Cases Of Foodborne Illness Research Articles

Findings of the Health Risk Assessment of Escherichia coli O157 in Mechanically Tenderized Beef Products in Canada

In late 2012, a total of 18 cases of foodborne illness caused by Escherichia coli O157 were reported as part of a Canadian outbreak related to contaminated beef. During the food safety investigation associated with the outbreak, it was determined that a few cases were likely associated with the consumption of mechanically tenderized beef (MTB) which had been tenderized at the retail level. Details of this investigation and its follow-up are available online on the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) website * . This event raised awareness of the Canadian public and the scientific community regarding the practice of mechanical tenderization of beef. Furthermore, four relatively recent E. coli O157 outbreaks in the United States have highlighted the fact that non-intact products, other than ground beef, such as tenderized roasts and steaks, may represent an

Electron Microscopic Study of <i>Kudoa septempunctata</i> Infecting <i>Paralichthys olivaceus</i> (Olive Flounder)

Kudoa septempunctata is a myxosporean parasite of Paralichthys olivaceus (olive flounder) that causes more than 50 cases of foodborne illness in Japan each year. For quantitatively assessing the presence of K. septempunctata spores in the causative fish at food poisoning outbreaks, both a direct observation method using microscopy and a quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) method are officially accepted in Japan. However, lower correlations have been often noticed between the number of spores counted using the direct observation method and the DNA amount determined using the qRT-PCR method. To elucidate the cause of this discrepancy, we observed muscle tissues of infected olive flounders with K. septempunctata by transmission electron microscopy. The images demonstrated unsynchronized development of K. septempunctata spores in plasmodia found within myofibers; in other words, the plasmodium contained not only developed spores with completed shell valves but also developing spores (sporoblasts) composed of spore-forming cells without shell valves. Furthermore, the ratio between developed spores and sporoblasts varied at different parts of muscles. The direct microscopic observation method could count developed spores, whereas the qRT-PCR method could quantify the amount of not only spores but also sporoblastic cells regardless of the cellular development and differentiation. Considering that the food toxicity caused by K. septempunctata is induced by viable spores passing through the gastric environment, the direct observation method counting only developed spores is better than the qRT-PCR method for assessing the cause of foodborne illness at the outbreak as well as the risk of human illness in monitoring surveys of aquacultured or natural-water fish.

An exploratory study of food safety and food handling: Examining ready-to-eat foods in independent delicatessen operations

The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 2009) reports that each year 76 million cases of foodborne illness occur with over 300,000 people hospitalized and 5000 deaths. This study, phase I of a continuing study, identifies key areas for food safety improvement. This study is designed as an exploratory evaluation of independently owned and operated delicatessen operations, using Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus as indicators to assess food handling and the public’s risk for pathogenic contamination from commonly served ready-to-eat/take-away foods. The analysis consisted of a comprehensive strategy of laboratory testing of samples for pathogenic contamination, informal field observation of food handling procedures, and the examination of the most recent health inspection reports for each of the 18 operations visited. The deli turkey, cream cheese and lettuce were tested using bacteria indicator plates. The results showed widespread levels of contamination. Of the 54 samples tested for Escherichia coli, 26 showed positive results which are ~45% for E. coli contamination. Of the 54 samples tested for Staphy-lococcus aureus, 31 showed positive results which are ~57% for S. aureus contamination. One issue discovered while conducting the study was the lack of consistent uniform international standards of contamination tolerance levels. The informal field observations and health report analyses revealed widespread temperature violations and numerous instances of poor food handling. The study offers independent practitioners a strategy designed to improve their health inspections scores, food handling, and mitigation of operator liability. Independent operators traditionally do not enjoy the resources of centralized supervision and expert on-staff training; yet in aggregate they account for significant volume in both dollars and the quantity of product served. This study adds needed scrutiny to this important food niche.

Risky food safety behaviors are associated with higher BMI and lower healthy eating self-efficacy and intentions among African American churchgoers in Baltimore [corrected

BackgroundThere are an estimated 9.4 million cases of foodborne illness each year. Consumers have a key role in preventing foodborne illness, but differences in the practice of food safety behaviors exist, increasing risk for certain groups in the population. Identifying groups who are more likely to practice risky food safety behaviors can assist in development of interventions to reduce the disease burden of foodborne illnesses. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the relationships of health indicators and psychosocial factors with self-reported food safety behaviors.Methods and FindingsData were collected via questionnaire from 153 African Americans who attend churches in Baltimore City. Individuals reported high overall concern with food safety (mean score: 0.80±0.49 on a scale of −1 to +1) and practiced food safety behaviors with moderate overall frequency (mean score: 5.26±4.01 on a scale of −12 to +12), with considerable variation in reported frequencies depending on the food safety behavior. After adjusting for demographic variables, food safety behaviors were significantly associated with BMI and psychosocial variables. Riskier food safety behaviors were associated with higher body mass index (BMI) (β = −0.141 95%CI (−0.237, −0.044), p = 0.004). Self-efficacy for healthy eating (standard β [std. β] = 0.250, p = 0.005) and healthy eating intentions (std. β = 0.178, p = 0.041) were associated with better food safety behaviors scores.ConclusionsThese results show important relationships between weight-related health indicators, psychosocial factors and food safety behaviors that have not previously been studied. Interventions tailored to higher-risk populations have the potential to reduce the burden of food-related illnesses. Additional studies are needed to further investigate these relationships with larger and more diverse samples.

Methicillin-resistant staphylococci: implications for our food supply?

Food-borne intoxication, caused by heat-stable enterotoxins produced by Staphylococcus aureus, causes over 240,000 cases of food-borne illness in the United States annually. Other staphylococci commonly associated with animals may also produce these enterotoxins. Foods may be contaminated by infected food handlers during slaughter and processing of livestock or by cross-contamination during food preparation. S. aureus also causes a variety of mild to severe skin and soft tissue infections in humans and other animals. Antibiotic resistance is common in staphylococci. Hospital-associated (HA) S. aureus are resistant to numerous antibiotics, with methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) presenting significant challenges in health care facilities for over 40 years. During the mid-1990s new human MRSA strains developed outside of hospitals and were termed community-associated (CA). A few years later, MRSA was isolated from horses and methicillin resistance was detected in Staphylococcus intermedius/pseudintermedius from dogs and cats. In 2003, a livestock-associated (LA) MRSA strain was first detected in swine. These methicillin-resistant staphylococci pose additional food safety and occupational health concerns. MRSA has been detected in a small percentage of retail meat and raw milk samples indicating a potential risk for food-borne transmission of MRSA. Persons working with animals or handling meat products may be at increased risk for antibiotic-resistant infections. This review discusses the scope of the problem of methicillin-resistant staphylococci and some strategies for control of these bacteria and prevention of illness.

Lab-on-a-chip pathogen sensors for food safety.

There have been a number of cases of foodborne illness among humans that are caused by pathogens such as Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella typhimurium, etc. The current practices to detect such pathogenic agents are cell culturing, immunoassays, or polymerase chain reactions (PCRs). These methods are essentially laboratory-based methods that are not at all real-time and thus unavailable for early-monitoring of such pathogens. They are also very difficult to implement in the field. Lab-on-a-chip biosensors, however, have a strong potential to be used in the field since they can be miniaturized and automated; they are also potentially fast and very sensitive. These lab-on-a-chip biosensors can detect pathogens in farms, packaging/processing facilities, delivery/distribution systems, and at the consumer level. There are still several issues to be resolved before applying these lab-on-a-chip sensors to field applications, including the pre-treatment of a sample, proper storage of reagents, full integration into a battery-powered system, and demonstration of very high sensitivity, which are addressed in this review article. Several different types of lab-on-a-chip biosensors, including immunoassay- and PCR-based, have been developed and tested for detecting foodborne pathogens. Their assay performance, including detection limit and assay time, are also summarized. Finally, the use of optical fibers or optical waveguide is discussed as a means to improve the portability and sensitivity of lab-on-a-chip pathogen sensors.

Growth, Reduction, and Survival of Bacteria on Melon Types

From 1990 to 2000, over 700 cases of foodborne illness were associated with outbreaks due to melon consumption in the U.S. and Canada. Even with efforts to educate industry and consumers of safe produce-handling practices, in the last decade there were still over 1,100 documented illnesses associated with melon consumption. This 45-page fact sheet highlights the research that has been done to provide insight on possible sanitation methods and their efficacy in decontaminating melon types of foodborne pathogens as well as natural microflora. Written by Thao P. Nguyen, Michelle D. Danyluk, and Keith R. Schneider, and published by the UF Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, May 2012.

The Cases of Food Spoilage and Foodborne Illness in the Rejected Foods by Fungal Contamination

The Cases of Food Spoilage and Foodborne Illness in the Rejected Foods by Fungal Contamination

The Beat

The Beat

Food safety and nutrition: Improving consumer behaviour

Consumer awareness of food safety and nutrition is a major issue in relation to healthy lifestyles and disease prevention. Improper consumer food management has been implicated in a large number of cases of foodborne illnesses. To reduce the risk of foodborne illness, consumers must be willing to change behaviours that are not consistent with safe food storage and preparation practices. Change in such behaviours is strongly related to consumer knowledge of proper food handling practices. At the same time there is public consciousness of the role of diet in contributing to the health status, but this awareness has not led to sufficient improvement of eating habits. What people buy and eat and the way they manage food depends not only on the individual but also on social, cultural, economic, and environmental factors. Identifying an effective strategy to improve consumers’ behaviour is a concern for politicians and health promoters. Non-targeted spreading of generic information is one strategy, but seems to be relatively unsuccessful. This paper describes an innovative and effective methodology to improve the level of consumer awareness towards healthier food choices and safer behaviours based on a holistic approach. This strategy could be adopted to better disseminate information regarding healthy foods on a large scale and at a relatively low cost, obtaining significant benefits in terms of primary prevention and contributing to the amelioration of food management at the consumer level.

Economic Burden from Health Losses Due to Foodborne Illness in the United States

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently revised their estimates for the annual number of foodborne illnesses; 48 million Americans suffer from domestically acquired foodborne illness associated with 31 identified pathogens and a broad category of unspecified agents. Consequently, economic studies based on the previous estimates are now obsolete. This study was conducted to provide improved and updated estimates of the cost of foodborne illness by adding a replication of the 2011 CDC model to existing cost-of-illness models. The basic cost-of-illness model includes economic estimates for medical costs, productivity losses, and illness-related mortality (based on hedonic value-of-statistical-life studies). The enhanced cost-of-illness model replaces the productivity loss estimates with a more inclusive pain, suffering, and functional disability measure based on monetized quality-adjusted life year estimates. Costs are estimated for each pathogen and a broader class of unknown pathogens. The addition of updated cost data and improvements to methodology enhanced the performance of each existing economic model. Uncertainty in these models was characterized using Monte Carlo simulations in @Risk version 5.5. With this model, the average cost per case of foodborne illness was $1,626 (90% credible interval [CI], $607 to $3,073) for the enhanced cost-of-illness model and $1,068 (90% CI, $683 to $1,646) for the basic model. The resulting aggregated annual cost of illness was $77.7 billion (90% CI, $28.6 to $144.6 billion) and $51.0 billion (90% CI, $31.2 to $76.1 billion) for the enhanced and basic models, respectively.

Henhouse Feeding Style and <i>Salmonella</i> Enteritidis Contamination in Unvaccinated Flocks of Egg Farms, April 1994-March 2001

From April 1994 to March 2001, monitoring tests (surveillance) for contamination of Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) at commercial egg farms and farm traceback inspections for cases of SE foodborne illness were carried out in the Himeji Livestock Hygiene Service Center jurisdiction of Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. SE vaccination was not performed before the outbreak of SE-associated foodborne illness, and SE contamination of a farm was recognized. In the surveillance, the year average percentages of identified SE-positive farms were 6.1% in farms with floor feeding in an open-type henhouse (F-OH) and 12.7% in farms with cage feeding in a windowless-type henhouse (C-WH), but 0% in farms with only cage feeding in an open-type henhouse (C-OH). The highest identified proportion of SE-positive farms among all styles of farms was found (4.3%) in April 1997-March 1999. Farm traceback inspections were performed in 2 of 7 farms feeding by F-OH and in 5 of 9 farms feeding by C-WH in this period. Easier contamination with SE was found for C-WH or F-OH than for C-OH. Ninety percent of the birds (3,632,000 birds at 70 farms) are fed at these easier contamination farms by C-WH (89% of birds in 13% of farms) or F-OH (1% of birds at 10% of farms). Integrated sanitary requirements and SE vaccinations are especially necessary on farms feeding by F-OH or C-WH. Since 1999, these countermeasures have been performed, and SE foodborne illnesses and affected patients in Hyogo Prefecture have gradually decreased.

Application of the Central Limit Theorem in microbial risk assessment: High number of servings reduces the Coefficient of Variation of food-borne burden-of-illness

The Central Limit Theorem (CLT) is proposed as a means of understanding microbial risk in foods from a Public Health perspective. One variant of the CLT states that as the number of random variables, each with a finite mean and variance, increases (→∞), the distribution of the sum (or mean) of those variables approximates a normal distribution. On the basis of the CLT, the hypothesis introduced by this paper states that the Coefficient of Variation (CV) of the annual number of food-borne illness cases decreases as a result of a larger number of exposures (or servings) (n). Second-order Monte-Carlo analysis and classical statistics were used to support the hypothesis, based on existing risk models on Listeria monocytogenes in deli meat products focused on elderly people in the United States. Likewise, the hypothesis was tested on epidemiological data of annual incidence of salmonellosis and listeriosis in different countries (i.e. different n). Although different sources of error affected the accuracy of the results, both the Monte-Carlo analysis (in silico) and epidemiological data (in vivo), especially for salmonellosis, demonstrated that the CV of the annual number of cases decreased as n increased as stated by the CLT. Furthermore, results from this work showed that classical statistical methods can be helpful to provide reliable risk estimates based on simple and well-established statistical principles.

Activity of Citrus Essential Oils against Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella spp. and Effects on Beef Subprimal Cuts under Refrigeration

Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella spp. are bacterial pathogens often associated with beef, and cause many cases of foodborne illness each year in the United States. During beef slaughter and processing, these bacteria may spread from the hide or intestines to the carcass. The objective of this research was to investigate the use of naturally occurring compounds citrus essential oils (CEOs) extracted from orange peel to reduce or eliminate these pathogens at the chilling stage of processing, or during fabrication. Brisket flats (used to simulate beef subprimals) were spot inoculated with approximately 6 log of surrogate generic E. coli cocktail (previously shown to be identical in growth and survival parameters to E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella spp.). Following drying, CEOs were applied by spraying at concentrations of 3% and 6% to the surface of different pieces of meat. Treatments were applied using a custom built spray cabinet at 2.07 bar and applied at a rate of 3.79 L/min to replicate commercial practices. The CEOs significantly reduced (P < 0.05) the concentration of E. coli on the brisket flats in comparison to inoculated no spray or water sprayed controls over a period of 90 d, while causing an initial reduction of approximately 1.4 log units. Total aerobic bacteria and psychrotrophic counts were also reduced on uninoculated briskets following treatment. These results indicate that 3% cold-pressed terpeneless Valencia orange oil could be used as an additional intervention against E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella spp. at the refrigerated storage stage of processing. CEOs are natural compounds that have been designated as Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS). They can be used to control Salmonella spp. and E. coli O157:H7 on beef carcasses at the chilling stage.

GyrB versus 16s rRna sequencing for the identification of Campylobacter jejuni, Campylobacter coli, and Campylobacter lari

Species of the genus Campylobacter are responsible for the largest number of bacterial food-borne illness cases occurring yearly in the developed world. The majority of disease is caused by three of the thermotolerant Campylobacter species: Campylobacter jejuni, Campylobacter coli, and Campylobacter lari. An inability to differentiate these three species using the commonly employed 16S rRNA sequencing procedure has led to the development of alternative methods to identify these bacteria. Some of these methods include the utilization of the gyrB gene. A reliable method was developed for the differentiation of C. jejuni, C. coli, and C. lari employing the gyrB gene. It involves amplification and sequencing of a species-variable region of the gene with a single pair of DNA primers. The method works well for the separation and organization of the three Campylobacter strains as well as satisfying the suggested guidelines for sequence based identification for most strains investigated.

GyrB versus 16s rRna sequencing for the identification of Campylobacter jejuni, Campylobacter coli, and Campylobacter lari

Species of the genus Campylobacter are responsible for the largest number of bacterial food-borne illness cases occurring yearly in the developed world. The majority of disease is caused by three of the thermotolerant Campylobacter species: Campylobacter jejuni, Campylobacter coli, and Campylobacter lari. An inability to differentiate these three species using the commonly employed 16S rRNA sequencing procedure has led to the development of alternative methods to identify these bacteria. Some of these methods include the utilization of the gyrB gene. A reliable method was developed for the differentiation of C. jejuni, C. coli, and C. lari employing the gyrB gene. It involves amplification and sequencing of a species-variable region of the gene with a single pair of DNA primers. The method works well for the separation and organization of the three Campylobacter strains as well as satisfying the suggested guidelines for sequence based identification for most strains investigated.

Food-Borne Illnesses

Millions of cases of food-borne illnesses occur annually in the United States. These food-borne illnesses can range from mild aggravations to life-threatening situations. Clinical microbiology laboratories play an important part in the detection of these illnesses by identifying and reporting the infections to public health officials, who use the data to detect food-borne outbreaks. This article highlights the more common causes of food-borne illness, symptoms, diagnosis, and prevention.

Food Safety Challenges within North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Partners

Abstract: Organizational elements and limitations influencing the effective operation of the food safety regulatory infrastructures in the United States, Canada, and Mexico are compared. Progress to improve the safety of food in North American countries is hampered by common problems, yet differences exist. Foodborne illness surveillance and reporting are most comprehensive in the United States, but it is uniformly more reactive than proactive in all 3 countries. Food safety policy is based on outbreak data, but that may be short‐sighted because these represent roughly 10% of foodborne illness cases. Food inspection in each country is done at 2 tiers (federal and other) by many agencies at 3 (federal/state‐provincial/municipal) levels. Interagency collaboration at times of crisis is weak and frequent heterogeneity in training, inspection targets, and inspection rigor affect regulatory credibility. Enhanced recognition that industry has the prime responsibility for food safety is warranted (and must not be confused with self‐inspection) along with justifiably aggressive regulatory agency interrogation of food safety system performance. End product testing should be used to verify safety system operation and should not be used to predict product safety. Specific microbial and nonmicrobial challenges to safe food in North America are highlighted and a rationalization of fiscal/human resource allocation to most effectively reduce the burden of foodborne illness is provided.

Simultaneous recovery of bacteria and viruses from contaminated water and spinach by a filtration method

Water and leafy vegetables eaten fresh are increasingly reported as being involved in food-borne illness cases. The pathogenic agents responsible for these infections are mainly bacteria and viruses and are present in very small quantities on the contaminated food matrices. Laboratory techniques used to isolate or detect the contaminating agent differ enormously according to the type of microorganisms, generating time and economical losses. The purpose of this study was to optimize a single method which allows at the same time the recovery and concentration of these two main types of pathogenic organisms. Water and spinach samples were artificially contaminated with the feline calicivirus (FCV), rotavirus, hepatitis A virus (HAV), Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, Campylobacter jejuni and Salmonella Typhimurium. The principle behind the recovery technique is based on the use of a positively charged membrane which adsorbs both viruses and bacteria present in the water or in the rinse from the vegetables. Using conventional microbiology, PCR and RT-PCR, this filtration technique allowed a detection level superior to 102CFU/g for S. Typhimurium, E. coli, L. monocytogenes and C. jejuni and to 101PFU/g for FCV, HAV and rotavirus. This combined method can also be applied to other bacterial and viral species for the identification of the responsible agent for food-borne illnesses.

Parasitic Contamination of Vegetables From Some Markets In South-Western Nigeria

Intestinal parasitic infections are among the most prevalent clinical and subclinical diseases of significant in tropical regions of the world. Fresh vegetables are important healthy diet, however in recent years there has been an increased number of reported cases of food-borne intestinal illness linked to fresh vegetables. A total of 120 batches of different vegetables were randomly selected from open markets of three States-Lagos, Oyo and Kwara. The samples were processed using sedimentation by centrifugation method and examined using light microscope for ova, cysts and larva of intestinal parasites. Thirty-seven (30.3%) of the vegetables were positive for intestinal parasites in which “Shoko” (Celosis) and Water-leaf (Talinium triangure) had the highest of 66.7% and 50% respectively parasitic contamination while Water-melon (Citrullus langtus) has the least intestinal parasitic contamination (8.3%). Parasites detected were ova of Ascaris lumbricoides (12.5%), ova of Hookworm (13.3%), ova of Taenia spp (3.3%) and cysts of Balantidium coli (0.83%). The intensity of parasitic contamination of vegetable were high and the same for all the selected towns; Ibadan (30%), Ilorin (50%) and Lagos (30%). The implication and public health importance of vegetable contamination with infective stage of intestinal parasites was discussed. Keywords : Vegetables, Contamination, Intestinal parasites, Markets