Foodborne Disease Outbreaks Research Articles

Surveillance of foodborne diseases in Taiwan: A retrospective study.

Foodborne pathogens cause diseases and death, increasing the economic burden. It needs to identify incident places, media food and pathgens. Our aim is to survey empirical data that provide a retrospective historical perspective on foodborne diseases and explore the causes and trends of outbreaks.We examined publicly available annual summary data on reported foodborne disease outbreaks in Taiwan from 2014 to 2018. We calculated the percentage of places, media food, bacteria and natural toxin sources in foodborne diseases and performed a chi-square test for difference evaluation. The higher risk of places and causes in 2018 compared with 2014 was empolyzed with univariate logistic regression.There were 26847 patients with foodborne diseases during the period from 2014 to 2018. The top 2 primary source locations of the foodborne diseases were schools and restaurants. The top 2 primary food media classifications of the foodborne diseases were boxed meals and compounded foods. The top 2 primary incident bacterial classifications of the observed foodborne diseases were Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus. The top 2 primary natural toxin classifications of the foodborne diseases were plants and histamines. The incidence of foodborne disease in military facilities, fruits and vegetables, and Staphylococcus aureus was increased in our study.Our study confirmed the high risk and increased incidence of foodborne diseases, food media classifications, bacterial classifications, and natural toxins in Taiwan. It is worthy of attention for the government health department-designed policy to promote disease prevention.

Recent (2011-2017) foodborne outbreak cases in the Republic of Korea compared to the United States: a review.

This study analyzes and compares foodborne disease outbreaks reported in the Republic of Korea (KR) and the United States (US) during 2011-2017. The foodborne outbreaks data in the KR and the US were collected from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and from the Surveillance for Foodborne Disease Outbreaks United States, respectively. The average number of outbreaks and illness population were higher in the US than in the KR, but the KR's illness ratio considering population size was 2.4 times higher than that of the US. When the sites of outbreaks compared, the number of illness was the highest at schools in the KR whereas outbreaks at restaurants were more frequent in the US. In the KR, bacterial infections were the primary cause of outbreaks while bacterial and viral infections accounted for the largest share of outbreaks in the US. Specifically, pathogenic E. coli presented a significant risk in the KR whereas Salmonella was the most prevalent in the US. These results indicate that the main microbiological targets for detection and control in the KR should differ from the US, which should be considered for developing food safety related policies.

Reconstructing dynamics of foodborne disease outbreaks in the US cattle market from monitoring data.

Conventional empirical studies of foodborne-disease outbreaks (FDOs) in agricultural markets are linear-stochastic formulations hardwiring a world in which markets self-correct in response to external random shocks including FDOs. These formulations were unequipped to establish whether FDOs cause market reaction, or whether markets endogenously propagate outbreaks. We applied nonlinear time series analysis (NLTS) to reconstruct annual dynamics of FDOs in US cattle markets from CDC outbreak data, live cattle futures market prices, and USDA cattle inventories from 1967–2018, and used reconstructed dynamics to detect causality. Reconstructed deterministic nonlinear market dynamics are endogenously unstable—not self-correcting, and cattle inventories drive futures prices and FDOs attributed to beef in temporal patterns linked to a multi-decadal cattle cycle undetected in daily/weekly price movements investigated previously. Benchmarking real-world dynamics with NLTS offers more informative and credible empirical modeling at the convergence of natural and economic sciences.

Characteristics of Settings and Etiologic Agents of Foodborne Disease Outbreaks - China, 2020.

IntroductionFoodborne diseases are a growing public health problem and have caused a large burden of disease in China. This study analyzed epidemiological characteristics of foodborne diseases in China in 2020 to provide a scientific basis for prevention and control measures.MethodsData were collected from 30 of 31 provincial-level administrative divisions (PLADs) in the mainland of China, excluding Xizang (Tibet) Autonomous Region, via the National Foodborne Disease Outbreaks Surveillance System. The number and proportion of outbreaks, illnesses, hospitalizations, deaths by setting, pathogen-food category pairs and etiology were calculated.ResultsIn 2020, 7,073 foodborne disease outbreaks were reported, resulting in 37,454 illnesses and 143 deaths. Among the identified pathogens, microbial pathogens were the most common confirmed etiology, accounting for 41.7% of illnesses. Poisonous mushrooms caused the largest proportion of outbreaks (58.0%) and deaths (57.6%). For venues where foodborne disease outbreaks occur, household had the highest number of outbreaks (4,140) and deaths (128), and catering service locations caused the largest proportion of illnesses (59.9%). Outbreaks occurring between June and September accounted for 62.8% of total outbreaks.ConclusionsFoodborne disease outbreaks mainly occurred in households. Microbial pathogens remained the top cause of outbreak-associated illnesses. Poisonous mushrooms were ranked the top cause of deaths in private homes in China. The supervision and management of food safety and health education should be strengthened to reduce the burden of foodborne diseases. Publicity should be increased to reduce the incidence of mushroom poisonings in families, and supervision and management of food should be strengthened to reduce microbial contamination.

Mushroom Poisoning Outbreaks - China, 2010-2020.

Introduction: Mushroom poisoning was the leading cause of foodborne disease outbreaks and outbreak-associated deaths in China. Mushroom poisoning outbreak surveillance can provide insight into the epidemiological characteristics of mushroom poisonings and guide policymaking and health education to reduce illnesses and deaths. Methods: Foodborne Disease Outbreak Surveillance System was upgraded in 2011 to collect foodborne disease outbreaks in China. Mushroom poisoning outbreaks during 2010–2020 were selected to analyze geographical distribution, seasonal distribution, and setting of food preparation. Results: A total of 10,036 outbreaks, which resulted in 38,676 illnesses and 788 deaths, were reported in this period. Mushroom poisonings occurred all over the country, but with highest incidence in the southwest and central China. Overall, 84.6% outbreaks were associated with food prepared in households, followed by 8.7% in street stalls, and 2.5% in canteens. Mushroom poisoning outbreaks clearly exhibited seasonality, and the peak season was summer through autumn. Outbreaks occurring between May and October accounted for 94.1% of total outbreaks, 92.4% illnesses, and 97.2% deaths. Conclusions: Mushroom poisoning is a food safety issue of higher concern in China. Targeted health education is essential to reduce mushroom poisoning, especially in southwest China. Citizens are advised to not collect or eat wild mushrooms.

Farm Food Safety Training for Amish Produce Growers Covered under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA)

Commercial production of fruits and vegetables on Amish farms provides significant amounts of fresh produce that are regionally distributed through wholesale markets. In response to several multi-state foodborne disease outbreaks linked to contamination of fresh produce, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) mandated farm food safety standards that most commercial produce growers must implement. Although there have been no foodborne disease outbreaks attributed to fresh produce grown on Amish farms, this regulation poses regulatory challenges for those who sell produce at wholesale produce auctions, cooperatives, and distribution warehouses. This article describes recent farm food safety standards issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that require most harvesters and handlers of commercially grown fresh produce to attend workshops on the elements of the regulation and best practices to prevent on-farm contamination. We describe the current FDA-approved computer-based Produce Safety Alliance (PSA) national farm food safety curriculum and how Penn State Extension, working with PSA and a regional Amish food safety advisory group, created an alternative printed version of the curriculum that would be acceptable to all Amish growers regardless of restrictions on the use of learning technologies to present materials. We also present data that suggests the two curriculum delivery methods are equivalent in terms of knowledge gained by comparing pre- and post-workshop survey results. [Abstract by authors.]

Listeria monocytogenes isolates from Western Cape, South Africa exhibit resistance to multiple antibiotics and contradicts certain global resistance patterns.

Food-borne disease outbreaks are common and offer valuable insights into the causes, impacts, and mechanisms underlying food pathogens. This also serves as a good foundation to validate the performance of current best practice control methods, for example antibiotics, that are used in the fight against food pathogens. Listeriosis outbreaks, caused by Listeria monocytogenes, is no exception. In 2018, South Africa experienced the largest global listeriosis outbreak recorded to date. However, despite the scale of this outbreak, information on the bacterium and its resistance towards antibiotics is still severely lacking. Furthermore, until now it remained to be determined whether L. monocytogenes antibiotic resistance patterns in South Africa mirror resistance patterns elsewhere in the world. The aim of this study was therefore to evaluate the efficacy of antibiotics that are currently used against L. monocytogenes. Using the European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (EUCAST) disc diffusion method, L. monocytogenes isolates (n = 177) from diverse origins in the Western Cape, South Africa (clinical, food, and environment) were tested for susceptibility against five different antibiotics, namely ampicillin, erythromycin, chloramphenicol, gentamicin, and tetracycline. Isolates were collected over a period of two years (2017–2019). All isolates were susceptible to ampicillin, the currently recommended antibiotic, while a large number of isolates were resistant to chloramphenicol, erythromycin, and tetracycline. Also, patterns of resistance observed here are different to patterns observed elsewhere. The findings of this study demonstrate that it is imperative to continuously monitor the efficacy of currently recommended antibiotics, since resistance patterns can quickly develop when such antibiotics are overutilized, and secondly, that it is crucial to assess local antibiotic resistance patterns in conjunction with global patterns, since the latter is not necessarily generalizable to local scales.

Food recalls associated with foodborne disease outbreaks, United States, 2006-2016.

About 800 foodborne disease outbreaks are reported in the United States annually. Few are associated with food recalls. We compared 226 outbreaks associated with food recalls with those not associated with recalls during 2006-2016. Recall-associated outbreaks had, on average, more illnesses per outbreak and higher proportions of hospitalisations and deaths than non-recall-associated outbreaks. The top confirmed aetiology for recall-associated outbreaks was Salmonella. Pasteurised and unpasteurised dairy products, beef and molluscs were the most frequently implicated foods. The most common pathogen-food pairs for outbreaks with recalls were Escherichia coli-beef and norovirus-molluscs; the top pairs for non-recall-associated outbreaks were scombrotoxin-fish and ciguatoxin-fish. For outbreaks with recalls, 48% of the recalls occurred after the outbreak, 27% during the outbreak, 3% before the outbreak, and 22% were inconclusive or had unknown recall timing. Fifty per cent of recall-associated outbreaks were multistate, compared with 2% of non-recall-associated outbreaks. The differences between recall-associated outbreaks and non-recall-associated outbreaks help define the types of outbreaks and food vehicles that are likely to have a recall. Improved outbreak vehicle identification and traceability of rarely recalled foods could lead to more recalls of these products, resulting in fewer illnesses and deaths.

Assessment of a Biopolymer-Based Film Indicator for Visually Monitoring Beef and Fish Spoilage

Food safety is a worldwide public concern that has recently gained increased attention due to the emerging outbreaks of foodborne diseases. Therefore, there is a pressing need to make simple, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly methods for detecting food spoilage and to mitigate the impact of possible outbreaks. The aim of this study is to develop a biodegradable indicator film which was made by combining cellulose-nanofiber/chitosan dyed with methyl red synthesis and followed by a single layer coating of PLA on its surface, named PLA/CCM film. The microstructural properties of PLA/CCM films were studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and results showed that PLA effectively adhered to the surface of CCM film. The microbial response to PLA/CCM film was determined via a bacterial plating method. It was found that the contact of film with the microbes caused a substantial color change in the film. The coating of PLA upon the CCM film decreased the percentage of the water vapor transmission rate (WVTR). The color of the film vividly altered from slightly red to yellow in response to a pH change in the range of 4–8. The PLA/CCM film was applied to monitor the spoilage of beef and fish at an ambient condition (23 °C) and revealed the onset of food spoilage by displaying the color change from red to yellow after 1 day.

Notifications of outbreaks of foodborne diseases in the State of São Paulo, from 2011 to 2018

Autorías: Ludimila dos Santos Antônio, Bruna Maria Salotti de Souza, Luis Antonio Mathias. Localización: Revista Brasileira de Higiene e Sanidade Animal: RBHSA. Nº. 2, 2021. Artículo de Revista en Dialnet.

A Review on Mycotoxin in Dried Herbs

Herbs can be used in different forms such as fresh and dried. A mycotoxin is the greatest concern in the case of dried herbs, due to their low water activity, microbial contamination may persist in these products, and thus, herbs can be sources of outbreaks of foodborne diseases. The toxigenic fungal compounds called mycotoxin are poisonous substances produced by different species of fungus. Three major genera of fungus are identified to produce mycotoxins: they include Aspergillus, Fusarium, and Penicillium. Although other genera also produce these toxigenic compounds. The presence of mycotoxins in dried herbs poses health risks ranging from mild to severe damage to the liver and kidney. Fungal toxicity could be prevented by controlling the environmental condition that influences fungal growth, which is by controlling the physical conditions of the dried herbs and by the use of mold inhibitors and anti-cracking additives. The control of the toxigenic compounds could also be by removing the suspected dried herbs with a fungal toxin or by the addition of the toxin binder to the ratio of the dried herbs.

Comparative study of UV-C and Titanium dioxide/UV-C Photo catalytic washing disinfection in fresh cut cabbage

Growing incidents of foodborne disease outbreaks linked to fruits and vegetables have drawn concern on efficient cleaning of leafy vegetables. A photocatalytic reaction under UV radiation with titanium dioxide (TiO2) gives a good disinfection efficiency. Our aims were to set up a photocatalytic system for fresh cabbage. In addition, we evaluated the cleaning disinfection efficacy of Titanium-dioxide (TiO2) illuminated with UV-C for 20 mins on fresh-cut white cabbage against surface microbes. The photocatalytic experiments were compared with tap water washing for 2 mins which is a common practice for home. The effects UV-C lights (20 mins) and TiO2 photocatalyst (5 min) alone were also studied. The overall quality parameters were compared before and after treatments. Photocatalyst TiO2 illuminated under UV-C showed significant reduction in total aerobic bacteria (2.67 log cfu/g) and yeast mold count (2.93 log cfu/g) followed by UV-C (TAC-2.25 log cfu/g; TYC-2.23 log cfu/g). The effects of TiO2 alone and tap water exhibited same effect as control. The pH of fresh cut cabbage remained same when treated with UV-C with or without photocatalysts. However, Vitamin-C and phenolic content of fresh cut cabbage were reduced when treated with UV-C without photocatalysts by 18.42 mg/100g. TiO2 with UV-C retained the health components like ascorbic acid (28.63±0.77 mg/100g) and TPC(128.54±0.63 mg GAE/100g) showed better disinfection efficacy against natural surface pathogens on cabbage than UV-C alone, can be established as better washing alternative at home and in industry.

714. Increase in Multidrug-resistant Salmonella Serotype I 4,[5],12:i:- Infections Linked to Pork—United States, 2009–2018

Background Salmonella enterica I 4,[5],12:i:- is the 5th most common serotype causing clinical Salmonella infections in the United States. A strain with resistance to ampicillin, streptomycin, sulfamethoxazole, and tetracycline (ASSuT) has been linked to swine production in Europe and the United States. We reviewed U.S. surveillance data to describe clinical infections with antibiotic-resistant I 4,[5],12:i:-.MethodsWe reviewed data from CDC’s National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS) from 2009–2018 to describe trends. We analyzed whole-genome sequence data in PulseNet, the molecular surveillance network for foodborne illness in the United States, from 2015–2018 to distinguish between strains of I 4,[5],12:i:- using core-genome multilocus sequence typing, and identified antibiotic resistance determinants (ARDs). We reviewed data from the Foodborne Disease Outbreak Surveillance System to identify foods associated with outbreaks during 2009–2018.ResultsFrom 2009–2013 to 2014–2018, I 4,[5],12:i:- increased as a proportion of nontyphoidal Salmonella isolates in NARMS from 4.3% to 5.0% (P=0.006), while I 4,[5],12:i:- resistant to ASSuT increased from 1.1% to 2.6% (P< 0.001). Of the 3,056 sequenced I 4,[5],12:i:- isolates in PulseNet, 2,105 (69%) were in a clade within 0–108 alleles of each other (ASSuT clade). Within this clade, 77% of isolates had ARDs conferring resistance to ASSuT, compared with 3% outside the clade. Isolates in the clade were also more likely than those outside the clade to have ARDs conferring decreased susceptibility to ciprofloxacin (13.1% vs. 5.2%, P< 0.001) and resistance to ceftriaxone (5.4% vs. 2.3%, P< 0.001). Among I 4,[5],12:i:- outbreaks with a single food source, those related to the ASSuT clade were more often linked to pork (10/15 [67%] vs. 1/5 [20%], P=0.07).ConclusionThe increase in I 4,[5],12:i:- infections during 2009–2018 was likely driven by a clade of which most members had resistance to ASSuT, and many had decreased susceptibility to antibiotics used for empiric treatment. The association of this strain with outbreaks linked to pork suggests that measures to decrease carriage of Salmonella and selection for this strain in swine could prevent clinical infections with multidrug resistant Salmonella I 4,[5],12:i-.Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures

BIOCHEMICAL STUDIES IN FOOD SPOILAGE VIA MOLECULAR DETECTION OF SOME ENTEROBACTERIACEAE FOOD BORNE BACTERIA USING MALDI-TOF

Foodborne diseases are caused by consumption of food spoiled by pathogens or their toxins. Sampling beef meat and chicken samples from local markets which is additionally affecting foodborne disease outbreaks, making food safety a universal issue. Biochemical classical microbiological and targeted molecular profiling of Enterobactericea using real time PCR, MALDI TOF as well as sequencing confirmation techniques were performed and compromised for speciation of possible foodborne pathogens in meat and tissue samples in randomly collected 300 samples is traced with their health riskimpact on human. Sum of 68 samples out of 300 were speciated; 28 meat (18 Escherichia coli O157:H7, 10 Salmonella), 18 (10 Escherichia coli O157:H7, 8 Salmonella) and 22 (10 E-coil, 12 Salmonella). Six representative positive samples of both Salmonella and Escherichia coli O157:H7 were selected for further confirmation by sequencing as gold standard technique.

Isolation and Identification of Microorganisms from Street Vended Ready-to-Eat Foods in Gombe Metropolis, Nigeria

The consumption of ready-to-eat foods vended in streets have raised public health concern in terms of food safety implying their microbiological quality status could be questionable; consequently, this study therefore aimed at investigating consortium of microbes present in ready-to-eat foods vended in five streets of Gombe metropolis. Traditional culture method was adopted for the isolation of microorganisms via pour plating method, then identification by colonial morphology, Gram staining and microscopy, and further biochemical analysis for confirmation of microbes. Findings revealed the presence of sixteen diverse microorganisms of bacteria and fungi lineage with varied percentage of occurrences. Microorganisms isolated ranges from spoilage group (P. aeruginosa (11.5%), Rhizopus spp (4%)), Coliform (E. coli (34.5%), K. pneumoniae (16.1%)), pathogenic (S. typhi (15%), Shigella spp (2.30%), S. aureus (12.6%), P. aeruginosa (11.5%), Aspergillus niger (26%), Aspergillus flavus (18%), Fusarium oxysporum (4%)) and opportunistic pathogens (Aspergillus fumigates (14%), Penicillium spp. (4%)) – where the pathogenic microbes are known to cause food-borne diseases and fungal poisoning. Accordingly, the presence of these pathogenic microbes suggests significant public health hazards. Therefore, stringent enforcement of standard and food safety measures is advised to curtail future outbreak of food-borne diseases.&#x0D;

High prevalence of multidrug resistant Escherichia coli isolated from fresh vegetables sold by selected formal and informal traders in the most densely populated Province of South Africa

Contaminated fresh produce has increasingly been implicated in foodborne disease outbreaks. As microbiological safety surveillance in South Africa is limited, a total of 545 vegetable samples (spinach, tomato, lettuce, cucumber, and green beans) were purchased from retailers, street traders, trolley vendors and farmers' markets. Escherichia coli, coliforms and Enterobacteriaceae were enumerated and the prevalence of Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp. and Listeria monocytogenes determined. E. coli isolates were characterized phenotypically (antibiotic resistance) and genotypically (diarrheagenic virulence genes). Coliforms, E. coli and Enterobacteriaceae counts were mostly not significantly different between formal and informal markets, with exceptions noted on occasion. When compared to international standards, 90% to 98% tomatoes, 70% to 94% spinach, 82% cucumbers, 93% lettuce, and 80% green bean samples, had satisfactory (≤ 100 CFU/g) E. coli counts. Of the 545 vegetable samples analyzed, 14.86% (n = 81) harbored E. coli, predominantly from leafy green vegetables. Virulence genes (lt, st, bfpA, eagg, eaeA, stx1, stx2, and ipaH) were not detected in the E. coli isolates (n = 67) characterized, however 40.30% were multidrug-resistant. Resistance to aminoglycosides (neomycin, 73.13%; gentamycin, < 10%), penicillins (ampicillin, 38.81%; amoxicillin, 41.79%; augmentin, < 10%), sulfonamides (cotrimoxazole, 22.39%), tetracycline (19.4%), chloramphenicol (11.94%), cephalosporins (cefepime, 34.33%), and carbapenemases (imipenem, < 10%) were observed. This study highlights the need for continued surveillance of multidrug resistant foodborne pathogens in fresh produce retailed formally and informally for potential consumer health risks. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: The results indicate that the microbiological quality of different vegetables were similar per product type, regardless of being purchased from formal retailers or informal street traders, trolley vendors or farmers' markets. Although no pathogenic bacteria (diarrheagenic E. coli, Salmonella spp. or L. monocytogenes) were isolated, high levels of multidrug-resistance was observed in the generic E. coli isolates. These findings highlight the importance of microbiological quality surveillance of fresh produce in formal and informal markets, as these products can be a reservoir of multidrug resistant bacteria harboring antibiotic resistance and virulence genes, potentially impacting human health.

Attributing Human Foodborne Diseases to Food Sources and Water in Japan Using Analysis of Outbreak Surveillance Data

In Japan, strategies for ensuring food safety have been developed without reliable scientific evidence on the relationship between foodborne diseases and food sources. This study aimed to provide information on the proportions of foodborne diseases caused by seven major causative pathogens (Campylobacter spp., Salmonella, enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli [EHEC], Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Clostridium perfringens, Staphylococcus aureus, and norovirus) attributed to foods and to explore factors affecting changes in these source attribution proportions over time using analysis of outbreak surveillance data. For the calculation of the number of outbreaks attributed to each source, simple-food outbreaks were assigned to the single-food category in question, and complex-food outbreaks were classified under each category proportional to the estimated probability. During 2007 to 2018, 8,730 outbreaks of foodborne diseases caused by seven pathogens were reported, of which 6,690 (76.6%) were of unknown source. We estimated the following source attribution proportions of foodborne diseases: chicken products (80.3%, 95% uncertainty interval [UI] 80.1 to 80.4) for Campylobacter spp.; beef products (50.1%, UI 47.0 to 51.5) and vegetables (42.3%, UI 40.9 to 45.5) for EHEC; eggs (34.6%, UI 27.8 to 41.4) and vegetables (34.4%, UI 27.8 to 40.8) for Salmonella; finfish (50.3%, UI 33.3 to 66.7) and shellfish (49.7%, UI 33.3 to 66.7) for V. parahaemolyticus; grains and beans (57.8%, UI 49.7 to 64.9) for S. aureus; vegetables (63.6%, UI 48.5 to 74.6), chicken products (12.7%, UI 4.6 to 21.5), and beef products (11.1%, UI 8.5 to 13.1) for C. perfringens; and shellfish (75.5%, UI 74.7 to 76.2) for norovirus. In this study, we provide the best available evidence-based information to evaluate the link between foodborne diseases and foods. Our results on source attribution for Campylobacter spp. and EHEC suggest that the strict health regulations for raw beef were reflected in the proportions of these diseases attributed to this food.

Characterization of risk management practices among strawberry growers in the southeastern United States and the factors associated with implementation

Strawberries, the fifth most preferred fresh fruit in the United Sates, are one of several fresh produce commodities in the U.S. linked to outbreaks of foodborne disease. However, the industry is not well characterized. Additionally, in the southeastern U.S. (SEUS), very small strawberry-growing operations are particularly common, presenting unique challenges to implementation of risk management practices (RMP). A 45-item survey was developed to collect data regarding each strawberry grower's location, farm characteristics, and RMP. The majority of SEUS growers in this study harvested strawberries on less than 5 acres with 2.00–4.99 acres being most common (41%) and reported a revenue based on strawberry production of US$25,001–250,000 (63%). Implementation of a pre-harvest policy and animal intrusion monitoring were both highly prevalent whereas testing of pre-harvest agricultural water was least common. Growers also reported using RMP but were less likely to document them. For example, 76.6% of growers reported their employees had attended food safety training; meanwhile, only 38.9% had documented training. The frequency of use and documentation of RMP were also found to be impacted by certain farm characteristics, most notably acreage, revenue, presence of third-party audit, and presence of a written food safety plan. Based on these results, strawberry growers, particularly in the SEUS, may benefit from additional education tailored to align with farm scale that includes instruction on documentation.

Rapid detection of Salmonella in milk with a nuclear magnetic resonance biosensor based on a streptavidin–biotin system and a polyamidoamine-dendrimer-targeted gadolinium probe

Rapid and sensitive detection technology is the key to preventing food-borne disease outbreaks. In this study, a low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) biosensor based on polyamidoamine dendrimers was prepared for the rapid detection of Salmonella in milk. The polyamidoamine dendrimer was biotinylated by amide reaction and chelated to diethylene triamine pentacetate acid and gadolinium to form magnetic complexes. The antibody and magnetic complexes were combined through a streptavidin-biotin system using streptavidin as an intermediate bridge to obtain the immunoprobe. Salmonella was captured by the immunoprobe via antigen-antibody interaction and then separated from the mixture by membrane filtration. Finally, the longitudinal relaxation signal of the filtrate was obtained by NMR. The biosensor had excellent anti-interference capability and could detect Salmonella within 1.5 h at a sensitivity of 103 cfu mL-1. This method based on NMR can realize detection in complex samples and has the potential to be a quick and nondestructive method for detecting target bacteria.

The Relationship between Environmental Characteristics and Risk Management Practices on Produce Farms: A Systematic Literature Review

Produce-associated foodborne disease outbreaks have increased worldwide highlighting the importance of proper implementation of risk management practices (RMP). We determined the relationship between environmental characteristics (i.e., physical resources) of produce farms and implementation of RMP. Following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses principles, we identified 36 studies to include in our analysis. Most study data were collected through surveys administered to growers in developed countries. Quality assessment results showed that studies on this topic should be more rigorously conducted (e.g., powering sample sizes and training data collectors) to yield better quality evidence. Agricultural waters were the most common environmental characteristic assessed, with many farms using unsafe water sources. Hygiene aids (e.g., accessible handwashing facilities), were lacking across many farms. Animal intrusion RMP were the least commonly assessed environmental characteristic. Only one study tested the relationship between on-farm environmental characteristics and RMP implementation reporting a positive relationship between accessible handwashing and worker hygiene practices. Grower knowledge and perception of RMP combined with cost and ease in carrying out RMP might influence the availability of physical resources for proper RMP implementation. These results can inform practical interventions aimed to increase adoption of RMP on produce farms.