K A S H R U T . C O M_©

Uruguay’s inspections of beef and lamb found "equivalent to that of United States"

March 30, 2020 - Food Safety News:

"Uruguay exports raw and processed beef and lamb products to the United States, and USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) finds no reason that those shipments cannot continue."

"The FSIS performed an on-site equivalence verification audit in Uruguay Dec. 2 to Dec. 13, 2019, without identifying any systemic findings of shortcomings. The final report dated March 19, 2020, was a clean bill of health for the South American country."

"'The purpose of the audit was to determine whether Uruguay’s food safety inspection system governing raw and processed meat (i.e. beef and lamb) products remains equivalent to that the United States, with the ability to export meat products that are thermally processed, commercially sterile beef, ready-to-eat (RTE) salt-cured beef; RTE beef fully cooked without subsequent exposure tot he environment; RTE fully cooked beef; RTE fully-cooked beef; RTE dried beef; RTE acidified /fermented beef (without cooking); raw intact beef; and raw intact lamb to the United States,' says the report."

"'The FSIS concluded that Uruguay's meat food safety inspection system is organized to provide ultimate control, supervision, and enforcement of regulatory requirements,' according to the report."

"It says Uruguay’s 'has implemented sanitary operating procedures and a HACCP system to ensure controls of the food safety inspection system for raw and processed beef and lamb.' Further, the report says Uruguay 'has implemented microbiological and chemical residue testing that is organized and administered by the national government to verify the country’s food safety inspection system.'"

Scientists find evidence of huge increase in parasitic worms found in raw seafood dishes

March 23, 2020 - from Food Safety News:

"The next time you eat sashimi, nigiri or other forms of raw fish, you should consider doing a quick check for worms, according to a team of researchers."

"A new study led by scientists at the University of Washington found 'dramatic increases in the abundance of a worm that can be transmitted to humans who eat raw or undercooked seafood.'"

"'Its 283-fold increase in abundance since the 1970s could have implications for the health of humans and marine mammals, which both can inadvertently eat the worm,” according to a report on the scientists’ work. They looked at a parasitic worm, known as Anisakis or “herring worm.'"

"Their’s is the first study to combine the results of previous research to investigate how the global abundance of these worms has changed through time. The findings were published March 19 in the journal Global Change Biology."

"The worms can’t reproduce or live for more than a few days in a human’s intestine, but they can persist and reproduce in marine mammals. The worms actually reproduce in the intestines of these animals and are released into the ocean via the marine mammals’ feces. Then the worms infect other creatures."

"The worms can be up to 2 centimeters in length, about as long as a nickel is wide."

"The worms actually reproduce in the intestines of these animals and are released into the ocean via the marine mammals’ feces, then infecting more animals."

"The authors aren’t sure what caused the large increase of Anisakis worms over the past several decades, but climate change, more nutrients from fertilizers and runoff, and an increase in marine mammal populations over the same period could all be potential reasons, they wrote."

Ed. note: Anisakiasis can be prevented by freezing or cooking. See CDC Anisakiasis FAQs and Seafood Health Facts

COVID-19 cannot be transmitted by either farm animals or domestic animals

March 11, 2020 - from French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety:

"When asked about potential transmission of the COVID-19 disease via contaminated domestic animals or food, ANSES urgently convened an expert group to answer this question. On the basis of their report, the Agency concluded that in light of the scientific knowledge available, there is no evidence that pets and livestock play a role in the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus causing this disease. Any transmission through food would therefore necessarily imply contamination of that food by a patient or person infected with the virus, during handling or meal preparation. This could concern all types of foods (animal or plant products). Furthermore, while there is no evidence to suggest that consumption of contaminated food can lead to infection of the digestive tract, the possibility of the respiratory tract becoming infected during chewing cannot be completely ruled out. The Agency reiterates that cooking food and observing good hygiene practices when handling and preparing food are effective at preventing contamination with the SARS-CoV-2 virus."

"Since the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus – responsible for the COVID-19 disease – emerged in China in December 2019, the knowledge acquired has shown that its main route of transmission is human-to-human, through contact between people or inhalation of infectious droplets emitted by patients when they sneeze or cough."

"The expert group reached the following conclusions:

• Based on the current state of knowledge, transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus directly via the digestive tract can be ruled out. Indeed, while the virus has been observed in patients' faeces, it was probably due to circulation of the virus in blood following respiratory infection rather than through the digestive tract. However, the possibility of the respiratory tract becoming infected during chewing cannot be completely ruled out.
• As with other known coronaviruses, this virus is sensitive to cooking temperatures. Heat treatment at 63°C (145.4°F)for 4 minutes (temperature used when preparing hot food in mass catering) can therefore reduce contamination of a food product by a factor of 10,000.
• An infected person can contaminate food by preparing or handling it with dirty hands, or via infectious droplets produced when coughing or sneezing. Good hygiene practices, when properly applied, are an effective way to prevent food from being contaminated with the SARS-CoV-2 virus."

FDA Import Alert - Mexican Cantelopes

March 3, 2020 from FDA:

During 2000, 2001, and 2002, there were four multi-state Salmonellosis outbreaks traced back to Mexican cantaloupes. The pathogen identified in three of the outbreaks was Salmonella Poona and in the other outbreak Salmonella Anatum. Reported cases per outbreak ranged from 35 to 50. There were two deaths in California associated with the 2001 outbreak. At least 18 people were hospitalized. All outbreaks occurred between March and June. FDA's traceback investigations implicated Mexican cantaloupe from the states of Michoacan and Guerrero as the source of the four outbreaks. In 1999, 2001, and 2002, FDA collected samples of Mexican cantaloupes for Salmonella analysis. The salmonella-positive samples include nearly all the major cantaloupe producing states in Mexico including Sonora (7), Jalisco (1), Colima (1), Coahuila (1), Mexico (1), and Tamauilpas (1). Positive samples cover both the fall/winter and spring/summer season.

Moreover, in the outbreaks of 2000, 2001, and 2002, the illnesses were spread over a wide geographical area in the U.S., as well as in Canada, and occurred over a 4 to 6 week period. These two facts also suggest that more than one shipment was the cause and make it extremely unlikely that a random natural event or events caused the contamination.

FDA believes that the source of Salmonella contamination is most likely attributable to a broader source of contamination. Sources of contamination may include irrigation of fields with water contaminated with sewage, processing ("cleaning and cooling") produce with Salmonella contaminated water, and/or poor hygienic practices of workers that harvest and process the produce, pests in packing facilities, and lack of adequate cleaning and sanitizing of equipment that comes in contact with the product.

Inspectional findings (conducted in response to the outbreaks) at a number of cantaloupe growing areas and packing sheds in Mexico reveal that Mexican cantaloupe are indeed manufactured, processed, or packed under gross insanitary conditions. Further, these inspections underscore the lack of an overall environmental sanitation program, as well as apparent lack of regulatory authority in Mexican law to address the insanitary conditions that FDA believes lead to Salmonella contamination. In addition, practices that result in product from different states being commingled means that any shipment of cantaloupe may contain fruit from states that have been the source of contaminated cantaloupe.

FDA believes that cantaloupe imported from Mexico appear to be adulterated under Section 801(a)(3) of the Act because they appear (1) to contain Salmonella, an added poisonous or deleterious substance that may render food injurious to health within the meaning of section 402(a)(1) of the Act and (2) to have been prepared, packed, or held under insanitary conditions whereby they may have been rendered injurious to health within the meaning of Section 402(a)(4)of the Act. In addition, the cantaloupe violate section 801 (a)(1) of the Act in that they appear to have been manufactured, processed, or packed under insanitary conditions.

This alert covers both whole cantaloupe and sliced, chopped, or diced cantaloupe. The processing associated with producing fresh versus intact produce increases the opportunity for contamination and the chance of cross contamination over an even larger volume of product.

Furthermore, processes such as cutting, dicing, and slicing, increase the surface area available for contamination and growth of microorganisms. Nutrients to support microbial growth (i.e., from plant juices and exposed flesh) are also more available. Concerns about pathogens are further amplified when the characteristics of the particular fruit or vegetable (e.g. pH) can support their growth. This is the case with many vegetables, certain soft fruit, and melons, including cantaloupe.

Guidance: Districts may detain, without physical examination, all raw and raw fresh refrigerated cantaloupes, frozen, and processed cantaloupe, including fresh cantaloupe sliced/chopper for salad bars offered for importation from the country of Mexico.

Passover in the time of coronavirus: Cancellations mount at kosher resorts

March 3, 2020 - from JTA:

"As the coronavirus spreads across the globe, the effects are being felt not only in the public health arena but in business, education and tourism — and a small but significant subset of the Jewish world: Passover vacations."

"The eight-day holiday, with its extensive home cleaning preparations and succession of major meals, has emerged as a popular time for getaways. The Passover travel industry has ballooned into a major business, with over 170 programs this year offering kosher meals in nearly every corner of the planet. Jews from Israel, the United States, Europe and elsewhere are willing to pay an often hefty fee to avoid the drudgery and inconvenience of holiday prep."

"As of early March, at least three programs — two in Italy and one in Thailand — have been canceled because of the virus. Others are keeping a wary eye on the situation."

"In Italy, the European country worst hit so far by the virus, more than a dozen programs are planned for 2020. Several operators said they remain committed to holding their programs and are keeping a close watch on the situation, but others have been forced to throw in the towel."

"Tour operators that decide to cancel programs typically offer full refunds to their patrons. And industry insiders say that even those that have not canceled are often inclined to return what they can, if only to preserve goodwill among their clientele."

For operators" "that run just one or two programs annually, a single bad year can spell disaster. They typically spend the entire year planning for Passover, which between the logistics of delivering kosher food to exotic locales and the multiple requirements of traditionally observant Jewish traveler is both complicated and pricey."

"Profits are often made only on the last 10% to 15% of rooms booked, meaning even a small drop in participation can make a world of difference."