Fw: [BITES-L] bites Dec. 19/10
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bites Dec. 19/10
In Sunday-evening surprise, Senate unanimously passes food safety bill
ILLINOIS: Local Jimmy John's owner stunned by illness reports
Food scare crises and price volatility: The case of the BSE in Spain
Effect of E-beam treatment on the safety and shelf life of mayonnaise potato salad
Virulence profiling and quantification of verocytotoxin-producing Escherichia coli O145:H28 and O26:H11 isolated during an ice cream-related hemolytic uremic syndrome outbreak
Determination and improvement of microbial safety of wheat sprouts with chemical sanitizers
Listeria monocytogenes: Antibiotic resistance in food production
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In Sunday-evening surprise, Senate unanimously passes food safety bill
12.dec.19
Health Watch
Alexander Bolton
http://thehill.com/blogs/healthwatch/food-safety/134447-in-sunday-evening-surprise-senate-passes-food-safety-bill-by-unanimous-consent
The U.S. Senate unexpectedly approved food safety legislation by unanimous consent Sunday evening, rescuing a bill that floated in limbo for weeks because of a clerical error.
The Senate passed the Food Safety and Modernization Act on Nov. 30 by a vote of 73-25. But the bill was later invalidated by a technical objection because it was a revenue-raising measure that did not originate in the House — Senate staff had failed to substitute the food safety language into a House-originated bill. A coalition of groups supporting the bill sent a letter Sunday to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) calling for action on food safety.
"Our organizations are writing to support attaching S. 510, the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, to the Senate's proposed short-term continuing resolution," the groups wrote. "Strong food-safety legislation will reduce the risk of contamination and provide FDA with the resources and authorities the agency needs to help make prevention the focus of our food safety strategies."
The American Public Health Association, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, Consumer Federation of America, Consumers Union and other groups signed the letter. Democrats first attempted to attach the food safety bill to the two-and-a-half-month spending measure but Republicans balked because they wanted to keep that measure clean, according to Senate aides. Republicans, however, later agreed to pass it by unanimous consent. Reid announced he would send the legislation — this time properly attached to a House-originated measure — back to the lower chamber for final approval.
"Our food safety system has not been updated in almost a century. Families in Nevada and across America should never have to worry about whether the food they put on their table is safe," Reid said in a statement. "This is a common-sense issue with broad bipartisan support.
"Tonight we unanimously passed a measure to improve on our current food safety system by giving the FDA the resources it needs to keep up with advances in food production and marketing, without unduly burdening farmers and food producers," he said. The legislation is a high priority for Reid and Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-Iowa).
Reid's staff earlier in the day had told a coalition of groups supporting the legislation that it had a chance of passing but the prospects appeared to dim as Sunday wore on. The swift approval by unanimous consent caught some aides and lobbyists working on it by surprise.
Sen. Tom Coburn, the outspoken conservative Republican from Oklahoma, had been blocking the legislation. He lifted his objection at the final moment.
ILLINOIS: Local Jimmy John's owner stunned by illness reports
18.dec.10
Pantagraph
Steve Hoffman
http://www.pantagraph.com/news/local/article_513dee44-0ae3-11e0-b048-001cc4c03286.html
BLOOMINGTON -- The owner of four Twin City Jimmy John's sandwich shops said she was stunned to hear McLean County listed as one of nine Illinois counties linked to 46 illnesses reported by people who ate at the chain.
The Illinois Department of Public Health said Friday the cases had been tentatively linked to alfalfa sprouts at Jimmy John's locations in Adams, Champaign, Cook, Kankakee, McHenry, McLean, Peoria, Will and Winnebago counties.
Mary Strack, who owns sandwich shops in Bloomington and Normal, said she first heard about the illnesses through a media report.
"I have never gotten a comment from anyone being sick. I have never heard anything from the McLean County Health Department. I am totally surprised," Strack said Saturday. She did make the decision to remove sprouts from the menu "until we get some sort of clarification."
McLean County Health Department spokeswoman Erin Tolle Link said confirming the exact source of salmonella is "tricky" because the illness can take from six to 72 hours to develop after ingesting contaminated food. That means there could be a variety of potential sources.
Food scare crises and price volatility: The case of the BSE in Spain
17.dec.10
Food Policy
Teresa Serra
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6VCB-51R51GH-1&_user=10&_coverDate=12%2F17%2F2010&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=search&_origin=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=595b183e6d8f259815346f9007e3b035&searchtype=a
Abstract
Recent incidents of contaminated food products coupled with the widespread diffusion of news by mass media and the growing social concerns about food safety, have resulted in significant food market crises. One of the most highly publicized recent food scares involved Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE). In our analysis, we evaluate the impacts from a BSE outbreak on the price volatility transmission along the Spanish food marketing chain by using a smooth transition conditional correlation (STCC) GARCH model. Our work is the first to assess price volatility responses to food scares. Results suggest that two distinct regimes involving different price volatility behavior can be distinguished, one characterized by turbulent markets and another where markets are calming down.
Effect of E-beam treatment on the safety and shelf life of mayonnaise potato salad
18.dec.10
Foodborne Pathogens and Disease
María I. Cambero, María C. Cabeza, Juan A. Ordóñez, L. de la Hoz
http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/abs/10.1089/fpd.2010.0652
Abstract
The radioresistance of Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis, and S. enterica serovar Typhimurium has been studied in a complex matrix like mayonnaise potato salad. D10-values of 0.56, 0.32–0.35, and 0.41–0.42 kGy were calculated for each organism, respectively. Keeping in mind these values, the microbiological criteria, the characteristics of the microorganisms, and a shelf life of the products of 20 days stored at 4°C, an irradiation treatment of 1 kGy was calculated to reach the food safety objectives. A duplication of the shelf life is also achieved with a dose of 1 kGy. Mayonnaise potato salad radiated with doses of up to 2 kGy showed negligible off-sensory characteristics.
Virulence profiling and quantification of verocytotoxin-producing Escherichia coli O145:H28 and O26:H11 isolated during an ice cream-related hemolytic uremic syndrome outbreak
18.dec.10
Foodborne Pathogens and Disease
Glenn Buvens, Björn Possé, Koen De Schrijver, Lieven De Zutter, Sabine Lauwers, Denis Piérard
http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/abs/10.1089/fpd.2010.0693
Abstract
In September–October 2007, a mixed-serotype outbreak of verocytotoxin-producing Escherichia coli (VTEC) O145:H28 and O26:H11 occurred in the province of Antwerp, Belgium. Five girls aged between 2 and 11 years developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, and seven other coexposed persons with bloody diarrhea were identified. Laboratory confirmation of O145:H28 infection was obtained for three hemolytic uremic syndrome patients, one of whom was coinfected with O26:H11. The epidemiological and laboratory investigations revealed ice cream as the most likely source of the outbreak. The ice cream was produced at a local dairy farm using pasteurized milk. VTEC of both serotypes with indistinguishable pulsed-field gel electrophoresis patterns were isolated from patients, ice cream, and environmental samples. Quantitative analysis of the ice cream indicated concentrations of 2.4 and 0.03 CFU/g for VTEC O145 and O26, respectively. Virulence typing revealed that the repertoire of virulence genes carried by the O145:H28 outbreak strain was comparable to that of O157 VTEC and more exhaustive as compared to the O26:H11 outbreak strain and nonrelated clinical strains belonging to these serotypes. Taken together, these data suggest that O145:H28 played the most important role in this outbreak.
Determination and improvement of microbial safety of wheat sprouts with chemical sanitizers
18.dec.10
Foodborne Pathogens and Disease
Fatih Tornuk, Ismet Ozturk, Osman Sagdic, Hasan Yetim
http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/abs/10.1089/fpd.2010.0709
Abstract
In this study, total aerobic mesophilic bacteria (TAMB), total coliform (TC), yeasts and moulds (YM), and Escherichia coli, Salmonella, and Staphylococcus aureus counts of wheat seeds and sprouts germinated for 9 days under different relative humidity (RH) (90% and 95%) and temperatures (18°C, 20°C, and 22°C) were determined. The disinfection capabilities of sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) (100, 200, and 400ppm) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) (3% and 6%) on wheat seeds/sprouts were also investigated. It has been found that native TAMB, TC, YM, and E. coli population significantly increased (p<0.05) with the germination; however, no Salmonella and S. aureus were detected on the seeds and/or sprouts. Again, increasing the temperature and RH resulted in a rapid proliferation of microorganisms. On the other hand, E. coli population could be completely eliminated by the treatment of different concentrations of NaOCl or H2O2 before the germination of wheat seeds. Again, increasing the NaOCl and H2O2 concentrations resulted in additional reductions of TAMB, TC, and YM population; and the highest reductions in sprouts were observed when the seed was soaked in 400ppm NaOCl for 30 minutes followed by tap water wash and germination for 9 days. Population reduction of 1.46 log colony-forming unit (cfu)/g of TAMB, 1.97 log cfu/g of YM, and 0.84 log cfu/g of TC in sprouts was achieved when compared with the control. The chemical sanitization did not negatively affect the germination capability of the seeds. Therefore, soaking the seeds in 400ppm of NaOCl for 30 minutes followed by a germination environment of 18°C and 90% RH was found to be the most appropriate germination condition for wheat sprouts with reduced microbial population.
Listeria monocytogenes: Antibiotic resistance in food production
18.dec.10
Foodborne Pathogens and Disease
Bwalya Lungu, Corliss A. O'Bryan, Arunachalam Muthaiyan, Sara R. Milillo, Michael G. Johnson, Philip G. Crandall, Steven C. Ricke
http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/abs/10.1089/fpd.2010.0718
Abstract
Listeria monocytogenes is an opportunistic human pathogen that causes listeriosis, a disease that mainly affects the immunocompromised, the elderly, infants, and pregnant women. Listeriosis has become increasingly common in the last 25 years since the first foodborne outbreak was noted. Treatment for listeriosis currently consists primarily of supportive therapy in conjunction with the use of intravenous antibiotics. Antibiotics have been commercially available for over 60 years for treatment of a myriad of clinical diseases. Bacteria resistant to antibiotics have been developing over this same period. This review seeks to elucidate the extent of antibiotic resistance in L. monocytogenes, the possible transmission mechanisms, and contributing factors to distribution of antibiotic resistance among Listeria species, and possible control strategies.
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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