Surveillance & Analysis on Listeria News & Outbreaks
Scientists in Wyndmoor, Pa., are improving methods to detect foodborne pathogens
"Listeriosis, the illness caused by L. monocytogenes infection, affects around 2,500 people in the United States every year, and kills about 500. Newborns, seniors, pregnant women and individuals with compromised or weakened immune systems are particularly susceptible.
Most methods for detecting harmful foodborne bacteria
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Here is an interesting article about the UK finding ways to reduce foodborne diseases.
UK foodborne disease cases fall by 19 per cent: “Regulation, training and public information campaigns are having a dramatic effect on the reduction of foodborne diseases in the UK, with the number of cases of people getting sick falling by…
The word "virus" carries a negative connotation because its associated the cold and flu-like symptoms that afflict us throughout our lives.
But what if you were told that consuming a combination of viruses could potentially save your life?
In a landmark decision in August, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the use of a…
October 6, 2006 – Portillo’s Food Service is recalling about 3,700 pounds of sliced roast beef because of possible listeria contamination, the Illinois Department of Agriculture said Friday.
Portillo’s Food Service Inc. produced the cooked, sliced beef and distributed it to Portillo’s restaurant outlets in the Chicago area, said the department’s Bureau of Meat and…
MUKILTEO, Wash. – A Mukilteo company is recalling about 1,360 turkey sandwiches, because they might be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.
The sandwiches made by Jumbo Foods Incorporated are called Tuscan Sun turkey sandwiches.
The Listeria micro-organism can cause serious infections in young children, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems. It can also cause …
Thursday October 5, 9:13 am ET
Dr. Vermeiren researched and demonstrated the efficacy of the application of Listex(TM)P100 bacteriophages on luncheon meats (ham and poultry) that were artificially contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, a bacterium which regularly causes serious food poisoning. The concern for this pathogen results from its ability to cause listeriosis in humans, a condition known for its high mortality rate (30%). The risk group for incurring listeriosis includes people with a weak immune system as well as babies and pregnant women. Listeria incidentally occurs in unprocessed foods and is particularly renowned for its capacity to grow and reproduce even at low temperatures, at high salt- and low pH-conditions and for its tendency to occupy niches in the infrastructure of food processing companies. Contamination of luncheon meats is particularly a concern during the production process, at the slicing and packaging stage of industrial production.
05 October 2006
A method to probe the individual steps in bacterial cell wall synthesis will advance the search for more effective medicines.
Bacterial cell wall biosynthesis is the target for several clinically used antibiotics, but currently there are only limited methods to study the process in vitro. Timothy Bugg and colleagues at the University of Warwick, UK, have used a series of fluorescent peptides to study the way bacterial cell walls are made. These systems are ‘really hard to study,’ said Bugg, ‘since they involve complex, lipid-linked structures.’
Gram-positive bacteria, such as Listeria, are enclosed by a thick cell wall, a protective mesh of sugars and amino acids that surrounds their lipid cell membrane. The wall is made by a cycle of enzyme-catalysed steps mediated by this membrane. Bugg’s group concentrated on the early steps in the biosynthesis, occurring inside the cell.
If the recent outbreak of the E. coli infection traced to fresh spinach has left you worried about what’s on your plate, breathe a little easier: Despite the recent high-profile problem, food-borne illness has been declining steadily in the United States.
Today, the odds of getting sick from tainted food "are overall about a third less than they were in 1998," says Richard Raymond, undersecretary for food safety at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Continue Reading The Lean Plate Club – Food-borne illnesses are actually declining
By MARILYNN MARCHIONE
AP MEDICAL WRITER
SAN FRANCISCO — Despite the recent E. coli spinach outbreak, food may be safer now than at any other time in the last decade, with illness occurring at record-low rates, new federal statistics show.
Consumers get part of the credit, for handling food more safely at home, but experts say the biggest improvement came from better industry controls and inspections.
"The food is actually cleaner to begin with," said Dr. Robert Tauxe, top food scientist at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Certain germs have dramatically declined, and "that to me is really solid progress."
However, the trend could reverse in coming years if fruit and vegetable growers do not address problems like those that led to the spinach scare, Tauxe and others said.Continue Reading Food illnesses decline, CDC reports
Since the spinach scare, food safety is foremost on the minds of grocery shoppers nationwide. Dates on labels? Here is what you need to know.
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