April 2006

April 26, 2006
Tenerife News
Listeria Monocytogenes is one of the deadliest food-borne bacteria, with a fatality rate of 20%. Listeria enters the body when a person eats contaminated food and it binds, or adheres, to intestinal cells. If it is a viable, it will penetrate the cell wall, causing infection. Once the bacteria have…

April 26, 2006
Kansas City infoZine
Moonachie, NJ – infoZine – Moveable Feast, Inc. of Moonachie, New Jersey is recalling Smoked Scottish and Smoked Norwegian Salmon, because it has the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Although healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, Listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.
Product was distributed through retail stores, home delivery grocers, and direct delivery.
Whole or sliced sides of Norwegian and Scottish salmon in sealed plastic packages with a pack date 04/14/2006 and labeled CHEF ALAIN’S. 4 oz Scottish and Norwegian smoked salmon with sell by: 05/04/2006. 4 oz. gravalox smoked salmon with sell by: 05/04/2006 and labeled CHEF ALAIN’S.Continue Reading Moveable Feast recalls products because of possible health risk: Product was distributed through retail stores, home delivery grocers, and direct delivery

April 19, 2006
The Republican (MA)
Carrie Taylor
Q:I recently found out that I’m pregnant and was told I shouldn’t eat lunch meat anymore. Is this true? A:When it comes to the issue of lunch meat and pregnancy, the topic is really about food-borne infection or illness. Food-borne illness occurs on a daily basis to many people. (The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that 76 million cases of food-borne illness are reported each year.)
Unfortunately, certain populations are at greater risk of having life-threatening reactions to food-borne illness. Children, the elderly, immune compromised individuals and pregnant women should take special precautions to safeguard against possible infection.Continue Reading Proper precautions ensure food safety

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a report on April 14 titled, Preliminary FoodNet Data on the Incidence of Infection with Pathogens Transmitted Commonly Through Food – 10 States, United States, 2005. FoodNet collects data from 10 U.S. states regarding diseases caused by enteric pathogens transmitted commonly through food. This report describes…

Thu Apr 13, 2006
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States fell short of its 2005 goal to reduce cases of the foodborne bacteria Listeria by 50 percent, according to a government report released on Thursday.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the rate of Listeria food poisoning rose in 2005 to 3 cases per million people, an increase from 2.7 cases per million a year earlier.
Listeria is a potentially fatal disease for at-risk populations including the very young and elderly. It can cause high fever, severe headache and nausea. U.S. health officials say it triggers about 2,500 illnesses each year and 500 deaths. As recently as 1998 the rate was near 5.0 cases per million.Continue Reading US fails to meet goal on Listeria as rate rises

UGA scientists have found bacteria that kill listeria in processing plant floor drains, where the pathogen is known to settle and multiply.
“There are just a few thousand cases of listeria in humans each year,” said Michael Doyle, a microbiologist and director of the UGA Center for Food Safety in Griffin. “But, of those, about 500 die. That’s a high mortality rate, and that’s why listeria infections are a major concern.”
Pregnant women, cancer patients and transplant patients are among the most frequent known cases.
“Listeria strikes these immunocompromised populations hardest,” Doyle said.Continue Reading Bacteria discovered that kill food pathogen

April 2006
Journal of Food Protection, Volume 69, Number 4, April 2006, pp. 938-942(5)
Angelidis, Apostolos S and Koutsoumanis, Konstantinos
Abstract:
The aim of this work was to estimate the prevalence and concentration of Listeria monocytogenes in packaged precut (slices or cubes) ready-to-eat (RTE) meat products available in the Hellenic retail market. Samples of these…

April 2006
Journal of Food Protection, Volume 69, Number 4, April 2006, pp. 842-846(5)
Takeuchi, Kazue et al
Abstract:
Listeriosis results from exposure to the foodborne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes. Although many different strains of L. monocytogenes are isolated from food, no definitive tests currently predict which isolates are most virulent. The objectives of this study…

April 2006
Journal of Food Protection, Volume 69, Number 4, April 2006, pp. 835-841(7)
Nakamura, Hiromi et al
Abstract:
In this study, Listeria monocytogenes contamination in a cold-smoked fish processing plant in Osaka, Japan, was examined from 2002 to 2004. A total of 430 samples were collected and divided into five categories: raw fish, materials…