Three investigators from the Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program will discuss their recent paper on fish consumption and omega-3 supplementation during pregnancy and recent guidance on fatty acid supplements to prevent preterm birth.
Felicia Wu, John A. Hannah Distinguished Professor and University Distinguished Professor in Michigan State University’s College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, was selected to serve on the World Health Organization’s, or WHO’s, Risk-Benefit Assessment Technical Group to make recommendations on dietary guidelines.
Seafood is widely savored worldwide and a staple in many regions. However, the seafood processing industry struggles with significant waste generation, causing financial and socioecological issues. A Food Safety and Quality review describes emerging chemical and physical preservation techniques that can overcome the challenges associated with conventional preservation approaches. The review highlights innovative techniques which can significantly improve the shelf life of seafood and retain their sensory attributes, in an efficient, sustainable and cost-effective manner.
The same molecules that create chocolate's aroma might carry some unwanted health effects if there are too many around. According to research published in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, while many of the compounds appeared in chocolate in low enough concentrations to be safe, higher amounts were found in some baked sweet treats.
As the summer season approaches, lots of people will be planning to host or attend backyard cookouts and potlucks. But before you fire up the grill, Virginia Tech food safety expert Melissa Wright shares tips to protect yourself, your family, and your friends from foodborne illnesses during the warm-weather months. “Safe food handling when eating outdoors is critical,” says Wright.
The idea of simplifying healthcare technology is a shared vision among Tufts faculty, who have recently introduced paper-based tests for monitoring personal health and environmental safety that eliminate the need for expensive laboratory equipment, and can be conducted by anyone, anywhere
Researchers have developed a groundbreaking point-of-care detection method for Vibrio parahaemolyticus, a bacterium responsible for a significant number of foodborne illnesses. The new platform, leveraging recombinant polymerase amplification (RPA) and the CRISPR/Cas12a system combined with an immunochromatographic test strip (ICS), offers a low-cost, simple, and visually intuitive solution for the rapid detection of this pathogen in seafood.
University at Albany researchers have been awarded $611,000 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture to develop a new, fast-acting tool for Salmonella detection. Similar to the test strips used to measure pH or detect COVID-19, it will display results on a color-changing panel — purple if positive, red if negative. If successful, the test will reduce the time it takes to detect salmonella in food from days to hours, making it possible to quickly implement preemptive measures to prevent human illness and lost revenue.
Recently, exciting new paper unveils the potential of biosurfactants—natural compounds produced by microbes—to significantly improve the preservation of meat products. This innovative approach could replace synthetic chemicals, enhancing food safety and quality.
Recently, exciting new paper unveils the potential of biosurfactants—natural compounds produced by microbes—to dramatically improve the preservation of meat products. This innovative approach could replace synthetic chemicals, enhancing food safety and quality.
In a study in ACS Nano, researchers describe swarms of microscale robots (microrobots) that captured bits of plastic and bacteria from water. Afterward, the bots were decontaminated and reused.
Municipal water systems must remove “forever chemicals” from their tap water under a new rule issued by the Environmental Protection Agency meant to prevent deaths and serious illnesses linked to the substances.
The National Alliance for Water Innovation (NAWI), which is led by Berkeley Lab, has been extended for five more years with $75 million in funding fromDOE. NAWI will continue its contributions to helping decarbonize the water and wastewater sectors through investments in technologies that enhance the efficient use of energy for water use, treatment, and distribution.
A $1.4 million demonstration grant from the U.S. Department of Labor supports the three-year initiative to develop paid summer internship partnerships with water and wastewater utilities serving disadvantaged areas of West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia.
Michigan State University has a long-standing relationship with the city of Flint, Michigan. MSU Extension has been working with people in Genesee County for more than 100 years and continues to offer programs to help residents thrive.
UNC Wilmington faculty have been equipped with a cutting-edge instrument from the North Carolina Collaboratory and Thermo Fisher Scientific to advance research on the impact of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination on the environment and public health.
A community-led water-testing project made up of households that rely on private well water with high arsenic levels saw on average a 47 percent drop in participants’ urinary arsenic levels after filters were installed and a digital health program was implemented, according to a new study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Over the two-year study period, participating households received phone calls to encourage use of the filter and a reminder to replace the filter cartridge.
Pharmaceutical waste and contaminants present a growing global concern, particularly in the context of drinking water and food safety. Addressing this critical issue, a new study by researchers at Bar-Ilan University’s Department of Chemistry and Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials has resulted in the development of a highly sensitive plasmonic-based detector, specifically targeting the detection of harmful piperidine residue in water.
A new analysis led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health estimates that 68 percent of Chicago children under age six live in households with tap water containing detectable levels of lead.
Cronobacter sakazakii is a harmful germ that can be found in powdered baby formula. It can cause very serious health problems in infants, such as meningitis and septicemia. Right now, it takes a long time and is complicated to check if the germ is in the formula. However, a new study has created a special test that uses a computer program to find the germ in the formula. This new method makes it easier and faster to find the germ, which is known for causing serious illness in babies. It helps make sure that baby formula is safe to use.
Leafy green vegetables are important sources of dietary fiber and nutrients, but they can harbor harmful pathogens. In particular, lettuce has often been involved in outbreaks of foodborne illness across the U.S. A new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign examines factors that affect E. coli contamination on five different leafy greens – romaine lettuce, green-leaf lettuce, spinach, kale, and collards.
Want to remove microplastics from water? Try brewing it for a cup of tea or coffee! Research reported in Environmental Science & Technology Letters shows that by boiling then filtering tap water, up to 90% of the nano- and microplastics present could be removed.
Children who lived in areas with higher levels of airborne lead in their first five years of life appeared to have slightly lower IQs and less self-control, with boys showing more sensitivity to lead exposure, according to a new study from the NIH Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program.
Two teams of engineers led by faculty in the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis will work toward developing products to monitor drinking water quality and to detect explosives with an electronic nose with one-year, $650,000 Convergence Accelerator Phase 1 grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF).
Despite the technological advances keeping meat fresh for as long as possible, certain aging processes are unavoidable. Adenosine triphosphate is a molecule produced by breathing and responsible for providing energy to cells. When an animal stops breathing, ATP synthesis also stops, and the existing molecules decompose into acid, diminishing first flavor and then safety. Hypoxanthine and xanthine are intermediate steps in this transition. Assessing their prevalence in meat indicates its freshness. In AIP Advances, researchers developed a biosensor using graphene electrodes modified by zinc oxide nanoparticles to measure HXA. The team demonstrated the sensor’s efficacy on pork meat.
From lab-grown chicken to cricket-derived protein, these innovative alternatives offer hope for a planet struggling with the environmental and ethical impacts of industrial agriculture.
Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) contain more calories, fat, saturated fat, sugar and salt than minimally-processed foods – but not all UPFs are unhealthy, according to new research from UCL.
Evidence to support the assumption that ultra-processed foods are all bad for one’s health is limited, and the nutritional quality of processed foods has not been considered by official U.S. Department of Agriculture dietary guidelines. University of Rhode Island Nutrition Professor Kathleen Melanson aims to help inform the newest guidelines, due out in 2025, as she begins a nutritional study funded by a $300,000 grant from the USDA.
As demand for food from restaurants soars in the U.S., so does the importance in understanding the impacts of foodborne illness outbreaks. A new paper co-written by a University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign expert in food marketing and food policy finds that outbreaks spanning multiple states bring swift financial losses, increased media attention and a public-relations hit that makes smaller outbreaks more financially damaging.
Whether it’s building out a big spread for the Super Bowl or planning a Valentine’s Day meal, lots of people will be heading to the store these next few weeks to stock up on food. One item many might be considering is charcuterie.
Nutritious meal kits and no-prep meals improved food security and perceived dietary quality among clients of a Dallas food pantry, according to a pilot study led by UT Southwestern Medical Center.
The Food Pyramid that many of us learned about in school is now ancient history. That old guideline on food groups and servings has been replaced by MyPlate.
In addition to collecting water samples from the Rhine-Herne canal and the Emscher river over the course of a year, Fiona Rau had access to further wastewater samples from 21 sewage treatment plants in NRW.