Friday, March 29, 2019

Europe - Various Food Safety Issues in the News

In doing a google search on food safety news items, we see that many of the "interesting" stories are coming from other countries other than the US this week.  Reading some of the headlines, it is easy to mistake these outbreaks are closer rather than an ocean away.  I guess in today's 24hr constant news cycle, there needs to be the constant issuance of stories, perhaps helping maintain that narrative that our food is unsafe.  And perhaps it is just a matter of time before we will be reading about an investigation of 2 cases of Salmonella linked to a tofu dish served at a restaurant in India or Pakistan.

Cluster of Listeria Cases Linked in 5 Countries
A linkage has been made between 18 cases of Listeria infections in 5 different countries over 4 years.
"ECDC has identified a microbiological link between an outbreak of nine Listeria monocytogenes ST1247 cases in Denmark and nine additional cases reported between 2014 and 2018 in Estonia (2 cases) Finland (2), France (1) and Sweden (4)."

Denmark Experiencing Rise in Salmonella Chicken Flocks
FSN
"Denmark found Salmonella in 2.7 percent of chicken flocks that lay eggs last year which is above the limit set by the European Commission to qualify for special conditions."

EU report finds limited controls on food sold online
FSN
"Official controls on food sold over the Internet are still limited, according to a report from the European Commission.
Controls of food sold online were limited and mainly focused on registered food business operators. Non-compliances were mostly related to labeling and health claim requirements. Online marketing of dangerous substances as food supplements was found in a few cases."

Snack mix recall expanded as patient count increases in Salmonella outbreak
FSN
"More cases of Salmonella infections have been reported in Norway with a link to imported dried fruit and coconut. Salmonella Agbeni has been detected in several samples of the snack mixes. Salmonella Gamaba was also found in two unopened packages from the same lot."

https://ecdc.europa.eu/en/news-events/multi-country-cluster-listeria-monocytogenes-st1247-five-eu-countries
Multi-country cluster of Listeria monocytogenes ST1247 in five EU countries
news epidemiological update
27 Mar 2019
ECDC has identified a microbiological link between an outbreak of nine Listeria monocytogenes ST1247 cases in Denmark and nine additional cases reported between 2014 and 2018 in Estonia (2 cases) Finland (2), France (1) and Sweden (4).

ECDC has identified a microbiological link between an outbreak of nine Listeria monocytogenes ST1247 cases in Denmark and nine additional cases reported between 2014 and 2018 in Estonia (2 cases) Finland (2), France (1) and Sweden (4). In Denmark, the outbreak investigation is led by Statens Serum Institut (SSI), the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration and the DTU Food Institute.

Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) analysis performed at the national level and by ECDC found all isolates from the 18 cases within two allelic differences from each other (core genome MLST using Moura scheme, 1540 of 1748 loci detected in all 18 isolates). The latest case was reported in

A large-scale study led by ECDC on whole genome sequencing shows that most listeria outbreaks such as this one remain undetected. The study, published in 2018, suggests that more than half of the severe listeriosis cases in the European Union belong to clusters, many of which are not being picked up fast enough by the current surveillance system.

Listeria monocytogenes causes listeriosis, which primarily affects pregnant women, newborns, and adults with a weakened immune system. Listeriosis is a relatively rare but potentially severe food-borne disease that has been reported in increasing numbers in the EU/EEA countries since 2008. In 2016, 2 536 cases were reported, including 247 deaths.

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