Foodborne outbreaks in Brazil associated with fruits and vegetables:2008 through 2014

Objectives:Foodborne disease outbreaks linked to fruits and vegetables have been increasing in occurrence worldwide;therefore,the aim of this study was to identify the reported foodborne outbreaks associated with fruit and vegetable consumption in Brazil from 2008 to 2014.Results And Limitations:Thirty produce related outbreaks resulted in 2926 illnesses,347 hospitalizations,and no deaths.Only bacterial pathogens were identified as etiological agents.Among these,Salmonella was the most frequent(30 per cent of outbreaks)followed by Staphylococcus aureus(23.3 per cent),Escherichia coli(10 per cent),Bacillus cereus(6.6 per cent),and thermotolerant coliforms(3.3 per cent),whereas etiological agents could not be determined for 26.6 per cent of outbreaks.The most common food vehicles implicated in outbreaks were generically named as fruits and vegetables(46.6 per cent of outbreaks).The term salad was used generically and specifically like salads(two outbreaks),raw/cooked salads(four outbreaks),vegetable salad,tropical salad,Caesar salad,and raw salad of cabbage and tomato.Only one outbreak was related exclusively to fruit(fruit pulp),whereas other outbreaks were related to cooked carrot,lettuce,cucumber,watermelon/cabbage,and chard/beet.Contamination sources and issues related to the future control of produce-related foodborne disease outbreaks are discussed.

Effects of decontamination treatment combined with natural chemicals and/or ultra-high pressure on the quality and safety of ready-to-eat wine-pickled mud snails(Bullacta exarata)

Ready-to-eat wine-pickled mud snails(Bullacta exarata)typically host a large number of microorganisms and are frequently contaminated with pathogenic bacteria during processing,resulting in a higher risk for foodborne illness with consumption.In this study,the decontamination effects of different treatment methods,including the use of ultrasonic cleaning(USC),natural chemicals,and ultra-high pressure(UHP),on the quality and safety of pickled mud snails were investigated by assessing the total viable count(TVC),total volatile base nitrogen(TVB-N)content,thiobarbituric acid-reactive substance(TBARS),and pH value of the products after 12 months of storage at-20℃.Treatment with 200 W USC for 5 min was the most effective approach for reducing TVC in raw mud snails,with a minimal change in food quality.Natural chemical treatment or UHP treatment significantly inhibited the increase inTVC,pH,and TBARS and TVB-N accumulation compared with the control group;however,their combined treatment had no synergistic effect.In contrast,the combined chemical treatment was more effective in inhibiting changes in the above indices in pickled mud snails than UHP treatment alone or combined chemicals+UHP treatment.In addition,the bacterial diversity of pickled mud snails before and after 12 months of storage at-20℃was determined using lllumina MiSeq sequencing.Our results indicated that USC combined with natural chemicals can be utilized commercially to maintain the quality and safety of pickled mud snails during storage at-20℃.