Food Protection Trends - August 2008 - 569

TABLE 1. Representative examples of foodborne illness outbreaks caused by cross contamination or poor hand hygiene according to Reij et al. (100) Pathogen Campylobacter jejuni Cryptosporidium parvum Cryptosporidium parvum Escherichia coli O157:H7 Escherichia coli O157:H7 Escherichia coli O157:H7 Listeria monocytogenes Listeria monocytogenes Listeria monocytogenes Listeria monocytogenes Norwalk-like virus/SRSV Salmonella spp. Salmonella agona Salmonella Typhimurium Salmonella Typhimurium Shigella flexneri Salmonella ealing Yersinia enterocolitica Salmonella Enteritidis Salmonella berta Salmonella Enteritidis Food Tuna salad Various foods Water Yogurt Minced meat Various foods Butter Rillettes Cooked meat Hot dogs Different foods Paprika potato chips Breakfast cereals Cooked sliced ham Kebab Salads Infant formulae Pasteurized milk Ice cream Soft cheese Pastry Probable Contamination Source Infected chicken prepared in the same kitchen Infected food handler Secondary contamination of potable water Pump previously used for unpasteurized milk Improper handling practices Slicing and handling tools Process environment Filling and packaging machine Dicing machine Process environment Infected food handler Contaminated paprika powder Process environment Containers previously used for curing of raw pork Yogurt relish by juice from carcasses dripping into open containers Infected food handler Process environment Process environment Tanker used to transport ice cream previously used for raw eggs Buckets for cheese ripening previously used for chicken carcasses Mixing bowl, cream piping bags Reference 103 95 73 86 77 4 70 38 67 100 65 62 18 64 30 26 104 1 42 28 29 genic. Staphylococcus aureus, which causes staphylococcal food poisoning, is the only (opportunistic) pathogen included in the resident microflora group. Moreover, resident microflora are considered essential components of the skin barrier since many are able to act as antagonists against invading microbial pathogens, thereby preventing skin infections and illness (47, 82). Transient rather than resident microflora are usually the causal agent of foodborne illness (113). These consist mainly of bacteria and fungi that are transferred to the skin surface by contamination. They cannot multiply while residing on the skin surface but occasionally do result in skin pathogenesis. Transient microflora can also include viruses. Although the skin surface is not their natural habitat, they may contaminate and infect the epidermis (3, 76). Examples of transient pathogenic microorganisms are Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp., Shigella spp., Giardia lamblia, Norwalk virus or Hepatitis A virus. While transient microflora present a greater food safety risk, they are more easily removed by washing or disinfection measures than the resident microflora (47). Poor hygiene increases the risk of foodborne illness In recent years, several publications have attributed the spread of pathogens and the occurrence of foodborne illnesses to the lack of effective hygiene. Specifically, poor hand hygiene by infected food operators contributes significantly to the transfer of pathogenic bacteria and viruses (7, 12, 88, 100, 112). A European survey carried out in 1995 by the World Health Organization (WHO) indicated that almost 25% of food-related illnesses were caused by food contamination due AUGUST 2008 | FOOD PROTECTION TRENDS 569
Food Protection Trends - August 2008

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