August 2005

Food Quality News reports that commitment to and research in food and agricultural microbiology is on the decline despite the ever-present threats to the food supply posed by disease, spoilage and the specter of bio-terrorism.
“The constant spread and evolution of agricultural pathogens provides a continually renewed source of challenges to productivity and food safety,” said Michael Doyle of the University of Georgia, a co-author of the report by the American Academy of Microbiology entitled Research Opportunities in Food and Agriculture Microbiology.
“However, research support over the last few decades has been lean and is, in fact, decreasing.”
Ongoing growth in the global 3.2 trillion food production, processing, distribution and preparation industries has led to growing pressure on the food chain to minimise outbreaks of food borne diseases. In industrialised countries, the percentage of people suffering from foodborne diseases each year has been reported to be up to 30 per cent.Continue Reading Food safety research declining despite global risks

Bob Holliday of Pantagraph.com (Illinois) reports that Bridget Conlon helps keep McLean County restaurants safe with her inspections. As one of the health department’s seven sanitarians, she makes sure food is handled properly and that those who handle the food are hygienic.
What does a sanitarian do and how did you get the job?
We do inspections of restaurants. That’s the main part of our job, but we also inspect septic systems and tanning establishments. It’s my first job out of college. I was an environmental health major at Illinois State University.
When you do your restaurant visits, what is your focus and do you announce that you’re coming?Continue Reading Sanitarian makes sure restaurants are safe to eat at

A group of people involved with a local wrestling camp were taken to Providence Hospital in Southfield Wednesday with an unknown illness, Local 4 News reports.
Fourteen children ranging in age from 9 to 15 years old and one adult were taken to the hospital after experiencing symptoms of nausea, vomiting, diarrhea (and) pretty bad…

Garlic-in-oil mixtures, sold in jars in grocery stores, are popular with the busy cook. But making your own garlic, herbs or hot peppers-in-oil mixtures at home can be hazardous to your health, because bacteria that cause botulism can grow, according to Carolyn Raab, food and nutrition specialist with the Oregon State University Extension Service.
Commercial garlic-in-oil mixtures are acidified to prevent bacterial growth. Most of these store-bought products can be stored safely at room temperature. Look for storage instructions on the label.
Unfortunately, do-it-yourself acidification of homemade herb or vegetables-in-oil mixtures is risky, because not enough research has been conducted to know how much acid is needed to prevent bacterial growth.
These low-acid foods can be a source of ‘Clostridium botulinum’ bacteria, according to Raab.Continue Reading News From Oregon Extension Service: Homemade Herbs & Vegetables In Oil May Be Hazardous To Health

The Canadian Press reports that approximately 100 guests took ill after a wedding over the weekend in the central Serbian town of Kragujevac, a local health official said. The clinic for infectious diseases in the town 90 kilometres southeast of the capital, Belgrade, treated about 100 patients for food poisoning symptoms, clinic specialist Ljiljana Nesic…

Tim Darragh of the Knight-Ridder Tribune reports that Pennsylvania must boost spending by tens of millions of dollars, give easier public access to information and consolidate oversight for public health services if it ever hopes to fix its broken system for inspecting restaurants and food retailers.
The state’s leadership has known for years that Pennsylvania’s food inspection system needs fixing. But little change has come.
“We haven’t had a reason to take a look at it,” said state Sen. Jake Corman, chairman of the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee, which has legislative authority over Pennsylvania’s public health systems.
However, statistics and a Morning Call analysis suggest there’s much that needs examination. Two-thirds of reported food-borne illnesses in a 14-year period in Pennsylvania were linked to the state’s eateries. And the newspaper’s analysis of 78,000 food inspection records reveals severe problems with the system: years between inspections at many establishments, undertrained and ill-equipped inspectors, and spotty or nonexistent recordkeeping. The newspaper undertook months of legal action to obtain the information for its analysis.Continue Reading Can the state mend broken food safety system?

Diane Carman of the Denver Post reports that on a blistering hot day, rancher Sue Jarrett took two carloads of city slickers on the tour de manure. They started at the sprawling Swift & Co. feedlot in Greeley, checked out a confined buffalo farming operation, peeked in on some dairies, visited one of the largest feedlots in the world in Yuma and ended up at her ranch near Wray.
She fixed them supper, and they stayed all night. She served pork roast and roast beef, a big salad, stir-fried vegetables. The best part, though, was what she didn’t serve.
Because she knew how the animals had been raised, she could say with confidence that they weren’t laced with antibiotics and they weren’t hosts for antibiotic-resistant bacteria like most of the animals raised for meat in America.
And this was one crowd that could really appreciate it.
The guests of the natural-meat activist were scientists and activists who lobby Congress and federal agencies to take action to preserve antibiotics for essential medical treatment.
And unlike most of us, they pay very close attention to what they eat.Continue Reading Time bombs lace most U.S. meat