First impressions are critical. So much so that for many people, even when they are given scientific information, they won't change their minds. This is particularly true for issues such as genetically modified foods and global warming. In fact, some people get even more defiant.
For years scientists have been aware of the potential problems of antibiotics being present in wastewater, and the research of engineering professor Olya Keen is showing that treatments to clean wastewater may actually be creating new antibiotics and further contributing to the development of antibiotic resistance in the environment.
Wheat blast, an emerging disease that threatens worldwide food security, is the focus of a plant biosecurity course at Kansas State University's Biosecurity Research Institute.
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Amy Pruden, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Virginia Tech, a pioneer in examining environmental sources and pathways of antibiotic resistance genes as emerging contaminants, is leading an interdisciplinary $2.25 million USDA grant on antibiotic resistance to hopefully improve food safety.
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More than half of popular probiotics contain traces of gluten, according to an analysis performed by investigators at the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC). Tests on 22 top-selling probiotics revealed that 12 of them (or 55%) had detectable gluten.
Listeria has been the reason for 16 recalls in two months, in products not typically associated with the bacteria. A Kansas State University food science expert explains why the foodborne pathogen is appearing in different products.
Nearly half of foodborne illnesses in the U.S. from 1998 through 2008 have been attributed to contaminated fresh produce. Prevention and control of bacterial contamination on fresh produce is critical to ensure food safety. The current strategy remains industrial washing of the product in water containing chlorine. However, due to sanitizer ineffectiveness there is an urgent need to identify alternative antimicrobials, particularly those of natural origin, for the produce industry.
Two novel water-sensing technologies that offer low-cost, immediate protection from the threat of contaminated water supplies were developed at UWM and have subsequently been licensed to four water-related companies. The products came from collaborative research at the Water Equipment and Policy Center, which is helping Milwaukee snare its part of the $500 billion global freshwater technology market.
A new study offers insight into the attitudes around the growing – and unregulated – practice of breast milk sharing. Results indicate that friends and relatives are sharing breast milk with each other, but that many may not be aware of the risks, even when the milk is from someone they know. The study also found that healthcare practitioners are being left out of the milk-sharing dialogue– and that there are untapped opportunities to encourage women to donate desperately needed, extra breast milk for premature babies.
Scientists may have uncovered a natural way of avoiding the use of pesticides and help save plants from attack by recreating a natural insect repellent.
Researchers at the University of New Hampshire have discovered a new method to detect a bacterium that has contaminated New England oyster beds and sickened consumers who ate the contaminated shellfish. The new detection method is a significant advance in efforts to identify shellfish harboring disease-carrying strains of Vibrio parahaemolyticus.
One of the key elements to decreasing the effects of an animal-borne disease outbreak is to decontaminate areas where animals have been located. A jointly developed portable system may provide the solution.
Following the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in 2010, many people were concerned that seafood was contaminated by either the oil or dispersants used to keep the oil from washing ashore. Ina University of Florida study, all seafood tested so far has shown “remarkably low contaminant levels,” based on FDA standards, and revealed that: • 74 percent of samples were below quantifiable limits; • 23 percent of samples were between 0.1-0.9 parts per billion, and; • 3 percent of samples were between 1.0 and 48 parts per billion.
Scientists from the Icahn School of Medicine, collaborating with a multicenter team of U.S. and Venezuelan researchers, have discovered the most diverse collection of bacteria yet in humans among an isolated tribe of Yanomami Amerindians in the remote Amazonian jungles of Venezuela.
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Confusion over date labeling leads to billions of pounds of food waste every year. Bob Brackett, PhD CFS, Director of the Institute for Food Safety and Health at the Illinois Institute of Technology and IFT spokesperson explains the difference between “use-by,” “sell-by,” and “best-by” dates.
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Consumers are one step closer to benefiting from packaging that could give simple text warnings when food is contaminated with deadly pathogens like E. coli and Salmonella, and patients could soon receive real-time diagnoses of infections such as C. difficile right in their doctors’ offices, saving critical time and trips to the lab. Researchers at McMaster University have developed a new way to print paper biosensors, simplifying the diagnosis of many bacterial and respiratory infections.
Coverage is welcome of this conference sponsored by Ursinus College, Sigma Xi and the Institute on Science for Global Policy.
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Multiple studies have shown that consuming conventionally grown fruits and vegetables results in measurable pesticide levels in urine. Other studies have uncovered associations between occupational and environmental exposure to pesticides and lower semen quality. But only a few studies have linked consumption of pesticide residues in food to health effects, and none had looked at the effects on semen quality.
An analysis conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future (CLF) found that the risks of drinking raw (unpasteurized) cow’s milk are significant. The researchers determined that raw milk was associated with over half of all milk-related foodborne illness.
A Kansas State University food safety specialist says a new federal partnership to monitoring foodborne illness is a promising approach.
Research led by scientists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital has identified key molecules that trigger the immune system to launch an attack on the bacterium that causes tularemia. The research was published online March 16 in Nature Immunology.
The days of widespread foodborne illness outbreaks may be waning as researchers find faster, more precise ways to detect and prevent food contamination, reports the latest interview series from FutureFood 2050.
Food safety research from Kansas State University used video observations to show people touching kitchen towels before washing their hands or using towels after washing their hands inadequately. Even after properly washing their hands, they would reuse the infected towels and contaminate themselves all over again. Researchers believe cloth towels can quickly and easily become contaminated at significant levels, including microorganisms that potentially lead to foodborne illnesses.
A Kansas State University poultry specialist explains why humans don't need to worry about H5N2 avian influenza getting them sick or contaminating their food.
Research from Kansas State University found that when publicly traded food firms face a meat or poultry recall, five factors influence stock price reactions most: severity to human health, recall size, firm size, firm’s experience and media influence. These factors could financially affect publicly traded companies and their investors.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), total global capture and aquaculture production of fish reached over 177 million tons in 2012. With greater demands, there will be a need for the seafood industry to trace products from the sea to the store to focus on food safety as well as efficient business practices. A new report issued by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Global Food Traceability Center (GFTC) at Seafood Expo North America highlights the growing need for traceability as a means to improving seafood industry performance, including reducing waste and enhancing consumer trust.
A high concentration of beneficial gut flora, called probiotics, may prevent foodborne illnesses caused by intestinal bacterial pathogens. A new study in the March issue of the Journal of Food Science, published by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), found that white peanut kernel assists in improving human gut microflora as well as reducing foodborne bacterial pathogens such as Enterohaemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) and Salmonella.
Chlorine, a disinfectant used in most wastewater treatment plants, may be failing to eliminate pharmaceuticals from wastes. As a result, trace levels get discharged from the treatment plants into waterways. Now, scientists are reporting that chlorine treatment may encourage the formation of new, unknown antibiotics that could enter the environment, potentially contributing to the problem of antibiotic resistance. They will present the research at the 249th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society.
The organisms commonly known as blue-green algae have proliferated much more rapidly than other algae in lakes across North America and Europe over the past two centuries – and in many cases the rate of increase has sharply accelerated since the mid-20th century, according to an international team of researchers.
Weekly summary of crop, livestock and weather conditions throughout Texas.
Public health researchers have analyzed soda consumption data in order to characterize people’s exposure to a potentially carcinogenic byproduct of some types of caramel color. Caramel color is a common ingredient in colas and other dark soft drinks. The results show that between 44 and 58 percent of people over the age of six typically have at least one can of soda per day, possibly more, potentially exposing them to 4-methylimidazole (4-MEI), a possible human carcinogen formed during the manufacture of some kinds of caramel color.
The tiny seed of an amaranth grain may be able to help prevent cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer, according to a review of existing research in Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety published by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT).
Growing global trade is critically important for providing food when and where it’s needed — but it makes it harder to link the benefits of food and the environmental burden of its production. A study published this week in the journal BioScience by an interdisciplinary team of researchers at the University of Minnesota’s Institute on the Environment proposes to extend the way we characterize global food trade to include nutritional value and resource consumption alongside more conventional measures of trade’s value.
Food dyes can give cakes, candy and sodas brilliant colors of the rainbow. Now a team of food scientists at Rutgers University in New Jersey has found that food coloring may be able to play more than its traditional esthetic role in food presentation.
New research from Kansas State University finds that despite receiving food safety messaging, a majority of home chefs still contaminate their food because of poor food-handling techniques.
As part of its ongoing commitment to offering solutions for pressing food fraud issues, the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Global Food Traceability Center (GFTC) submitted written comments on how to most effectively implement the recommendations from the Presidential Task Force on Combatting Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing and Seafood Fraud.
Many consumers do not follow some recommended food safety practices when handling raw poultry at home, according to a study conducted by RTI International, Tennessee State University and Kansas State University.
A gut bacterium called Listeria, which is often found in soft cheese, is known to present a risk to pregnant women. Researchers now show how Listeria uses distinct tactics to breach the intestine and the placenta, using a protein called PI3-kinase.
Researchers have proposed a system for off-label drug prescriptions combining reporting, testing and enforcement regulations, and allowing interim periods of off-label use. This would give patients more treatment options while providing regulators with evidence of the drugs’ safety and efficacy.
The topic of arsenic in the U.S. diet has sparked considerable public interest following publication of an article in Consumer Reports magazine analyzing arsenic findings from fruit juices and rice products. In the January issue of Food Technology magazine published by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) contributing writers IFT Fellow Carl Winter, PhD, Elizabeth Jara, PhD student, and IFT Fellow James Coughlin, PhD, CFS write about how levels of consumer exposure to arsenic are still below levels of toxicological concern.
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