This episode of Food Safety Five discusses a new study that leverages a novel quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) model that suggests that half of E. coli O157:H7 illnesses linked to romaine lettuce are caused by contamination via untreated overhead irrigation water.
England saw a 26 percent rise in Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) infections from 2023 to 2024, and non-O157 STEC cases tripled since 2019. These trends may be driven by one foodborne illness outbreak involving contaminated salad leaves.
A laboratory study and large-scale commercial wheat mill trial demonstrated that a bacteriophage cocktail can significantly reduce Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O157:H7 contamination throughout milling operations without affecting the baking qualities of flour.
Using a newly developed quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) model, researchers have identified interventions along the U.S. romaine lettuce supply chain that would most effectively reduce E. coli contamination. The QMRA is publicly available for use.
Per Trace One’s analysis of FDA National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS) data, the U.S. states with the highest levels of Salmonella and Campylobacter contamination in retail meat are Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
Study’s results suggest that charged nanoplastics can influence the growth, viability, virulence, physiological stress response, and biofilm lifestyle of the pathogen Escherichia coli O157:H7.
A key component of the project was a field and laboratory study conducted to assess the presence and potential transmission of AMR Campylobacter and Escherichia coli during the processing of chicken in two similar-sized, large-scale UK chicken processing sites.
To inform the broader third Intestinal Infectious Disease Survey (IID3), the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) conducted a study to calculate burden estimates for four foodborne pathogens: enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC), sapovirus, hepatitis A virus, and Toxoplasma gondii.
According to internal FDA and CDC reports uncovered by NBC News and attorney Bill Marler, in November 2024, a multistate Escherichia coli outbreak linked to lettuce sickened 89 people, resulting in 36 hospitalizations and one death. Mention of the outbreak was not made public until the investigation was closed, nor were any details shared openly.
