Some aspects of the influence of industrial and household handling on the composition of food.
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Food Analysis↗
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Proper handling and using of leftover foods.
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Food Handling↗
Home storage temperatures and consumer handling of refrigerated foods in Sweden.
The lack of data on consumer refrigeration temperatures and storage times limits our ability to assess and manage risks associated with microbial hazards. This study addressed these limitations by collecting data on temperatures and storage handling practices of chilled foods. Consumers from 102 households in Uppsala, Sweden, were instructed to purchase seven food items (minced meat, fresh herring fillets, soft cheese, milk, sliced cooked ham, vacuum-packed smoked salmon, and ready-to-eat salad) and to store them using their normal practices. They were interviewed the next day, and food temperatures were measured. In general, there were no significant relations between temperature and characteristics of the respondents (e.g., sex, age, education, age of the refrigerator). Mean storage temperatures ranged from 6.2 degrees C for minced meat to 7.4 degrees C for ready-to-eat salad. Maximum temperatures ranged from 11.3 to 18.2 degrees C. Data were not significantly different from a normal distribution, except for ready-to-eat salad, although distributions other than the normal fitted data better in most cases. Five percent to 20% of the food items were stored at temperatures above 10 degrees C. Most respondents knew the recommended maximum temperature, but less than one fourth claimed to know the temperature in their own refrigerator. Practical considerations usually determined where food was stored. For products with a long shelf life, stated storage times were different for opened and unopened packages. The current situation might be improved if consumers could be persuaded to use a thermometer to keep track of refrigerator temperature.
Adult↗
[Current position of the role of allergic and non-allergic food hypersensitivity in urticaria].
Foods are usually the first suspect as the cause of urticaria. However, a causal relationship is found only in special subtypes of urticaria. IgE-mediated food allergy should be clearly separated from non-allergic hypersensitivity (pseudoallergic reactions). The former may play a role in acute urticaria, particularly in patients with atopic dermatitis. The responsible food proteins vary with age. IgE-mediated sensitization can apply to food-dependent exercise-induced urticaria/anaphylaxis but more often the combination of food intake (irrespective of which type) plus exercise results in symptoms. In chronic urticaria, IgE-mediated sensitization to food is normally irrelevant while pseudoallergic reactions to food additives and perhaps also to biogenic amines may be involved. Another urticaria subtype that may be caused by food is contact urticaria which is mostly found in the context of occupational food handling. Very rarely anisakiasis and nickel may cause food-induced urticaria. Aspirin is able not only to exacerbate and aggravate urticaria but can also enhance food-dependent urticaria.
Diagnosis, Differential↗
An epidemiological study of food poisoning in Korea and Japan.
The purpose of this study was to make a comparative epidemiological observation on outbreaks of food poisoning between Korea and Japan, during the period from 1971 to 1990. The mean morbidity rate by fiscal year from 1971 to 1990 was 3.0 per 100,000 population in Korea, and 29.2 in Japan. The mean mortality rate, in Korea was 2.48%, and in Japan, 0.07%. When both morbidity and mortality rates in Korea and Japan were compared during same period, the morbidity rate in Japan was much higher than that in Korea. However, the mortality rate of patients in Korea was much higher than that in Japan. Comparison of food poisoning rates according to food preparation facilities in Korea and Japan was also performed; outbreaks in Korea most frequently involved home-made foods (48% of the total cases), while in Japan, restaurants accorded for 32.7%. Foods most commonly incriminated in Korea were seafood, meat and animal products, grains and vegetables, including mushrooms. In Japan, however, unknown causes, followed by seafood, vegetables, and meat and animal products were the most common. Food poisoning of bacterial origin in Korea was 58.6% of the total case, including Vibrio spp. (37.6%), Salmonella spp. (23.1%), Staphylococcus spp. (14.9%), pathogenic E. coli (6.8%) Clostridium spp. (0.5%) and other species (17.1%). In Japan, the majority of bacterial causes were Vibrio spp. (47.3%), Staphylococcus spp. (24.6%), Salmonella spp. (14.8%), E. coli (3.5%), Clostridium spp. (0.2%) and other species (9.6%). In conclusion, the outbreaks of food poisoning in Korea and Japan may be mainly caused by food handling, and their occurrence may be different according to food sources.
Disease Outbreaks↗
[PACKED FOOD AND ITS HANDLING].
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Food Preservation↗
Improving food safety in the domestic environment: the need for a transdisciplinary approach.
Microbial food safety has been the focus of research across various disciplines within the risk analysis community. Natural scientists involved in food microbiology and related disciplines work on the identification of health hazards, and the detection of pathogenic microorganisms. To perform risk assessment, research activities are increasingly focused on the quantification of microbial contamination of food products at various stages in the food chain, and modeling the impact of this contamination on human health. Social scientists conduct research into how consumers perceive food risks, and how best to develop effective risk communication with consumers in order to improve public health through improved food handling practices. The two approaches converge at the end of the food chain, where the activities regarding food preparation and food consumption are considered. Both natural and social sciences may benefit from input and expertise from the perspective of the alternative discipline, although, to date, the integration of social and natural sciences has been somewhat limited. This article therefore explores the potential of a transdisciplinary approach to food risk analysis in terms of delivering additional improvements to public health. Developing knowledge arising from research in both the natural and social sciences, we present a novel framework involving the integration of the two approaches that might provide the most effective way to improve the consumer health associated with food-borne illness.
Communication↗
How skilled are the skilled limb movements of the raccoon (Procyon lotor)?
Raccoons have been widely used for neurobiological research and with respect to paw (hand) use have been 'considered' to be primates because they display highly developed skilled hand use. Their exceptional manipulatory ability is puzzling from an evolutionary perspective both because they belong to a taxon that is divergent from primates and because most members of their taxon are not especially skilled. Surprisingly, there has been no systematic investigation of their manipulatory ability. This was the purpose of the present study. Captive and zoo-housed raccoons were video recorded during food handling in a wide variety of conditions and the video records were subjected to descriptive frame-by-frame analysis aided by the use of Eshkol-Wachman Movement Notation (EWMN). The results confirm that raccoons display good manual skills in food finding, grasping and handling. Like primates, they use vision to identify and reach for objects, but additionally they make extensive use of haptically controlled movements. Unlike primates, they do not have a true convergent hand as it has limited flexive properties. Objects are grasped between the digits or between the apical digit and distal palmar pads. Manipulation of objects consisted of rolling the object between the palms of both hands, with little or no digit movement. Finally, although they can make unimanual reaching movements, they make extensive use of a bimanual reaching strategy. These results suggest that raccoons are like primates in that they display visual guidance of reaching, but are similar to other carnivores in that they do not use convergent grasping and digit manipulation and frequently use bimanual grasping. The results, consistent with a growing body of information on skilled use in mammals, including marsupials and rodents, suggest that raccoons are specialised, but not special.
Animals↗
Food carrying in rats is blocked by the putative anxiolytic agent buspirone.
The effects of the putative anxiolytic agent buspirone on food-handling behavior of laboratory rats were investigated. Rats trained to travel from a covered shelter to a food source were provided with food pellets of six sizes. Smaller pellets were eaten at the exposed food source, whereas larger pellets were carried back to the shelter for consumption. Subcutaneous administration of buspirone hydrochloride (0.2-2.0 mg/kg) reduced carrying of larger food pellets in a dose-dependent manner. Instead, these pellets were also eaten at the exposed food source. Carrying was maximally suppressed 1 h after drug administration. Handling of smaller pellets, travel times, and eating times were not affected by buspirone. Similar results have previously been obtained with diazepam. Buspirone appears to exert its effects through 5-HT1A and/or dopamine receptors, whereas diazepam interacts with benzodiazepine receptors. Thus, manipulations of distinct transmitter systems may have similar behavioral consequences on the food carrying responses of rats.
Animals↗
Preventable disease in correctional facilities. Desmoteric foodborne outbreaks in the United States, 1974-1991.
BACKGROUND: Various disease outbreaks have been reported among prisoners. Recent foodborne outbreaks in correctional facilities in Georgia and Delaware prompted us to review the epidemiological characteristics of such outbreaks reported in the United States. METHODS: Foodborne outbreaks reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as part of routine surveillance from 1974 to 1991 were examined to identify outbreaks in jails, prisons, correctional facilities, and juvenile detention centers. Outbreak sizes, temporal trends, food vehicles, pathogens, and hygienic transgressions were analyzed. RESULTS: Eighty-eight desmoteric foodborne outbreaks involving 14307 cases of illness were reported from 31 states and territories. The mean outbreak size was 163 cases, compared with a mean of 31 cases for the 9107 reported outbreaks not involving prisoners. No fatalities among prisoners were reported. No pathogen was identified in 47 (53%) of the 88 outbreaks Salmonella species accounted for 15 (37%) of 41 outbreaks of known cause from 1974 to 1991, Clostridium perfringens for 14 (34%), and Staphylococcus aureus for 9 (22%). Fourteen of 15 Salmonella outbreaks occurred from 1984 to 1991. Food vehicles were reported for 63 (72%) of the outbreaks. Beef and poultry each were implicated in 9 (14%) of these, followed by fish or poultry salads and Mexican food, which accounted for 6 outbreaks (10%). Food-handling errors were reported for 69 (78%) of the 88 outbreaks. Improper food storage was reported in 62 (90%) of these. CONCLUSIONS: Foodborne outbreaks are reported regularly from correctional facilities in the United States. Outbreaks caused by Salmonella species, a special threat to prisoners with human immunodeficiency virus infection, seem to be increasing. Food production in correctional facilities should meet minimum safety standards, including sufficient refrigeration facilities, training of food handlers, and exemption of ill food handlers from work.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S.↗
Efficacy and tolerability of ClO2-generating gloves.
The transmission of pathogenic microorganisms by the hands of workers continues to be a problem in the medical field and the food industry. Compliance with hand hygiene is often poor, and gloves may be contaminated after being donned and may transmit microorganisms. A novel, patented technology allows materials to be impregnated with microspheres that, when activated by light or moisture, generate ClO2 at sustained rates to produce a disinfecting microatmosphere. Gloves that were seeded with bacteria and then exposed to light were able to reduce the numbers of Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella serotype Typhimurium, and Listeria monocytogenes by 1-3 logs within 20 min, both on the gloves and on the hands of wearers. The gloves look and feel like their standard counterparts and were well tolerated in the Draize test. This technology holds promise for reducing cross-contamination and the transmission of pathogens in the medical and food handling environments.
Chlorine Compounds↗
Food production materials handling.
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Analysis of Variance↗
An outbreak of Salmonella Hadar associated with roast rabbit in a restaurant.
In August 1997, an outbreak of gastroenteritis from Salmonella Hadar phage type 2 occurred among customers of a restaurant in Rimini (Emilia-Romagna region, Italy). Twenty-nine people who had eaten food prepared in the restaurant on 2 or 3 August had symptoms of acute gastroenteritis. The infection was culture-confirmed in 24 cases and the stool specimens of four healthy people were positive for Salmonella Hadar. Twelve people had to be hospitalized and a 3-year old girl died. The case-control study identified roast rabbit as the likely vehicle of infection (OR: 6.00; CI 95%: 1.65-22.83). The microbiological investigation carried out on food taken from the restaurant confirmed high levels of Salmonella Hadar in a sample of roast rabbit. Since the rabbit was well cooked, the food contamination likely occurred after cooking. Poor hygienic conditions found in the restaurant, together with inappropriate food-handling practices and inadequate storage temperatures may have contributed to spread to other foods and the severity of the outbreak.
Adolescent↗
Escherichia coli. EAEC, EHEC, EIEC, ETEC.
There are at least four different ways in which E. coli can cause diarrheal disease: invasion of the intestinal epithelium, enterotoxin production, STx production, and adherence with disruption of the normal functioning of the intestinal epithelium. Fecally contaminated food and water are the source of E. coli infections in humans. Travelers from industrialized countries with good sanitation systems are at risk for obtaining these organisms when they travel to the developing world, where these organisms are endemic. In the developing world, these organisms are a major cause of infant mortality. Infections in adults are usually self-limited and typically respond to oral rehydration therapy. Only in severe illness is antimicrobial therapy needed. Prevention of these infections requires good sanitation and food handling practices. In addition, travelers to the developing world should avoid certain types of food and contaminated water.
Animals↗
Effects of food deprivation and handling stress on head kidney 17alpha-hydroxyprogesterone 21-hydroxylase activity, plasma cortisol and the activities of liver detoxification enzymes in rainbow trout.
The 21-hydroxylation of 17alpha-hydroxyprogesterone is one step in the biosynthesis of corticosteroids. Both 7 days of handling-induced stress and 7 weeks of food deprivation significantly elevated head kidney microsomal 17alpha-hydroxyprogesterone 21-hydroxylase activity in juvenile rainbow trout. The increased 21-hydroxylase activity was not paralleled by changes in plasma cortisol levels induced by handling stress whereas food deprivation for 3 and 7 weeks increased both 21-hydroxylase activity and plasma cortisol levels significantly. Food deprivation in rainbow trout affected detoxification enzyme activities, namely glutathione-S-transferase (GST), uridine-di-phosphate glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) and glutathione reductase (GR) activities in the liver. Together our observations suggest that experimental conditions can affect experimental results, especially the values of parameters like GST, UGT and GR. Furthermore, alterations in the metabolic state of the liver caused by stress or food deprivation can alter the balance between detoxification enzymes in rainbow trout liver.
Journal Article↗
[Sanitary conditions of community dining halls in greater Buenos Aires, Argentina].
Because of the importance of food safety for public health, a study was done to determine the microbiologic quality of foods provided to patrons of community dining halls in greater Buenos Aires, Argentina. The study was descriptive and was conducted in three municipalities with intermediate or high poverty indices; a sample of 52 dining halls was selected randomly from those municipalities. Information was collected from April 1994 through April 1995 by means of surveys, direct observations, and microbiologic analyses of the water and food served. Water and food analysis followed the recommendations of the Argentine Food Code and the International Commission on Microbiologic Specifications for Foods, respectively. The results were interpreted according to the values for cooked foods agreed upon by the Working Group on Food Monitoring. The microbiologic analysis revealed that 28 (54%) of the dining halls had food or water of inadequate quality and 11 (21%) had inadequacies in both. Bacillus cereus was the most commonly found pathogenic bacterium in the food samples analyzed. The factors that were significantly associated with unsatisfactory microbiologic conditions in the food and water were lack of disinfection of the water (P = 0.009), lack of hygiene in the environment (P = 0.03), the presence of rodents and insects (P = 0.05), the supply system for raw materials (P = 0.01), and a relatively small number of users, i.e., fewer than 100 (P = 0.0008). It was concluded that water disinfection and general clean-up of the dining halls were measures that could be put in place by providing education in the areas of hygiene and food handling to supervisors and employees. The results obtained also indicate the need to include a food safety evaluation among the general evaluation criteria for food assistance programs.
Adolescent↗
Enterotoxin production and DNA fingerprinting in Staphylococcus aureus isolated from human and food samples. Relations between genetic types and enterotoxins.
A total of 224 Staphylococcus aureus strains from human carriers (110 strains) and manually handled foods (114 strains) collected in the Principality of Asturias, Spain over 1995-1999 were analysed for the production of enterotoxins (SEs) A, B, C, and D by a reversed passive latex agglutination test and by amplification of ent genes (A, B, C, D, E, and J) using PCR. Sixty-two strains were enterotoxigenic and a good relation between detection of SEs and their ent genes was found. No strain carried entE and all strains producing SED carried entD and entJ genes. Among the enterotoxigenic strains the percentages registered were 29, 8, 35, 18, 2, 2, and 6 for SEA, SEB, SEC, SEDJ, SEAC, SEADJ and SECDJ, respectively. DNA fingerprinting of 77 strains (the SE prototypes, 62 enterotoxigenic and 10 non-enterotoxigenic [NE]) was carried out by randomly amplified polymorphic DNA using two selected primers independently. Combining results from both primers, 10 genetic types were defined, which showed a different degree of relationship (similarity coefficient: 0.9-0.36) and were clustered into three lineages. One lineage clustered five genetic types and a wide diversity of strains, mainly SEA, SEB, SEDJ, and NE. Another lineage clustered only SEC, SECDJ and NE strains. These two lineages showed a low genetic relationship and appeared as endemic in healthy humans living in the Principality of Asturias. The third lineage included only the prototype strains for SEA and SEE.
Bacteriological Techniques↗
Rorschach personality predictors of weight loss with behavior modification in obesity treatment.
Weight loss outcome for 49 obese patients after 6 months treatment in a behavior modification program was related to Rorschach personality characteristics according to the Comprehensive System (Exner, 2003), also including the Rorschach Oral Dependency Scale (Bornstein, 1996; Masling & Rabie, 1967). Less weight loss was predicted by signs of perceptual and cognitive distortions indicated by the Schizophrenia Index. More weight loss was predicted by Food Contents, suggesting a food preoccupation and possibly a benign dependency orientation. Patients with a focus on food and dependent needs could benefit above all from the treatment program implying learning how to handle food and eating in a supportive setting, as evidenced by more weight loss. Distortions in perception and cognition could constitute more profound difficulties in weight reduction important to recognize in obesity treatment.
Adult↗