Fw: [BITES-L] bites Nov. 8/10 -- II
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From: Doug Powell <dpowell@KSU.EDU>
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Date: Mon, 8 Nov 2010 20:02:32 -0600
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Subject: [BITES-L] bites Nov. 8/10 -- II
bites Nov. 8/10 -- II
The secrets of a salmonella outbreak; over 100 sick
'C'-rated restaurants in NY hiding their grades
Disney Cruise built-in hand sanitizer stations
Audit finds sanitation problems at some CANADIAN meat, poultry plants
IRELAND: Businesses closed over food safety
UK: Research call: review of listeria management practices
UK: Sainsbury's recalls some Cous Cous
ALBERTA: Raw milk debate spills onto legislature steps
CANADA: Dangerous chemicals in food wrappers likely migrating to humans: U of T study
Advaxis enters into collaboration with the University of British Columbia
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The secrets of a salmonella outbreak; over 100 sick
08.nov.10
barfblog
Doug Powell
http://www.barfblog.com/blog/145017/10/11/08/he-secrets-salmonella-outbreak-over-100-sick
There are now over 100 sick with salmonella in France linked to hamburgers, primarily school kids, so as in the U.S., questions are being raised about food safety standards and procedures for products purchased by the school lunch program. After a USA Today expose last year, the U.S. asked microbiologist Gary Acuff to lead a panel to review and improve school lunch purchases.
My friend, Albert Amgar, wrote a particularly incisive blog post about the culture of food safety secrecy in France. Amy translated and excerpts follow:
The food poisoning outbreak caused by Salmonella in ground beef patties has raised many questions.
Of course, communication has been, as usual, opaque, but now the school cafeteria's contract for the hamburgers is itself classified top secret, according to a Nov. 6 article by Emmanuel Coupaye of Centre Presse.fr, the newspaper for Vienne.
This journalist is asking questions: What are the established purchasing criteria for ground meat in the middle schools and high schools? After contamination, the question is disturbing.
Apart from the contamination of hamburgers with salmonella, "What is more upsetting is the National Education's current difficulty in providing accurate information about the selection of products offered in school cafeterias. Since Thursday (November 4 - aa), we've been looking for an answer to a simple question: What are the selected criteria used in sourcing ground meat for Poitiers' middle schools and high schools? Many parents as well as cattle farmers were surprised to learn that the meat for the hamburger patties was supplied by a foreign producer."
On Thursday, the manager of the high school, contacted by our editorial staff saw no problem with providing us a copy of the contract. We only had to come by the school yesterday morning (Friday, Nov. 5). Our goal was to know what are the established criteria for sourcing ground meat (French, EU or other) and the quality threshold (dairy breed, meat breed, meat with a seal of quality). But then, yesterday morning, after a night of reflection, the answer was no.
"I cannot give you this document," stated the school principal.
By late afternoon, the rector stated that he "did not have any information to add." Too bad the Ministry of Education's website still boasts, under the catering section, its dual requirement "to maintain nutritional quality" and "better inform parents" (especially on issues related to food safety - aa).
In conclusion, the only thing left for us to do is to seize it through the Committee on Access to Administrative Documents!
I wish a lot of fun to those who would like to access these documents. Indeed, in France, transparency is often emphasized, but as pointed out in a recent book (Corinne Maier, Chao France, Flammarion, 2010) glasnost is not a French word. By comparison, the U.S. Congress passed a law on the freedom of information that requires the administration to establish clear standards to determine what documents can be classified as confidential, secret or top-secret, allowing citizens the right to challenge these classifications in court.
To be continued ...
http://www.barfblog.com/blog/144968/10/11/04/sick-french-salmonella-outbreak-tops-100
http://barfblog.foodsafety.ksu.edu/blog/139049/09/12/30/how-can-you-have-any-pudding-if-you-dont-eat-your-meat-school-lessons-food-safe
http://barfblog.foodsafety.ksu.edu/blog/145016/10/11/07/acuff-speaks-kansas-state-nov-9
http://amgar.blog.processalimentaire.com/?p=12836
'C'-rated restaurants in NY hiding their grades
08.nov.10
barfblog
Doug Powell
http://www.barfblog.com/blog/145018/10/11/08/c-rated-restaurants-ny-hiding-their-grades
The New York Post reports this morning the Health Department has identified the first 15 restaurants branded with a lowly C since the city's A-B-C grading system was launched more than three months ago -- but more than half of those eateries were caught hiding their lousy grades from customers.
A Post survey found only seven of the C restaurants posted the grade as required by law, with managers at the other eateries claiming they didn't understand the rules or, seemingly, trying to game the system.
At the Bread & Pastry Cafe in Greenwich Village, which earned a C on Sept. 9 after racking up 41 violation points, a "grade pending" sign hung in the window Wednesday. Restaurants are slapped with a C when inspectors issue 28 violation points or more.
"It's my choice," insisted clerk Mohammed Zaman, explaining that the cafe was due for another hearing at which it would get a higher grade.
When The Post inquired with the department, it sent over an inspector on Friday to demand the C be posted.
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/eat_it_weep_BXmxMhq1Z81CgTpEcao9IJ
Disney Cruise built-in hand sanitizer stations
08.nov.10
barfblog
Doug Powell
http://barfblog.foodsafety.ksu.edu/blog/145019/10/11/08/disney-cruise-built-hand-sanitizer-stations
The enterprising sanitarians at Disney have come up with built-in hand sanitizer stations incorporated into the Art Deco design of Disney Cruise Line's new ship, the Disney Dream.
The photo (right) shows three of the built-in stations awaiting installation at the entrance to Animator's Palate, one of the Dream's three main restaurants.
Disney designers tell USA Today the built-in hand sanitizer stations will be incorporated into all the major eatery areas around the vessel as an alternative to the clunky plastic dispensers.
Hand sanitizer stands have become common on cruise ships over the past decade as the industry has increased efforts to reduce the number of shipboard outbreaks of communicable gastro-intestinal illnesses such as norovirus.
http://travel.usatoday.com/cruises/post/2010/11/disney-cruise-line-dream-ship-fantasy-hand-sanitizer-norovirus/130262/1
Audit finds sanitation problems at some CANADIAN meat, poultry plants
08.nov.10
barfblog
Doug Powell
http://www.barfblog.com/blog/145021/10/11/08/audit-finds-sanitation-problems-some-canadian-meat-poultry-plants
There's nothing new here, but once again, the Americans say the Canadians sorta suck at food safety, and the Canadians say, politely, thanks, we've fixed that.
The Toronto Star reports tonight that an American audit concluded Canadian Food Inspection Agency documents often painted an inaccurate picture of the conditions at some of Canada's meat and poultry plants where sanitation problems persisted.
The audit, which looked at 23 of the 455 establishments certified to export to the U.S. between Aug. 25 and Oct. 1, 2009, identified weaknesses particularly in the areas of sanitation, oversight and record keeping.
A review of manuals and procedures at the food inspection agency's administrative offices found acceptable controls for sanitation, but auditors found a different story at some plants.
"The actual conditions of the establishment visits were often not entirely consistent with the corresponding documentation," the report says.
Among the sanitation issues identified in the report were: not consistently identifying contaminated product and inconsistently verifying plants were taking adequate corrective actions to problems.
Agriculture Minister Gerry-listeria-is funny- Ritz, responded with a statement emailed to The Canadian Press on Monday, stating,
"This audit is from a year ago and in that time our government has invested an additional $75 million to improve food safety and are hiring 170 new inspectors."
Uh-huh.
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/887744--audit-finds-sanitation-problems-at-some-canadian-meat-poultry-plants
IRELAND: Businesses closed over food safety
08.nov.10
Irish Times
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2010/1108/breaking28.html
Five food businesses were closed last month for breaching food safety legislation.
Closure orders were served on three businesses in Roscommon, including Jimmy Takeaway, Main Street, Rooskey; Chilli Kebab Takeaway, Main Street, Ballaghaderreen and the sausage production room of Claytons Checkout grocery, Main Street, Elphin.
In Galway, a closure order was served on the Paradise Restaurant, The Moorings, Main Street, Oranmore.
And in Dublin, both Jorag Stores, Unit 4C, Base Enterprise Centre, Mulhuddart, Dublin 15 and The Green Chilli, 46 Manor Street, Dublin 7 had closure orders served by environmental health officers.
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland said a prohibition order was also served on Jorag Stores.
Also in October, a successful prosecution was carried out by the HSE South region on Goa Tandoori restaurant, Kilmallock Road, Charleville, Co Cork. The prosecution related to food hygiene.
FSAI chief executive Prof Alan Reilly said two of last month's closure orders were served under new regulations, which allow for orders to be served for serious non-compliances with food safety legislation.
"Enforcement Orders can tarnish the food industry as a whole and can damage consumer confidence.
"The onus is on each individual food business to take responsibility and commit to ensuring high food safety standards and that consumer confidence is maintained," he said.
UK: Research call: review of listeria management practices
08.nov.10
Food Standards Agency
http://food.gov.uk//news/newsarchive/2010/nov/fsaslisteriareq
The Food Standards Agency in Scotland has issued a research call to review practices designed to control Listeria monocytogenes during smoked fish production.
During the past 10 years there has been an increase in the number of foodborne cases of L. monocytogenes infection. Listeria is often present naturally on fish and can survive well in the moist environments found in fish processing and smoking establishments. Additionally, the process of cold smoking does not include any killing step, for example cooking, making cold smoked fish a particular risk from contamination.
More work is required to understand the sampling and testing regimes used by manufacturers, particularly small and medium enterprises, of ready-to-eat foods and their approaches to controlling listeria in the food chain. Key risk areas in the processing chain and gaps in the management of these risks also need to be identified.
More information about the research call and how to apply can be found via the link below.
UK: Sainsbury's recalls some Cous Cous
08.nov.10
FSA
http://www.food.gov.uk/news/newsarchive/2010/nov/metal
Sainsbury's has recalled its own-brand Cous Cous (500g) with a 'best before' date of July 2012, because the product contains small pieces of metal. The Agency has issued a Product Recall Information Notice.
Product details
The recalled product is:
Product: Sainsbury's Cous Cous, 500g
Best before end: July 2012
Sainsbury's has recalled the affected product from consumers. Product recall notices have been put in stores that sell the product, explaining to customers why the product has been recall. If you have bought the affected product, do not eat it. You can return it to your local store for a full refund.
No other Sainsbury's products are known to be affected.
About product withdrawals and recalls
If there is a problem with a food product that means it should not be sold, then it might be 'withdrawn' (taken off the shelves) or 'recalled' (when customers are asked to return the product). The Food Standards Agency issues Product Withdrawal Information Notices and Product Recall Information Notices to let consumers and local authorities know about problems associated with food. In some cases, a 'Food Alert for Action' is issued. This provides local authorities with details of specific action to be taken on behalf of consumers.
ALBERTA: Raw milk debate spills onto legislature steps
08.nov.10
CBC News
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/edmonton/story/2010/11/08/edmonton-raw-milk-protest.html
People who drink raw milk are demanding their right to do that be protected by the Alberta Government.
"It's not just about milk," said Judith Johnson, who farms west of Edmonton. "It's about our freedom to choose healthy foods for our bodies and our ability to attain it without being persecuted like a drug dealer."
Raw-milk drinkers say pasteurization, the process of heating milk to destroy bacteria and extend shelf life, destroys important nutrients and enzymes.
Milk producers can consume unpasteurized milk but they cannot sell it.
So some dairy farmers are distributing raw milk through cow-share programs where devotees buy a share of a dairy herd.
CANADA: Dangerous chemicals in food wrappers likely migrating to humans: U of T study
08.nov.10
University of Toronto
Kim Luke
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-11/uot-dci110810.php
University of Toronto scientists have found that chemicals used to line junk food wrappers and microwave popcorn bags are migrating into food and being ingested by people where they are contributing to chemical contamination observed in blood.
Perfluorinated carboxylic acids or PFCAs are the breakdown products of chemicals used to make non-stick and water- and stain-repellant products ranging from kitchen pans to clothing to food packaging. PFCAs, the best known of which is perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), are found in humans all around the world.
"We suspected that a major source of human PFCA exposure may be the consumption and metabolism of polyfluoroalkyl phosphate esters or PAPs," says Jessica D'eon, a graduate student in the University of Toronto's Department of Chemistry. "PAPs are applied as greaseproofing agents to paper food contact packaging such as fast food wrappers and microwave popcorn bags."
In the U of T study, rats were exposed to PAPs either orally or by injection and monitored for a three-week period to track the concentrations of the PAPs and PFCA metabolites, including PFOA, in their blood. Human exposure to PAPs had already been established by the scientists in a previous study. Researchers used the PAP concentrations previously observed in human blood together with the PAP and PFCA concentrations observed in the rats to calculate human PFOA exposure from PAP metabolism.
"We found the concentrations of PFOA from PAP metabolism to be significant and concluded that the metabolism of PAPs could be a major source of human exposure to PFOA, as well as other PFCAs," says Scott Mabury, the lead researcher and a professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Toronto.
"This discovery is important because we would like to control human chemical exposure, but this is only possible if we understand the source of this exposure. In addition, some try to locate the blame for human exposure on environmental contamination that resulted from past chemical use rather than the chemicals that are currently in production.
"In this study we clearly demonstrate that the current use of PAPs in food contact applications does result in human exposure to PFCAs, including PFOA. We cannot tell whether PAPs are the sole source of human PFOA exposure or even the most important, but we can say unequivocally that PAPs are a source and the evidence from this study suggests this could be significant."
Regulatory interest in human exposure to PAPs has been growing. Governments in Canada, the United States and Europe have signaled their intentions to begin extensive and longer-term monitoring programs for these chemicals. The results of this investigation provide valuable additional information to such regulatory bodies to inform policy regarding the use of PAPs in food contact applications.
Advaxis enters into collaboration with the University of British Columbia
08.nov.10
Advaxis, Inc.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/advaxis-enters-into-collaboration-with-the-university-of-british-columbia-2010-11-08?reflink=MW_news_stmp
NORTH BRUNSWICK, N.J. -- Advaxis, Inc., /quotes/comstock/11k!adxs (ADXS 0.14, -.00, -0.71%) , the live, attenuated Listeria monocytogenes (Listeria) immunotherapy company, has entered into a structured collaboration with the laboratory of Dr. Tobias Kollmann at the University of British Columbia (UBC) to develop live attenuated Listeria vaccines for the treatment of infectious disease and for new dosage forms of Listeria vaccines.
The same immune-stimulating properties that are under development at Advaxis to develop live Listeria vaccines as safe and effective therapies for the treatment of cancer, also may have application for the treatment of infectious disease. Dr. Kollmann is an immunologist and neonatal vaccinologist who has published extensively on the use of Listeria vaccines as potential therapeutic agents for the treatment of childhood diseases.
Under the terms of this collaboration, Dr. Kollmann will use Advaxis proprietary Listeria vaccine vectors for the development of novel infectious disease applications, and employ a post-doctoral fellow who will be dedicated to the creation and assessment of novel infectious disease vaccines and new delivery forms of live attenuated Listeria vaccines.
bites is produced by Dr. Douglas Powell and food safety friends at Kansas State University. For further information, please contact dpowell@ksu.edu or check out bites.ksu.edu.
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