An outbreak of multidrug-resistant Salmonella enterica serotype Newport infections linked to the consumption of imported horse meat in France.

In 2003, 14 cases of multidrug-resistant Salmonella Newport infections were reported. This is the first documented foodborne outbreak of multidrug-resistant S. Newport in France. The blaCMY gene was present in all isolates. All cases reported having eaten horse meat from a common wholesaler. The country of origin of the imported meat could not be identified.

Two outbreaks of Salmonella enteritidis phage type 8 linked to the consumption of Cantal cheese made with raw milk, France, 2001.

Salmonelloses are one are the main causes of foodborne infections in industrialised countries. In France, the incidence of human salmonellosis recorded by the National Reference Centre for Salmonella and Shigella (CNRSS) in 2001 was 21 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, and Salmonella serotype Enteritidis represented 39% of cases (1). This article reports the investigation results of two community outbreaks of salmonellosis that occurred simultaneously in the south west of France, and which were linked to the consumption of cheese made from raw milk.

Two consecutive nationwide outbreaks of Listeriosis in France, October 1999-February 2000.

In France, listeriosis surveillance is based on mandatory notification of all culture-confirmed cases, with systematic typing of isolates and routine collection of the patient's food history. From October 1999 to March 2000, two outbreaks of listeriosis were detected through this enhanced surveillance system. In outbreak 1, analysis of the food histories of cases suggested brand X "rillettes," a pâté-like meat product, as the vehicle of infection, and the outbreak strain of Listeria monocytogenes was subsequently isolated from the incriminated rillettes. In outbreak 2, a case-control study showed that consumption of jellied pork tongue was strongly associated with infection with the outbreak strain (odds ratio = 75.5, 95% confidence interval: 4.7, 1,216.0). However, trace-back results did not permit incrimination of any particular manufacturer of jellied pork tongue, and the outbreak strain was not isolated from the incriminated food or from any production sites. Consumption of jellied pork tongue was discouraged on epidemiologic evidence alone. The consecutive occurrence of these two outbreaks confirms the epidemic potential of listeriosis, even in a context of decreasing incidence, and underlines the importance of timely case-reporting and systematic typing of human L. monocytogenes strains to allow early detection and separate investigation of different clusters.

Iodine Content of Dairy Milk in France in 1983 and 1984.

Iodine concentrations were determined in 848 samples of milk from tanks of 537 dairy factories collected in 1983 and 1984 during winter and summer. Industrial processing, like pasteurization, UHT sterilization and spray-drying, had no effect on iodine concentrations. Of the samples of bovine milk, 94.7% ranged between 10 to 250 µg/kg. Iodine in bovine milk averaged 97 and 93 µg/kg in the winter of 1983 and 1984, and 44 and 23 µg/kg in the summer of 1983 and 1984. The frequency of iodine concentrations above the 500 µg/kg limit was 0.5% in 1983 and 0.3% in 1984. Iodine in ovine milk varied from 116 to 1183 µg/kg. Of the ovine milk samples 53.3% were above 500 µg/kg. Thus the iodine content of milk, is not yet a health problem in France.