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If
you've never enhanced your Annual Meeting experience by attending an
IAFP Workshop, we encourage you to do so this August in Columbus.
Workshops are one- or two-day intensive sessions intended for
specialized audiences. This year's offerings, held Friday and Saturday,
August 1 and 2, include "Better Process Cheese Control School" and two
hands-on workshops, "The Art of Fungal Characterization and
Identification" and "Microbial Risk Assessment Modeling and
Interpretation."
Click on the meeting logo for complete details on these and other IAFP 2008 opportunities.
IAFP Updates
July 1 Marks Deadline for IAFP 2008 Early Registration Rate
If you're planning to join us for IAFP 2008 in Columbus, delay your
registration no further! Early registration discounted rates apply only
through July 1.
[Link to register]
Featured Abstract from Journal of Food Protection
"Factors Influencing the Growth of Salmonella
during Sprouting of Naturally Contaminated Alfalfa Seeds" was the most
widely-read article in the May issue. Read the abstract here.
[Link to abstract]
June Food Protection Trends: Abstracts and Monthly Columns by IAFP President and Executive Director
A paper on alternative methods of reducing and/or eliminating E. coli
in apple cider; US consumers are surveyed by phone regarding their
perception of food safety issues; Gary Acuff remarks on the food safety
blunders of popular television cooking shows and the sorely missed
opportunities for mass consumer education; from educating the future
leaders of food safety to providing resources to developing countries,
David Tharp describes the essential and illuminating work of the IAFP
Foundation.
[Link to FPT]
Food Safety News
BfR Implements Expert Advisory Network
The Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) in Germany announced in
April that its food and product safety efforts will be advised by 14
committees of external experts, a structure modeled after European Food
Safety Authority (EFSA)
panels.
[Link to article]
How Bacteria Fight Antibiotics
In research that may trigger improvements in antibiotics, researchers
at the University of Illinois at Chicago explain how some bacteria are
able to sense the presence of these drugs and use genes as a resistance
mechanism.
[Link to article]
Research Aims for Protein Warfare against Bioweapon
Researchers at New York's Brookhaven National Laboratory and Maryland's
US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases have
developed a protein that could be used to stunt the effects of
botulinum toxin, which could be lethal if used in a bioterrorism
attack.
[Link to article]
New Perspective on the Study of Infectious Disease
In Italy, scientists looked beyond traditional approaches to risk
assessments and the epidemiology of infectious disease by examining how
Vibrio cholerae behaves in an aquatic environment.
[Link to article]
Regulatory Updates
Canada Seeks to Improve Guidelines for Food Labels and Advertising
In an effort to better define its country's criteria for food products,
the Government of Canada has published a 12-page discussion paper
entitled "The Canadian Food Labelling Initiative: Defining 'Product of
Canada' and 'Made in Canada' for Food Labels and Advertising."
[Link to pdf:]
Research & Reports
EFSA Surveys Salmonella in Turkey Flocks
Using European Union-wide baseline surveys, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) measured the prevalence of Salmonella in turkey flocks from October 2006 to September 2007.
[Link to EFSA]
WHO Publishes MRA Series 6
Findings of the Food and
Agricultural Organization and World Health Organization's (FAO/WHO)
expert meeting on microorganisms, particularly Enterobacter sakazakii, in infant formula are addressed in this sixth volume of the Microbiological Risk Assessment Series.
[Link to WHO]
IFST Updates Statements on VTEC and Cyclospora
In May, the Institute of Food Science and Technology Trust Fund (IFST)
replaced previous versions of Information Statements on the
human-specific protozoan parasite Cyclospora cayetanensis and verocytotoxin-producing E. coli (VTEC).
[Link to Cyclospora statement]
[Link to VTEC statement]
New Information Notes from INFOSAN
The INFOSAN Information Note Archive features "Food Safety and
Nutrition During Pregnancy and Infant Feeding" and "Antimicrobial
Resistance in Food Animals," both available for download in six
languages.
[Link to WHO]
Items of Interest
New Online Resource through GMA
To help policymakers, the media, and consumers stay informed of the
public debate on how to strengthen food safety in the US, the Grocery
Manufacturers Association (GMA) introduced in late April the new Web
site KeepFoodSafe.org.
[Link to site]
Stop Foodborne Illness While You Shop
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) outlines food safety tips for
grocery shoppers in "Start at the Store: 7 Ways to Prevent Foodborne
Illness."
[Link to FDA]
WHO Releases FERG Meeting Report
As part of the World Health Organization's (WHO) "Initiative to
Estimate the Global Burden of Foodborne Diseases," this report details
the first formal meeting of the Foodborne Disease Burden Epidemiology
Reference Group (FERG) in November 2007.
[Link to WHO]
Web Site Follows Progress of FSRC Project
The Food Safety Research Consortium's (FSRC) Web site for its Food
Safety Information Infrastructure (FSII) Project keeps the public
current on the project's long-term efforts to improve food safety in
the US.
[Link to site]
Comments or suggestions for IAFP Report may be sent to report@foodprotection.org, or directly to the Contents Editor, Dr. Jeff Farber, Bureau of Microbial Hazards, Health Canada. E-mail jeff_farber@hc-sc.gc.ca
Thank You to Our Contributors
Logos: Government Canada, KeepFoodSafe.org
Publication images: WHO
Photos: Dr. Kari Lounatmaa (Science Photo Library, MRSA); Dr. Mark Winter (Science Photo Library, cholera toxin model)
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