In this article we welcome guest author and industry expert, Alec Kyriakides, to explore some of the food safety developments, recalls and incidents that have happened recently.

 

Food Safety Developments

 

Food safety certification and reduced microbiological risk

A study assessing the relationship between food safety certification and two foodborne pathogens, Campylobacter spp. and Salmonella spp. in raw meat, poultry and egg industries in the United States reported a reduced probability of testing positive. BRCGS certification lowered the probability of testing positive for Salmonella spp. and Campylobacter spp. by 0.3% and 2%, respectively. Similar reduced probabilities of 1% and 0.4% were found for Campylobacter spp. and Listeria monocytogenes, respectively, in sites certificated to the Safe Quality Food (SQF) Standard. Further research involving some of the same authors investigated the detection rates of Salmonella spp. in raw chicken from sites certificated to BRCGS, SQF or FSSC 22000 and found a 3.2% overall lower positive rate of detection. Greatest improvements in reducing positive test rates were found in establishments that were historically poor performing.

 

Dietary Guidelines for Americans

Although strictly not a food safety matter, the diet clearly has a significant impact on health. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently update new dietary guidelines based on a review published in The Scientific Foundation for the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

 

Guidance on the safety of ready to eat food in relation to Listeria monocytogenes

Control of L. monocytogenes requires effective management throughout the supply chain with key considerations including sourcing of ingredients, hygienic production, environmental and product sampling and shelf-life determination. Legislative requirements in the EU are detailed in Regulation 2073/2005 and a recently published amendment has modified the requirements under certain specific circumstances. Detailed guidance on the practical implementation of the criteria with a focus on the amended criterion has been published.

 

Foodborne disease surveillance and response

The World Health Organization (WHO) has published updated manuals on approaches to strengthen national surveillance programmes and recommended measures to respond to foodborne diseases. The guidance provides a means for countries to enhance their resilience and includes aspects such as indicator-based surveillance, event-based surveillance, or outbreak investigation and international escalation. By providing resources to support countries in improving the quality of their national systems it is hoped that countries can better collaborate to manage risk within and between countries.

 

Evidence gaps and research needs in food safety

The Food Standards Agency through its Science Council conducted an expert elicitation exercise to identify and prioritize research questions in food safety regulation, to provide  regulators and research funders with a rapid, reliable, and cost-effective method for assessing evidence gaps in food safety research. Food safety considerations were spread across 12 themes with identified issues including unintended consequences of decarbonization, food waste reduction, and risks from recycled plastics and food byproducts. Emerging allergens, nutritional adequacy of alternative proteins, low fibre intake, and microbiome-related health impacts were also raised together with potential risks from new production systems, kitchen devices, and secondary food economies. Other areas explored included exposure to dietary chemicals alongside complex mixtures of other agents.

 

Investigating foodborne disease incidents and outbreaks

If you have ever wondered what measures are taken to investigate infections with different presentations of symptoms of gastrointestinal infection, some of which may be associated with foodborne disease, then the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) Standard Unit has recently published updated UK Standards for Microbiology Investigations. The document describes “infections and relevant investigations that should be considered in accordance with different presentations of diarrhoea or vomiting consistent with gastrointestinal infections in adults and children, in community and healthcare settings including patients who are immunocompromised”.

 

Food fraud – a different twist

The majority of food fraud relates to authenticity and adulteration of food. However, a recent conviction of an individual in the UK highlights the increasing issue of supply chain fraud associated with the false receipt of goods by individuals / businesses posing as legitimate food operators. The UK National Food Crime Agency (NFCU) were alerted to an issue where fraudsters impersonated legitimate food businesses in the UK to secure deliveries of food from overseas and UK-based suppliers. It was reported that the fraud included cloning the details from fast-food chain franchises in order to steal cargo from unsuspecting suppliers. An individual was sentenced to two years and six months imprisonment for handling stolen goods worth in excess of £500 000.

 

Allergen (mustard) labelling of cereal-based products

A position paper has been published highlighting the challenges in assessing the risk of mustard contamination of certain cereal-based products due to potential analytical cross reactivity with other Brassicaceae species. The paper recommends that precautionary allergen labelling (PAL) for mustard should not be applied systematically in the absence of a confirmed and significant risk.

 

Foodborne disease outbreaks

 

The key issue in January has undoubtedly been the recall of infant formula milk due to contamination with cereulide, the emetic toxin produced by Bacillus cereus. The toxin was detected in an ingredient, arachidonic acid oil, used in batches of formula milk by a number of major national and international baby food manufacturers. The recalls were initially conducted on a precautionary basis due to the detection of low levels of toxin but in the absence of any reported illness. However, since the issuing of recalls across the world, reports of illness have been reported although in such cases these have been mild. Cereulide intoxication is associated with symptoms of nausea, vomiting and stomach pain 30 minutes to six hours after ingestion and in infant can result in dehydration. Arachidonic acid is produced through a bio fermentation process and the exact reason for the presence of the toxin in the ingredient is not clear. A risk assessment has established an acute reference dose (ARfD) in infants as 0.014 μg/kg body weight and, taking into account exposure data, cereulide concentrations above 0.054 μg/L and 0.1 μg/L in reconstituted infant formulae and follow-on formulae, respectively, may exceed the derived ARfD.

 

A salmonellosis outbreak implicating the consumption of dried Moringa powder affecting 65 people and resulting in 14 hospitalisations across 28 states was reported by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The infections were caused by Salmonella Typhimurium and Salmonella Newport.  The Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) outbreak implicating pepperoni and bacon pizza snacks has now resulted in 29 cases and 7 hospitalisations across 7 provinces and territories of Canada. Wild mushrooms have been associated with an increase in serious illnesses in California in recent months with 3 deaths, 3 liver transplants and 35 hospitalisations being reported. The increase has been attributed to the rainfall events that has contributed to widespread growth of death cap mushrooms.

 

Food Recall Highlights

 

The data used for this food recall highlights review is sourced from open access recall databases covering different countries and continents including the USA (Food & Drug Administration and the United States Department of Agriculture), the UK (Food Standards Agency), Germany (Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety) and Australia (Food Standards Australia New Zealand).

 

Microbiological recalls were dominated by infant formula contaminated with cereulide although contamination with Salmonella spp. and Listeria monocytogenes also caused several recalls.

 

 

Allergen recalls continued to be dominated by multiple allergens with milk driving the single allergen recalls.

 

 

Physical contamination recalls were mostly due to glass and metal contamination once again.

 

 

Chemical recalls included a range of contamination events with lead and mycotoxins continuing to feature.

 

  

   

Author

Alec Kyriakides

Independent Food Safety Consultant