153 | Listeria Controls - a Deep Dive | Pandemic Warning | Cave Cockroaches |
Plus, 3 weird food fraud moments from the past year
A Guide to Listeria Controls and Environmental Monitoring Programs;
Bird flu in cows: “This could go pandemic”;
3 Weird food fraud moments from the past year;
Food Safety News and Resources;
A history of the German cockroach (just for fun);
Food fraud news, emerging issues and recent incidents.
Hi,
Welcome to Issue 153 of The Rotten Apple, the world’s least-boring food safety newsletter. If you’re new here, hello, I’m Karen, and my mission is to send you the most interesting food safety and food fraud news from around the globe every Monday.
In this week’s issue, I’ve got three weird food fraud incidents from the past year, updates about the bird-flu-in-dairy-cows issue, which experts are warning has pandemic potential and a huge Listeria resource for paying subscribers. Plus, I share an article about cockroaches from a cave in Borneo which infested the world.
Enjoy,
Karen
P.S. If you know someone who would love this newsletter, please tell them about it, and help grow our global community of food safety champions.
Cover image: Cockroaches, as imagined by AI
Listeria: a deep dive
We all know that Listeria is a food safety nightmare, but are you up to date with the latest knowledge, guidance documents and changing global regulatory landscape?
In this special supplement for paying subscribers, I share the inside running on why Listeria is such a difficult pathogen, how many Listeria positive results food businesses should expect in an environmental monitoring program and what to do when you get positive results.
Click the preview box below to view it.
Bird flu in cows: virologist warns “This could go pandemic”
In case you missed it, bird flu was discovered in a small number of dairy cows in the US earlier this year. Since the initial discovery, we have learned that the virus is spreading from herd to herd, and that traces of its genetic material (non-viable) can be found in a surprisingly high proportion of commercially purchased milk products.
New information has become available, and this has been accompanied by new commentary from virologists and epidemiologists.
New information
The H5N1 outbreak in dairy cows shows no signs of slowing down, and has now begun to spread to poultry as well as to people who work with cows. Some experts believe the virus will become endemic in dairy herds.
The commentary has gone from “this is a blip” to “this could be the new normal”.
Investigators are struggling to get reliable data on the prevalence of the virus in herds and bulk milk because farmers are unwilling to cooperate with USDA officials. Cooperation is not compulsory. Instead, farms are being offered incentives to assist with investigations.
Still no compulsory or regulated biosecurity measures
The virus appears to be spreading from farm to farm through the movement of contaminated milking machines, vehicles and farm workers. However, as I reported in July, there are no new biosecurity rules in place to prevent the spread. Instead, farmers are being encouraged to comply with infection control processes on a voluntary basis.
The longer the virus stays in cows, the more likely it is to develop the ability to easily infect other mammals, increasing the chances of a mutation that allows it to spread rapidly from human to human.
The USDA says their current response protocols are “adequate,” for controlling the outbreak in cows, while infectious disease experts disagree. “We’re still totally in a state of confusion,” says Michael Osterholm, an infectious diseases expert at the University of Minnesota. Another says “They (federal officials) have had every possible warning that this is a virus that could go pandemic.”
“They’ve had every possible warning that this is a virus that could go pandemic.” Dr. Tom Peacock, a virologist at the Pirbright Institute in Britain, via The New York Times
Among the 50 mainland states of the US, only Colorado has brought in rules to require the bulk testing of milk. Other states only require the testing of cows that are visibly ill, or no testing at all.
There is a federal voluntary testing program for farms. It has a participation rate of just 0.13% of farms, despite financial incentives being offered for biosecurity system set ups.
The number of infected herds is likely to be far higher than official figures, which currently stand at 191 herds in 13 states.
We now know more about the source
The genetic profile of the virus points to a single spillover from birds into cattle, with the virus then spreading through cattle due to the movement of cows, equipment, vehicles and farm workers.
Greater risks to poultry
Colorado poultry farms were affected by a significant bird flu outbreak in recent months, with 1.8 million birds culled. The bird flu in the outbreak appears to have come from dairy cattle. Nine poultry workers also became infected during the culling process.
“If this continues at this level, the dairy industry is going to sink the poultry industry,” says Dr. Tom Peacock, a virologist at the Pirbright Institute in Britain.
More food testing results
The results of a second survey of retail dairy foods including liquid milk, cheese, butter, cream and ice cream have been reported.
In the survey, 167 samples from across the country were tested and 17% were found to contain H5N1 RNA. The virus was not infective in any sample.
Aged cheese made from unpasteurised milk was included, with none of the 23 samples containing the virus. This was the only product type made from unpasteurised milk included in the testing, raw liquid milk products were not tested.
Read more:
Updates on Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) | FDA
🍏 Highly pathogenic avian influenza A (H5N1) in dairy foods (Issue 148) 🍏
3 Weird food fraud moments from the past year
Every week I report on food fraud incidents from around the globe. Here are three of the most unusual from the past 12 months.
Last Easter, authorities in Italy seized 300 units of Easter confectionery, including ‘doves’ and chocolate eggs, from an ‘artisanal’ sweet maker who they allege was buying industrially produced sweets, discarding the wrapping and then reselling them as their own hand-crafted artisanal products.
In the United Kingdom, food safety officials raided a secret cutting room at an unauthorised meat processing facility after receiving a tip-off. They seized animal parts that were not fit for human consumption including lamb testes (160 kg), poultry parts, cows’ feet and tongues (1.9 tons). The animal parts were allegedly diverted from pet food supply chains and sold for human food by four men who were connected to a company that was responsible for transporting the materials to pet food facility(s). The men have been charged with conspiracy to defraud and food safety charges.
One thousand cats were rescued after a tip-off from animal welfare activists resulted in the unearthing of a large illicit trade in live cats in China. The cats were being transported across the country to various locations where they were slaughtered and sold as pork or mutton skewers or sausages.
Food Safety News and Resources
Our news and resources section has not-boring food safety news plus links to free webinars and guidance documents: no ads, no sponsored content, only resources that I believe will be genuinely helpful for you.
This week’s weirdest recall: Canned food over-stickered with different food names (Thanks Steven for sharing this one)
Click the preview below to access it.
The German Cockroach: A History
German cockroaches are the little ones that breed around damp warm places in food businesses. They evolved in the limestone cave systems of tropical Borneo in the South China Sea – hence their love of warmth and humidity.
Below is a link to a fascinating article that explains how they managed to infest the entire world after first hitching a ride on a basket of peppercorns bound for Malaysia…
The German Cockroach: A History - Quality Assurance & Food Safety (qualityassurancemag.com)
Below for paying subscribers: Food fraud news, horizon scanning and incident reports
📌 Food Fraud News 📌
In this week’s food fraud news:
📌 Honey authentication methods explored;
📌 Fallout from a food fraud incident - insights for preventive controls enforcement;
📌 Wheat, corn and soy risk update;
📌 Live snails, petrol tankers, cement garlic, and more.
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