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Food Safety

Salmonella: What you need to know

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Food safety is back in the news with reports of Salmonella in eggs.
Eggs contaminated with salmonella have made big headlines over the last week with a huge recall affecting consumers nationwide.

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Hyperspectral Imaging Speeds Detection of Campylobacter

By Sharon Durham
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A type of high-tech imaging can be used to distinguish the foodborne pathogen Campylobacter from other microorganisms as quickly as 24 hours after a sample is placed on solid media in a Petri dish, according to a study published by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists.

The researchers, with USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS), used technology called hyperspectral imaging, which combines digital imaging with spectroscopy, to provide hundreds of individual wavelength measurements for each image pixel. ARS is the chief scientific research agency of USDA.

Local prevention may have crucial role in global zoonoses control

Creating community environments in which zoonoses have difficulty surviving is a critical yet often overlooked factor in controlling these transmissible diseases shared between animals and humans. "Resources are often focused on studying specific disease threats. Yet there are social conditions, which, if left unaddressed, can greatly impact animal and human health," explains Dr. Bonnie Buntain, a professor of public health at the University of Calgary.

Buntain is among the international experts from multiple disciplines who will examine the interrelationships of zoonoses, animal agriculture and human health at the Sept. 23-24 symposium Zoonoses: Understanding the Animal Agriculture and Human Health Connection. The symposium will be at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, Washington, D.C.

Skinning and freezing could help reduce Campylobacter spp. levels in processed poultry

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Two Belgian poultry processing firms with recognized food safety management systems (FSMS) should consider further measures such as skinning carcasses and freezing to reduce high Campylobacter spp. levels in poultry products, according to a new study published in the Journal of food production.
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News from the EFSA

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EFSA has published an evaluation of factors that may contribute to the spread of Campylobacter in live chickens and chicken carcasses in the European Union. The scientific report follows the publication of the first EU-wide survey carried out by Member States on the occurrence of this bacterium in chickens and their carcasses. Read more ...

Read also the EFSA Scientific Opinion on the Role of Tick Vectors in the Epidemiology of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever and African swine fever in Eurasia.

Foodborne disease burden epidemiology reference group

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The Foodborne Disease Burden Epidemiology Reference Group (FERG) comprises over 30 internationally renowned experts in a broad range of disciplines relevant to global foodborne disease epidemiology. Members were appointed by the WHO Director-General, Dr Margaret Chan.

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Salmonella contaminated pork may pose health risk for humans

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German researchers have isolated a strain of Salmonella in pork that is closely related to the bacteria commonly found in chickens and linked to human food-borne illness. They report their findings in the July 2010 issue of the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

First emerging overseas in the mid-1990's in pigs, initial studies showed the genetic make-up of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhimurium (or S. enterica serovar 4,[5],12:i:-) to be very similar to S. enterica serovar Typhimurium, the strain commonly found in chickens. It is a known cause of gastroenteritis and has become increasingly associated with worldwide outbreaks over the last few years.

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FAO Empres for Food Safety

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FAO contribution to the efforts to reduce adverse impact of food safety emergencies on global food security and public health

FAO has established an Emergency Prevention System for Food Safety (EMPRES Food Safety) that will complement and enhance FAO’s ongoing work in food safety, as well as in animal health and plant health emergencies.

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Food Safety Basics (HACCP)

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Understand the objectives, structure and possible project uses for HACCP
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New ruling ensures safer food

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The UN's food standards body issued new guidance to improve the safety of food. The new rulings limit the amount of melamine in food, provide hygienic measures for safer fresh salads and seafood and limit aflatoxins in Brazil nuts. Finally, the commission set new methods to more accurately determine food content.
Read the press release
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