anaytical methods for metal detection

• flame atomic absporption spectrophometry

• electrothermal atomic absorption spectrophometry

• inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry

• atomic fluorescence spectrometry

detection methods

Mycotoxins

- TPC
- HPLC
- ELISA

Paralytic shellfish toxins (PSPs)

- HPLC (oxidation and fluorscence assay)
- Capillary electrophoresis

Diarrhetic shellfish

- LC
- Mass spectrometry (can use to detect all but expensive)

Herbicide residue/fungicide reside

- LC
- GC

meaning

An enterotoxin is a protein toxin released by a micro-organism in the lower Intestine. Enterotoxins are frequently cytotoxic and kill cells by altering the permeability of the epithelial cells of the intestinal wall. They are mostly pore forming toxins, secreted by bacteria, that assemble to form pores in cell membranes. This causes the cells to die.


A neurotoxin is a toxin that acts specifically on nerve cells – neurons– usually by interacting with membrane proteins such as ion channels.


meaning from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enterotoxins
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neurotoxins

bacterial toxins

Staphylococcus aureus intoxication

- One of the most important causes of food-borne disease worldwide.
- It is gram positive, nonmotile and non-spore forming cocci that forms 5entertoxins ( A-SEA, SEB, SEC, SED, SEE)
- Entertoxins are simple proteins that have high heat stability
- Growth increases at optimum pH and temperature
- Foods containing S.aureus at level of 5 X 105/g may cause S.aureus intoxication

Signs and symptoms

- begin 1-6hrs of consumption
- nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, diarrhea

Preventive measures

- practice hygiene practices
- reduced post-cooking contamination of high protein foods and eliminating prolonged storage of cooked food at room temp before eating

Clostridium botulinum intoxication

- gram positive rod-shaped anaerobic bacteria capable of forming heat resistance spores
- 6types of heat labile neurotoxins : A, B, C, D, E, F and G
- Type A and B : more likely to cause botulism in humans
- Example of food containing type A and B: beans and corns
- Type E : isolated from soil, seawater, fish intestines and sea or lake sediments
- Type F : from liver paste
- Botulinum toxin is a super toxin compound.
- Prevention : heating at 79oC for 20mins or at 85oC for 5mins

Signs and symptoms

- Appears 12-24hrs following consumption
- headache, blur vision, dizziness
- causes death from periods 24hrs to 2-3weeks

Preventive measures

- proper home preservation of foods
- discard all swollen and damaged canned products

Bacillus cereus intoxification

- gram positive, rod shaped, spore forming aerobe
- found in cereals, milk, herbs and spices
- 2types of enterotoxins : emetic and diarrheagenic
- Diarrheagenic toxins is a protein that is produced by actively growing cells
- Activated by enzymes like trypsin or exposure to 56oC or more than 30mins
- Emetic toxin is stable to heat, pH and pepsin enzymes

Clostridium perfringens intoxication

- causes foodborne infections followed that subsequently lead to sporulation
- lecithinase, an enterotoxin released during sporulation
- five antigenically (toxicologically) types: type A through E
- type A: involve in foodborne gastroenteritis in humans
- type C: produces 2 different toxins; lethal-necrotizing and hemolytic



book: introduction to toxicology and food

mycotoxins found in food and animal feed

Aflatoxins

-Possible adverse effects on livestock health and productivity
-Toxins produced by species of Aspergillus, mainly A.flavus and A. parasiticus
-There are 17toxins present but only 4 considered widespread and toxins ( ie aflatoxins B1, B2, G1. G2)
-Pure aflatoxins are destroyed by UV radiations, unstable at pH<3>10 and in the presence of oxidizing components.
-The toxins have native fluorescence, which is used for their analysis and for the sorting of contaminated units.
-Aflatoxins occur in wide variety of commodities including cereals, nuts and oilseeds

Ochratoxin A (OTA)

- Variety of moulds included in the genera Aspergillus
- Ochratoxin A contaminated crops include cereal such as barley and maize, wheat and oat.
- In cereals, OTA is produced more frequently by Penicillium than Aspergillus (generally occurs as storage contamination)

Trichothecenes

- Wide group of mycotoxins produced by various species of different genera: Fusarium, Myrothecium, Stachybotrys, Trichoderma, Cephalosporium, Trichothecium and Verticimonosporium ( Betina, 1993)

Fumonisins (FBs)

- FBs are mycotoxins mainly produced by Fusarium verticillioides, Nirenberg, Fusarium proliferatum
- Occurs in mainly maize and maize based food products at levels that could affect human and animal health.



book: pesticide, veterinary and other residues in food

What’s the Bottom Line on GM Crops and GM Foods?

1. SAFETY: To the best of our knowledge, GM foods and crops are as safe as conventional ones. Nutritionists and other scientists do not know of any unresolved safety issues.

2. REGULATION: GM crops and foods are highly regulated by the United States and other governments. The approval process requires many tests and takes many years. Scientists and agricultural biotech
companies support such regulations.

3. ENVIRONMENT: There is no evidence that GM crops harm the environment or have the potential to harm the environment any more than traditional agriculture.

4. ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS: Certain GM crops have environmental benefits because they require less pesticide to be used and less tilling of the land (and therefore less danger of erosion). GM crops can play an important role in making agriculture more sustainable and more productive.

5. BETTER NUTRITION: In the near future, GM crops and foods derived from them will have higher levels of vitamins, minerals, biologically active phytochemicals, and other nutrients.Many allergens will be eliminated.

6. FARMERS:Most farmers want GM crops because they make crop production cheaper. For their own safety, they especially like crops that require less pesticide.

7. OPPONENTS OF GM CROPS: Groups that oppose GM crops on ideological, philosophical, or economic grounds (such as Greenpeace and the Sierra Club) have not brought forth scientific evidence to back up their claims of negative health consequences or environmental impact.

8. DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: Plant breeders and farmers want access to GM technology to improve their crops. Everyone knows that this will not solve world hunger. It is simply another tool to increase productivity and reach that goal.


extracted from: http://www.sdcma.org/GMFoodsBrochure.pdf

The National Seed List

Committee	Department	Responsibility
Advisory Committee on Genetic modification	Health and Safety Executive	Advises on all aspects of human and environmental safety of contained use (eg in the laboratory) of GMOs
Advisory Committee on Releases into the environent	DEFRA	Advises on the environmental safety of proposed releases, marketing of GMOs, and related issues
Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes	Food Standards Agency	Advises on the safety of novel foods such as those derived from GMOs
Advisory Committee on Animal Feedingstuffs	Food Standards Agency	Advises on the safety and use of animal feeds
Advisory Committee on Pesticides	DEFRA	Advises the Government on the use of pesticides and herbicides
Agriculture and Environment Biotechnology Commission	Department of Trade and Industry	Advises the Government on strategic developments in agricultural biotechnology and environmental implications

The information is finally in table- form!! =))

PS: DEFRA stands for Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs

Toxins in GM food

Examples of toxins present in GM Food:

• glycoalkaloids found in green potatoes
• fungal toxins that sometimes contaminate food
• glucosinolates in cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, brussels sprouts and canola
• erucic acid in canola
• psoralens in celery
• cyanogenic glycosides in bitter almonds
• substances in poisonous species of fish and mushrooms.

http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/_srcfiles/GM%20Foods_text_pp_final.pdf

The National Seed List

Committee

1. Advisory Committee on Genetic Modification
2. Advisory Committee on Releases into the Environment
3. Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes
4. Advisory Committee on Animal Feedingstuffs Food
5. Advisory Committee on Pesticides
6. Agriculture and Environment Biotechnology Commission

Department

1. Health and Safety Executive
2. DEFRA
3. Food standards agency
4. Food standards agency
5. DEFRA
6. Department of trade and industry

Responsiblity

1. Advises on all aspects of human and environmental safety of contained use (e.g. in the laboratory) of GMOs
2. Advises on the environmental safety of proposed releases, marketing of GMOs, and related issues
3. Advises on the safety of novel foods such as those derived from GMOs
4. Advises on the safety and use of animal feeds
5. Advises the Government on the use of pesticides and herbicides
6. Advises the Government on strategic developments in agricultural biotechnology and environmental implications
   
   
   

extracted from: http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/briefings/gm_regulatory_process.pdf

* the numbering is according.. Number One for the committee is the same for the rest (department and responsibilty)

sorry for the inconvenience because i'm still trying out to put tables in here... i'll go ask around and i will post the table up asap for easy use.. =))

Regulatory

GM legislation originates in Europe and is implemented in the UK under domestic laws.
European Union (EU) is there to introduce traceability for GM foods and increased labeling requirements.

For example, a company decides that a GMO is ready for commercial use, an request can be made for the GM food to be sold on the market across the EU. It also covers permission for imports of GMOs from non-EU countries for use in food processing or animal feed. As for the GM food being herbicide tolerance, the herbicide used must also agree with the legislation controlling the use of pesticides. Consent is given by the Pesticides Safety Directorate of DEFRA. So far approvals have only been given for experimental use.

The FSA is in charge for the labelling of GM foods. Foods with over 1% of detectable GM DNA or protein present need to be labelled.



http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/briefings/gm_regulatory_process.pdf

DNA probes

What is DNA probes?

It is short single stranded DNA molecules of specific base sequence, labeled either radioactively or immunologically, that are used to sense and recognise the corresponding base sequence in a gene or genome by hybridizing specifically to that gene or sequence.


lomiweb.med.auth.gr/xml_output/bioglossary/D_glossary.htm

ELISA

What is an ELISA test?

An ELISA test uses components of the immune system and chemicals to sense the immune responses in the body (for example, presence of foreign invaders). The ELISA test involves an enzyme (a protein that catalyzes a biochemical reaction). It also involves an antibody or antigen (immunologic molecules).

What is the use of an ELISA test?

ELISA tests are widely used to detect substances that have antigenic properties, primarily proteins. The substances that can be detected by ELISA tests include hormones, bacterial antigens and antibodies. It can also be an analytical tool in medicine and plant pathology, as well as a quality control check in various industries.

What are the advantages of ELISA?

- Accurate tests

-highly sensitive

-specific and compare favorably with other methods used to detect substances in the body, such as radioimmune assay (RIA) tests.

- Not needing radioisotopes (radioactive substances) or a costly radiation counter (a radiation-counting apparatus).

Examples of ELISA test

o screening donated blood for evidence of viral contamination by
-- HIV-1 and HIV-2 (presence of anti-HIV antibodies)

o measuring hormone levels
-- LH (determining the time of ovulation)

o detecting infections
-- sexually-transmitted agents like HIV, syphilis, and Chlamydia

o measuring toxins in contaminated food



www.medicinenet.com/elisa_tests/article.htm
http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/E/Elisa.html

GM food- its advantages and disadvantages

What is GM food?

Genetically Modified (GM) foods are produced from genetically modified organisms (GMO) which have had their genome altered through genetic engineering techniques. The genes of plants can be modified to make them more resistant to unfavourable growing conditions and also to produce higher yields with the use of lesser fertilizers and water. Involving genetically modified organisms (GMO) which are potential environmental hazards. Examples of this GM food are; soybean, corn, canola and cotton seed oil.


Advantages:
1. Modified to make them more resistant to unfavourable conditions
2. Produce higher yields
3. Use less fertilizers
4. Use lesser water
5. Pest resistance
6. Herbicide tolerance
7. Increasing food supplies in co-relation with an increasing world population.




Disadvantages:
1. Harmful to environment
2. Harmful to humans
3. Give rise to 'super weeds'
4. 'Super weeds' dominate the fields and affect main crops
5. Genes from the genetically modified food could be transferred to the pests which can make them become resistant to the pesticides and the pesticides become useless.

FSIS

What does FSIS stands for? It stands for Food Safety And Inspection Service. FSIS is the public health agency in the U.S. Department of Agriculture responsible for ensuring that the nation's commercial supply of meat, poultry, and egg products is safe, wholesome, and correctly labeled and packaged.

FSIS provides information for the people under fact sheets to allow them to know the actual preparation of meat and poultry. For example, Poultry Cooking Temperatures- FSIS is in the process of updating all the pages on its Web site to reflect new cooking recommendations for poultry. For safety, when cooking poultry, use a food thermometer to check the internal temperature. Poultry should reach a safe minimum internal temperature of 165 °F throughout the product. It gives other information like food labeling, safe food handling and more. Food labeling – FSIS provides information on the requirements and their terms which will allow the dealer to label their product appropriately.
It also gives information on the microbes and its foodborne illnesses. It provides Q and A for readers to allow them to know more about the microbes and its foodborne illness.

FSIS website also provides information on what should be done if there are problems in food, like the things to be included when calling to inform the authorities. Different authorities take charge in different things. For example, for help with non-meat food products can contact FDA.FSIS immediately reacts to any reported information of possible adulterated or misbranded meat, poultry, or egg products that are in distribution to remove them from commerce. However, such information may only become available after product reaches the consumer, and this may affect the amount of product recovered. It monitors recalls of meat and poultry products produced by Federally-inspected establishments.

There are regulations and policies stated. FSIS operates under the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) , the Poultry Products Inspection Act, and the Egg Products Inspection Act, in addition to Executive Orders, small business protection laws and other guidance applicable to all Federal agencies.

- Federal Meat Inspection Act Under the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA), FSIS provides inspection for all meat products sold in interstate commerce, and reinspects imported products to ensure that they meet U.S. food safety standards.

- Poultry Products Inspection Act Under the Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA), FSIS provides inspection for all poultry products sold in interstate commerce, and reinspects imported products to ensure that they meet U.S. food safety standards.

- Egg Products Inspection Act Under the Egg Products Inspection Act (EPIA), FSIS inspects egg products sold in interstate commerce, and reinspects imported products to ensure that they meet U.S. food safety standards. In egg processing plants, inspection involves examining, before and after breaking, eggs intended for further processing and use as food.

- Executive Orders, Small Business Protection Laws, & Other Regulatory Guidance Summary of laws and executive orders governing the rulemaking process.

information from :
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/home/index.asp

peeps

hi peeps... tis website has the hazards found in seafood, can have a look as we are working on seafood related products too... =D


http://seafoodhaccp.cornell.edu/blue_pdf/Append03Blue.pdf

product recall

What is product recall?

It is to return to the maker a batch or an entire production run of a product, usually due to the discovery of safety issues.

Why recall?

It is to prevent any damage to publicity or cause harm to consumers. It is costly because they have to pay for the damages caused and if anything happens, their reputation built will be ruined as there will be reduced trust from manufacturer and consumers.

How to recall?

recall submission to FDA which will includes :

the product information, codes, recalling firm, manufacturer, identify firm responsible for the violation/ problem, reason for the recall, health hazard assessment, volume of recall product, distribution pattern, recall strategy.

Public notification which will includes:

press release, guidance for written recall notification letters

evaluation of the recall which will includes :

effectiveness of recall, recall status report, root cause of the problem that resulted in the recall, corrective actions to prevent future occurrences of the problems, and termination of the recall.


Steps to recall extracted from :
http://www.fda.gov/ora/compliance_ref/recalls/ggp_recall.htm (read on more for more information)

legal limits of possible microbes present.

- C. jejuni –

- C.botulinum – negative

- C.perfringens – <100cfu/g

- L.monocytogenes - 0 cfu/g

- Salmonella - 0 cfu/g

- S.aureus – negative


ps: there are one blank for the legal limits, i'm still finding it. will update u guys soon.. thanks.. =))

HACCP

Hazard Analysis Critical Control Procedure (HACCP) is a systematic approach to the identification, evaluation and control of food safety hazards based on the seven principles. The hazards are being classified under Physical, Biological and Chemical. Examples are glass, microbes and pesticides respectively. Thus, control procedures are given to ensure that the final ingredients used in the process is safe to use. Control procedures can be ensuring the correct time and temperature is maintained throughout the processing time in order to prevent microbial growth and visual inspections to be done to eliminate products that contain foreign objects like hair. Raw ingredients and process have to be inspected to identify potential hazards present, and the hazards will be identified as Critical Control Points (CCPs) to ensure overall product’s food safety. Once the CCPs are identified, corrective actions can be taken to ensure the overall product’s food safety. If a hazard has been identified at a certain step where control is essential to ensure the safety, and no control actions exist at that particular step, then the product or process should be change at that step, at any earlier or later stage, to include a control measure, thus ensuring safety of product to consumers.

HACCP systems consists of 7 principles and they are: -

PRINCIPLE 1

Conduct a hazard analysis.

PRINCIPLE 2

Determine the Critical Control Points (CCPs).

PRINCIPLE 3

Establish critical limit(s).

PRINCIPLE 4

Establish a system to monitor control of the CCP.

PRINCIPLE 5

Establish the corrective action to be taken when monitoring indicates that a particular CCP is not under control.

PRINCIPLE 6

Establish procedures for verification to confirm that the HACCP system is working effectively.

PRINCIPLE 7

Establish documentation concerning all procedures and records appropriate to these principles and their application.

Princples extracted from : http://www.fao.org/DOCREP/005/Y1579E/y1579e03.htm

package 1

Possible microbes that can be present in meat;

- C. jejuni
- C.botulinum
- C.perfringens
- L.monocytogenes
- Salmonella
- S.aureus

Symptoms of the microbes present;

C.jejuni – bloody diarrhea; fever; vomiting; severe abdominal pains

C.botulinum – double vision; muscular weakness

C.perfringens—diarrhea; abdominal pain

L.monocytogenes -- still birth; fatalities

Salmonella – abdominal pain; fever; chills; nausea; vomiting

S.aureus – watery diarrhea; nausea; vomiting

What is food safety??

Food safety is actually a way of to design to reduce the risk of any foodborne illness from preparation of food to serving of food. It helps to reduce the spread of any foodborne illness and to ensure there is safe supply of food throughout, from producers to consumers.

If the food is unsafe and it is consumed by others, it can cause foodborne illness. Foodborne illness can be caused by poor handling, contaminated equipments and also caused by germs and bacteria (Listeria, salmonella, colifoms) when consumers come in contact with contaminated food. In fact all the foods are able to cause illness if they are contaminated or when they are not processed properly. Several symptoms like diarrhea, nausea, and fever are caused by foodborne illness.

There are several ways to prevent foodborne illness like;
- cook the food thoroughly
- wash your hands before eating or preparation of food
- position the cooked food and raw food properly to prevent cross contamination
- do not use the same chopping board for cooked and raw food.
- practice good personal hygiene
- keep the workplace clean and tidy

Besides the above prevention, introduction of HACCP system can also help to reduce the hazards in food safety. With the help of the introduction of HACCP, it can help us in evaluating the effectiveness of the food safety management system implement by the food industry, allowing the employees to get a better control in preparing the product like controlling the temperature of the food well, high enough to kill away the pathogens. Together with the help of HACCP and also the safety practices and precautions carried out, food we consumed can be safe throughout, from producers to consumers.


Reference: http://www.dupagehealth.org/safefood/misc/fbi.asp
:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_safety

jia youu guys!!

abit more and we are done... jia youu k.. =D

there's more to come soon..~~~

HFLA templates_growth conditions of microbes..

Salmonella
It can cause nausea, vomiting, fever and headache and also the illness caused is Salmonellosis . It is found in food that is mostly raw/ not properly cook and an example of Salmonella that will be present is eggs and poultry. Salmonella grow best at 37oC and loves to grow on carbon source. It will proliferate when there’s presence of glucose. And and Salmonella does not love cold places so remember to stored your eggs in the fridge!

Temp: 21 to 37oC
Minimum temperature to sustained growth: 7.5 and 7.8oC
pH: 6.0 – 8.0


Coliforms
It can cause acute renal failure and hypertension. It is found in food that has fecal contamination or unsanitary processing. This can help to indicate the sanitary process of the industry. An example of Coliforms that will be present is water. It can be found when your water is unclean!

Optimum temp: -2 to 50 oC
pH: 4.8-9
aW : 0.96-0.99


B.cereus
It can cause poisoning. It is found in food that has not been cooled quickly and effectively after cooking and storage. It can be commonly found in soil and in many raw and processed foods. B.cereus can be killed, but the rate of killing depends on the destruction of heating temperature introduced and also the time. Cook your food up to 700C will help in killing B.cereus. An example of B.cereus will be present in is cereals and flour.

Optimum growth: 28–35oC
pH: <6.7
aW: <0.98

References.

-http://www.salmonella.org/faq.html#q3
- http://seafood.ucdavis.edu/haccp/compendium/Chapt10.htm
- past FPQAP research

my very own blog.. =D

hoho.. this is my first blog, specially created for youu, food safety... =))