Water-associated infectious disease outbreaks are more likely to occur in areas where a region's population density is growing, according to a new global analysis.
2011 brought two of the deadliest bacterial outbreaks the world has seen during the last 25 years. The two epidemics accounted for more than 4,200 cases of infectious disease and 80 deaths. Software developed at Georgia Tech was used to help characterize the bacteria that caused each outbreak.
Whether you cook all your food for the week on Sunday or have extra food left at the end of a meal—for many families, leftovers are key to solving the problem of “what’s for dinner.” Meals like pastas, soups, chili, and other home-cooked meals can easily be reheated for lunch at the office the next day or packed in a heat-insulated thermos for kids’ lunches.
A new study by food safety researchers at Drexel University demonstrates that plasma can be an effective method for killing pathogens on uncooked poultry. The proof-of-concept study was published in the January issue of the Journal of Food Protection.
Retail pork products in the U.S. have a higher prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteria (MRSA) than previously identified, according to new research by the University of Iowa College of Public Health and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy.
Several Kansas State University researchers have found that using light-emitting diode, or LED, lights in refrigeration units could save the retail meat industry millions of dollars each year. A switch to LED lights reduces energy costs and extends the shelf life of some beef products.
The Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics praises the FDA’s action, published in the Federal Register today, to restrict some extra-label use of cephalosporins in cattle, pigs, chickens and turkeys. The misuse of these critically-important antibiotics is contributing to antibiotic resistance, posing a threat to the successful treatment of human diseases.
For a number of years, Kathy Alexander noticed that many Botswana residents become ill two times during the year, and that these peaks appear to coincide with river flow. She is investigating the links between humans and animals as they influence water quality.
Recent studies find shoppers are paying more attention to what they put in their bodies, therefore driving development and reformulation of products with cleaner labels. An article in the December 2011 issue of Food Technology magazine, published by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), written by Barbara Katz, IFT member and President of HealthFocus International and LuAnn Williams, IFT member and Head of Research at Innova Market Insights, says that people tend to perceive foods with simpler labels to be less processed. The article explores how industry is responding to consumer demand for clarity around food labels.
When it comes to holiday leftovers, many of us secretly relish that slice of cold turkey or ham the next morning, and savor how reheating just enriches the flavor of those candied yams. Before you take that first bite, it’s important to remember that proper care can help ensure the leftovers you love stay safe, edible and bacteria-free.
A recent study published in JAMA raises concerns about Bisphenol A (BPA) in canned foods. To provide additional clarity on the health effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals as well as recommendations for increasing understanding and raising awareness of these effects, see The Endocrine Society’s Scientific Statement on endocrine-disrupting chemicals.
Society for Risk Analysis Meeting set for Charleston, South Carolina, December 4-7, 2011, will include speeches by the Incident Commander of the BP Oil Spill Admiral Thad Allen and extreme weather expert Margaret Davidson of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
According to a new study in the Journal of Food Science, published by the Institute of Food Technologists, food fraud is a food protection threat that has not been clearly defined or addressed but can ultimately be a real public health vulnerability. The authors from Michigan State University explain that food fraud can be defined as an intentional act for economic gain.
A new report published by an independent global commission of eminent scientists states that the world’s food system needs an immediate transformation to meet current and future threats to food security and environmental sustainability.
A new study by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future at the Bloomberg School of Public Health shows that testing of imported seafood by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is inadequate for confirming its safety or identifying risks.
At Thanksgiving, small mistakes in the kitchen can lead to food-borne illness. Dr. Ben Chapman, food-safety specialist and assistant professor of family and consumer sciences at North Carolina State University, can offer suggestions to ensure your Thanksgiving meal is a safe one.
The source of arsenic in India's groundwater continues to elude scientists more than a decade after the toxin was discovered in the water supply of the Bengal delta in India. But a recent study with a Kansas State University geologist and graduate student, as well as Tulane University, has added a twist -- and furthered the mystery.
On December 1st, 2011, the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) is hosting it’s first-ever Food Policy Impact Conference in Washington D.C. at the Sheraton Crystal City. The conference will bring together professionals in food laws, regulations and policy to learn approaches that will make a tangible impact on the future.
According to a University of Illinois at Chicago study, canoeing, kayaking, rowing, boating and fishing on the Chicago River pose the same risk of gastrointestinal illness as performing these same activities on other local waters -- a risk that turns out to be higher than that intended for swimmers at Lake Michigan beaches.
An April 2011 two-day workshop sponsored by The Pew Charitable Trusts, the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) and the journal Nature brought together over 80 experts in science and food policy from government, industry, academia and public interest organizations to develop a shared understanding of the current system the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) uses to assess food additives and to explore opportunities to strengthen the system.
A collaborative team led by Cornell University scientists will enable government agencies and food companies to pinpoint the exact nature and origin of food-borne bacteria with unprecedented accuracy.
Although the world’s food supply is largely safe, flavorful, nutritious, convenient and less costly than ever before, nearly a billion people go hungry every day. To compound matters further, according to the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, food production must increase by 70 percent in order to feed the anticipated world population of 9.1 billion by 2050.
A Kansas State University research team is using a United States Department of Agriculture Higher Education Challenge Grant to serve up improved food allergy education for future restaurant managers and staff.
In light of the recent Listeria outbreak associated with cantaloupe, it is more important than ever to choose your fresh fruits and vegetables carefully.
The Food and Drug Administration recently selected Auburn University as a national food safety training center and provided a $6.5 million grant to support the university's work to protect the food supply.
A sophisticated and innovative survey challenges the approach typically used to value the benefits of food safety regulations, detailing how much the public is willing to pay to reduce related risks.
The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) announced that it will lead two pilot programs for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) designed to test and study various product tracing systems. The purpose of these pilots will be to identify methods to rapidly and effectively trace food products throughout the supply chain so that, during a food-related outbreak, products can be quickly identified and removed from the marketplace, which will ultimately help minimize the number of consumers affected by a contaminated product.
University of Iowa researchers have found high levels of toxic polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the deep sediments lining the Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal (IHSC) in East Chicago, Ind. Scientists say the discovery is cause for concern because the IHSC is scheduled to be dredged in spring 2012 to maintain proper depth for ship traffic in this heavily industrialized area of southern Lake Michigan.
Christine Bruhn, PhD, director of the Center for Consumer Research at University of California-Davis, and a professor in the UC-Davis Department of Food Science and Safety, explains why foods are irradiated in this video from IFT.
Ever wonder what all those numbers mean on canned, boxed or packaged food products? This video from IFT features Richard Ross, CEO of Ross Consulting LLC, discussing shelf-life of food, proper storage, expiration dates, lot codes and what it all means for you and your family.
Back-to-school time is here and while many parents are concerned with packing healthy lunches for their kids, it’s also important to make sure the food they’re eating is safe to eat as well. This IFT audio news release provides helpful food safety lunch packing tips.
Many consumers want to buy organic produce because they’re concerned about pesticides. This audio interview with Dr. Carl Winter, a food toxicologist at the University of California-Davis and member of the Institute of Food Technologists, discusses myth vs. science when it comes to pesticides and produce.
With almost 100 million people in developing countries exposed to dangerously high levels of arsenic in their drinking water, and unable to afford complex purification technology, scientists today described a simple, inexpensive method for removing arsenic based on chopped up pieces of ordinary plastic beverage bottles coated with a nutrient found in many foods and dietary supplements.
The increasingly prevalent notion that expensive organic fruits and vegetables are safer because pesticides — used to protect traditional crops from insects, thus ensuring high crop yields and making them less expensive — are a risk for causing cancer has no good scientific support, an authority on the disease said here today. Such unfounded fears could have the unanticipated consequence of keeping healthful fruits and vegetables from those with low incomes.
A whopping 83 percent of Americans typically eat in their office or cubicle in an effort to save time and money, but not practicing proper food safety could end up costing them both.
Faculty experts from the University at Buffalo are available for commentary on a range of issues in the news, including the rise of “hackivism” (hacking and activism), violence in England, prevention of salmonella poisoning, and how to prevent teenage binge drinking.
Internationally renowned Loyola infectious disease expert gives tips and comment on the biggest recall action in US history. 36 million pounds of ground turkey - one of the most healthful forms of protein popular this grilling season - is contaminated with a multi-drug resistant strain of Salmonella.
Martin Wiedmann, food safety expert and associate professor of Food Science at Cornell University, describes steps that consumers can take to protect themselves against food poisoning in the wake of the current salmonella contamination of ground turkey.
A team led by the University of Maryland School of Medicine Institute for Genome Sciences unraveled the genomic code of the E. coli that caused the German outbreak that began in May.
Americans are used to drinking from the kitchen tap without fear of harm, even though water utilities might be vulnerable to terrorist attacks or natural contaminants. Now, thanks to CANARY Event Detection Software — an open-source software developed by Sandia National Laboratories in partnership with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) — public water systems can be protected through enhanced detection of such threats.
A flurry of Internet sites are touting raw egg drinks, shakes and snacks as “primal and powerful," with no risk of salmonella, but a national food expert says otherwise.
With hurricane season under way, a new study by researchers at RTI International, Tennessee State University, and Jackson State Community College finds that most Americans are not prepared to ensure food safety during an extended.
Dr. Melvin Pascall, an associate professor in the Department of Food Science and Technology at The Ohio State University, has spent the past 15 years working to improve food safety in areas ranging from packaging to food service cleaning practices. His research has been cited by the FDA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and he has helped create national food industry dishware cleaning guidelines. He is currently conducting research to determine if the existing guidelines are enough to keep the public safe from cross contamination. With 20 million cases of acute gastroenteritis and 128,000 hospitalizations a year attributed to food-borne illness, Pascall is looking more closely at viruses as a potential culprit - and has quick tips for consumers about keeping their own kitchenware germ-free.