Listeria Monocytogenes Essay examples

eating food contaminated with foodborne pathogens or their toxins which is just another word for poisons is the leading cause of foodborne illness .there are four types of microorganisms that can contaminate food and cause foodborne illness bacteria viruses parasite and fungi and there are six conditions that support the growth of this harmful food borne microorganisms with the exception of viruses that you can remember this six conditions if you use the acronym fat tom those initials stand for food acidity temperature time oxygen and moisture ..let’s look at the first condition the food itself just like people foodborne pathogens need nutrients to grow they typically needs carbohydrates and proteins we can find this food like meet polytree dairy products , cooked rice pasta and eggs

In the case of the Salmonella gastroenteritis outbreak after a reception, the origin of the illness comes down to the potato salad served at this event, however, the investigators are not certain of the mechanism of contamination. Whether the service worker (infected) might have unknowingly contaminated the food item or whether the food service worker also was infected through the same source as the case-patients remains unclear.2 Because the mechanism is unclear, it’s hard to identify if any of the ingredients in the potato salad were the culprit. In many cases, however, investigators are able to identify the mechanism for contamination.

The Maple leaf foods listeria outbreak resulted 22 deaths and a widespread recall of luncheon meat, Sandwiches and deli platters, more than  220 packages of produce and a 20$ million dollar settlement for the company as well as consumer confidence in the produce was jolted. The Outbreak was caused by two meat slicing machine’s that were contaminated with Listeriosis and not cleaned properly.

The review indicated that there were several deficiencies existed at this plant, which contributed to the outbreak. For example, Maple Leaf Foods’ plant was aware that it had occurrences of Listeria in the plant in 2007 and 2008, and tried to correct the problem with sanitation procedures. As a result, the plant’s management thought Listeria was under control. Maple Leaf Foods did not conduct the trend analysis required under its Listeria control policy. Without this analysis, the recurring positive results were not identified. Also, the company did not establish an effective escalation process for the repeated occurrence of the bacteria. Furthermore, as a response to a market opportunity, Maple Leaf Foods produced large quantity of its deli meat products, targeted specifically to institutions such as hospitals and long-term care facilities serving high risk individuals, using a low-sodium recipe that increased the potential for Listeria to grow3. However, Maple Leaf Foods did not make corresponding adjustments or improvements to enhance its food safety procedures to reflect the higher risk identified in this special kind of deli products. Apparently, in this issue, Maple Leaf Foods was an active agent; it purposely reduced the sodium to cater

Foodborne illness, or food poisoning, happens everyday in the U.S. and it is estimated that 48 million people are affected by it every year. Of these 48 million, 128,000 end up in the hospital and 3000 of them die from foodborne pathogens (Tucker, 2014). Foodborne illnesses can be caused by biological, chemical, or physical contaminants. The biological contaminants consist of bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi. Chemical contaminants are pesticides, cleaning supplies, and toxic chemicals. Physical contaminations are dirt, glass, wood, splinters, stones, hair, jewelry, and metal shavings (Tucker, 2014). Salmonella, a bacterium, has been the most common reported cause of food poisoning. Salmonella is most commonly exposed to humans through animal feces and it is usually from animals that give us beef, poultry, and dairy products. People who do not wash their hands after being around animals can also transmit salmonella into our food. The symptoms of Salmonella are abdominal cramps, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and fever (Tucker, 2014). The symptoms will usually resolve on their own in healthy people but may become life threatening in those with compromised immune systems. In order to prevent Salmonellosis, raw eggs should be avoided, as well as undercooked meat, shellfish, and unpasteurized milk and juice (Tucker, 2014). It is also important to always practice hand hygiene before handling any uncooked food products. Escherichia Coli, otherwise known as E. coli, is

A) Emerging Infectious Diseases reported an example of a real life outbreak of community-acquired foodborne illness caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in January 2002, from the Tennessee Department of Health, Nashville, Tennessee, USA. A family purchased a dinner of shredded barbeque pork and coleslaw from a convenience and delicatessen market. The pork was reheated in the home microwave, and three adults ate the food after it was bought. Three to four hours after eating the meal, the three adults who had not eaten another common meal together in the preceding week had nausea, vomiting, and stomach cramps. The two children who did not eat the food did not become sick. Two of the three adults were hospitalized for evaluation, and then they were treated and released.

Foodborne illness is one of the more common illnesses that affects every 1 in 6 Americans each year according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) (cdc.gov). Of those 48 million people, about 128,00 are hospitalized while 3,000 are left dead (cdc.gov). Foods such as: fruits, vegetables, meat and poultry, and shellfish, are the number one causers of foodborne illness. Produce accounted for the highest affecting food group with leafy greens causing more than 46% by the norovirus (https://www.cdc.gov/foodborneburden/attribution/attribution-1998-2008.html). Poultry accounted for the most deaths with findings of Salmonella and Listeria as the two main bacteria causing agents.

In August-October 2011 there was an outbreak of the Bacteria Listeriosis coming from a Colorado farm called Jensen Farm. Jensen farm held a press conference on September fourteenth and voluntarily recalled their cantaloupe. The cost associated with just one food borne illness shocked me. The symptoms of this outbreak were the same for many of the victims which included: fever, muscle aches, and diarrhea. The causalities were extremely high in this outbreak. There were 146 total infections, 30 deaths, and even a miscarriage roaming over 28 states in total. Most People who became ill were over sixty and fifty-eight percent were female (Multistate Outbreak of Listeriosis Linked to Whole Cantaloupes from Jensen Farms,

The bacterium is largely spread in nature and be present in soil, water and contaminated foods. Animals and fresh produce are prone to contamination in foul environment. How this affected Enterprise Food, is the factory workers were in the presence of the bacterium while they were producing the perishable, and from the above research listeriosis shows that it has the ability to affect the working environment through oxygen ‘inhaling’, and through quality checks when the quality in spectator test the product as for quality protocol by tasting the perishable meat. Infection of the bacterium can cause in mild to severe febrile gastroenteritis and in pregnant women, the bacterium can cause pregnancy loss. (National institute for communicable

• Food Infection: pathogens grow inside the intestine of a person, eating food contaminated by these pathogens.

There have been several food recalls related to Listeria monocytogenes in the United States this year. As CNN explains, Listeria is a bacterium that can be found in raw meats, produce, and unpasteurized dairy products. It is resistant to moderate heat and cold, so it can survive in a refrigerator. The symptoms of listeriosis are similar to those of influenza, but the illness can be dangerous to infants, the elderly, pregnant women, and anyone with a compromised immune system.

A wide range of food products have been associated with the transmission of listeriosis, primarily milk and dairy products, meat products (cooked chicken, pate, rillettes, sausages, salami), vegetables (coleslaw and rice salads, celery, alfalfa) and, in a lesser degree, fish products (smoked fish, shellfish, shrimp). Generally, these foods have extended shelf life, do not require further cooking and support the growth of the bacterium.

Due to its high mortality rate, ongoing efforts are needed to further reduce the incidence of listeriosis. Proper storage and handling of refrigerated ready-to-eat foods can help reduce the risk of listeriosis; if the disease develops, assesing its severity is necessary before antimicrobial therapy is instituted.

Food samples used in this experiment is Nasi Lemak. Total viable count of the sample is 5.4×104 cfu/g, presumptive E. coli is 7.2×102 cfu/g while presumptive S. aureus is 5.5×103 cfu/g. Based on microbiological guidelines for food, range of acceptable level of viable count is 103 to 105 (Chua et al., 2014). This shows that the food is still safe to be consumed. Acceptable range of microbiological level of E. coli is 102 while marginal range of microbiological level of S. aureus is 102-103 (FSANZ, 2001).

Common illnesses that can occur are salmonella and trichinosis poisoning resulting from improper handling of chicken, eggs or pork (Jardin, 2009, para.2). Diseases such as: campylobacteriosis, cholera, and listeriosis also make the list of illnesses (Jardin, 2009, para.1). These diseases are the versions of food poisoning, which can be life-threatening. According to the World of Health article published in 2007,