With funding from the Center for Produce Safety, a researcher from the University of Arizona is exploring the usefulness of a handheld genetic sequencing device for in-field microbial characterization of irrigation water by the produce industry.
Researchers recently demonstrated the inadequacy of an industry standard quality test—Laboratory Pasteurization Count—for raw, organic milk, as it cannot sufficiently differentiate between groups of bacteria.
Scientists from USDA’s Agricultural Research Service are exploring how “transgenerational protection”—which is the ability of layer hens to pass along their resistance to Salmonella to their broiler chicks—can be encouraged, to ultimately reduce early colonization that introduces microbial contamination at the processing plant and poses a food safety risk to consumers.
Researchers have created a coating for galvanized steel food containers that repels bacteria and fungi, is mud-resistant, and reduces the risk of corrosion.
The FAO/WHO Joint Expert Meetings on Microbiological Risk Assessment (JEMRA) convened to review the most recent scientific literature regarding the control of Campylobacter on chicken meat. The experts emphasized the importance of a multi-hurdle approach in production and processing.
The Joint Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)/World Health Organization (WHO) Expert Meeting on Microbiological Risk Assessment (JEMRA) recently convened to discuss the most recent literature on prevention and intervention measures for foodborne viruses.
A recent study has identified factors that determine the susceptibility of different leafy greens to foodborne Escherichia coli, including storage temperatures, leaf roughness, and natural wax coating. The researchers also found that the juices of kale and collard leaves have a natural antimicrobial effect.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has updated its list of chemicals that are undergoing postmarket safety assessment. The list also newly includes information about the status of the postmarket assessments and links to public information about postmarket actions that have been taken.
To encourage the use of Salmonella vaccines for poultry flocks, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA’s FSIS) intends to exclude current commercial vaccine subtypes of Salmonella confirmed in FSIS raw poultry samples from the calculation used to categorize establishments under the raw poultry Salmonella performance standards.
A study aims to determine how irrigation water that is treated to control microbial activity may affect pathogens on crop surfaces or soil, with the end goal of developing a quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) for industry to gauge the reduction in microbial risk from treated water applied preharvest.
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