May 2006

Per yesterday’s University of Arkansas Food Safety Consortium Media Release, ozone was good, but adding ionization appears to be better when it comes to getting rid of foodborne pathogens.
And what is ionization? Jim Marsden of a Food Safety Consortium research team at Kansas State University likens a new process using ionization to a ‘miniature sun’ of ultraviolet energy interacting with oxygen and drawing particles out of the air, thus producing an antimicrobial effect.
‘When Mount St. Helens went off, you had all these particles floating around,’ Marsden said. ‘The reason they’re not still floating around is that ionization from the sun caused them to fall out of the air.’
Marsden’s KSU team worked with EcoQuest International, a Greeneville, Tenn.-based company, to determine the potential use of its ionization generator for food safety in processing plants. The researchers wanted to find out its effectiveness in reducing several pathogens including E. coli, Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus auerus.Continue Reading KSU, EcoQuest team to advance ionization for food safety

Kevin Landers 10TV News (Ohio) asks, “Just how clean is your favorite place to eat?” 10TV News investigations discovered what really happens behind the counter.
Kent Bradley and his team of food inspectors examine 1,700 food establishments twice a year to make sure what you eat is safe. They are looking for issues that can lead to food-borne illnesses, like Salmonella poisoning.
According to the Ohio Department of Health, prepared food at restaurants and delicatessens had the highest number of reported outbreaks of food-borne illness. Statewide, the number jumped from 58 cases in 2001, to 80 in 2005. That’s an increase of 38 percent.Continue Reading 10TV News investigates local restaurants

Does media such as FoodProductionDaily.com and others overly hype food safety issues to the public?
Ahmed ElAmin of Food Production Daily for Decision News Media SAS reports that in a survey consumers say they are indifferent to media influences, a depressing finding to those who work in the industry.
Recent food safety incidents and the introduction of genetically modified foods in Europe have resulted in public concern over the safety of the European food supply.Continue Reading Public skeptical of food safety measures, survey finds

North Dakota State University and the Great Plains Institute of Food Safety announce a conference on risk and risk assessment from farm to fork. This conference invited researchers and risk assessors in academia, industry and government to participate in a two-day meeting aimed at uniting and sharing research and current knowledge on how to apply…

Paul Elias of the Associated Press reports that Max Rothschild has been trying to “build” a better pig for almost 30 years, since he took a job cleaning up after the hogs at his alma mater, the University of California, Davis.
He’s now a renowned swine scientist who has traded the dirty pigpens of his undergraduate days for a glistening Iowa State University laboratory dedicated to producing tastier chops, safer pork and healthier pigs.Continue Reading Bringing human genome technology to the dinner table

Angela Cunningham of News WLNS.com reports that health officials are investigating what caused six people who ate at Wendy’s in Grand Ledge to become sick. They believe anyone who ate at the restaurant between Friday the 21st and this Tuesday could have come in contact with contaminated food.
Health officials say it is still very early in their investigation and they’re not ready to rule anything out. Early this week, health officials started getting reports that people who ate at the Wendy’s in Grand Ledge were having some serious problems.
The Barry-Eaton Health Department is trying to get to the bottom of what’s causing the illness. Early indication is that food at the restaurant had been contaminated with norovirus, commonly known as the stomach flu.Continue Reading Health expert/Wendy’s owner talk about illness at local restaurant

Commentary from the Food Safety Network by Douglas Powell
I met this girl.
When I say such words they are usually followed by tragicomedy of the highest order.
But this time, so far, so good.
About the same time I met this girl last fall, I had lunch with the president of Kansas State University and a few others. Soon thereafter, K-State offered me a job.
So I took it.Continue Reading Food Safety Network expands to Kansas

Acting on research data that indicates two-thirds of adults turn to the Internet for basic safe food handling information, the Partnership for Food Safety Education today introduces a new evolution of its popular website http://www.fightbac.org.
Building on the national Fight BAC!(R) campaign, the new site contains a wealth of newly designed food safety information to help reduce risk of foodborne illness.
Despite recent declines in outbreaks of several bacterial foodborne diseases, foodborne illness continues to afflict millions of people each year. Experts agree that education is vital to reducing incidence. The Partnership’s national consumer study reveals that much progress has been made increasing awareness of safe food handling practices, but more work remains to be done.Continue Reading Take a fresh look at food safety: Partnership For Food Safety Education unveils new evolution of popular Website