Reducing foodborne disease incidence is a public health priority. This report summarizes preliminary 2023 Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet) data and highlights efforts to increase the representativeness of FoodNet. During 2023, incidences of domestically acquired campylobacteriosis, Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli infection, yersiniosis, vibriosis, and cyclosporiasis increased, whereas those of listeriosis, salmonellosis, and shigellosis remained stable compared with incidences during 2016-2018, the baseline used for tracking progress towards federal disease reduction goals. During 2023, the incidence and percentage of infections diagnosed by culture-independent diagnostic tests (CIDTs) reported to FoodNet continued to increase, and the percentage of cases that yielded an isolate decreased, affecting observed trends in incidence. Because CIDTs allow for diagnosis of infections that previously would have gone undetected, lack of progress toward disease reduction goals might reflect changing diagnostic practices rather than an actual increase in incidence. Continued surveillance is needed to monitor the impact of changing diagnostic practices on disease trends, and targeted prevention efforts are needed to meet disease reduction goals. During 2023, FoodNet expanded its catchment area for the first time since 2004. This expansion improved the representativeness of the FoodNet catchment area, the ability of FoodNet to monitor trends in disease incidence, and the generalizability of FoodNet data.

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UNASSIGNED: Foodborne diseases, representing significant food safety and public health challenges globally, are not well-documented in terms of incidence, particularly for cases characterized by acute gastroenteritis (AGI) in China.
UNASSIGNED: This study developed a pyramid model to estimate the incidence of five pathogens, stratified by gender and age. The estimated incidences per 100,000 people with 95% uncertainty intervals (UI) are as follows: Norovirus, 3,188.28 (95% UI: 2,518.03, 7,296.96); Salmonella spp., 1,295.59 (95% UI: 1,002.62, 1,573.11); diarrheagenic E. coli (DEC), 782.62 (95% UI: 651.19, 932.05); Vibrio parahaemolyticus, 404.06 (95% UI: 342.19, 468.93); and Shigella spp., 26.73 (95% UI: 21.05, 33.46).
UNASSIGNED: This study elucidates the incidence rates across various gender and age groups, thereby identifying priority populations for targeted preventive interventions aimed at reducing disease burden. These insights are crucial for the development of public health policies and management of food safety risks.

UNASSIGNED: Hospital refrigerators as essential food storage can be important source of food contamination. We aimed to investigate the frequency and antibiotic susceptibility of the pathogenic bacteria in three hospital refrigerators in Tehran.
UNASSIGNED: This study was performed on 254 samples, collected from 60 refrigerators of the various wards of three hospitals, A, B, and C, in Tehran, Iran from 2020 to 2021. Following isolation and identification of isolates, the antibiotic susceptibility pattern was determined. PCR-based assays were used to screen the presence of antibiotic resistance genes of resistant isolates.
UNASSIGNED: From 254 collected samples, 236 samples (92.9%) were contaminated. Most strains were isolated from refrigerators with poorly cleaned, temperatures above 8 °C in non-critical wards. Most bacteria belonging to Enterobacteriaceae (68.8%), followed by Staphylococcus (11.9%), and Enterococcus (10.6%), while the frequency of non-Enterobacteriaceae isolates was 8.9%. The highest antibiotic resistant bacteria were in extended spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) 9.7%, vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) 5.3%, methicillin-resistant S. epidermidis (MRSE) 0.4%, and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) 0.4%, respectively. The bla OXA-48, bla CTX, and bcla TEM genes were found only in 10% of Enterobacteriaceae isolates. The bla OXA-51 gene was found in all non-Enterobacteriaceae isolates. The vanA and mecA genes were detected in antibiotic-resistant Enterococcus and Staphylococcus.
UNASSIGNED: Our findings suggests major concern about cross-contamination and the emergence of antibiotic-resistant isolates as a potential health threat with hospital refrigerators origin. More attention to hospital refrigerators cleaning is necessary to prevent foodborne diseases and nosocomial infections.

UNASSIGNED: In 2023, two fatalities attributed to the ingestion of uncooked morels (Morchella spp.) were reported in the United States; both patients developed severe gastrointestinal symptoms. Morel-induced gastrointestinal toxicity is well recognized, but no deaths had been reported until 2023, suggesting a potential shift in the severity of morel poisoning.
UNASSIGNED: Using the Poisoning Severity Score, we analyzed the severity of symptomatic cases of morel ingestion recorded in the French National Database of Poisonings from 2010 to 2020.
UNASSIGNED: We found 446 cases of exposure in which morels were the sole mushroom species involved. Of these, 83.6 per cent and 53.3 per cent developed gastrointestinal and neurological symptoms, respectively. Eight patients developed shock attributed to severe gastrointestinal symptoms, resulting in two deaths.
UNASSIGNED: Morel ingestion can lead to severe complications. As in the United States, the deaths reported in this study were attributed to imported cultivated morels. The shift, since 2006, towards a predominance of cultivated over wild morel sales may have played a role in the reporting of severe cases of morel poisoning.
UNASSIGNED: Reports of severe morel poisoning highlight the need for cautious consumption, particularly of raw or undercooked preparations. Emerging complications signal potential changes in toxicity. Surveillance and awareness are key to reducing the risks of consuming morels.

Foodborne viruses remain the largest cause of human gastroenteritis and one of the largest contributors to foodborne illnesses worldwide. Currently, quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) or real-time qPCR are the detection methods commonly used for quantification of foodborne viruses, but those methods have several disadvantages, such as relying on standard curves for quantification and the background noise from a bulk reaction. ddPCR uses an oil-water emulsion to form multiple droplets that partition small amounts of viral genetic material (DNA or RNA) into each of the droplets. These droplets then undergo amplification cycles and are analyzed using Poisson distributions. This allows for absolute quantification without the need for a standard curve, which makes ddPCR a precise tool in surveillance of foodborne viruses. Herein, we describe the process of detecting foodborne viruses using RNA isolated from various matrices. Up to 96 samples including the positive and negative controls can be analyzed on a single plate by ddPCR.

Listeria monocytogenes, one of the main foodborne pathogens, is commonly found in milk and dairy products. This study aimed to estimate the presence of L. monocytogenes in milk and dairy product supply chains using a meta-analysis based on PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Scopus databases. A total of 173 studies were included in this meta-analysis. The pooled prevalence in the supply chain environment was 8.69% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 5.30%-12.78%), which was higher than that in dairy products (4.60%, 95% CI: 1.72%-8.60%) and milk products (2.93%, 95% CI: 2.14%-3.82%). Subgroup analysis showed that L. monocytogenes prevalence in raw milk (3.44%, 95% CI: 2.61%-4.28%) was significantly higher than in pasteurized milk (0.60%, 95% CI: 0.00%-2.06%). The highest prevalence of L. monocytogenes in milk and dairy products was observed in North America (5.27%, 95% CI: 2.19%-8.35%) and South America (13.54%, 95% CI: 3.71%-23.37%). In addition, studies using culture and molecular methods (5.17%, 95% CI: 2.29%-8.06%) had higher prevalence than other detection methods. Serogroup 1/2a and 3a (45.34%, 95% CI: 28.74%-62.37%), serogroup 1/2b and 3b (14.23%, 95% CI: 6.05%-24.24%), and serogroup 4b/4e (13.71%, 95% CI: 6.18%-22.83%) were dominant in these studies. The results of this study provide a better understanding of the prevalence of L. monocytogenes in milk and dairy product supply chains and suggest a potential foodborne pathogen burden.

Foodborne diseases can be attributed not only to contamination with bacterial or fungal pathogens but also their associated toxins. Thus, to maintain food safety, innovative decontamination techniques for toxins are required. We previously demonstrated that an atmospheric-pressure dielectric-barrier discharge (APDBD) plasma generated by a roller conveyer plasma device is effective at inactivating bacteria and fungi in foods. Here, we have further examined whether the roller conveyer plasma device can be used to degrade toxins produced by foodborne bacterial pathogens, including aflatoxin, Shiga toxins (Stx1 and Stx2), enterotoxin B and cereulide. Each toxin was spotted onto an aluminum plate, allowed to dry, and then treated with APDBD plasma applied by the roller conveyer plasma device for different time periods. Assessments were conducted using a competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The results demonstrate a significant time-dependent decrease in the levels of these toxins. ELISA showed that aflatoxin B1 concentrations were reduced from 308.6 µg/mL to 74.4 µg/mL within 1 min. For Shiga toxins, Stx1 decreased from 913.8 µg/mL to 65.1 µg/mL, and Stx2 from 2309.0 µg/mL to 187.6 µg/mL within the same time frame (1 min). Enterotoxin B levels dropped from 62.67 µg/mL to 1.74 µg/mL at 15 min, and 1.43 µg/mL at 30 min, but did not display a significant decrease within 5 min. LC-MS/MS analysis verified that cereulide was reduced to below the detection limit following 30 min of APDBD plasma treatment. Taken together, these findings highlight that a range of foodborne toxins can be degraded by a relatively short exposure to plasma generated by an APDBD using a roller conveyer device. This technology offers promising advancements in food safety, providing a novel method to alleviate toxin contamination in the food processing industry.

Microbial foodborne pathogens present significant challenges to public health and the food industry, requiring rapid and accurate detection methods to prevent infections and ensure food safety. Conventional single biosensing techniques often exhibit limitations in terms of sensitivity, specificity, and rapidity. In response, there has been a growing interest in multimodal biosensing approaches that combine multiple sensing techniques to enhance the efficacy, accuracy, and precision in detecting these pathogens. This review investigates the current state of multimodal biosensing technologies and their potential applications within the food industry. Various multimodal biosensing platforms, such as opto-electrochemical, optical nanomaterial, multiple nanomaterial-based systems, hybrid biosensing microfluidics, and microfabrication techniques are discussed. The review provides an in-depth analysis of the advantages, challenges, and future prospects of multimodal biosensing for foodborne pathogens, emphasizing its transformative potential for food safety and public health. This comprehensive analysis aims to contribute to the development of innovative strategies for combating foodborne infections and ensuring the reliability of the global food supply chain.

BACKGROUND: We describe the case of a 58-year-old patient who developed chest pain and an anaphylaktoide reaction after ingestion of contamined fish containing histamin. Histamin intoxication from food poisoning (also known as scombroid intoxication) can be mistaken for an anaphylactic reaction and occasionaly lead to cardiac symptoms, even in patients without atherosclerotic changes. This condition is called Kounis syndrom and has to be recognized as a separate syndrom with specific clinical features.
UNASSIGNED: Eine Fischintoxikation als seltene Ätiologie des Thoraxschmerzes.
UNASSIGNED: Wir beschreiben den Fall einer 58-jährigen Patientin, der nach dem Verzehr von kontaminiertem, histaminhaltigem Fisch Brustschmerzen und eine anaphylaktoide Reaktion entwickelte. Eine Histaminintoxikation durch eine Lebensmittelvergiftung (auch bekannt als Scombroid-Intoxikation) kann mit einer anaphylaktischen Reaktion verwechselt werden und gelegentlich zu kardialen Symptomen führen, auch bei Patienten ohne atherosklerotische Veränderungen. Dieser Krankheitszustand wird als Kounis-Syndrom bezeichnet und muss als eigenständiges Syndrom mit spezifischen klinischen Merkmalen anerkannt werden. Schlüsselwörter: Scombroid-Fischintoxikation, Histaminintoxikation, Kounis-Syndrom.