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May 19, 2009

Scientists Find RNA Surprises in isteria Bacteria

The bacterium Listeria monocytogenes lives happily in soil and in your compost heap, but also in water, processed meats, milk and cheese. When humans eat food contaminated with Listeria, they can develop listeriosis, an infection that triggers miscarriage in women and kills people whose immune systems are weak. Scientists would like to understand the molecular mechanisms that transform this bacterium from a harmless soil-dweller to a dangerous human pathogen.

Now, a team at the Pasteur Institute in Paris has taken a major step towards realizing that goal, by mapping the genes that Listeria expresses under different environmental conditions. The research is reported in an advance online publication in the journal Nature on May 17, 2009.

listeria

As head of the Pasteur Institute’s Unit of Bacteria-Cell Interactions, Howard Hughes Medical Institute international research scholar Pascale F. Cossart is proud of what she refers to as the first complete bacterial operon map. Pasteur scientists François Jacob and Jacques Monod first described the concept of the operon in 1960. Both were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1965 for their seminal work on operons. Operons are functional units of DNA that consist of several adjacent genes controlled by a common promoter—a piece of DNA that determines where and when a gene is active. The genes in operons are transcribed into a single piece of messenger RNA (mRNA).

Since Jacob and Monod first coined the term operon, scientists’ understanding of gene regulation has evolved considerably. Researchers now know, for example, that what was once called “junk” RNA because it wasn’t translated into protein, can nevertheless fulfil important functions. Cossart’s group had previously identified a piece of such non-coding RNA that regulate Listeria’s ability to infect cells, which suggested to them that RNA regulation might be widely exploited by Listeria to aid survival. Cossart and her colleagues decided to map Listeria’s transcriptional program in a systematic way in order to identify as many of those RNA switches as possible.

The biotechnology company Affymetrix built Cossart customized tiling microarrays—that is, arrays of DNA probes that correspond to overlapping stretches of the Listeriagenome. Armed with these arrays, a small army of researchers from Cossart’s and other labs, led by postdoctoral fellow Alejandro Toledo-Arana, compared bacteria grown in the lab with bacteria extracted from the intestine of Listeria-inoculated mice or with bacteria from inoculated samples of human blood. They also compared normal or wild-type bacteria with mutants that had been genetically altered so that they lacked certain known virulence factors.

Their analysis turned up many surprises, one of the biggest of which was how the bacterium’s transcriptome shifts between its soil-dwelling and intestinal modes. “When it arrives in the intestine it turns up the activity of many genes and turns down others, so we see a dramatic reshaping of the transcriptional programme. Strikingly, a series of non-coding RNAs are expressed more often in the intestine or in the blood,” Cossart says. The researchers identified one particular protein, SigB, that controls a series of genes that are needed for Listeria to adapt to the human gut, whereas a different protein, PrfA, switches on genes needed for survival and replication in the blood. By comparing mutant and wild-type bacteria, they identified two non-coding RNAs that appear to contribute to the virulence of L. monocytogenes.

And there were more surprises to come. The researchers found very long untranslated regions (UTRs) of RNA—that is, part of an RNA that is not translated into protein—that overlapped with several genes on the opposite strand and regulated their expression. This was the case, for example, for three genes that are involved in the manufacture of theListeria flagella, the tiny protrusions that allow it to move and find its way in different environments. A known repressor of flagellum synthesis, MogR, turns out to have one very long UTR that spans all three flagellum genes and acts as an antisense RNA, which can block mRNA from being transcribed into a protein

Cossart’s team also identified about 40 riboswitches, RNA structures at the front of genes that act as sensors, stopping translation or expression of the RNA when enough of the gene’s protein product has been made. Some of these riboswitches controlled expression of the gene downstream of them—as had previously been reported—but also the gene upstream. In other words, a riboswitch can extend its influence in both directions, a finding contrary to what anyone had suspected.

These and other regulatory mechanisms will almost certainly turn up in other microorganisms, Cossart says. She believes her group’s paper is likely to be the first of many that will describe, in increasingly minute detail, the complex transcriptional checks and balances that in the case of Listeria make it such a versatile organism.

In the next 10 years, she predicts, the study of bacteria in all their habitats—not just the pathogenic ones—will become a hot topic in research. And the concept of junk in molecular biology will finally be buried, as people realize that when it comes to the genome, nothing is wasted.

Source: http://www.hhmi.org/news/cossart20090517.html

November 17, 2008

Listeria Outbreak Creates New Technical Role in Company

It’s quite ironic that when profits are down the first people they seem to target is technical people. Now it seems after a major outbreak of listeria from Maple Leaf Foods in Canada, they’ve created a senior role of  Chief Food Safety officer.

Bacteria from a Maple Leaf plant in Toronto was linked to the deaths of UP TO 20 people in a nationwide outbreak that has affected all types of people. The company says the chief food safety officer will be responsible for leading Maple Leaf’s food safety and quality programs across the country.

Randall Huffman, currently the president of the American Meat Institute, will step into the new role as of Jan. 5.

Huffman has a PhD and a master’s degree in meat and animal science and has held a number of advisory positions in the field.

The position is one of several moves Maple Leaf is taking after sales of their products declined by up to 35 per cent following the recall, wiping out 94 per cent of the operating profits in its meat division.

I just hope we see more technical people in senior levels - safety should be in the same light as profits.

October 9, 2008

Listeria Contamination in Maple Leaf Products Shocking!

Two-thirds of meat samples taken from Toronto-area nursing homes and hospitals in mid-August for testing were contaminated with listeria, according to records obtained by CBC News and the Toronto Star in a joint investigation.

A listeriosis outbreak that health officials warned the public about in August has been linked to the deaths of 20 Canadians and prompted the largest food recall in Canadian history. Vinita Dubey, Toronto’s associate medical officer of health, said the test results illustrate the extent of the contamination.

“I’d never seen anything like this,” Dr. Dubey said after reviewing the test data for the first time.

‘The fact that so many came back positive shows how contaminated the source was.’—Vinita Dubey, Toronto associate medical officer of health

“Usually in our food investigations, we’ll send a number of samples for testing and most will be negative. The fact that so many came back positive shows how contaminated the source was,” she added.

The Ontario Ministry of Health and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) in mid-August ordered public health units across the province to collect samples of processed meats such as turkey, ham and roast beef as part of the investigation into the listeriosis outbreak. A federal government source confirmed Wednesday that half of the samples tested positive for listeria, and Toronto was a hot spot.

Toronto Public Health inspectors collected 26 samples from nursing homes, hospitals and HIV/AIDS hospices on Aug. 14 and Aug. 15. Seventeen of those samples - roughly two-thirds of the total - tested positive for a dangerous strain of listeria.

“There shouldn’t be any positives,” said Rick Holley, a microbiologist who teaches at the University of Manitoba. “The reality is if you did a survey in the market, you might find one or two at most out of this sample [size] that are positive.… And it is a particularly virulent strain of listeria. It’s one of the bad ones.”

The results are also disturbing given that the samples were taken from institutions that house the elderly and infirm, Holley said. The highest risk groups in listeriosis outbreaks include people with weaker immune systems, such as children, pregnant women and the elderly.

“In an environment where these products are going to be consumed by that minority of the population that has some predisposition to some serious infection, this would represent significant challenge for those people,” he said.

Maple Leaf Foods has now confirmed that the test results, which it received on the evening of Aug. 16, prompted it to launch the massive recall of its meat products on Aug. 17.

“When we looked at [the test results], we felt it was important to do more and that’s why we closed the plant and recalled 191 products,” said Linda Smith, a spokeswoman for Maple Leaf.

The test results obtained by the CBC and the Toronto Star show that the meat had various levels of contamination, when the standard set by Health Canada calls for zero tolerance.

The meat samples that tested positive for listeria had best-before dates ranging from early August to early October. Holley said this suggests the meat from the Toronto Maple Leaf Foods plant was being contaminated over a period of nearly two months.

“Whatever the defect was here, it had to be a continuing source of contamination. There had to be a reservoir of the bacteria growing.”

Source: http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2008/10/09/listeria-tests.html

March 11, 2008

Listeria in New Zealand Sandwiches

Listeria appears again - but this time in sandwiches wwhere it was sold to 20 people at Middlemore Hospital in New Zealand.

These pre-packaged Thai chicken sandwiches were sold on Monday at the hospital’s Aviary Cafe, which is mainly used by staff.

The contamination was detected in routine listeria testing where the results were given to the hospital yesterday.

It was not known last night whether other sandwich varieties at the cafe were infected, or if other products from the sandwiches’ supplier, Naturezone, were infected with listeria and had been distributed to other outlets.

The bacterium can be fatal to people with low immune systems and can cause miscarriages or stillbirths if it infects pregnant women.

A spokeswoman for Spotless Services, the company that runs the cafe, said it was not yet known how many of its outlets had been stocked with the sandwiches. Naturezone could not be reached for comment last night.

Auckland Regional Public Health Service spokesman Dr Greg Simmons said last night that greatly improved methods of testing were bringing the listeria cases to the surface.

All positive tests in the past three weeks had come from the same testing facility.

“We are conducting a thorough site inspection at the company and we will ensure extensive product and environmental testing to identify the source,” Dr Simmons said

Despite the relatively low risk, he said, it was a serious situation.

“We are concerned that a whole lot of ready-to-eat products look like they are being contaminated. We would be silly not to be concerned.”

The bacterium usually produces fever, diarrhoea and general unwellness within three weeks of infection, although it can take as long as 10 weeks for symptoms to show.

November 17, 2007

Listeria Food Standards gets Debated at CODEX

The EU and US positions at a Codex meeting to set international standards on food safety foreshadow future legislation that would affect hygiene control measures in manufacturing plants, and the manufacture of powdered formulae, ready-to-eat foods, and pasteurised liquid eggs.

In the six day meeting which ended on the 4 November in New Delhi, India, national representatives to Codex’s food hygiene committee also decided to start work on drafting safety guidelines setting standards to control Campylobacter and Salmonella specie in broiler chicken meat.

At the New Delhi meeting they discussed various positions, including those relating to proposed standards for pasteurized liquid whole eggs, hygienic practice for processing powdered formulae for infants and children, pathogen control measures for Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat foods & guidelines for evaluating manufacturing control measures.

Codex is a multilateral body set up to develop food safety and other standards that would apply to all member countries.

It operates under the aegis of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation and the World Health Organisation.

The standards are recognised as international benchmarks by one of the multilateral agreements of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and aim to eliminate many of what the UN calls “unjustified technical barriers” to food imports set up by some countries.

The standards also serve to harmonise food safety laws globally, aiding multinational processors in following the law no matter where they trade.

The standards on each particular topic and food type can undergo a huge revision process at various levels of Codex decision making bodies, over a number of years. Member countries must then transcribe the standards into their national laws.

The proposed standard setting what pathogen controls for Listeria monocytogenes ready-to-eat food processors must put in place is based in the main on US risk assessments, according to Codex documents.

Based on the risk assessments, a working group led by Germany concluded that a zero tolerance standard for L. monocytogenes have a proportional reduction in the rates of illness from foods contaminated with the pathogen.

A study commissioned by the food hygiene committee showed that the application of microbiological criteria at a given point of the production chain is only one of the measures that need to be applied, to bring down contamination rates.

The committee proposes to exclude from the criteria foods that are processing in such a way to ensure the killing of L. monocytogenes and for which recontamination is not possible.

The foods must also be processed and handled under systems adhering to good hygienic practice (GHP), a separate international standard.

Such foods include those given a listericidal treatment in the package and those that are produced through aseptic processing and packaging.

The group includes dehydrated products such as powdered milk, dehydrated soup mixes, herbs and spices, fresh, uncut and unprocessed vegetables and fruits, soft drinks, beer and spirits.

At the meeting the EU delegation also proposed that the standard should specifically include ready-to-eat foods for infants and those with medical conditions.

The EU supports a 100 colony forming units per gram (cfu/g) limit on the pathogen for ready-to-eat foods, if the food manufacturer is able to demonstrate the maximum would not be exceeded throughout the shelf-life.

The EU delegation also noted that setting a zero tolerance standard, where a negative reading is set at 25g = 0.04 colony forming units per gram (cfu/g) “might cause misunderstandings”.

The EU also wants clarification on foods not covered by the testing standard, pointing out that previous discussions had also discussed products for which Listeria monocytogenes is “very unlikely” to be detected.

Clarification is also needed about the proposed exclusion of foods for which there is less than ‘1 log’ growth during 1.3 times the expected shelf life, the EU stated in its submission. Various definitions of ’shelf-life’ might confuse the issue.

At the meeting the Codex committee also set its priorities for proposed standards, with those for egg products topping the list.

Other priorities in order are standards for infant and children foods; combining two codes of practice for various nuts into one; setting a single hygienic code for fruits, vegetable and products made from them; quick frozen foods, spices and aromatic plants; low-acid and acidified low-acid canned foods and aseptically processed and packaged low-acid canned foods, natural mineral waters, frog legs, catering, and street-vended foods.

The WTO’s Codex Alimentarius Commission is the body set up to harmonise food safety and other export requirements around the world.

Member countries’ representatives meet regularly to debate a common position or standard on every aspect of such requirements, from the holding temperatures in frozen meat should be kept at, to processing requirements for specific types of cheeses.

Agreements forged at Codex meetings could eventually affect the way processors operate worldwide as they become incorporated into national laws in various countries around the world.

Source

August 26, 2007

Food Poisoning: How to Avoid It, How to Treat It

While America’s food supply is the safest in the world, food poisoning is responsible for approximately 76 million illnesses in the United States each year. In fact, it is estimated that 60% or more of the raw poultry sold today probably has disease-causing bacteria. Anyone eating food contaminated by certain bacteria, parasites, or viruses can get food poisoning. Certain factors such as age and physical condition can make certain people more susceptible to food poisoning than others. Infants, pregnant women, the elderly and people with compromised immune systems are at greatest risk.

For most people in good condition, food poisoning is usually neither long lasting nor life-threatening. However, to less healthy individuals it can become a serious health threat, accounting for approximately 5,000 deaths each year.

The good news is that by taking simple precautionary steps while purchasing, handling, and preparing food you can prevent most cases of food poisoning in the home.

What causes food poisoning? Food poisoning is most commonly caused by bacteria, parasites, or viruses that may be present in the food that you have eaten. You may have heard the names of many of these organisms. They include Escherichia coli (E coli), Campylobacter jejuni, Clostridium botulinum, Shigella, Salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus, Trichinella, and Hepatitis A virus, just to name a few. They can be present in a wide range of food including red meat, poultry, milk and other dairy products, eggs, unpasteurized vegetable juices and ciders, spices, chocolate, seafood, and even water.

These organisms may be present on your food when it is bought or can get into the food, including cooked food, if the food comes into contact with raw meat juices on dirty utensils, cutting boards, or countertops used to prepare contaminated food. That’s why it is important not only to thoroughly cook your food, but to wash your hands, utensils, and countertops, before and after you handle raw foods.

What are the symptoms? Symptoms will vary depending on the type and amount of contaminants eaten. Some people may get ill after ingesting only a small amount of harmful bacteria, while others may remain free of symptoms after eating larger quantities. The most common symptoms of food poisoning include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain (cramps), fever, headache, and fatigue. Symptoms may develop as soon as 30 minutes after eating tainted food, but more commonly do not develop for several days or weeks. Symptoms of viral or parasitic food poisoning may not appear for several weeks, while some toxins in fish may take only a few minutes to cause symptoms.

If you have botulism, you probably will not have a fever and the symptoms may include blurred vision, fatigue, dry mouth and throat.

How food poisoning is diagnosed Food poisoning is often suspected when several people become ill after eating the same meal. To diagnose the cause of the illness, your doctor will need to know the symptoms and what was eaten right before the illness occurred. The doctor may need samples of the food, bowel movements, or vomit. These samples can be tested in a laboratory to determine if the food was contaminated and identify the organism causing the illness.

How is it treated? If the symptoms are severe, the victim should see a doctor or get emergency care. Treatment depends on the severity and cause of the food poisoning. Generally, for mild cases of food poisoning, the doctor will recommend for you to rest, drink fluids to prevent dehydration due to vomiting or diarrhea, and to follow a specific diet. It usually only takes about 1 to 5 days to recover from food poisoning.

If you have botulism, your doctor will prescribe an antitoxin. Other types of food poisoning have no antidote. Antibiotics are usually not helpful in treating food poisoning. Medicine to stop vomiting and stomach cramping may be given.

Prevention is the best approach to avoid food poisoning Most cases of food poisoning can be prevented. Below is a list of a few simple Do’s and Don’ts to help you avoid food-borne illness in the home.

● Do wash your hands, utensils, cutting boards, and countertops between different foods ● Do hrefrigerate or freeze perishables right away (Refrigerator temperature should be 41Ëš F and freezer 0ËšF) ● Do thoroughly cook foods. Cook beef, lamb, and pork to an internal temperature of 160ËšF; whole poultry and thighs to 180ËšF; poultry breasts to 170ËšF, ground chicken or turkey to 165ËšF ● Do hrefrigerate leftover foods as soon as possible; leftovers shouldn’t remain unrefrigerated longer than 2 hours. ● While food shopping, do select frozen foods and perishables such as meat, poultry, and fish last- before checking out ● Do use smooth cutting boards made of hard maple or plastic that are free of cracks and crevices ● Do store raw meats in leak-proof containers or on the bottom of the hrefrigerator to prevent juices from dripping on other foods ● Don’t allow uncooked meats, meat juices, or unwashed fruits and vegetables to come in contact with either cooked or washed foods ● Don’t buy frozen seafood if the packages are open, torn, or crushed on the edges ● Don’t buy food in cans that are bulging or dented, or in jars that are cracked ● Don’t ever buy outdated food. Check the “use by” or “sell by” dates ● Don’t buy unpasteurized milk or dairy products ● Do not buy hrefrigerated or frozen products that are not displayed at the proper temperature ● Do not let small children put foods away unsupervised

More information about this important health subject can be obtained from the following sources: Gateway to Government Food Safety Information www.foodsafety.gov U.S. Food and Drug Administration Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/wh-food.html Food Safety and Inspection Service United States Department of Agriculture www.fsis.usda.gov/OA/pubs/consumerpubs.htm

Supported as an educational service by Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation. This information is not intended for use as medical advice. You should discuss this information with your doctor.

Avaraham Henoch, MD 564 West 160th Street New York, NY 10032 Phone: (212) 740-6400

August 7, 2007

NZ survey identify food pathogen concerns

New Zealand with only a population of 6 million people is a nation of food worriers after a 750 people survey found some interesting data on their views of food and food borne pathogens.

Interestingly, scientists believe people may be anxiously worrying over small issues that pose little risk to their health.

In the phone survey conducted for the New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA), they found that salmonella was the worst food fear, with 77 per cent being “very concerned” about it.

In addition, an antibiotic in meat was next with 67 per cent and campylobacter with 63 per cent.

But scientist Dr Donald Campbell said people were missing the three biggest threats to life, the amount of salt, fat and sugar in their diet.

Interestingly, people were more concern about eating at local buffets, food halls and ethnic restaurants than food made at home in an unhygienic way.

Campbell, the NZFSA principal adviser of public health, was surprised salmonella was the most feared.

“I would have expected campylobacter to be higher than salmonella,” he said.

Campylobacter had a greater impact on the community than salmonella. There were generally 10 times as many cases of campylobacter in a year than salmonella, said Campbell.

New Zealand had a 15 per cent rise in notified campylobacter cases last year to 15,873, compared with 1335 cases of salmonella.

Both are food-borne illnesses that have been associated with chicken and raw meats, and can cause symptoms of diarrhea, abdominal pain, nausea and headache.

Canterbury medical officer of health Alistair Humphrey put campylobacter high on his list of concerns.

But he said many other bugs lurked in food, including norovirus which causes gastroenteritis’s of which there had been outbreaks in Christchurch.

Antibiotics used in animals for therapeutic purposes and to prevent disease may scare consumers towards vegetarianism, but “the evidence is of it being a very low risk,” Campbell said.

Listeria was a rarer food-borne illness (19 cases nationally last year) but could have devastating consequences, he said. At least half of cases occurred in pregnant women and one in four of their babies have died.

Listeria is linked to deli meats, poultry products, smoked seafood’s, soft cheeses and pre-cooked sausages. However stronger regulations have forced many food manufacturers to comply with strict hygiene.

Participants were more spooked about the use of pesticides in food production and additives.

More than 60 per cent of participants were “very concerned” about their potential effects.

Campbell said these were more “perceived risk” than actual risk, as pesticides and additives were covered by regulations.

The authority commissions the surveys every few years to gauge public feeling and tailor its food safety messages. “We eat at least three times a day, so it matters to us all,” Campbell said.

Genetically modified food greatly concerned 56 per cent of respondents, about the same as in two previous years, whereas a new category, food from cloned animals, worried 54 per cent.

“There is such a small use of genetically modified food. I would not put them as high on the list,” said Campbell.

Food allergies and irradiated food brought up the rear, with 47 per cent and 41 per cent respectively.

July 22, 2007

Botulism Food Poisoning Alert

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned consumers about the risk of botulism food poisoning from Hot Dog Chilli Sauce Marketed under a Variety of Brand Names.

In particular are 10 ounce cans of Castleberry’s Hot Dog Chilli Sauce (UPC 3030000101), Austex Hot Dog Chilli Sauce (UPC 3030099533), and Kroger Hot Dog Chilli Sauce (UPC 1111083942) with “best by” dates from April 30, 2009 through May 22, 2009 due to possible contamination with clostridium botulinum.

Consumers who have any of these products or any foods made with these products should throw them away immediately. If the “best by” date is missing or unreadable consumers should throw the product out.

Two children in Texas and an Indiana couple who ate these products became seriously ill and have been hospitalized with the toxin.

Symptoms of botulism poisoning can begin from 6 hours to 2 weeks after eating food that contains the toxin. Symptoms may include double vision, blurred vision, drooping eyelids, slurred speech, difficulty swallowing, dry mouth, and muscle weakness that moves progressively down the body, affecting the shoulders first then descending to the upper arms, lower arms, thighs, calves, etc. Botulism poisoning can also cause paralysis of the breathing muscles which can result in death unless assistance with breathing (mechanical ventilation) is provided.

Individuals who show these symptoms and who may have recently eaten Castleberry’s Hot Dog Chilli Sauce, Austex Hot Dog Chilli Sauce, or Kroger Hot Dog Chilli Sauce should seek immediate medical attention.

All of the above products are manufactured by the Castleberry Food Company in Augusta, Georgia.

Castleberry has informed FDA that it is voluntarily recalling all of the potentially contaminated products and is cooperating with FDA, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the states’ active investigations into the cause of this contamination and scope of the products’ distribution.

Castleberry is also voluntarily recalling a number of products that are not under FDA’s regulatory authority.

For a list of these products, visit: www.castleberrys.com/news_productrecall.asp.

FDA will provide updates as more information becomes available. Consumers can call the FDA at 1-888-723-3366.

Castleberry recommends consumers with any questions or concerns about this recall should go to Castleberry’s website (www.castleberrys.com) or call Castleberry’s consumer hotline at 1-888-203-8446.

The list has also been expanding and can be found here

June 8, 2007

E.coli causes Beef Recall in US

United Food Group, LLC, a Vernon, California establishment is expanding it’s voluntarily recall of ground beef products because they may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7.

There has been a link between illnesses in several states and the ground beef subject to recall was determined through an investigation carried out by the California Department of Health Services and the Colorado Department of Health, in coordination with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The expanded recall totals approximately 370,000 pounds.

The ground beef products in the expanded recall were produced on April 13, while the products subject to the original recall were produced on April 20. The ground beef products were shipped to retail distribution centers in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

E. coli O157:H7 is a potentially deadly bacterium that can cause bloody diarrhea and dehydration. The very young (children), aged (seniors) and persons with compromised immune systems such as people with Aids are the most susceptible to food borne illness.

Any questions about the recall should contact company Customer Service Representative James Turner at (800) 325-4164. Media with questions about the recall should contact company Vice-President for Sales and Marketing Brian Levy at (323) 588-5286.

The identity labels of the products subject to recall bear the establishment number “EST. 1241″ inside the USDA mark of inspection or printed on the package. All of the products bear a sell-by date of “APR/29/07,” “APR/30/07″ or “May/06/07,” a freeze-by date of “APR/28/07,” “APR/29/07,” “APR/30/07″ or “May/07/07,” or a produced on date of “APR/13/07″ or “APR/20/07.”

The following ground beef products are subject to recall.

The list is inclusive of products included in both the original and expanded recall actions.
5-pound chubs of “1ST STREET 73/27 ground beef.”
3-pound chubs of “BASHAS 73/27 ground beef.”
1-pound chubs of “SIR BASHA 90/10 ground beef.”
5-pound chubs of “INTER-AMERICAN PRODUCT 73/27 ground beef.”
1-pound chubs of “INTER-AMERICAN PRODUCTS 80/20 ground beef.”
2-pound chubs of “INTER-AMERICAN PRODUCTS 93/7 ground beef.”
1-pound chubs of “STATER BROS. MARKET 73/27 ground beef.”
3-pound chubs of “STATER BROS. MARKETS 73/27 ground beef.”
1-pound chubs of “MORAN’S All Natural 73/27 ground beef.”
3-pound chubs of “MORAN’S All Natural 73/27 ground beef.”
5-pound chubs of “MORAN’S All Natural 73/27 ground beef.”
10-pound casings of “MORAN’S All Natural, 73/27 fine ground beef.”
10-pound casings of “MORAN’S 73/27 coarse ground beef.”
10-pound casings of “MORAN’S 75/25 fine ground beef.”
3-pound chubs of “MORAN’S All Natural 80/20 ground beef.”
1-pound chubs of “MORAN’S All Natural 80/20 ground chuck.”
10-pound casings of “MORAN’S 80/20 coarse ground chuck.”
10-pound casings of “MORAN’S 80/20 fine ground chuck.”
10-pound casings of “MORAN’S All Natural 81/19 fine ground beef.”
2-pound chubs of “MORAN’S All Natural 85/15 ground beef.”
3-pound chubs of “MORAN’S All Natural 85/15 ground beef.”
10-pound casings of “MORAN’S 85/15 coarse ground beef.”
10-pound casings of “MORAN’S 85/15 fine ground beef.”
1-pound chubs of “MORAN’S All Natural 85/15 ground round.”
10-pound casings of “MORAN’S All Natural 85/15 coarse ground round.”
10-pound casings of “MORAN’S All Natural 85/15 coarse ground sirloin.”
10-pound casings of “MORAN’S All Natural 85/15 fine ground sirloin.”
10-pound casings of “MORAN’S 90/10 fine ground beef.”
1-pound chubs of “MORAN’S All Natural 90/10 ground sirloin.”
1-pound chubs of “MORAN’S All Natural, 90/10 fine ground sirloin.”
10-pound casings of “MORAN’S All Natural, 90/10 fine ground sirloin.”
10-pound casings of “MORAN’S 90/10 coarse ground sirloin.”
2-pound chubs of “MORAN’S All Natural 93/7 ground beef.”
2-pound chubs of “MORAN’S All Natural 93/7 fine ground beef.”
10-pound casings of “MORAN’S 93/7 coarse ground beef.”
10-pound casings of “MORAN’S 93/7 fine ground sirloin.”
5-pound chubs of “MORAN’S 95/5 fine ground beef.”
1-pound chubs of “MORAN’S All Natural 96/4 ground beef.”
2-pound chubs of “MORAN’S All Natural 96/4 ground beef.”
10-pound casings of “MORAN’S All Natural 96/4 fine ground beef.”
5-pound chubs of “MORAN’S All Natural 96/4 fine ground beef.”

Consumers with food safety questions can “Ask Karen,” the FSIS virtual representative available 24 hours a day at AskKaren.gov. The toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854) is available in English and Spanish and can be reached from l0 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Eastern Time) Monday through Friday. Recorded food safety messages are available 24 hours a day.

source

May 27, 2007

Salmonella Recall in Australian Smallgoods Company

Another food recall and this time it is product manufactured by a South Australian company with the recall initiated by the NSW food Authority.

This came about after The New South Wales Food Authority issued an alert after several batches of chicken cacciatore, made by the San Marino Smallgoods company, were positive for salmonella.

San Marino is voluntarily recalling the products which includes Cacciatore Hot and Mild, Veneto Hot and Mild and Sopressa Mild with use-by dates of August this year.

So far, the NSW Food Authority says it has no evidence that anyone has fallen sick from eating the affected batches.

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