Brazil - Beef carcass contamination by shiga toxin–producing Escherichia coli strains in an abattoir in Brazil: Characterization and resistance to antimicrobial drugs
01 Dec 2008
Foodborne Pathogens and Disease, 5(6): 811-817
Everlon Cid Rigobelo, Edilene Santo, Jose Moacir Marin [edited][iFSN]
A survey was performed to estimate the frequency of Escherichia coli and Shiga toxin–producing E. coli (STEC) in carcasses obtained from an abattoir in Brazil between February 2006 and June 2007. A total of 216 beef carcasses were sampled at three stages of the slaughter process—preevisceration, postevisceration, and postprocessing—during the rain and dry seasons, respectively. Of the carcasses sampled, 58% were preevisceration E. coli positive, 38% were postevisceration positive, and 32% postprocessing positive. At the postprocessing stage, the isolation of E. coli was twice as high in the rain season. E. coli was isolated from 85 carcasses of which only 3 (1.4%) were positive for stx-encoding genes. No E. coli O157 serogroup isolates were detected. No antimicrobial resistance was found in nine of the isolates (10% of the total). The most frequent resistances were seen against cephalothin (78%), streptomycin (38%), nalidixic acid (36%), and tetracycline (30%). Multidrug resistance (MDR) to three or more antimicrobial agents was determined in 28 (33%) E. coli isolates. The presence of STEC and MDR strains among the isolates in the beef carcasses emphasizes the importance of proper handling to prevent carcass contamination.

Use of organic acids are vital in fight to control Salmonella in South America says UK expert
18 Sep 2008
FarmingUK [edited][iFSN]
A UK poultry Salmonella specialist from Kiotechagil has emphasised the critical need to use organics acids in the battle to control Salmonella in South American poultry farms. Speaking to poultry producers, vets and nutritionists in Peru, he said, "the organic acids in SALKIL assist in the acidification of the entire digestive tract providing a controlled release of acids, to assist the development of beneficial gut microflora. These protected organic acids are capable of resisting immediate digestion in the intestine and can help control Gram negative enteropathogens from all sources." In a study of free-range chickens in Peru, the frequency of Salmonella positive isolates was 54 percent.

Uruguay - Detection and characterization of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli from clinical cases and food
24 Aug 2008
National Center for Biotechnology Information [edited] [iFSN]
Varela G, Chinen I, Gadea P, Miliwebsky E, Mota MI, González S, González G, Gugliada MJ, Carbonari CC, Algorta G, et al.
We have assessed the frequency of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coil (STEC) in clinical and food samples as well as studied the genotypic and phenotypic characteristics of the recovered strains. One hundred ninety eight fecal samples from children with bloody diarrhea (BD), 14 from children with hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), 220 ground beef samples and 4 STEC isolates from other beef-derived products were analyzed. The STEC strains were isolated from 3 (1.5%) children with bloody diarrhea, 1 (7%) from a child with HUS and 4 (1.8%) from ground beef samples. All strains were eae and ehxA positive. The serotypes found were: O157:H7 (9 strains), O26:H11 (2), O111: NM (1) and O145:HNT (1). All O157:H7 STEC strains harbored the eae subtype gamma1, O26:H11 and O145:HNT strains, subtype beta1 and O111:NM strain, subtype gamma2/theta. The STEC strains of the same serogroup showed high genetic diversity. In Uruguay, STEC is not frequently isolated from cases of bloody diarrhea in children. However, all the recovered STEC strains carried the genes associated with severe disease and 2 out of 3 children infected with STEC developed HUS. Ground beef and other food products might be important vehicles for O157:H7 strains.

Brazil – Banishment of the cyhexatine active principle recommended
28 July 2008
Anvisa [edited] [provided and translated from Portuguese by Maria Carolina Minardi Guimarães]
The National Agency of Sanitary Monitoring (Anvisa) recommended the banishment of the cyhexatine active principle, used to manufacture seven agrochemicals, and registered mainly for the citriculture (the culture of citrical fruits). The product is also used in the cultures of apple, strawberry, peach, coffee and eggplant. Studies in laboratory with rats, rabbits and mice showed serious risks to the health. The main effect of the cyhexatine is fetal malformation, in particular a risk of hydrocephaly. The experiences have also proved an abortion risk, and effects on the reproductive system, as well as damages to the skin, lungs, vision, liver and kidneys, among others. The doses in which these effects appeared in the animals suggested that the cyhexatine is not secure for the agricultural workers, consumers of the treated cultures, or the population in general.

Brazil - Microbiological quality and safety of meals served to children and adoption of good manufacturing practices in public school catering in Brazil
21 May 2008
Food Control (Volume 20, Issue 3, March 2009, Pages 255-261) [iFSN]
Nadja G. Santanaa, Rogeria C.C. Almeidaa, Jeane S. Ferreiraa and Paulo F. Almeida
Abstract
The aim of this investigation was to evaluate the food safety of the services used to prepare the free school meals in Salvador, Brazil, and to adopt good manufacturing practices (GMP) in order to assure a safe supply of food for students. Results showed that 80% of cafeterias were classified as poor by a checklist survey before GMP was adopted; samples of meals showed high aerobic plate count (APC), and the presence of thermotolerant coliforms and Staphylococcus TNase-coagulase positives. After adopting GMP, the schools achieved higher scores on the survey; reduced numbers of APC, reduced presence of coliforms in meals, and Staphylococci were not isolated. In general, prior to intervention, free-school meals preparation areas did not meet satisfactory operational conditions. It is therefore necessary to introduce GMP in these facilities in order to ensure safe meals for students.

Argentina - Risk factors for sporadic Shiga Toxin–producing Escherichia coli infections in children
30 Apr 2008
Emerging Infectious Diseases , Volume 14, Number 5
Marta Rivas, Sergio Sosa-Estani, Josefa Rangel, Maria G. Caletti, Patricia Vallés, Carlos D. Roldán, Laura Balbi, Maria C. Marsano de Mollar, Diego Amoedo, Elizabeth Miliwebsky, Isabel Chinen, Robert M. Hoekstra, Paul Mead, and Patricia M. Griffin
Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Centro Nacional de Endemoepidemias, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Hospital Nacional de Pediatría, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Hospital Pediátrico, Mendoza, Argentina; and Ministerio de Desarrollo Social y Salud, Mendoza, Argentina
Researchers evaluated risk factors for sporadic Shiga toxin–producing Escherichia coli (STEC) infection among children in Argentina. This was a prospective case–control study in 2 sites and enrolled 150 case-patients and 299 controls. The median age of case-patients was 1.8 years; 58% were girls. Serotype O157:H7 was the most commonly isolated STEC. Exposures associated with infection included eating undercooked beef, living in or visiting a place with farm animals, and contact with a child <5 years of age with diarrhea. Protective factors included the respondent reporting that he or she always washed hands after handling raw beef and the child eating more than the median number of fruits and vegetables. Many STEC infections in children could be prevented by avoiding consumption of undercooked beef, limiting exposure to farm animals and their environment, not being exposed to children with diarrhea, and washing hands after handling raw beef.

Brazil - Prevalence, genetic characterization and antimicrobial resistance of Salmonella isolated from fresh pork sausages in Porto Alegre
22 Apr 2008
Food Control (Volume 20, Issue 3, March 2009, Pages 191-195)
Lisandra Mürmanna, Maria Cecília dos Santosa and Marisa Cardoso [edited][iFSN] Abstract
A total of 336 samples of fresh pork sausage randomly obtained from supermarkets and butcher shops in Porto Alegre, Brazil, were examined for the presence of Salmonella serovars. Salmonella enterica was detected in 82 (24.4%) of the samples, with a most probable number count ranging from 0.03 MPN g-1 to 460 MPN g-1. Strains belonging to the most isolated S. enterica serovars (Brandenburg, Panama, Derby and Typhimurium ) were further characterized by XbaI-macrorestriction, resulting in a total of 17 profiles. Resistance to tetracycline was the most prevalent among the Salmonella isolates. S. panama and S. typhimurium presented the greatest number of resistance phenotypes.



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