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BRIEFINGS from the Food Research Institute
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FRI
BRIEFINGS
from
the Food Research Institute
| BRIEFING TOPIC | DATE |
| Destruction of H5N1
Avian Influenza Virus in Meat and Poultry Products Outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza in wild and domesticated birds have spread over a significant segment of the world area of Asia, Africa, and Europe. It is expected that the range of the virus will continue to expand as the virus is carried by exported poultry and poultry products, smuggled animals and meat, humans or migratory birds. When the virus is identified, it is usually associated with chaos, considerable economic loss, and, sometimes, human deaths. This briefing is a summary of information published in the scientific literature and government reports since the first detection of H5N1 in poultry in China in 1996. It is extremely important to learn how to mitigate the virus and its effect on the food chain and human health. |
August 2007 |
| Microbial Food
Spoilage: Losses and Control Strategies Retail and food service establishments and their customers experience significant economic loss from food spoilage each year. The Economic Research Service (ERS, USDA) estimated that over ninety-six million pounds of food were lost in the U.S. during 1995. While these losses are significant, it is not known how much research is directed to increasing the understanding of food-loss mechanisms and to develop strategies to increase shelf life and reduce losses. However it is known that there are not a significant number of published scientific articles in this area. Shelf life of a food is the time during which it remains stable and retains its desired qualities. Spoilage is manifested by a variety of sensory cues, e.g., off-colors, off-odors, softening, and slime. This briefing addresses microbial spoilage of food that is purchased to be consumed, and was prepared to complement the FRI Focus on Food Safety Series meeting: "Microbial Food Spoilage — Losses and Control Strategies" held June 12, 2007. |
July 2007 |
| Natural and Organic Foods: Safety
Considerations Natural and Organic foods have had a significant impact on the food industry through their rapid growth in popularity and resultant marketing opportunities. These food categories have the same safety regulations as conventional food. However, certification regulations for “organic food” defined in the Code of Federal Regulations (7CFR205) limit the acceptable additives, processing aids, and ingredients that can be used in processing and final formulations. “Natural foods” have no governmental definition, except that they are considered to be minimally processed and contain no synthetic ingredients. There is a movement to codify a governmental definition for “Natural foods.” Summary of the scientific literature on the regulatory impact of the foods in these market segments as compared to their conventional counterparts. prepared to complement the FRI Focus on Food Safety Series meeting: "Trends, Concerns, and Solutions for Natural and Organic Food Safety" (meeting summary) held November 14, 2006. |
December 2006 |
| Human Illness and E.
coli O157:H7 A major concern regarding E. coli O157:H7 is that fewer than 40 cells can cause illness in some people. Persons exposed to this organism may experience mild diarrhea, severe bloody diarrhea, hemorrhagic colitis or hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) with kidney failure. Cases among young children and older people can be fatal. Historical and epidemiological data on outbreaks of human illness caused by E. coli O157:H7 published in the scientific literature and government reports are summarized and from this information historical timelines were developed showing the appearance of different vehicles of infection and of important U.S. outbreaks and regulations to control E. coli O157:H7. Epidemiology, surveillance strategies, regulations, and industry initiatives on human illness caused by E. coli O157:H7 are discussed. |
November 2006 |
| Nanotechnology Interest in nanotechnology continues to grow as materials are developed into new products and commercialized. These new materials illustrate advantageous properties, e.g. magnetic, electrical, optical, mechanical and chemical at various size scales. Application of these properties to the food industry will continue to evolve, e.g. materials of construction, delivery systems (for ingredients and processing aids), packaging, biosensors, cleaners, and sanitizers. |
June 2006 |
| Veterinary Drug Residues in Processed
Meats — Potential Health Risk Veterinary drugs are used to treat disease and improve feed efficiency and growth in some farm animals. There has been concern of possible carryover of veterinary drugs into consumer food products and the possibility of adverse effects on people consuming these foods. Government surveillance programs detect drug residues. Failure to adhere to recommended periods of withdrawal is reported to be the primary cause of violative levels of veterinary drugs in food. There are no published databases defining the quantities of individual veterinary drugs administered to the different classes of animals, that is, chickens, turkeys, swine, or cattle. The literature was searched to establish which veterinary drugs were detected most often in carcasses or meat as well as published studies on the prevalence of drug-resistant bacteria in different animals. It was then postulated that certain antibiotics, if there were drug residues, would probably be the most likely to be detected in processed meat. |
March 2006 |
| Food Antimicrobials, Cleaners,
and Sanitizers Introduction and overview prepared for FRI Focus on Food Safety Series workshop: "Developments and Applications of Food Antimicrobials, Cleaning and Sanitation" (meeting summary). Food safety is ensured largely, but not exclusively, by controlling the presence and growth of pathogenic organisms in and on foods. Numerous cleaning compounds and processes have been developed to remove and destroy bacteria, viruses, and parasites from equipment and surfaces in food processing plants and from fresh produce and animal carcasses. Antimicrobial compounds are used to eliminate or limit the growth of pathogens in foods. |
September 2005 |
| Safety of Processed Cheese: A Review
of the Scientific Literature Introduction and overview prepared for FRI Focus on Food Safety Series workshop: "Development and Production of Safe Process Cheese Formulations" (meeting summary). |
July 2005 |
| Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy:
An Updated Scientific Literature Review Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) comprise a number of fatal progressive neurodegenerative diseases of mammals, including Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) and Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). TSEs continue to challenge the scientific community with unanswered questions, e.g. transmission and control strategies of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). The suggested agent, an abnormally folded prion protein, presents unique diagnostic challenges, as bio-analytical tools to detect changes in protein tertiary structure are limited and not very sensitive. This review of the scientific literature consolidates scientific publications and is an update to previous BSE briefs (April 1996, January 1997, and August 2002). (.pdf) Requires the Adobe Acrobat Reader to view. Download a FREE copy of Acrobat Reader. |
December 2004 |
| Saturated Fat and Beef Fat as Related
to Human Health Americans are probably healthier than they have ever been; yet they are more concerned about their health. One aspect of this concern is the numerous messages communicated concerning the positive and potential negative effects of different foods and food components. The scientific community continues to study various food components and their correlation to health. Dietary fat in general and saturated fat in particular are considered to have a negative impact on health. This brief summarizes the many studies that have been conducted on saturated fats and their health implications, and illustrates that there is still much to learn. (.pdf) Requires the Adobe Acrobat Reader to view. Download a FREE copy of Acrobat Reader. |
February 2004 |
| Foodborne Parasites A variety of parasites may contaminate water and cause human illness, such as the 1993 Cryptosporidium outbreak in Milwaukee, WI (earlier FRI brief). Indirectly, the contaminated water may cause human illness by consumption of food surface-contaminated during growing (e.g., irrigation) and/or proceessing. Additionally, improper disposal of wastes can pass parasites to fish and food animals. Among all illnesses attributable to foodborne transmission in the United States, the CDC has estimated that approximately 3% are caused by parasites. This brief addresses the possibilities for an increase in foodborne parasitic diseases, the involvement of parasites in food, and methods for their control. (.pdf) Requires the Adobe Acrobat Reader to view. Download a FREE copy of Acrobat Reader. |
October 2003 |
| Bovine Spongiform
Encephalopathy (BSE) BSE was first recognized in Great Britain in 1986. Since then, approximately 179,000 cases of BSE have been confirmed in Great Britain; a number of confirmed cases have also been reported in other European countries, Israel, and Japan; new governmental regulations have been introduced to reduce and eliminate the spread of the disease; and a new thought pattern has evolved in the assessment, communication, and management of risk associated with newly emerging diseases. This literature review, an update to earlier FRI briefs, summarizes knowledge gained in the last decade concerning Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy (TSE) as well as the questions yet to be answered, e.g., transmission and control strategies of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). Requires the Adobe Acrobat Reader to view. Download a FREE copy of Acrobat Reader. |
September 2002 |
| Survival
and Growth of Clostridium perfringens during the
Cooling Step of Thermal Processing of Meat Products Ready-To-Eat (RTE) meat and poultry products are deemed safe to consume without further processing, but may be further processed by the consumer, such as cooking. The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) draft compliance guidelines for RTE meat and poultry products is intended for the production of unadulterated products and speaks to lethality and stabilization performance standards. The lethality standard would eliminate or adequately reduce vegetative pathogenic microorganisms in the product. The stabilization standard is to prevent the growth of spore-forming bacteria that may produce toxin either in the product or in the human intestine after consumption. Requires the Adobe Acrobat Reader to view. Download a FREE copy of Acrobat Reader. |
March 2002 |
| Virulence
Characteristics of Listeria monocytogenes Listeria monocytogenes control measures have resulted in reduced contamination, but eradication is not believed possible with current technology. This review summarizes the latest information on virulence characteristics of L. monocytogenes and how it causes infection and escapes destruction by the human immunological defense system. Requires the Adobe Acrobat Reader to view. Download a FREE copy of Acrobat Reader. |
October 2001 |
| Alternatives
to Antibiotic Use for Growth Promotion in Animal Husbandry
Since the 1940s, the use of antibiotics in food animals has become widespread for disease prevention and treatment, feed efficiency and growth promotion. Intense debate and research continue in an attempt to define the contribution of agricultural antibiotics to antibiotic resistance in bacteria that cause human illness. The European Union in general and several individual countries prohibit the use of certain antimicrobial drugs in animal feeds for growth promotion. These concerns lead to a reduced probability of new human antibiotics being approved for use in animal feed, pressure to revoke certain current human antibiotics approved for animal feed, higher costs to produce animals for human food, and opportunities to develop new products for increasing feed efficiencies and growth promotion in food animals. Requires the Adobe Acrobat Reader to view. Download a FREE copy of Acrobat Reader. |
April 2001 |
| Listeria Heat Resistance Listeriosis has a relatively low incidence in the United States, with approximately 2500 persons per year becoming severely ill. However, the mortality rates of 20% or more associated with Listeria monocytogenes foodborne outbreaks have heightened efforts to better understand and control this organism. This literature review compiles published and referenced data: M. E. Doyle, A. S. Mazzotta, T. Wang, D. W. Wiseman, and V. N. Scott. Heat resistance of Listeria monocytogenes. J. Food Protection 64:410–429 (2001). |
March 2001 |
| Hormone Implants
The U.S. FDA approved the first hormone implant in cattle in 1956, for the purpose of increasing growth, feed efficiency, and carcass leanness of cattle. In 1999, the European Commission invoked the precautionary principle, asserting that beef from implanted cattle should not be allowed in European markets. This briefing focuses on published and referenced safety studies of current FDA-approved "growth hormone" compounds in the United States. Requires the Adobe Acrobat Reader to view. Download a FREE copy of Acrobat Reader. |
July 2000 |
| Salmonella Thermal Resistance The effectiveness of heat treatment as an intervention process for destroying salmonellae in foods is dependent on the serotype and the food composition. A significant number of scientific publications have dealt with this topic, and they are brought together in the recent literature review: M. E. Doyle and A. S. Mazzotta. Review of studies on the thermal resistance of salmonellae. J. Food Protection 63:779–795 (2000). |
June 2000 |
| Listeria
Intervention Over the last year there has been a heightened interest in Listeria monocytogenes. This review of the various Listeria intervention techniques for processing of Ready to Eat (RTE) meat emphasizes recent literature (1995 – June 1999) but does not attempt to interpret the efficiency or effectiveness of the intervention technique for particular products nor the current regulatory status. Requires the Adobe Acrobat Reader to view. Download a FREE copy of Acrobat Reader. |
November 1999 |
| Food Irradiation
Exposure to radiant energy reduces or eliminates bacteria in food. How does it work, are there issues of concern, and what are current and proposed uses of irradiation for destroying pathogens in foods? |
March 1999 |
| Non-Cholera
Vibrios Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Vibrio vulnificus, the most common vibrios associated with seafood illness in the United States, are normal members of the marine environment. Cooking effectively kills these foodborne pathogens. Should you eat your seafood raw? |
November 1998 |
| Campylobacter
— Chronic Effects USDA estimates Campylobacter jejuni as the major cause of foodborne disease in the United States. Not only does C. jejuni produce typical acute effects; these may be followed by chronic symptoms. Chronic complications (sequelae) can occur even if the immune system successfully fights off the original illness. In such cases, activation of the immune system facilitates the chronic condition. |
July 1998 |
| Toxins from
Algae and Cyanobacteria The 1997 major fish kill in the Pocomoke River of Maryland, U.S.A., resulted in lots of concern, many questions, and few answers. Does Pfiesteria piscicida pose a food safety threat to humans? How can future fish kills be prevented? Microcystins are one of several toxins produced by freshwater cyanobacteria with the potential to contaminate food harvested from these waters. |
May 1998 |
| Fusarium
Mycotoxins Success has been very limited in prevention or elimination of these toxins in foods and feeds. Collaborative projects and a comprehensive international seminar seek the answers. |
December 1997 |
| Hepatitis A
CDC lists hepatitis A as the 4th-leading cause of foodborne disease in the U.S.A. As many as one-third of the U.S. population has been exposed to hepatitis A, the highest incidence occurring in children. |
July 1997 |
| Mycobacterium
paratuberculosis One example of a possible link between a specific microorganism and human disease; what are the vehicles of transmission? |
April 1997 |
| Salmonella
typhimurium DT104 Since 1990, the United Kingdom has experienced a dramatic increase in Salmonella typhimurium DT104 isolates from animals and humans that are resistant to five or more antibiotics. Humans harboring this strain show much higher rates of hospitalization and death than is normally observed with cases of salmonellosis. |
January 1997 |
| Cryptosporidium
and Cyclospora The 1993 waterborne Cryptosporidium outbreak caused 400,000 people in the greater Milwaukee area to become ill. In 1996, a number of reported illnesses were attributed to Cyclospora from fresh fruits. |
November 1996 |
| Helicobacter
pylori Rather than reducing stomach acidity, current ulcer treatment is to eradicate Helicobacter pylori, which has been defined as a major causative agent. |
January 1997 August 1996 |
| Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
History and current thinking on the "Mad Cow Disease" scare in Great Britain. |
January 1997
April 1996 |
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