and 2004, will concern food processors already forced to implement stringent food safety procedures.

Food-related illnesses can prove costly for food manufacturers in terms of product recalls and loss of brand trust. Nationwide outbreaks however can be disastrous, especially when people are killed.

The increase, which takes the illness rates back to the levels, experienced during data collections from 1996 to 1998.

Dr. Julie Gerberding, CDC director said recent outbreaks demonstrated that too many people were falling sick from food borne illnesses.

“For instance, the outbreaks involving tomatoes, lettuce and spinach underscore the need to more effectively prevent contamination of produce,” she said.

Gerberding also said during a press conference on the findings that while the hamburger, for instance was “safer than it has ever been”, more needed to be done to prevent pathogen cross-contamination that can lead to large outbreaks.

The findings are from 2006 data reported to the CDC as part of the agency’s Food borne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (also known as Food Net). Food Net collects data from 10 US states regarding diseases caused by enteric pathogens transmitted commonly through food.

Food Net quantifies and monitors the incidence of these infections by conducting active, population-based surveillance for laboratory-confirmed illnesses, following a victim’s visit to a hospital of clinic.

Data collected from the 10 states, which have a combined population of 45 million and make up around 15 per cent of the nation, gives a snapshot of the level food related illness across the US.

The CDC identified 17,252 laboratory confirmed cases of food poisoning in 2006, including 6,655 cases of Salmonella and 590 cases of E.coli O157.

The report also found that vibrio parahaemolyticus infections, which often relate to the consumption of raw shellfish like oysters, have increased 78 per cent to 154 cases in 2006 - the highest level since Food Net began conducting surveillance in 1996.

However, Campylobacter, Listeria, Shigella and Yersinia show a sustained decline in incidence compared to 1996-1998, although the CDC said that most of the present decrease was due to falls experienced between 1999 and 2002.

Gerberding said that the CDC would further co-operate with its Food Net partners, including United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and state surveillance sites, to improve service levels.

“We’re also working to strengthen our ability to quickly detect and identify food borne illnesses. We know the faster we can detect an outbreak, the faster we can take actions that will help protect people.”

The possible causes of the rise to previous figures, suggested by the CDC follow a serious of food borne outbreaks in the US recently.

This year ConAgra was forced to recall Peter Pan and Great Value branded peanut butter products linked to a contaminated plant in Georgia.

The products are linked to a salmonella outbreak that sickened at least 425 people in 44 states.

Meanwhile an outbreak of E coli in September last year was traced back to packaged cut spinach originating from California. The outbreak killed three people and sickened more than 200 people across the US.

The outbreak has since been traced back to a 50 acre spinach plot. The contaminated strain has been found in a nearby stream and in cattle feces and in wild pigs, officials said.

During November to December 2006, lettuce contaminated with E. coli was blamed for infecting at least 48 Taco Bell customers in five states.

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Salmonella has struck again and this time four elderly people are dead from a salmonella outbreak in a Melbourne (Australia) nursing home. The victims belong to the high risk groups and include three men and a woman, aged in their 70s and 80s.

The Broughton Hall nursing home in Camberwell was home to about 30 residents when the outbreak was first detected on April 5.

During the next seven days, a total of 21 residents caught the gastroenteritis bug associated with salmonella; one woman aged 93 remains in a stable condition in hospital.

Investigations are currently in progress to find the source, however a spokesperson says the outbreak has now been contained following de-contamination of the nursing home’s kitchen. Now it’s finding if some of the supplied food is the implicated source.

Both Victoria’s coroner and Human Services department are investigating the deaths.

Broughton Hall executive director Sharon McGowan told the Nine Network her priority was caring for the residents during what had been a difficult period.

“It’s a very difficult time and obviously our priority is actually caring for the residents and keeping families informed,” Ms McGowan said.

“And we have been spending this afternoon, particularly, keeping the families informed.”

A multiple antibiotic resistant strain of pseudomonas aeruginosa known as (Methicillin Resistant Pseudomonas Aeruginosa (MRPA) has forced the cancellation of some elective cardio thoracic and neurological surgery cases in the Royal North Shore (Australia).

Because of this outbreak, the intensive care unit remained closed this week until the bacteria is eliminated from the area.

The neurological surgery ward (6C) of the Intensive Care Unit within the hospital was closed prior to Easter and patients were moved to another section of intensive care while cleaning and sanitation of the area took place.

Environmental swabs are currently being tested for the suspect bacterium and the ward is expected to be re-opened this week once the area is confirmed free of this strain of bacterium.

MRPA was isolated and identified on 10 patients during the late March and this prompted the management of the hospital to take aggressive measures including isolating infected patients before closing the affected ward and basically bombing the area with super grade disinfectant.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is commonly found in soil and water; however there are a few strains that have started to build up resistant against front line antibiotics. Once these strains multiply and become the dominant type within the environment, we have a real problem especially if patients using life-saving antibiotics are located in the same area.

According to a spokesperson within the hospital, they say that the hospital usually has about 30 to 40 cases of MRPA a year, mostly in intensive care wards.

Patients with confirmed MRPA were being cared for in isolation with treatment for their primary illness continuing without interruption. Their families were permitted to visit but had to follow infection control procedures such as washing hand before and leaving the hospital grounds.

According to the China Daily, Chinese scientists have cracked the biological codes of a heat tolerant bacterial strain that feeds and metabolized on crude oil. This strain could be further developed so that it may be an environmentally method used to clean oil spill.

The strain, Geobacillus thermodenirificans NG80-2 was initially isolated from an oil well in Dagang Oil Field (North China’s Tianjin area). Initial studies have shown that it can grow at temperatures between 45-73 C with crude oil being the sole energy source.

Researchers at Nankai University in Tianjin determined the genetic sequence of the bacterial strain after almost three years of experiments, and discovered its metabolic pathway.

“We identified the key enzyme that enables the bacterium to degrade long-chain alkanes, a chemical component of oil, to smaller molecules,” said Wang Lei, a lead scientist of the research team at Nankai University.

“We also discovered a simple way to isolate the enzyme.”

Wang and his colleagues found NG80-2 produced large amounts of a protein called LadA, which performed the first step in the degradation of long-chain alkanes.

Long-chain alkanes are used as lubricant and fuel oils, their existence chemically differentiating heavy oil from light oil which consists of shorter-chain alkanes. Heavy oil is usually more viscous and difficult to extract or remove.

The research results were published in this week’s US journal Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences online; and the scientists suggest in their report that the protein is an “ideal candidate” for treatment of environmental oil pollution.

The sequence analysis also suggests the bacterial strain can adapt to many different environmental niches since it involves versatile metabolic processes, which add to its potential in many biotechnology applications.

Current microbial approaches to degradation of oil pollutants are of low efficiency, and mostly apply to light oil, according to Wang, professor and dean of TEDA School of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology at Nankai University.

“More importantly, they are used in a context that no definite knowledge about how the bacteria work is available,” he said. “With the identification of this protein, we can upgrade it or alter it to various applications and improve efficiency of its performance.”

The research team has started looking into the three-dimensional structure of the protein and tested it in a field experiment on oil pollutant degradation.

Wang believes a wider application of the protein would be realized in two to three years. In addition to oil pollutant removal, oil extraction is another potential field for its application, he added.

US Department of Energy data has shown that the microbial approach can improve oil extraction efficiency by 10 to 15 percent and sustain the development term of oil reserves by five to 10 years.

Science Daily, a Beijing-based newspaper, has reported that pilot field experiments at Shengli Oil Field had helped increase cumulative oil production by about 60,000 barrels by 2005.

But Han Xuegong, a retired professor at China National Petroleum Corporation Managers Training Institute, warns that laboratory success does not necessarily guarantee industrial usage. “Cost plays a crucial role,” he said.

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