Listeria Watch

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Thursday October 5, 9:13 am ET

THE HAGUE, Netherlands, October 5 /PRNewswire/ — A treatment with natural bacteriophages – Greek for bacteria-eaters – can offer a biological solution for the protection of certain foods against listeria. This is confirmed in the doctorate research of Lieve Vermeiren of Gent University’s Department of Food Safety and Food Quality in Belgium.

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.

Continue Reading Gent University Study Confirms: Natural Listeria Bacteriophages Enhance Safety of Ready-to-Eat Meat Products

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.

Continue Reading Scaling the cell wall

Still, tainted food and drink affect an estimated 76 million Americans annually, so take care
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
SALLY SQUIRES

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

From www.about-listeria.com

Listeria monocytogenes (Listeria) is a pathogenic (disease-causing) bacterium that is food borne and causes an illness called listeriosis. It is frequently overlooked as a possible cause of illness due to its unique growth capabilities. First, it is somewhat difficult for laboratories to grow, and when they do so, Listeria can be confused with common harmless…

Listeria Monocytogenes L. monocytogenes — a rod-shaped bacterium that moves by means of flagella — is a carrier of listeriosis, a general name given to the group of disorders caused by the organism, such as meningitis and encephalitis. This image was taken during research performed in the lab of professor Daniel Portnoy, Department of Molecular…

ATLANTA — Commissioner of Agriculture Tommy Irvin announced today that Georgia Department of Agriculture food scientists have found Listeria monocytogenes in a store sample of imitation crab dip in south Georgia.
The seven-ounce sample of Salads of the Sea Supreme Krab Dip (imitation crab) was sold at Winn-Dixie supermarkets south of a line from Columbus to Augusta. Listeria monocytogenes, is a species of bacteria that can potentially cause illness. The contamination was found only in a 7-ounce package marked SELL BY August 23, 2006.
The dip is distributed by Future Food, LTD, Dallas, Texas.
ìWinn-Dixie is notifying its stores that bought the crab dip to pull it from their shelves. Department of Agriculture inspectors will be checking stores to make sure it is removed. Anyone who purchased this product may return it to the store for a refund,” said Commissioner Irvin.Continue Reading GA Agriculture Dept. Finds Contaminated Crab Dip

Albertsons and Chef Solutions Inc. have issued a recall for approximately 8,300 pounds of essensia brand baked potato salad.
A single test carried out by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Food Safety detected Listeria monocytogenes, bacteria that can cause flu-like symptoms among others.
The only product included in the voluntary…

Near-fatal bout leaves father blind, unable to work
by By Susan Reinhardt, SREINHARDT@CITIZEN-TIMES.COM
August 11, 2006
BLACK MOUNTAIN – They’d been married only a month.
And here stood the bride, Dana Goode, peering over her dying husband and
facing the doctor’s words: that should her husband make it, he’d likely
remain in a vegetative state for the rest of his life.
On March 24, Kevin Goode married the woman of his dreams. On April 29, he
lay in the neuro-trauma unit at Mission Hospitals, delirious with a high
fever, an unknown illness, and doctors frantically ordering tests and
panels, working against time and a failing body to get a diagnosis and begin
treatment.Continue Reading Man battles listeria infection