Researchers from Jackson State University in Mississippi have reportedly developed a rapid test for detecting Salmonella on food that uses popcorn-shaped gold nanoparticles. Presented March 27, 2012, at the 243rd National Meeting and Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the application relies on antibodies attached to gold nanoparticles that then transfer to Salmonella bacteria if present, in the process changing color from pink to blue. “The test for lettuce requires just a tiny sample of lettuce leaf,” explained lead researcher Paresh Ray. “It doesn’t take a trained laboratory technician to perform the test or read the results. If the color changes from pinkish to bluish, that signals the presence of Salmonella. The test is suitable for use in farm fields and in remote areas of the developing world. We believe it may have enormous potential for rapid, on site pathogen detection to avoid the distribution of contaminated foods.” Although they…
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Del Monte Fresh Produce has reportedly informed Oregon Public Health and state Senior Epidemiologist William Keene that it will not act on its notice to sue over their identification of the company’s imported cantaloupes as the source of a 2011 Salmonella outbreak. Additional details about the litigation threat appear in Issue 408 of this Update. While a spokesperson refused to comment on the company’s action, its letter apparently indicated that the withdrawal was “a show of good faith” in its food safety discussions with the state; it is seeking a meeting with state food safety scientists. Del Monte Fresh Produce also sued the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), claiming that the agency lacked an adequate factual basis to conclude that the company’s Guatemalan cantaloupe supplier was the source of the contamination. The company sought to lift FDA’s import alert which prohibited it from importing from its Guatemalan source without proving the…
A company that insured Basic Food Flavors Inc. has asked a court to approve its settlement in a coverage dispute concerning a 2010 Salmonella outbreak involving hydrolyzed vegetable protein, a flavorings ingredient used in processed foods. Employers Fire Ins. Co. v. Basic Food Flavors Inc., 10-1109 (D. Nev., motion to approve settlement filed March 21, 2012). The ensuing recall apparently affected more than 100 of Basic Food’s customers, in addition to downstream suppliers, distributors and retailers. Under the agreement, the insurance company agreed to pay its coverage limits of $11 million. According to a news source, a neutral administrator has approved more than $34 million in claims against Basic Food. See Law 360, March 22, 2012.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released an analysis showing that disease outbreaks linked to imported foods apparently increased in 2009 and 2010. CDC experts reviewed data collected by the Foodborne Disease Outbreak Surveillance System from 2005 to 2010, finding that 39 outbreaks and 2,348 illnesses were tied to imported foods from 15 countries. According to CDC, 17 of the 39 outbreaks occurred in 2009 and 2010. Since 2005, imported fish was the most common source with 17 total outbreaks, followed by spices with six outbreaks, including five from fresh or dried peppers. Nearly 45 percent of the imported foods linked to outbreaks came from Asia. “It’s too early to say if the recent numbers represent a trend, but CDC officials are analyzing information from 2011 and will continue to monitor for these outbreaks in the future,” said CDC epidemiologist and lead author Hannah Gould. See CDC…
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued a March 2012 report urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to adopt several measures to reduce Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) in cattle before they are slaughtered. According to GAO, USDA currently recognizes bacteriophages, probiotics, vaccines, and sodium chlorate as preslaughter interventions able to control STEC, but has received few applications for commercial products that use these methods. The report notes that even in the case of STEC vaccines, USDA’s requirements for approval are “unclear” and do not address “some of the unique challenges faced by manufacturers of animal health products.” GAO found that, unlike the Canadian Centre for Veterinary Biologics, USDA fails to specify when it requires laboratory or field demonstrations of vaccine efficacy, resulting in delayed application approval. There is also apparently a lack of available products designed to test for six STEC strains—other than STEC O157:H7—that are now considered…
A federal court in South Carolina has dismissed three of four claims in a lawsuit filed by a family farming operation that claims the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) 2008 tomato recall, which later proved unnecessary as the agency conceded that tomatoes were not the source of the Salmonella contamination, caused the farm substantial economic harm. Seaside Farm, Inc. v. United States, No. 11-1199 (D.S.C., decided March 6, 2012). Further details about the litigation appear in Issue 395 of this Update. The court dismissed the plaintiff’s Takings Clause claim, the claim that FDA violated the South Carolina Unfair Trade Practices Act and the defamation claim. The plaintiff’s negligence claim will, however, proceed. While the court suggested that this may actually be a claim for defamation and thus may also be subject to dismissal under the Federal Tort Claims Act, because the defendant did not seek to dismiss on this ground, the court declined…
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced the availability of industry guidance concerning drugs for veterinary care. The guidance provides “recommendations on what documentation to submit to support the CMC [Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls] information for fermentation-derived intermediates, drug substances, and related drug products for veterinary medicinal use.” Noting that a variety of products are manufactured from fermentation processes, such as “competitive exclusion products” that consist of one or more microorganisms intended to prevent harmful bacteria like Salmonella from colonizing, FDA has requested comments on the guidance at any time. See Federal Register, March 8, 2012.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released industry guidance addressing the testing procedures for Salmonella species “in human foods and direct-human-contact animal foods.” Applicable to firms that manufacture, process, pack, or hold these products for distribution to consumers, institutions or food processors, the guidance also discusses the interpretation of test results when the presence of Salmonella “in the food may render the food injurious to human health.” The guidance excludes egg producers and others covered under different FDA food safety rules. The agency will accept comments at any time. See Federal Register, March 8, 2012.
A recent study has reportedly suggested that some food animals, and chickens in particular, are “likely” reservoirs for the extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli (ExPEC) implicated in community-acquired urinary tract infections (UTIs) among humans. Catherine Racicot Bergeron, et al., “Chicken Reservoirs for Extraintestinal Pathogenic Escherichia coli in Humans, Canada,” Emerging Infectious Diseases, March 2012. According to the study, Canadian researchers compared ExPEC isolates from slaughtered chicken, pork and beef “with the preexisting geographically and temporally matched collection of isolates from humans with UTIs,” in order to determine “whether transmission was human to human through food or whether an animal source was involved.” “In the case of human-to-human transmission through food, E. coli strains from humans would be introduced during the meat preparation process by food handlers. In the case of an animal source, E. coli would derive from the cecal content of the animal itself, and contamination would occur during the slaughtering…
A federal court in South Carolina has reportedly determined that a tomato grower seeking damages from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allegedly caused by a 2008 tomato recall that followed a Salmonella outbreak which was ultimately found not to be linked to contaminated tomatoes, may pursue negligence claims against the agency. Williams Farms Produce Sales, Inc. v. United States, No. 11-01399 (D.S.C., order entered February 23, 2012). Further details about the case appear in Issue 398 of this Update. The court has apparently dismissed claims of defamation, slander of title, product/commercial disparagement, unconstitutional taking, and violation of unfair trade practices law. See Law360, February 23, 2012.
