The Daily Democrat reports that September is National Food Safety Education Month, and the UC Davis Small Farm Center is partnering with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to promote consumer food safety education and reduce the risk of foodborne illness.
Throughout the month of September the Small Farm Center is reminding consumers that they are the final gatekeepers to a safe food supply.
Consumers can visit the Small Farm Center’s Web site at http:/www.sfc.ucdavis.edu (click on Program Areas, then Food Safety) to discover user-friendly information.Continue Reading Food safety requires cutting risk of illnesses
Canada and U.S. link databases to facilitate tracing of food outbreaks
Helen Branswell of the Canadian Press reports that public health officials on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border will be able to trace outbreaks of nasty foodborne pathogens like E. coli with greater ease from now on, thanks to an international agreement that will be signed Friday.
Electronic databases maintained by the Public Health Agency of Canada and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control will be formally linked, allowing investigators in both countries to chase down more rapidly and efficiently outbreaks of foodborne illness that can often be hard to spot because they occur over multiple states and provinces.
“A lot of our food systems are very highly integrated. So what’s happening in Canada can be happening in the U.S. and what’s happening in the U.S. can be happening in Canada,” Dr. Frank Plummer, scientific director of the agency’s National Microbiology Laboratory, explained Thursday.Continue Reading Canada and U.S. link databases to facilitate tracing of food outbreaks
Food safety research declining despite global risks
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
Cutting down onfood-borne illness Leave E. coli, Salmonella, Listeria and Campylobacter off the guest list
Lois Maharg of the Ann Arbor News Bureau reports that “when in doubt, throw it out” is never better advice than during picnic season, when food sits out in the hot summer sun.
Bacteria grow well between 70 and 120 degrees, but they grow most rapidly between 90 and 110 degrees, according to Joan Miller,
Can the state mend broken food safety system?
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?
Wash vegetables and fruit to reduce food poisoning
Heather McAvoy of The Daily Herald reports that while vegetables and fruit are well known for their powerful health-protecting benefits, what is less well known is that these valuable foods can also be sources of food poisoning when they are not properly handled.
Health officials recommend eating at least five servings of a variety of vegetables and fruit each day. These foods provide a wide range of plant compounds, known as phytochemicals. Phytochemicals have been shown to protect against many diseases, including heart disease, cancer and stroke.
Food poisoning bacteria can contaminate vegetables and fruit. These bacteria can come from soil, water and/or handling during harvest and transport. Viruses and pesticide residues can also be present.Continue Reading Wash vegetables and fruit to reduce food poisoning
What We Don’t Know About Handling Food Can Hurt
Newswise reports that a healthy adult is less likely to contract a foodborne illness than a young child or an aging grandparent. And a pregnant woman, her fetus, and people battling disease are especially sensitive to illnesses that can be transmitted by food. Those in these categories who are unaware of their risks are a potentially serious consequence for the nation’s health, according to experts here at the Institute of Food Technologists annual meeting.
Scientists refer to the people in these groups as YOPI–the very young, the very old, pregnant women, and people with suppressed immune systems from HIV, diabetes, and other conditions. Their natural internal defenses against foodborne illness are not as well armed as a health adult.Continue Reading What We Don’t Know About Handling Food Can Hurt
Food detectives
Scott Joseph, Orlando Sentinel Restaurant Critic, reports that what people sometimes mistake for a touch of the flu, a 24-hour bug, is really food poisoning. Upset stomach, cramps and diarrhea might be some of the discomforts they experience. On occasion, these are actually indicators of a food-borne illness, and, for epidemiologists such as Dean Bodager, they aren’t symptoms, they’re clues.
Whenever there is an outbreak of food-borne illnesses, it falls to Bodager and other members of the Florida Department of Health to track down the source. Sometimes it’s simple. Most outbreaks occur at the point of preparation — a restaurant employee who didn’t wash his or her hands properly, food that wasn’t kept at the correct temperature to prevent bacteria growth, or some sort of cross-contamination.Continue Reading Food detectives
Class Serves Up Important Tips
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Megan Heidlberg of WNEG NewsCHANNEL 32 reports that Susan Henning, along with 14 other restaurant managers and employees, are trading in their spatulas and aprons for pens and workbooks. That training is crucial since one mistake could make thousands of people very sick, or worse.
During the two day class, instructors like Dr. Elizabeth Anders
Seminar: Food Safety in the U.S. – Does Litigation Help?
The Food Safety Network has reported on Bill Marler’s discussion during a seminar at the University of Guelph on why processors, ingredient suppliers, restaurant operators, and any operations involved in the growth, processing, and distribution of food products should understand the legal consequences and dangers of what may happen when foodborne illness strikes as a