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European countries are investing in strengthening disease surveillance from a One Health (OH) perspective. During the MATRIX project, in the context of the One Health European Joint Programme, existing surveillance chains across the sectors of animal health, food safety, and public health have been investigated through questionnaires. Provided information has then been selected to be displayed in a single slide using an implemented mapping template. Two real-life scenarios are presented as case studies: the surveillance activities in place in France for Salmonella in the pork meat food chain, and in Norway for Listeria monocytogenes in the dairy food chain. The results collected through the questionnaires and the lessons learnt during the mapping process are reported, to share the advantages and drawbacks of the methodology. Moreover, the presented template could be adjusted and applied to different contexts. Mapping the components of existing disease surveillance systems is a fundamental step in understanding the relationships between its components, and subsequently facilitating their collaboration and integration under a OH approach.

OHEJP project: MATRIX: the present deliverable of MATRIX Work Package 2, tasks 3, suggests best-practice guidelines for data collection, analysis and dissemination aimed at multi-sectorial OH collaboration, for each specific hazard track.

Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) is a ubiquitous bacterium that causes listeriosis, a serious foodborne illness. In the nature-to-human transmission route, Lm can prosper in various ecological niches. Soil and decaying organic matter are its primary reservoirs. Certain clonal complexes (CCs) are over-represented in food production and represent a challenge to food safety. To gain new understanding of Lm adaptation mechanisms in food, the genetic background of strains found in animals and environment should be investigated in comparison to that of food strains. Twenty-one partners, including food, environment, veterinary and public health laboratories, constructed a dataset of 1484 genomes originating from Lm strains collected in 19 European countries. This dataset encompasses a large number of CCs occurring worldwide, covers many diverse habitats and is balanced between ecological compartments and geographic regions. The dataset presented here will contribute to improve our understanding of Lm ecology and should aid in the surveillance of Lm. This dataset provides a basis for the discovery of the genetic traits underlying Lm adaptation to different ecological niches.

In this contribution, the antimicrobial susceptibility toward 11 antibiotics and four biocides of a panel of 205 Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) strains isolated from different ecological niches (i.e., food, animals and natural environment) was evaluated. The impact of exposure to biocides on the antibiotic susceptibilities of Lm was also investigated. Lm strains isolated from food exhib-ited overall a lower susceptibility (higher minimal inhibitory concentrations, MIC) for ammonium quaternary compounds (QACs) and peracetic acid (PAC) than strains isolated from animals and natural environments. Conversely, the ecological origins of Lm strains did not significantly affect their susceptibilities towards antibiotics. Interestingly, repeated exposure to QACs recurrently led to a decrease in susceptibility toward ciprofloxacin (CIP), a fluoroquinolone antibiotic, largely used in human medicine. Moreover, these lower levels of susceptibility to CIP remained stable in most Lm strains even after subcultures without biocide selection pressure, suggesting an adaptation involving modifications at the genetic level. Results underlined the ability of Lm to adapt to biocides, especially QACs, and the potential link between this adaptation and the selection of resistance toward critical antibiotics such as ciprofloxacin. These data support a potential role of the extensive use of QACs from “farm to fork” in the selection of biocide and antibiotic resistance in pathogenic bacteria such as Lm.

A risk-based approach was developed to be followed by food business operators (FBO) when deciding on the type of date marking (i.e. 'best before' date or 'use by' date), setting of shelf-life (i.e. time) and the related information on the label to ensure food safety. The decision on the type of date marking needs to be taken on a product-by-product basis, considering the relevant hazards, product characteristics, processing and storage conditions. The hazard identification is food product-specific and should consider pathogenic microorganisms capable of growing in prepacked temperature-controlled foods under reasonably foreseeable conditions. The intrinsic (e.g. pH and a(w)), extrinsic (e.g. temperature and gas atmosphere) and implicit (e.g. interactions with competing background microbiota) factors of the food determine which pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms can grow in the food during storage until consumption. A decision tree was developed to assist FBOs in deciding the type of date marking for a certain food product. When setting the shelf-life, the FBO needs to consider reasonably foreseeable conditions of distribution, storage and use of the food. Key steps of a case-by-case procedure to determine and validate the shelf-life period are: (i) identification of the relevant pathogenic/spoilage microorganism and its initial level, (ii) characterisation of the factors of the food affecting the growth behaviour and (iii) assessment of the growth behaviour of the pathogenic/spoilage microorganism in the food product during storage until consumption. Due to the variability between food products and consumer habits, it was not appropriate to present indicative time limits for food donated or marketed past the 'best before' date. Recommendations were provided relating to training activities and support, using 'reasonably foreseeable conditions' collecting time-temperature data during distribution, retail and domestic storage of foods and developing Appropriate Levels of Protection and/or Food Safety Objectives for food-pathogen combinations. (C) 2020 European Food Safety Authority. EFSA Journal published by John Wiley and Sons Ltd on behalf of European Food Safety Authority.

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Introduction: Listeria monocytogenes is a foodborne pathogen causing listeriosis (Schlech et al., 1983; Cartwright et al., 2013). The mortality rate can exceed 25% and listeriosis has the highest proportion of hospitalisation cases of all zoonotic diseases under EU surveillance (EFSA, 2017). L. monocytogenes infections are most commonly reported in people over 64 years old. The trend for an increase in foodborne listeriosis has been attributed to the rising proportion of older people, along with the higher consumption of ready-to-eat (RTE) food products (Cartwright et al., 2013; EFSA, 2017; Rossi et al., 2008).[...), The study and project description was financially supported by the Norwegian Research Funding for Agriculture and Food Industry (grant no. 207765) and the Norwegian Research Council (grant No 221663/F40 and 256259).

Sensitive methods for enumeration of Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes) are needed to verify compliance with microbiological criteria in ready-to-eat foods. Here, we assessed the reference EN ISO 11290-2 method and three modifications of it with lower threshold levels for enumeration in terms of specificity, false results and practical limitations for use. Two of the methods, called the EURL and the Cyprus protocols, use membrane filtration to obtain a more concentrated test suspension, and the third, called the Norway protocol, uses less diluent. This study included 18 samples of foods naturally contaminated with L. monocytogenes at concentrations of 0.2-80 CFU/g. All four tested methods yielded valid results with good repeatability (Fisher’s test, p, FR; PDF; corresponding author: lena.barre@anses.fr, {"references":["AFNOR. 1998. 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Denne rapporten er finansiert gjennom Fiskeridepartementets satsing på ”Produktutvikling og Næringsmiddelteknologi for fiskeindustrien”. Hyse er et problematisk råstoff å håndtere ved at den lett blir bløt. Begrepet bløt hyse relateres både til at muskelen er bløt og at muskelen spalter lett når en skjærer filet. For industrien er spaltningen som hovedsakelig oppstår under skinningen av filetene det store problemet. Problemet er størst på sommerstid med mye åte og høye temperaturer, men er tilstede hele året ved at islagret hyse etter 4-6 dager ikke tåler maskinell skinning uten å spalte. I dette arbeidet er det forsøkt å kartlegge problemet gjennom samtaler med folk i næringen og med innledende forsøk for å karakterisere hysemuskel, etablere metode for gradering, behandle rund hyse før filetering og for å reparere spaltet filet. I dette arbeidet er det ikke kommet frem klare resultat på hvordan problemet med bløt hyse kan reduseres. Men det er kartlagt mer rundt problemstillingen og det et er kommet fram interessante resultat som bør følges opp. Rapport/Report 26/2002 English summary Bløt hyse. Innledende studier

Målet med utprøving av nye metoder og teknologiske løsninger for utvanning av salt- og klippfisk har vært å forbedre vektutbytte, oppnå jevnere saltinnhold, redusere utvanningstiden samtidig som den sensorisk kvaliteten blir bevart. Utvanning av klippfisk ved bruk av trommel har tidligere vist at utvanningstiden kan reduseres sammenlignet med tradisjonell utvanning (Olsen 2000 a). I våre forsøk gav 2 timers vakuumtromling av saltfiskbiter et saltinnhold på ca 2% (vannbytte etter 1 time). I de vakuumtromlede bitene ble det registrert et ujevnt saltinnhold mellom bitene. I forsøk på å oppnå mer jevnt saltinnhold i muskelen ble utvanningen med vakuumtrommel etterfulgt av et justeringstrinn i 2% saltlake. Etter justering ble saltinnholdet i muskelen for høyt (5-6%). I videre forsøk ble saltfisk fileter injisert med vann før utvanning av biter i vakuumtrommel i 2 timer etterfulgt av justering i ytterligere 2 timer. Etter utvanning (total utvanningstid 4 timer) ble saltinnholdet i bitene målt til ca 2%. Saltinnholdet i prøvebitene ble sensorisk vurdert som homogent i muskelen. Tilsvarende forsøk med hel filet viste forskjell i saltinnhold mellom tynne (3%) og tykke (6%) deler av fileter. Det var derimot liten forskjell i saltinnhold mellom stor og liten filet. Sensorisk ble noen biter vurdert som uakseptabel fordi tromlingen påførte bitene til dels stor mekanisk skade. Skadene var størst der muskelen var spaltet før utvanning. Forsøkene har vist at en gjennom utvanning med stikkinjisering (2 omganger) kombinert med vakuumtromling etterfulgt av et justeringstrinn oppnår et saltinnhold på ca 2% etter 4 timers utvanning. Tradisjonell utvanning tar 24-48 timer. Rapport/Report 16/2001 English summary Nye utvanningsmetoder for saltfisk

I rapporten sammenlignes tre metoder for utvanning av klippfiskbiter; tradisjonell utvanning, vakuumutvanning og utvanning med justert saltkonsentrasjon i vannet. Metodene sammenlignes med hensyn til jevnt saltinnhold i tykke og tynne biter, sensorisk kvalitet, mikrobiologisk kvalitet, og vektøkning. Utvanning med justert saltkonsentrasjon gav best utjevning av saltinnholdet. Alle metodene gav god sensorisk kvalitet, men de tynne bitene i den justerte metoden var signifikant forskjellige fra tilsvarende biter i de andre metodene og mer lik de tykke bitene. Den tradisjonelle metoden gav best mikrobiologisk kvalitet under utvanning og den justerte dårligst. Både utvanning med justert saltinnhold og vakuumutvanning gav høyere vektøkning enn tradisjonell utvanning. Utvanning av klippfisk