Fw: [BITES-L] bites Nov. 26/10
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bites Nov. 26/10
Risks with human breast milk from Internet (or others)
AUSTRALIA: Industry divided over merits of Campbell Newman's Eat Safe food business rating system
SLOVAKIA: Polish salmonella meat withdrawn from Slovak stores
The impact of inspection reports on consumer behavior: A pilot study
CHINA: Farmers giving antibiotics 'in excess' to livestock
MONTREAL: Will this be the end of hamburger disease?
AUSTRALIA: Product recall – Yoghurt
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Risks with human breast milk from Internet (or others)
26.nov.10
barfblog
Doug Powell
http://www.barfblog.com/blog/145352/10/11/26/risks-human-breast-milk-internet-or-others
An animal advocacy group wanted Ben and Jerry's to use human breast milk in its ice cream a couple of years ago, but it sounds like there's some weirder mommy fetish going on in Canada – so much so that Health Canada warned Canadians yesterday to be aware of the potential health risks associated with consuming human breast milk obtained through the Internet or directly from individuals.
Obtaining human milk from the Internet or directly from individuals raises health concerns because, in most cases, medical information about the milk donors is not known. The Canadian Paediatric Society does not endorse the sharing of unprocessed human milk.
There is a potential risk that the milk may be contaminated with viruses such as HIV or bacteria which can cause food poisoning, such as Staphylococcus aureus.
In addition, traces of substances such as prescription and non-prescription drugs can be transmitted through human milk. Improper hygiene when extracting the milk, as well as improper storage and handling, could also cause the milk to spoil or be contaminated with bacteria and/or viruses that may cause illness.
Breastfeeding promotes optimal infant growth, health and development and is recognized internationally as the best method of feeding infants. However, unprocessed human milk should not be shared.
http://barfblog.foodsafety.ksu.edu/blog/139827/08/09/24/casey-jacob-guest-barfblogger-peta-wants-human-breast-milk-ben-jerrys-ice-cream
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ahc-asc/media/advisories-avis/_2010/2010_202-eng.php
AUSTRALIA: Industry divided over merits of Campbell Newman's Eat Safe food business rating system
27.nov.10
Courier Mail
Sarah Vogler
http://www.couriermail.com.au/lifestyle/food-wine/industry-divided-over-merits-of-campbell-newmans-eat-safe-food-business-rating-system/story-e6frer56-1225961723597
Two of Brisbane's leading restaurateurs have hit back at critics of Brisbane's new food safety program Eat Safe.
As of this week, every single food business in Brisbane has been assigned a star rating from 2 to 5 stars, designed to tell consumers just how clean and safe their eatery is.
It is voluntary to show a rating and several of Brisbane's top eateries, among the 3000-plus restaurants in the city, are yet to display their ratings.
This week, director of award-winning Ortiga, Simon Hill, described the scheme as nonsensical. His restaurant is listed as not displaying a rating.
Windsor's Little TiGrrs Indoor Play Centre and Cafe owner Fiona Hall slammed council for putting her business at risk when they gave her a lesser rating for not covering a scone and cupcake holder.
However, Restaurant Two chef David Pugh, who also is Restaurant & Catering Queensland vice-president, said the only valid point detractors of the scheme made was that it required more paper work.
"The average restaurateur, they don't see it as any sort of impost," Mr Pugh said. "Here we are trying to clean up the restaurants. It is a great idea because every other council around Australia is now looking at it."
Restaurant Two received four stars and Mr Pugh said he would be paying lower fees as a result.
SLOVAKIA: Polish salmonella meat withdrawn from Slovak stores
26.nov.10
TheNews.pl
http://www.thenews.pl/business/artykul144256_polish-salmonella-meat-withdrawn-from-slovak-stores.html
Over 20 tons of Polish meat exported to Slovakia has been found to contain salmonella.
The meat, comprising 20 tons of chicken breast, was imported by Virema Trade in the Slovak town of Galanta. The affected poultry was to have been produced on 12 October.
The salmonella was found by the Slovak Food Inspection board in a 170 kg batch of meat after the meat was reportedly withdrawn from another large chain store. Customers in Slovakia have been offered a full refund due to the bad meat.
The impact of inspection reports on consumer behavior: A pilot study
25.nov.10
Food Control
Jinkyung Choi Ph.D. Candidate, Douglas C. Nelson Ph.D. and Barbara Almanza Ph.D., R.D.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6T6S-51JF82N-1&_user=10&_coverDate=11%2F25%2F2010&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=search&_origin=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=271fb19e171a2faf13b38d221998d804&searchtype=a
Abstract
This pilot study evaluated the impact of inspection score information on consumer behavior. Protection motivation theory was used to investigate consumer's behavioral intentions resulting from food safety information provided in the questionnaire. The questionnaire was created to measure consumers' perceived likelihood of changing behavior based on protection motivation theory after reading restaurant food safety information in the form of inspection reports. The pilot showed that the methodology used to collect the data was sound. While the number of respondents was too small to show significance, several important trends were noted. One of the more important finding was that the affordable cost of selecting an alternative restaurant rose with the number of violations.
CHINA: Farmers giving antibiotics 'in excess' to livestock
26.nov.10
Shanghai Daily
http://english.eastday.com/e/101126/u1a5572127.html
A premature baby, born after 25 weeks, being treated in a hospital in Guangdong Province was found to have drug resistance to a wide range of antibiotics.
It was believed that this was because the child's mother had eaten meat and eggs containing high volumes of antibiotic residue.
The premature baby only weighed 650 grams but was resistant to seven different types of antibiotics, the People's Daily reported yesterday, citing the Guangzhou Women and Children Hospital in Guangdong's capital city of Guangzhou.
Meanwhile, a survey by the rural development institute with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences discovered that industrial feedstuffs carrying antibiotics, hormones and additional medicines have been widely used by farmers in Shandong and Liaoning provinces in raising livestock and poultry.
Among the farmers interviewed, about 50 percent added antibiotics and drugs into the feedstuffs, according to Yin Xiaoqing, a research fellow with the institute.
Some farmers feed livestock or poultry doses based on their so-called experience or feeling, which is prone to exceed standard antibiotics limits, the newspaper said.
An industry insider warned that animals raised for food are fed far more antibiotics than is required.
MONTREAL: Will this be the end of hamburger disease?
26.nov.10
Université de Montéal
Jeudi
http://www.nouvelles.umontreal.ca/udem-news/news/20101125-will-this-be-the-end-of-hamburger-disease.html
Hamburger disease, a debilitating form of food poisoning, may be a thing of the past. New findings from an international research collaboration conducted by the French National Institute for Agronomic Research (INRA), involving the Université de Montréal are the first to show how the contaminating E.coli bacterium is able to survive in the competitive environment of a cow's intestine by scavenging specific food sources. Published in this month's Environmental Microbiology, and featured in Nature Reviews Microbiology, this study may lead to non-medicinal methods for eradicating this invasive bug.
"We studied E.coli O157:H7, which is the most prevalent species of bacteria associated with larger outbreaks," says Josée Harel, co-author of the study and director of the Groupe de Recherche sur les Maladies Infectieuses du Porc at the Université de Montréal's Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. "These outbreaks have been associated with direct contact with the farm environment and with the consumption of meat, raw milk and dairy products. Reduction or eradication of O157:H7 in cows will lead to a substantial decrease in food contamination and consequential human infections."
The intestine is a complex environment with a high number and diversity of bacteria. Most of these bugs are not harmful and many contribute to proper bowel function. However, your guts are a battleground for wars between these species as they engage in a struggle to obtain carbon, nitrogen and other energy sources. Those that win the battle for resources survive and multiply while the losers disappear.
Harel and her collaborators' from France's Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique and Lallemand Animal Nutrition, first step was to demonstrate that O157:H7 does in fact thrive in the bovine intestine. Once this was established, they went on to determine why these particular bacteria find the cow intestine such a great place to live. They found that O157:H7 is unusual because it can forage nitrogen from ethanolamine, a chemical present in the cow's intestine. Because other bacteria cannot process ethanolamine, O157:H7 has this source of nutrition to itself. "The ability of O157:H7 to use ethanolamine as a source of nitrogen gives it the nutritional and competitive advantage to survive," says Harel.
It is all in the genes
The final step for Harel and colleagues was to determine how O157:H7 was able to process the ethanolamine so it could be used as a nitrogen source. Genetic analyses revealed that 0157:H7 had specific genes that allowed it to do so.
"We now know that this bacteria has evolved a genetic program that allows it to process ethanolamine and therefore outcompete its neighbours and survive and multiply in the intestine," says Harel. "This new-found knowledge will help us select appropriate feed or probiotics in an attempt to eliminate the food source of this contaminating bug. This in turn, should limit the spread of this bug into the food chain."
AUSTRALIA: Product recall – Yoghurt
24.nov.10
FSANZ
http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/consumerinformation/foodrecalls/currentconsumerlevelrecalls/yoghurtforeignmatter4996.cfm
Date Notified To FSANZ:
24 November 2010
Food Type:
Yoghurt
Product Name:
Vaalia My First Yoghurt Apple & Raspberry flavour
Vaalia My First Yoghurt Banana flavour
Vaalia My First Yoghurt Vanilla flavour
Vaalia For Toddlers Vanilla/Strawberry flavours (combo pack)
Vaalia For Toddlers Vanilla/Peach flavours (combo pack)
Package Description & Size:
Vaalia My First Yoghurt - 360g (6x60g) plastic tubs, over wrapped in cardboard.
Vaalia For Toddlers - 540g (6x90g) plastic tubs, over wrapped in cardboard.
Country of Origin:
Australia
Date Marking:
All use by dates from 13/11/10 to 01/01/11 (inclusive)
Australian Distribution:
Nationally
Overseas Distribution:
Product has been exported to Papua New Guinea and Guam
Reason for Recall:
Presence (or possible presence) of foreign matter (a small piece of plastic may fall into the product when removing the lid).
Comments:
Parmalat is conducting a recall of the five products listed above.
Parmalat believes there is a packaging fault whereby small pieces of plastic have been found on the outside of the yoghurt tubs. These pieces can fall into the yoghurt tubs when opening the lid and, if ingested, may become lodged in the throat.
Products have been distributed nationally to major retailers including Woolworths, Safeway, Coles, Bilo, Metcash (IGA, CCC, ILM), Franklins (NSW only) and Pick'n'pay (QLD only). Products were also distributed to smaller retail outlets.
The recall applies only to the above products with the nominated sizes and use by dates. No other Vaalia products are affected by this recall. Customers should return the products to the place of purchase for a full cash refund.
Parmalat is greatly concerned at any risk to its customers. This recall is being undertaken to ensure the safety of our customers as an ongoing commitment to maintain the highest possible standards of safety and product quality at all times.
For further information please call
Parmalat Australia Ltd on: 1800 676 961
Parmalat Australia Ltd
65 Montague Rd
South Brisbane QLD 4101
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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