Autoridades chilenas investigan inusual presentación de botulismo en lactantes

Causa preocupación reporte de 3 casos en un corto período de tiempo.

En el presente año a la fecha sean notificados 3 casos de botulismo en lactantes,  enfermedad grave que afecta principalmente el sistema nervioso de los menores, paraliza los músculos, lo que puede alterar su respiración  o actividad cardiaca y puede llevarlos a la muerte. La enfermedad es causada por la acción de una neurotoxina  producida por el patógeno  Clostridium botulinum y en pocos casos por Clostridium butiricum y Clostridium baratii. En Chile es un trastorno poco frecuente y la aparición de varios casos en tan corto tiempo no ocurría al menos hace 15 años, según lo informado por Departamento de Epidemiologia del Ministerio de Salud.

Además de lo inusual de la situación, al equipo de epidemiólogos investigadores le llama la atención que dos de los 3 casos hayan ocurrido en corto lapso de tiempo y en dos lugares distintos (Valparaíso y Santiago). Ambos niños de 5 meses de edad (un niño y una niña) tenían un patrón común, habían consumido miel;  el primero la consumió en estado natural y la segunda  como antiséptico bucal “miel de bórax”. Se infirió que esta podía ser la principal causa de la enfermedad; dado que la miel puede contener esporas.

Sin embargo el Instituto de Salud Pública, determinó  que en ambos casos no había  relación entre el consumo de miel y botulismo que afectó a los menores, por lo que el equipo de epidemiólogos sigue investigando en la causa  que los enfermó. A pesar que esta “Miel de Borax” no tenía relación con este caso de botulismo,  se retiró del mercado porque se encontró otra especie de Clostridium, que no debía estar presente en el producto.

Tanto el ministerio de Salud como los especialistas en el área indicaron que los padres de niños menores de dos años no deben administrarles alimentos como miel o conservas caseras; ya que el riesgo es elevado.

El ex ministro de Salud Jaime Mañalich señaló  que “el botulismo es una enfermedad de notificación obligatoria” (decreto Nº 158 de 204) es decir cada vez que aparece un caso debe ser informado a nivel central para que  la autoridad monitoree la situación. Comenta además  que el primer brote informado en el país ocurrió en 1973, cuando un grupo de monjas consumió porotos verdes en una conserva casera y varias de estas fallecieron.

Situación en Chile:

De 2004 a 2013 se han enviado 24 muestras de casos sospechosos de botulismo al Instituto de Salud Pública (ISP), de las cuales 7 resultaron positivas a Clostridium botulinum. El mayor número de casos fue en 2005, con dos personas afectadas; luego vino un período sin casos y entre 2011 y 2013 hubo un caso en cada año.

Fuente: http://www.economiaynegocios.cl/noticias/noticias.asp?id=153665

Aporte: Claudia Soto Peña

Why do Americans waste so much food?

Americans throw away nearly half of their food every year, waste worth roughly $165 billion annually.

The study by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) estimates that the average American family of four ends up throwing away an equivalent of up to $2,275 annually in food. Even worse, there is evidence that there has been a 50 percent jump in U.S. food waste since the 1970s.

It’s especially troubling that at the same time, one in seven Americans, more than 46 million people, including 12 million children, don’t know where their next meal is coming from, according to a study by Feeding America.

Meanwhile, the rest of America continues to throw away unspoiled nutritious food. If we cut our food waste even by a third, there would be enough food for all those people who must rely on food banks and hand-outs to be fully fed.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a typical American household discards 40 percent of fresh fish, 23 percent of eggs, and 20 percent of milk, in addition to plenty of fruits and veggies. We do this because we buy more than we can eat, so the food goes bad, or our meals are just too big to eat. We also swear too much by “sell-by” and “use-by” dates; these are not federally regulated and do not indicate safety, except on certain baby foods. Most foods can be safely consumed well after their use-by dates. (Here’s a guide to help you decipher what those labels mean).

When I first moved to the U.S., I couldn’t believe how huge restaurant portions were. Clearly, these runaway portion sizes in the American food industry exacerbate the waste issue.”From 1982–2002, the average pizza slice grew 70 percent in calories. The average chicken Caesar salad doubled in calories, and the average chocolate chip cookie quadrupled,” the NRDC study reveals. 

As NPR reports, farming practices also account for some food waste. Peter Lehner, from the NRDC, explains that if food isn’t sold to the best buyer, it can end up in a landfill. “anywhere from 1 percent to 30 percent of farmers’ crops don’t make it to market,” says Lehner. “The prices for fresh fruits and vegetables can go up and down quite a bit, and farmers may plant thinking they will get one price, but, by the time harvest comes around, there’s another price, and it’s not even worth it for them to get to the market.”

Source: http://www.nrdc.org/food/files/wasted-food-ip.pdf

Campylobacter still threatens a third of UK population

Reducing the numbers of the most highly contaminated birds would cut the public health risk by about 50%.

 Campylobacter could infect a third of the UK population at some stage during their lifetime, according to figures just released by the Food Standards Agency (FSA). The figure was based on the current infection rates of more than a quarter of a million people a year, the FSA said.

The FSA disclosed the figure to mark the start of 2015’s Food Safety Week. The move also coincides with the launch of the FSA’s ‘Chicken Challenge’ – its call to the whole food chain to halve the number of campylobacter food poisoning cases by 2016.

Biggest cause of food poisoning Campylobacter is most frequently found on raw poultry and is the biggest cause of food poisoning in the UK. An estimated 280,000 currently fall ill with Campylobacter food poisoning every year.

This research showed that reducing the numbers of the most highly contaminated birds would cut the public health risk by about 50%, the FSA claimed. That would save thousands of people a year from falling prey to a painful form of food poisoning, which, in some cases, could result in Guillain-Barre paralysis.

The FSA has been leading the industry on reducing Campylobacter contamination and is currently conducting a yearlong survey looking at the levels of campylobacter on fresh completely chilled retail chickens and their packaging. In partnership with farmers and producers, through to caterers and retailers, all parts of the food chain have been working to meet the 2015 target.

Now, up to a third of us could fall ill with Campylobacter at some point in our lives. We all have a responsibility to do what we can to reduce that figure. If everyone lives up to their promises – the FSA, consumers, and the industry – then this really can happen, hugely reducing the number of people who get ill every year.

Source: http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/press/news/150128.htm

Are You FSMA Ready?

Forming FSMA steering team and bring in key stakeholders regularly to align and discuss key gaps.

FSMA was signed into law by President Barack Obama in January 2011, the food industry as a whole has been closely monitoring the many pieces of this legislation that affect our food supply chain. Included in the law itself are a number of regulations that FDA must issue to provide a roadmap to foodborne illness prevention.

What tools can you use to plan effectively and logically for increased regulatory scrutiny throughout the supply chain? The answer is education, collaboration, planning and diligence.
Education: A company must take the time to dedicate resources to understanding the requirements as well as understanding which stage of law making each requirement is currently in. This takes time but is very important, as it can assist in the overall, long-term strategy on compliance. Be a constant student of FSMA and watch for opportunities to interact with regulators and others through industry forums.
Collaboration: This is key to successfully preparing for the new requirements internally.. Consider forming a FSMA steering team and bring in key stakeholders regularly to align and discuss key gaps and action plans. Communication and organization for compliance are critical. Remember if one retailer fails with regard to food safety, it affects consumer trust for all retailers. We must work together.
Planning: This is probably the most challenging piece of FSMA implementation, especially if a company has waited until now to begin the journey towards compliance. There are many pieces that must come together to meet the new requirements.
Diligence: Stay the course! Continue to meet with your steering team. Update the company on the status of the pieces of legislation. Visit each affected area of the company and identify who can assist in managing the message. Be consistent in your delivery of the status and the next steps required. Encourage stakeholders and provide guidance and assistance. Gradually, you will begin to see movement.
It is no secret that FSMA compliance takes resources, money and time. It also takes expertise and good planning. This is one example where starting from the top level in your organization and working down makes the most sense.

Source: Sharon P. Wood, M.Sc., is the director food safety, technical services and regulatory affairs at H-E-B supermarkets.

Chicken juice enhances surface attachment and biofilm formation of Campylobacter jejuni.

 C. jejuni was both able to grow and form biofilms in static cultures in aerobic conditions.

The bacterial pathogen Campylobacter jejuni is acquired via the consumption of contaminated foodstuffs, especially poultry meat. In food processing environments, C. jejuni is required to survive a multitude of stresses and requires the use of specific survival mechanisms, such as biofilms.

An initial step in biofilm formation is bacterial attachment to a surface. Here, we investigated the effects of a chicken meat exudate (chicken juice) on C. jejuni attachment to surfaces and biofilm formation.

Supplementation of Brucella broth with >5% chicken juice resulted in increased biofilm formation on glass, polystyrene, and stainless steel surfaces with four C. jejuni isolates and one C. coli isolate in both microaerobic and aerobic conditions.

When incubated with chicken juice, C. jejuni was both able to grow and form biofilms in static cultures in aerobic conditions.

Electron microscopy showed that C. jejuni cells were associated with chicken juice particulates attached to the abiotic surface rather than the surface itself. This suggests that chicken juice contributes to biofilm formation in C. jejuni by covering and conditioning the abiotic surface and is a source of nutrients.

Chicken juice was able to complement the reduction in biofilm formation of an aflagellated mutant of C. jejuni, indicating that chicken juice may support food chain transmission of isolates with lowered motility.

We provide here a useful model for studying the interaction of C. jejuni biofilms in food chain-relevant conditions and show a possible attachment mechanism for C. jejuni cells and biofilm initiation on abiotic surfaces within the food chain.

Source: Helen L. Brown, et als. http://aem.asm.org/content/80/22/7053.full.pdf+html

16 months between Portuguese Listeria outbreak start and detection

Listeriosis is a notifiable disease in Portugal, but active surveillance is just starting.

The first reported foodborne listeriosis outbreak in Portugal highlights the need for an effective surveillance system for early detection and prompt submission of isolates for typing, according to researchers. The number of cases between March 2009 and February 2012 was 30 with a fatality rate of 36.7%. Cheese was the probable source of infection, found the report in Eurosurveillance.

The long duration of this outbreak, (March 2009 to February 2012) linked with queijo fresco (fresh cheese) is noteworthy and reinforces the importance of setting up an effective multidisciplinary team able to help ensure rapid notification of cases and the prompt submission of L. monocytogenes isolates for routine laboratory typing.

 A retrospective study involving 25 national hospitals led to the awareness of the outbreak, meaning the time between the presumed onset and its detection was 16 months. Notifiable disease but no active surveillance In Portugal, listeriosis has been notifiable since April 2014, but there is no active surveillance program. As there is no such program, outbreak detection is extremely difficult and work on the one reported was due mainly to retrospective investigations.

Between January and July 2010, a high number of listeriosis cases was observed (40 compared with 20 during all of 2009) particularly in the Lisbon and Vale do Tejo region.

Molecular typing of the 40 L. monocytogenes clinical isolates revealed 18 serotype IVb isolates presented the same PFGE type and ribotype observed for five isolates recovered in 2009. Continued monitoring detected two more cases with the outbreak strain in November 2010, three more in January, February and March 2011 and two in February 2012.

Processing plant investigation: The food safety authority inspected 42 food retailers and collected 103 samples for analysis (51 meat products, 24 dairy products, 13 ready­ to­ eat foods and 15 environmental swabs). L. monocytogenes was found in four samples collected at a retailer: three from queijo fresco and one from a swab from a ham slicing­machine; one queijo fresco sample contained Listeria counts greater than 100 CFU/g.

PFGE typing revealed isolates recovered from two queijo fresco samples of different brands from the same retailer showed the same PFGE type as the clinical isolates with the outbreak strain.  

In European countries with established surveillance programs, such as France, Germany and the UK, the incidence of listeriosis is reported to be increasing and the distribution of cases is shifting, primarily affecting elderly persons and those with predisposing medical conditions, leading to a high case fatality rate.

Source: http://www.eurosurveillance.org/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleId=21104

Skyline Provisions, Inc., recalls beef products due to E. coli O157:H7 contamination

 To prevent infections ground beef must be carefully cooked to a temperature of 160 °F.

Skyline Provisions, Inc., a Harvey, Ill., establishment, is recalling 1,029 pounds of beef products contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.

Produced 15-25 April 2015, the following products are subject to recall: 

·         17 ½ boxes of Aurora Packers Intact Beef Round Flats

On April 15, 2015, Skyline sold the product under their D&S label (Establishment number: 19300), ground and tested one and a half cases of the product. On April 21, 2015, these products were positive for E. coli O157:H7. The remaining intact, products were sold to Jack & Pat's Old Fashioned Market in Chicago Ridge, Ill., where the product was ground and sold in various amounts of ground chuck patties, ground chuck, ground round, sirloin patties and porter-house patties.

FSIS discovered the problem during a routine sampling program. Neither FSIS nor the company received any reports of illnesses associated with consumption of this product. FSIS and the company are concerned that some product may have been sold and stored in consumers' freezers.

E. coli O157:H7 is a potentially deadly bacterium that can cause dehydration, bloody diarrhea and abdominal cramps 2–8 days (3–4 days, on average) after exposure the organism. While most people recover within a week, some develop a type of kidney failure called hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). This condition can occur among persons of any age but is most common in children under 5-years old and older adults. Symptoms included easy bruising, pallor, and decreased urine output. Persons who experience these symptoms should seek emergency medical care immediately.

FSIS routinely conducts recall effectiveness checks to verify recalling firms notify their customers of the recall and confirm that the product is no longer available to consumers.

FSIS advises all consumers to safely prepare their raw meat products, including fresh and frozen, and only consume ground beef that cooked to a temperature of 160 °F, the only way to confirm that ground beef was properly cooked to kill harmful bacteria.

Source: http://1.usa.gov/1cDxcDQ

Listeria Victims Address FDA, Food Industry Officials in D.C.

In many cases, Listeria infection is a life sentence.

A year ago, Brad Frey never would have imagined he would be standing in front of officials from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and urging them to do more to prevent outbreaks of Listeria monocytogenes. Despite living in the middle of “crop country” outside Santa Cruz, CA, he had never heard of Listeria monocytogenes, foodborne bacteria less well known than Salmonella or E. coli, but one that can more often be fatal.

However, Frey was painfully aware of Listeria by December 2014, when his mother, passed away from a Listeria infection after eating a contaminated caramel apple purchased at Safeway.

Recently, he and other foodborne illness victims from around the U.S. traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with congressional aides and have the opportunity to address the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).

Brad Frey holds his phone while a video plays of his parents dancing in their driveway two years ago. Frey and other victims shared their stories with federal lawmakers.

“In December, my mother passed away from Listeria,” Frey said, speaking to FDA officials in the audience and a panel of food industry representatives taking questions. “Since the caramel apple outbreak, we’ve seen three more outbreaks in the news. It’s pretty heartbreaking to know that testing could have saved lives, but not enough testing is being done.”

Frey went on to ask the industry panel and FDA what specifically they were going to do to reduce the risk of Listeria illnesses going forward.

None of the industry panelists opted to answer, but Frey did get a quick response from Roberta Wagner, director of regulatory affairs at FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.

That’s what FSMA is all about, Wagner said — making sure that food companies and FDA work to eliminate preventable foodborne illnesses because so many of them are preventable.

A similar case, presented by John McKissick, a retired teacher and consultant from Pennsylvania, who fell ill with Listeria three years ago after eating contaminated cheese imported from Italy and France. McKissick spent two months hospitalized, six weeks of that time unconscious. The infection caused significant nerve damage and, as a result, he had little choice but to retire from work. “In many cases, Listeria infection is a life sentence,” he told FDA officials. “It cannot be taken lightly.”

McKissick asked how FDA was going to reduce Listeria illnesses and improve the safety of imports through its foreign supplier verification program, a core component of the new regulations included in FSMA.

The foreign inspection program will require importers to take a new “proactive responsibility” for food safety.

Source:  http://fda.einnews.com/article__detail/262189827?lcode=8DWPqPuUsDVNDakfEIxsCA%3D%3D

Pest risk assessment Commission plan to destroy 11m olive trees needs more research.

Xylella fastidiosa is a bacterium thought to be behind the devastation of 74,000 acres of olive groves across southern Italy.

Policy The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has said plans to destroy up to 11 million olive trees in southern Italy lack sufficient research, after NGO Peacelink challenged the proposal.

The European Commission had proposed cutting down the trees to halt the spread of the pathogen Xylella fastidiosa – but Peacelink urged it to reconsider, saying the measure would be a great mistake. It claimed that more than 500 olive trees had returned to health after a treatment for fungi.

Following the NGO’s urging, the Commission asked EFSA for a scientific opinion on its proposal. “There is no published evidence that fungal disease management will reduce establishment, spread and impact of X. fastidiosa, other than the observation that improved orchard management more generally is beneficial for plant health,

EFSA said in its opinion, in disagreement with Peacelink’s assessment. However, EFSA shares the concerns over the situation in olive trees in the affected areas, and fully understands the need for further research on potential options to reduce the risk and damage caused by X. fastidiosa.

It is the remit of the European and national authorities – rather than EFSA – to decide on a control strategy, but EFSA highlighted gaps in knowledge about different agents thought to be involved in the olive quick decline syndrome, including the leopard moth Zeuzera pyrina, the trachea-mycotic fungi, as well as Xylella fastidiosa and the insects that spread it.

Xylella fastidiosa is a bacterium thought to be behind the devastation of 74,000 acres of olive groves across southern Italy. 

The Commission had proposed emergency control measures to destroy olive trees in the affected area – 12% of which are contaminated. No one from Peacelink responded to a request for comment on EFSA’s opinion prior to publication.

Source: http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/pub/3989.htm

Listeria risk awareness should be increased ¬ ECDC

 The highest number of listeriosis cases was from Germany

Awareness about listeriosis from RTE foods in risk groups, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). Despite the relatively low number of cases caused by Listeria the average case fatality rate was 16%, for all other diseases looked at, the rate was below 1%. Findings come as part of a report looking at food and waterborne diseases in the European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA) between 2010 and 2012. The surveillance report looked at campylobacteriosis, listeriosis, non­-typhoidal salmonellosis, shigellosis, Shiga toxin/verocytotoxin producing E.coli (STEC/VTEC) infections, typhoid and paratyphoid fever and yersiniosis.

Listeria concerns. Of special concern are Listeria infections among the elderly. Hospital related outbreaks remain a significant concern and underscore the high infection risk related to processed, ready­ to­ eat (RTE) foods in settings where vulnerable population groups. An increasing trend in domestically acquired listeriosis cases between 2008 and 2012. In the two years, 4,851 cases, representing an average rate of 0.35 per 100,000 population and 517 deaths. The highest number of listeriosis cases was from Germany, accounting for 23% of all reported cases, followed by France with 19% and the UK with 11%. Reported human listeriosis cases were most frequently associated with serotypes 1/2a and 4b and there was increase in notification rates in age group older than 65 years.

Campylobacter and Salmonella: Campylobacteriosis continued to be the most commonly reported zoonosis, with 662,521 confirmed cases and an average notification rate of 67 per 100,000 population in 2010–2012. Confirmed cases in the EU/EEA followed an increasing trend in the last five years (2008–2012), with a clear seasonality and peaking of cases in June–August. The majority (about 90%) of Campylobacter infections acquired in EU/EEA countries. C. jejuni remained stable, while C. coli increased significantly in 2008–2012.

A stable trend in confirmed shigellosis cases with the average notification rate of 1.8 per 100,000 population, with 21,969 reported cases in 2010–2012. Two thirds of the reported cases were travel ­related from countries outside the EU/EEA. Shigella sonnei was the most commonly reported species (56% of total species reported) in 2010–2012, followed by S. flexneri (33% of total species reported). The trend in S. flexneri cases significantly increased during 2008–2012. STEC/VTEC infections showed a significantly increasing trend over the surveillance period. Even without counting, the cases reported in the STEC/VTEC O104:H4 outbreak in Germany in 2011, the trend was significantly increasing in 2008–2010. In 2010–2012, 18,995 confirmed STEC/VTEC cases (1.7 cases per 100,000 population). The number of cases reported in 2012 increased by 55% (2,037 cases) compared with 2010. An increasing number of reports of confirmed STEC/VTEC cases is possibly an effect of increased awareness and improved capacity in the EU/EEA countries following the outbreak.

Of those isolates of known serogroup, the most frequent was E. coli O157 (55%). The five most common STEC/VTEC serotypes were O157:H7 (26%), O157:H­ (10%), O104:H4 (6.1%), O26:H11 (5.8%) and O103:H2 (5.7%), 90% of infections were of domestic origin.

Source: http://ecdc.europa.eu/en/healthtopics/listeriosis/Pages/index.aspx