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Food-borne Illness (food-borne + illness)
Selected AbstractsConsumers' perceptions and awareness of food safety practices in Barbados and Trinidad, West Indies , a pilot studyINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONSUMER STUDIES, Issue 4 2008Ranate Odwin Abstract The objectives of this pilot study were to determine perception and awareness of food safety practices of consumers in Trinidad and Barbados. A structured questionnaire was self-administered to 148 respondents. Data were analysed by descriptive and chi-square analysis. Most (92%) consumers rated having safe food practices as ,very important'. Only 25.7% heard of the acronym ,HACCP' (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point), associated the HACCP approach to safe food preparation (25.7%) and reported it recommendatory in homes (19.6%). More than one-third (45.6%) felt that up to 20% of food poisoning was associated to the home. Over the last 12 months, 18.2% of consumers and/or family members had experienced food-borne illness, but no one associated it to the home. More (P < 0.01) consumers in Trinidad than in Barbados were aware of the HACCP, experienced food-borne illness and allowed pets in the kitchen. This study identified many gaps in proper food safety practices in the homes. [source] Cross-contamination in the kitchen: effect of hygiene measuresJOURNAL OF APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 2 2008A.E.I. De Jong Abstract Aims:, To determine the effect of hygiene measures on cross-contamination of Campylobacter jejuni at home and to select a safe tracer organism for C. jejuni. Methods and Results: Comparative tests were conducted with nonpathogenic Escherichia coli and Lactobacillus casei and L. casei was chosen as the safe tracer organism. Salads containing chicken breast fillet contaminated with a known number of C. jejuni and L. casei were prepared according to different cross-contamination scenarios and contamination levels of salads were determined. Cross-contamination could be strongly reduced when cleaning cutting board and cutlery with hot water (68°C), but generally was not prevented using consumer-style cleaning methods for hands and cutting board. Conclusions:, Dish-washing does not sufficiently prevent cross-contamination, thus different cutting boards for raw meat and other ingredients should be used and meat,hand contact should be avoided or hands should be thoroughly cleaned with soap. Lactobacillus casei can be used as a safe tracer organism for C. jejuni in consumer observational studies. Significance and Impact of the Study:, Cross-contamination plays an important role in the transmission of food-borne illness, especially for C. jejuni. This study delivers suitable data to quantitatively assess the risk of campylobacteriosis caused by cross-contamination and it shows the effect of different preventive hygiene measures. [source] Use of repetitive DNA sequences to determine the persistence of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli in vegetables and in soil grown in fields treated with contaminated irrigation waterLETTERS IN APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 5 2006K. Ibenyassine Abstract Aims:, Fresh fruits and vegetables are increasingly recognized as vectors for food-borne illness. On farm contamination through contaminated irrigation water is considered likely source of the pathogen for several outbreaks. The purpose of this study is to investigate the possible similarity of strains of Escherichia coli isolated from the soil and vegetables irrigated by treated wastewater. Methods and Results:, Seventy-five strains of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli isolated from vegetables, soil and irrigation water were tested for sensitivity to antibiotics and shown to be sensitive. The result of enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus (ERIC)-PCR shows similarities between analysed strains isolated from the three different samples. Moreover strains of E. coli isolated from vegetables over different periods of time have the same ERIC-PCR profile. Conclusions:, The isolated strains of enteropathogenic E. coli can persist in soil and in vegetables growing in fields treated with contaminated irrigation water for an extended period of time. Significance and Impact of the Study:, Contaminated irrigation water can transport pathogenic bacteria, which persists in the soil for a long period of time and contaminates the vegetables growing in the field irrigated by this contaminated water. [source] Crystallization and preliminary crystallographic analysis of the Clostridium perfringens enterotoxinACTA CRYSTALLOGRAPHICA SECTION F (ELECTRONIC), Issue 7 2010David C. Briggs Clostridium perfringens is a Gram-positive anaerobic species of bacterium that is notable for its ability to produce a plethora of toxins, including membrane-active toxins (,-toxins), pore-forming toxins (,-toxins) and binary toxins (,-toxins). Here, the crystallization of the full-length wild-type C. perfringens enterotoxin is reported, which is the causative agent of the second most prevalent food-borne illness in the United States and has been implicated in many other gastrointestinal pathologies. Several crystal forms were obtained. However, only two of these optimized crystal forms (I and II) were useable for X-ray diffraction data collection. The form I crystals diffracted to dmin = 2.7,Å and belonged to space group C2, while the form II crystals diffracted to dmin = 4,Å and belonged to space group P213. [source] | ||||||||||