A Canberra food business has been linked to an outbreak of Salmonella, which has so far resulted in five people being hospitalised. The ACT Government’s Health Directorate is currently investigating the outbreak. So far 13 people have been diagnosed with Salmonella, all of whom reported purchasing ready-to-eat food from the implicated business on 25 of 26 November 2011. ACT Chief Health Officer, Dr Paul Kelly said today, “Salmonella has been identified in mayonnaise containing raw egg, with further... ...Read more »

A new primary production and processing standard for seed sprouts has been approved by the Food Standards Australia New Zealand Board. FSANZ said the objective of the standard is to reduce the incidence of food-borne illness associated with seed sprouts by introducing food regulatory measures for sprouts processors. Measures in the standard include requirements for producers to identify potential hazards and implement control measures to address those hazards. Sprout producers must also have evidence... ...Read more »

New food safety legislation which requires restaurants, cafes, pubs and clubs to have a Food Safety Supervisor has been rolled out across the State of New South Wales. Food Safety Supervisors are required to be trained to prevent hazards associated with handling and preparing food. Any retail food business in New South Wales that does not appoint a Food Safety Supervisor will be subject to fines. Commenting on the new law, Federal Minister for Primary Industries Katrina Hodgkinson said, “Incorrect... ...Read more »

For the first time in its 100 year history, the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP) is bringing its international forum to Australia. The Securing Global Food Safety conferencence is to be held on 26 – 28 September 2011 in Melbourne. The event also incorporates the 14th Australian Food Microbiology Conference, and is presented by the IAFP, the Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology Inc (AIFST) and the International Commission on Microbiological Specifications for Food... ...Read more »

New standards for reducing the prevalence of salmonella and campylobacter in young chickens and turkeys are being implemented in the United States. The US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is acting on base-line studies that indicated American consumers are still being exposed to pathogens in poultry. After two years of enforcement, the FSIS estimates that the new standards will prevent approximately 5,000 cases of campylobacter-caused illnesses and... ...Read more »

The E. coli outbreaks in Germany and France could have come from seeds sourced in Egypt, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has said.The ECDC said that fenugreek seeds imported from Egypt in 2009 and/or 2010 have been implicated in both outbreaks. However, it added on Wednesday (29 June) that there is “still much uncertainty about whether this truly is the common cause of all the infections as there are currently no positive bacteriological results”. The ECDC said... ...Read more »

Health officials are investigating a fresh outbreak of E. coli in France, with a possible link to UK seed firm Thompson and Morgan. The UK firm has suspended internet sales of its rocket and mustard vegetable sprouts after ten people were affected by E. coli in Bordeaux. The recent E. coli outbreak in Germany, one of the largest the world has seen, killed dozens and sickened thousands. The outbreak was attributed to contaminated beansprouts. This latest outbreak is currently being investigated by... ...Read more »

Not all consumers share the same attitudes toward animal cloning, but the latest research from Professor Sean Fox of Kansas State University, a professor of agricultural economics, shows that Americans may be more accepting of consuming cloned animal products than Europeans. Researching attitudes to food safety, Fox and colleague Shonda Anderson surveyed attitudes to buying and eating meat and other products from cloned animals among undergraduates at Kansas University studying agriculture, English... ...Read more »

The number of people killed by the E. coli outbreak in Germany has risen to 35 – although officials have claimed that the number of new cases of illness is showing signs of falling. The Robert Koch Institute said today yesterday that 35 people had died from either the EHEC O104:H4 E. coli strain or the HUS syndrome that, in some cases, has led from the contamination. A further 3,228 have fallen ill from the outbreak, which the Institute believes is linked to contaminated bean sprouts from a... ...Read more »

According to scientists at the University of Adeliade, a potential life-saving treatment for severe E. coli food poisoning outbreaks was pioneered more than a decade ago, but hasn’t gone forward into clinical trials because of lack of commercial interest. In the year 2000, University of Adelaide researchers produced a “designer” probiotic bacterium which binds and neutralises the toxin produced by E. coli, which causes life-threatening attack on the kidneys and blood vessels. The... ...Read more »