An outbreak of Salmonella enterica serotype Agona infections associated with nationwide distribution of cereal from Company X was identified in April 2008. This outbreak was detected using PulseNet, the national molecular subtyping network for foodborne disease surveillance, which coincided with Company X's voluntary recall of unsweetened puffed rice and wheat cereals after routine product sampling yielded Salmonella Agona. A case patient was defined as being infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Agona, with illness onset from 1 January through 1 July 2008. Case patients were interviewed using a standard questionnaire, and the proportion of ill persons who reported eating Company X puffed rice cereal was compared with Company X's market share data using binomial testing. The Minnesota Department of Agriculture inspected the cereal production facility and collected both product and environmental swab samples. Routine surveillance identified 33 case patients in 17 states. Of 32 patients interviewed, 24 (83%) reported eating Company X puffed rice cereal. Company X puffed rice cereal represented 0.063% of the total ready-to-eat dry cereal market share in the United States at the time of the investigation. Binomial testing suggested that the proportion of exposed case patients would not likely occur by chance (P < 0.0001). Of 17 cereal samples collected from case patient homes for laboratory testing, 2 (12%) yielded Salmonella Agona indistinguishable from the outbreak strain. Twelve environmental swabs and nine product samples from the cereal plant yielded the outbreak strain of Salmonella Agona. Company X cereal was implicated in a similar outbreak of Salmonella Agona infection in 1998 with the same outbreak strain linked to the same production facility. We hypothesize that a recent construction project at this facility created an open wall near the cereal production area allowing reintroduction of Salmonella Agona into the product, highlighting the resilience of Salmonella in dry food production environments.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
---|---|
http://dx.doi.org/10.4315/0362-028X.JFP-12-209 | DOI Listing |
Shokuhin Eiseigaku Zasshi
December 2024
Cooperative Division of Veterinary Sciences, Graduate School of Agriculture, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology.
From October 2020 to February 2021, a total of 95 retail chicken meat products from 39 retail meat shops in Tokyo Metropolis and Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, were collected and examined for the prevalence of Salmonella to assess public health implications. If a sample tested positive for Salmonella, a quantitative analysis was performed using the three-tube most probable number (MPN) method. Of 95 retail chicken meat products, Salmonella was isolated from 30 samples (31.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFoods
November 2024
Department of Industrial & Systems Engineering, University of Washington, P.O. Box 352650, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
Drying is one of the most effective preservation methods for extending the shelf-life of perishable foods. The microbial safety of low-moisture food products had not been recognized as a concern until outbreaks reported over the past decade in products contaminated with bacterial pathogens, in particular . There is now an urgent need to understand the influence of process conditions on the thermal inactivation of pathogens in various drying operations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMicrobiol Spectr
December 2024
Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition and Center for Food Safety and Security Systems, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA.
PLoS Pathog
October 2024
Microbes and Food Safety, Quadram Institute Bioscience, Norwich, United Kingdom.
One Health
December 2024
Department of Medical Microbiology, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India.
Introduction: Non-typhoidal (NTS) serovars are the leading global cause of gastroenteritis and have established reservoirs in food animals.
Gap Statement: Due to a lack of surveillance, there is limited information on the distribution of NTS serovars in India.
Aim: Here, we investigated the epidemiology, sequence types, serovar distribution, phylogenetic relatedness, and antimicrobial resistance patterns of NTS in humans and animals across a large geographic area in Northern India.
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!