The Health Protection Agency (HPA) in the UK is investigating cases of Salmonella newport related to watermelons following a salmonella outbreak that has infected 35 people across the country. Dr Bob Adak, head of the gastrointestinal disease department at the HPA said “Although it is too soon to say with certainty what the likely causes of the infection are, early indications suggest that a number of people became unwell after eating watermelon”. Dr Adak also said that cases have been also notified... ...Read more »

A U.S study at Drexel University, published in the January 2012 issue of Journal of Food Protection, has said that a form of cold plasma might be an effective method for killing pathogens on uncooked poultry. The Drexel study involved raw chicken samples contaminated with Salmonella enterica and Campylobacter jejuni bacteria treated with plasma for varying periods of time. The plasma treatment claims to “have eliminated or nearly eliminated bacteria in low levels from skinless chicken breast and... ...Read more »

Victorian Health Department officials have defended themselves against criticism of the administration of food safety enforcement in the State of Victoria. Australian Food News has published several reports in the past month about failings in food safety enforcement in Victoria. Today, several Australian newspapers have provided further evidence of the Department failing to alert the public to a number of serious food poisoning outbreaks that took place during 2011. One such incident involved a sushi... ...Read more »

Concerns continue to arise about the administration of food safety enforcement in the State of Victoria. Australian Food News recently reported (21 December 2011) the calls made for an official investigation into poor food safety administration by the Victorian government.  In the article, Managing Principal of food-specialist law firm FoodLegal, Joe Lederman, stated that there was a “serious lack of co-ordination” in Victoria that had resulted in “every council seemingly doing its own thing”... ...Read more »

The Australian Capital Territory today introduced a Bill into the Legislative Assembly that will allow the names of food businesses in the Territory convicted of an offence against the Food Act to be placed on a publicly available register. The Food Amendment Bill 2011 proposes an amendment also requires businesses in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) to display their current registration certificates to have suitably trained food safety supervisors at premises. Additionally, closure notices... ...Read more »

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 »

New legislation passed yesterday by the Queensland Parliament will allow a government-led food business rating scheme to be introduced across Queensland. The Health Legislation Amendment Bill 2011, tabled by Health Minister Geoff Wilson, was passed just days after Queensland Health unveiled figures that suggest there are more cases of food poisoning in Queensland than any other Australian State. According to Queensland Health, more than 7,700 cases of the most common forms of food poisoning were... ...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 »

Woolworths has recalled its own-brand 750g bags of almonds “due to the potential presence of Salmonella”, effective immediately, in a product recall issued just before Easter. Bags of almonds with a best before date of 10/11/11 and 11/11/11 are being recalled, having been sold in Woolworths, Safeway and Food for Less supermarkets across Australia between 15 and 21 April. Exactly how many of the almond bags are affected has not been released, nor how the contamination was discovered, but... ...Read more »

University of Missouri researchers have created a new test for salmonella in poultry and eggs that will produce faster and more accurate results than most currently available tests, which might catch salmonella-tainted products before shipping, preventing outbreaks like those which recently swept the US. “Processors and consumers will benefit from the speed and sensitivity of the new test’s results,” said Azlin Mustapha, associate professor of food science in the College of Agriculture,... ...Read more »