Food Safety Issues (food + safety_issues)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Capillary electrophoresis for the analysis of contaminants in emerging food safety issues and food traceability

ELECTROPHORESIS, Issue 13 2010
Belinda Vallejo-Cordoba
Abstract This review presents an overview of the applicability of CE in the analysis of chemical and biological contaminants involved in emerging food safety issues. Additionally, CE-based genetic analyzers' usefulness as a unique tool in food traceability verification systems was presented. First, analytical approaches for the determination of melamine and specific food allergens in different foods were discussed. Second, natural toxin analysis by CE was updated from the last review reported in 2008. Finally, the analysis of prion proteins associated with the "mad cow" crises and the application of CE-based genetic analyzers for meat traceability were summarized. [source]


Food safety approaches to examining HACCP costs and performance and technologies

AGRIBUSINESS : AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, Issue 2 2007
Michael Ollinger
In this article, the authors describe the survey methodology needed to obtain data to support several empirical analyses dealing with food safety issues. The most striking finding about the survey methodology was the much higher response rate due to the use of priority mail and an incentive payment of $5 versus priority mail only or first-class mail only. Letters of support from the major meat and poultry trade associations and the up to five contacts of potential survey respondents by the surveying organization also appear to have improved the response rate. Overall, the survey methodology yielded nearly 1,000 responses from 1,705 possible meat and poultry plants on their costs of compliance with the Pathogen Reduction/Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point rule of 1996, plant characteristics, and use of food safety technologies and practices. [EconLit Citations: L250, L510, L150] © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Agribusiness 23: 193,210, 2007. [source]


Synthesis and Bioaccessibility of Fe-Pheophytin Derivatives from Crude Spinach Extract

JOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE, Issue 5 2008
R.E. Nelson
ABSTRACT:, Heme iron is recognized as a highly bioavailable source of iron suitable for treatment of iron deficiency anemia. However, the animal origin of purified heme limits its broad applicability due to religious, personal, and food safety issues. Development of chlorophyll-derived heme mimetics offers opportunities to expand current iron fortification strategies. The objective of this study was the synthesis of Fe-pheophytin (FePhe) derivatives from natural chlorophyll and subsequent evaluation of their digestive behavior and bioaccessibility in vitro. FePhe a and a, were synthesized from crude spinach extracts by treatment with 1.3 M iron(II)chloride and 0.25 M Na-acetate dissolved in glacial acetic acid at 80 °C for 30 min. FePhe-rich extracts (approximately 1 mM) were formulated into corn starch based test meals (7.5% lipid) and subjected to a 2-step in vitro digestion designed to simulate in vivo gastric and small intestinal conditions. Recovery of FePhe following digestion and transfer of FePhe and pheophytins (Phe) from test meal matrix to mixed micelles was assessed by RP C18-HPLC to determine the digestive stability and micellarization efficiency (bioaccessibility). FePhe a and a, derivatives were moderately stable to digestive conditions with recoveries of 52.3% and 58.7%, respectively. Residual Phe a was stable to digestion. Micellarization efficiency of FePhe a (4%) and a, (3.4%) was significantly (P < 0.05) lower than Phe a (25.8%) from test meals. While digestive stability and micellarization efficiency are limiting, the presence of lipophilic FePhe derivatives in mixed micelles suggests that these compounds would be available for subsequent absorption in the intestinal tract. [source]


Food Safety Education Using Music Parodies

JOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE EDUCATION, Issue 3 2009
Carl K. Winter
ABSTRACT:, Musical parodies of contemporary songs with their lyrics altered to address current food safety issues were incorporated into a variety of food safety educational programs and the effectiveness of the music was evaluated by semiquantitative and qualitative measures. Audiences receiving the music-enriched curricula included school foodservice supervisors, school foodservice managers, culinary arts instructors, culinary arts students, Family and Consumer Sciences teachers, and youth aged 8 to 12 y and studies were conducted in South Carolina, North Carolina, and Delaware. Among school foodservice supervisors, school foodservice managers, and culinary arts students, most participants were able to recall the main points of each song that was introduced in the curriculum. The culinary arts students were less likely to recall the main points of each song than were the other 2 groups, possibly because of the lack of prior knowledge of food safety practices as well as a lack of preference for the style of songs used. Family and Consumer Sciences teachers were enthusiastic about the use of the music but also identified potential barriers to the successful use of the music, due to the potential lack of appropriate audiovisual equipment, a lack of skills in using such equipment, and time constraints for the use of music in curricula due to the strong emphasis on end of year testing. Participants in the summer youth groups demonstrated significant increases between pre- and posttest examinations of safe food handling behaviors and most were able to quote lines or phrases from the songs. [source]


Drought Stress and Preharvest Aflatoxin Contamination in Agricultural Commodity: Genetics, Genomics and Proteomics

JOURNAL OF INTEGRATIVE PLANT BIOLOGY, Issue 10 2008
Baozhu Guo
Abstract Throughout the world, aflatoxin contamination is considered one of the most serious food safety issues concerning health. Chronic problems with preharvest aflatoxin contamination occur in the southern US, and are particularly troublesome in corn, peanut, cottonseed, and tree nuts. Drought stress is a major factor to contribute to preharvest aflatoxin contamination. Recent studies have demonstrated higher concentration of defense or stress-related proteins in corn kernels of resistant genotypes compared with susceptible genotypes, suggesting that preharvest field condition (drought or not drought) influences gene expression differently in different genotypes resulting in different levels of "end products": PR(pathogenesis-related) proteins in the mature kernels. Because of the complexity of Aspergillus -plant interactions, better understanding of the mechanisms of genetic resistance will be needed using genomics and proteomics for crop improvement. Genetic improvement of crop resistance to drought stress is one component and will provide a good perspective on the efficacy of control strategy. Proteomic comparisons of corn kernel proteins between resistant or susceptible genotypes to Aspergillus flavus infection have identified stress-related proteins along with antifungal proteins as associated with kernel resistance. Gene expression studies in developing corn kernels are in agreement with the proteomic studies that defense-related genes could be upregulated or downregulated by abiotic stresses. [source]


The definition, source, manifestation and assessment of unintended effects in genetically modified plants

JOURNAL OF THE SCIENCE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE, Issue 14 2008
Ping-Jian Deng
Abstract At present, there is consensus among many relevant international agencies that unintended effects should be paid particular attention in the process of edible safety assessment of genetically modified plants (GMPs) and their products, especially in regard to some long-term and potential food safety issues. However, with respect to the current risk assessment of GMPs, serious dissension on the apprehension of unintended effects exists. The present paper interprets and systematically analyses this dissension in order to review development on the definition, source and manifestation of unintended effects in GMPs. First, differences in the various concepts of unintended effect are discussed and compared. Then the mechanisms whereby unintended effects may arise during GMP breeding are analysed and the main unexpected variation manifestations in GMPs are presented. With regard to the safety assessment of unintended effects in GMPs, the current evaluation strategy, detection methods and several assessment cases are expounded. In addition, the unique assessment standard for unintended effects in GMPs in China is outlined. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry [source]