The latest edition arrived this morning with: Chemical decontamination of poultry: time for a think? (raw chicken decontamination ) Foodborne disease data for the EU. (EU foodborne disease statistics ) New Food is free to read once you have registered.Read More →
Further to the previous sceptical post it seems that the unfortunate Waikato family were not suffering from botulism. It is puzzling as to how the symptoms described (e.g. thrashing around) fit with flaccid paralysis typical of botulism. But again we only have the ‘facts’ relayed to us by Stuff. The meat, or contaminants therein, seems to have been excluded as a cause of the symptoms, which might be a bit premature. It will be interesting to read the final results. Read More →
Those Bloody Burgers-The same issue at opposite ends of the world While living in the UK I keep in touch with the news circulating in the country where I have spent most of my life-New Zealand. Given my background in food safety my interest was piqued when I saw the headline “Burger spat gets spicy” on the NZ Stuff website, and so I clicked on the story. There is, shall we say, a divergence of opinions on new information produced by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) as to how burgers should be cooked, and some quite distinct time/temperature combinations have been provided. ThisRead More →
New Zealand media are reporting an outbreak of botulism in a family eating wild boar meat. Pig hunting is quite popular and game can be left for periods of time before being taken out of the bush. It does seem a bit odd though. Unlike what is stated in the press report the toxins are not very resistant to heat, and the incubation period is usually more than 12 hours, so keeling over mid-consumption unlikely. However, few details are provided, and we await the results of tests. Looks more like a chemical rather than biological problem? UPDATE: The family seem to be recovering but thereRead More →
Have a look here for this article which looks at why food testing for bacterial pathogens is such an involved process. A pdf of the article can be found on my Researchgate page.Read More →
Is available here, https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1VqNr3I9F45WSD, as is said by some burger chains, “for a limited time only”Read More →
Following an out break of Hepaptitis A, the company supplying the berries is being taken to court for compensation, according to a report in the Canberra Times “Patties said it had to dispose of $3.8 million worth of berries held in storage, and as of May had paid out $41,389 in compensation to seven customers who were infected from the berries. The company incurred another $5 million in loses because of the outbreak and recall, including spending $196,576 advertising the recall, $198,591 running a call centre, $136,942 employing public relations professionals, $597,788 removing products from shelves, and $24,920 on social media”Read More →
There is a distinct contrast to the way that fruits and vegetables are sold in the UK and New Zealand. In the UK, almost all of the supermarket produce comes packaged in a kind of plastic that inevitably bursts open when an attempt is made to liberate the contents such that they spill all over the kitchen floor and get bruised. In New Zealand, produce is generally sold in bins. You get to choose which individual fruits/veg you buy, pop them in a bag and get them weighed at the checkout. A crucial difference is that there is no “Best Before” date on the AntipodeanRead More →
It’s probably fair to say that fruits and vegetables were once considered as pretty much safe to eat, but the picture is changing. Salmonella causes disease when present in small numbers (see my blog) which the pH of some fruits, like papaya, can allow pathogens to proliferate if the conditions are right. For more information from the CDC click hereRead More →
“Food-borne viruses are the second most important cause of food-borne outbreaks in the European Union (EU) after Salmonella. EFSA has today published a review of the latest scientific knowledge on these viruses providing advice on possible measures to control and prevent their spread in the EU. The assessment recommends among others that mitigating measures should focus on the prevention of contamination rather than removing the virus from contaminated food” This information is expanded upon here. There is also a link to an opinion on Hepatitis E.Read More →