Food Protection Trends

Abstracts - February 2008

Microbiology, Physical and Sensory Quality of Vacuum-packaged Fresh Blue Crab Meat (Callinectes sapidus) Treated with High Hydrostatic Pressure  

Incorporation of Music in a Food Service Food Safety Curriculum for High School Students  

On-site Interview of New England Gardeners to Assess Food Safety Knowledge and Practices Related to Growing and Handling of Home Grown Fresh Fruits and Vegetables 

A Review of the Developments in the Regulation of Poultry Processing to Incorporate HACCP in New South Wales, Australia

Kannapha Suklim, George J. Flick, Dianne Wall Bourne, Linda Ankenman Granata, Joseph Eifert, Robert Williams, David Popham and Robert Wittman

1-Dept. of Food Science and Technology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
2-Dept. of Biology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
3-US House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. 20515, USA

SUMMARY
Vacuum-packaged fresh lump blue crab meat (Callinectes sapidus) was pressurized at 300 or 550 MPa for 5 min at 25°C and evaluated for changes in microbiological, physical, and sensory qualities after pressure treatments and during storage (4°C for 31 days). A pressure of 300 MPa caused a 1 log reduction in total aerobic plate count and a 3-day lag period, whereas 550 MPa inactivated 2 logs in total aerobic plate count and caused no evident lag phase. Physical and sensory qualities of pressurized crab meat were not statistically different from those of the untreated crab meat (P > 0.05). High hydrostatic pressure treatments killed or inactivated pressure-sensitive microflora
in the fresh crab meat, resulting in the following surviving microorganisms: Aerococcus spp., Brevibacillus spp., Brevibacterium spp., Enterococcus spp., and Macrococcus (Staphylococcus) spp. Sensory evaluations, along with identification of predominant organisms in fresh and pressurized crab meat (550 MPa), under reduced-oxygen and low-temperature storage conditions, were conducted. A pressure of 300 MPa extended the shelf life of fresh crab meat from 17 to over 24 days and caused a predominance of Carnobacterium piscicola. Crab meat treated with 550 MPa was not rejected by sensory panels at day 31; Enterococcus spp. was identified as the predominant microorganism, suggesting that this organism could have an inhibitory effect on the other microflora.

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Incorporation of Music in a Food Service Food Safety Curriculum for High School Students

Sandra M. McCurdy-1, Cindy Schmiege-2 and Carl K. Winter-3

1-School of Family and Consumer Sciences, University of Idaho, 103C Niccolls Bldg., Moscow, ID 83844-3183, USA
2-School of Family and Consumer Sciences, University of Idaho, 200 Niccolls Bldg., Moscow, ID 83844-3183, USA
3-Dept. of Food Science and Technology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA

SUMMARY
Food safety music parodies were incorporated into a nine-lesson foodservice food safety curriculum for high school students. Nine song parodies were chosen from those developed by Dr. Carl Winter (available at the University of California Food Safety Music webpage, http://foodsafe.ucdavis.edu/) and were inserted into nine lessons to reinforce the subject matter. The curriculum was taught both with the addition of music (Music-added, 9 classes) and without it (Control, 8 classes) in 17 high school family and consumer sciences foods classes in Idaho. Student response was measured. Students in the Music-added group, who were also in classes taught by teachers with more experience with this curriculum or who were also in classes with fewer students, had a significantly higher food safety knowledge score than students in the Control group. Students in the Music-added group who were males or students who were also in classes taught by the teachers with more experience with the curriculum scored significantly higher on one of the food safety attitude instruments used in the study. Teachers using the Music-added curriculum were positive about the addition of the songs and reported that it increased the enjoyment of teaching the subject for both themselves and students.

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On-site Interview of New England Gardeners to Assess Food Safety Knowledge and Practices Related to Growing and Handling of Home Grown Fresh Fruits and Vegetabl es

Lori F. Pivarnik, Nicole Leydon Richard, Martha S. Patnoad, Robert K. Gable, David Handley, Diane Wright Hirsch, Dale Steen and Catharine Violette

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