Uso de Enterococcus faecalis como biopreservante en salchichas.

En la actualidad son muchas las personas que prefieren consumir alimentos naturales y orgánicos, sin preservantes ni conservantes y por su puesto sin antimicrobianos. Si se opta por la producción orgánica se debe tener en cuenta que la prioridad en la fabricación de los alimentos es la inocuidad y seguridad alimentaria
Recientemente, una investigación publicada por Food Microbiology demuestra que la cepa Enterococcus faecalis CECT7121 puede actuar como un preservante natural en las salchichas, sin comprometer el gusto y la textura de ésta lo que constituye una alternativa interesante para la biopreservación. Esta bacteria ha sido identificada como el microorganismo más adecuado para la preservación natural del alimento. Posterior a su caracterización se confirmó además que esta cepa bacteriana no contiene los genes para hemolisina o gelatinasa, de manera que no afectaría el color ni la textura de la carne. Es así que los investigadores no encontraron ninguna diferencia en colores, el aroma, el gusto o la calidad total de las salchichas inoculadas cuando fueron comparadas con los controles. Así mismo se confirmó que E. faecalis CECT7121 no expresa factores de virulencia, no produce aminas como compuestos indeseables, por lo que apuestan por su uso como conservante natural.

Fuente: http://www.foodqualitynews.com/
Aporte: Carolina Moreno

Brasil agrega productos a la restricción de envíos de fruta chilena.

El 28 de marzo del presente año, Brasil informó que suspendería en forma temporal la importación de frutas desde Chile (uva, kiwi, durazno, nectarina, manzana, frutas cítricas, higo, membrillo, pera, entre otras), debido a que había detectado en ellas “Brevilpalpus chilensis” conocida también como arañita roja de la vid.

Lejos de solucionarse el problema de modo que pudieran reanudarse las exportaciones, el pasado 12 de junio Brasil sumó más restricciones a los envíos de fruta de nuestro país, incluyendo a las nueces, almendras con cáscara y arándanos los cuales no habían sido incluidos en la primera lista.

Desde Fedefruta (Federación de productores de frutas de Chile) califican la situación como preocupante, debido a que no existe claridad absoluta acerca de qué es lo que está ocurriendo con las frutas enviadas hacia el Brasil, si bien se está apelando a todas las instancias con ASOEX (Asociación de exportadores de frutas y hortalizas frescas de Chile) y Direcon (Dirección general de relaciones económicas internacionales)

Por su parte, la Asociación Chilena de Productores de Nueces (Chilenut) manifestó que confían en que la medida será solamente transitoria, ya que esta situación representa grandes pérdidas para el sector considerando que Brasil representa el 26,6% de las exportaciones de nuez con cáscara de nuestro país.

ASOEX a su vez ha publicado un instructivo donde se notificaron los laboratorios autorizados para certificar la ausencia del ácaro.

Aporte: Pilar Sánchez Pereira

Fuente: www.chilepotenciaalimentaria.cl

Canada Has a Robust Risk-Based Import Control System

The CFIA’s risk-based import inspection programs are based on internationally recognized standards and principles.
Comparable to the import inspection systems of other developed countries, such as the United States. The CFIA also works with other governments, including the Chinese government, to ensure that food products imported to Canada meet Canadian food safety requirements.
Regardless of country of origin, if the CFIA identifies products that do not meet regulatory requirements, enforcement action is taken. Enforcement action can take on a number of forms, up to and including to prosecution.
Food safety standards apply to all foods sold in Canada, whether imported or domestic. Importers are responsible for the safety of foods that they import into Canada. Canada’s food safety standards are established by Health Canada, with the CFIA responsible for their enforcement.
Canada, similar to major trading partners, has additional provisions for products that are commonly traded domestically and internationally for example, meat, fish. These products have been assessed to have the potential to present higher levels of risk due to the hazards commonly associated with such products (e.g. microbial concerns, veterinary drugs) combined with high volumes of consumption and trade.
The CFIA's import programs for meat and fish products are comprehensive and can include:
· Assessment of the inspection systems in place in exporting countries,
· Certification that products meet Canadian or equivalent regulatory provisions,
· Statistical and performance-based assessment of documentation or shipments to verify certification provisions are met, and
· Statistically-based product sampling and analysis to confirm that residues if present do not exceed Canadian standards.
Inspection frequencies are adjusted to reflect the history of compliance associated with importers and products. Where non-compliance is determined, products from specific exporters may be targeted. On occasion, products from a country or region may be subject to increased verification, for example, shipments of certain seafood products from some Asian countries have been targeted for higher rates of inspection due to the use of unapproved veterinary drugs.
Products such as eggs, dairy products and processed fruits and vegetables are expected to originate from countries that have standards and inspection systems in place equivalent to those in Canada. The country of origin of a particular food product is not in itself a determining factor for inspection frequency. Statistically-based sampling and testing programs are conducted to determine if problem areas exist.
Where non-compliance is found, importers are required to demonstrate that follow-up shipments meet Canadian requirements before entering the Canadian marketplace.
When a problem area is identified, directed programs may be put into place. For example, due to a history of non-compliance relating to canned mushrooms, China worked with Canada to introduce a pre-clearance program whereby importers source product from specific establishments. Importers are further required to submit test results from shipments to demonstrate Canadian provisions are being met.
The CFIA has a monitoring program in place for imported fresh fruits and vegetables and honey. When a violation of a Canadian maximum residue limit is identified, importers must demonstrate that subsequent shipments from that source meet established maximum residue limits.
Priorities for more highly formulated products are based on risk. CFIA works with Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada to undertake an assessment of potential areas of concern and identify risk management strategies to address them. When a problem area is identified through sampling programs, recalls or other sources, import alerts can be issued to address imports.

Consumer group calls for global safety rethink

The consolidation of food safety systems into a form of "one-size-fits-all" regulation may undermine hygienic manufacturing, warns consumer rights group Food and Water Watch.

Wenonah Hauter, group executive director, told FoodProductionDaily.com that current global safety regulations, while well intentioned, are best suited to the needs of large industrialized producers at the expense of smaller groups.The group expressed particular concerns over origin labeling and hygiene policies that it claims are creating a food safety divide between more industrialized manufacturers and smaller businesses.Despite these claims, health authorities in both the US and Europe believe the system is sufficiently flexible and yet concise enough to ensure that all manufacturers using the policies are meeting their commitments.The UK's Food standards Agency (FSA), which is responsible for assessing risk within the country's food industry, said that the HACCP regulations are designed to be flexible depending on the size of individual manufacturers to ensure no discrepancy in protection.However, using a recent US salmonellosis outbreak linked to tomatoes sourced from Mexico and Texas as an example to highlight the need for global food makers and regulators to rethink how they manufacture.Global expansion. As manufacturers increasingly to look to consolidate their operations through rapid expansion, both domestically and in emerging markets like Eastern Europe and Asia, the drive to cut costs while ensuring safety is proving difficult.Food and Water Watch claims that smaller manufacturers are struggling to keep up with systems such as the hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) principles, which are mandatory guidelines for food businesses in the US and EU.Taking meat processors as a case in point, it seems that current regulatory systems in many countries are serving to distort traditional hygiene mechanisms. This is the case insmaller slaughterhouses in particular are looking for silver bullet solutions like using chlorine to clean their products to keep up with their multinational counterparts.Investment. Food and Water Watch also rejected the argument that rapid investment into less developed markets necessarily improved hygiene. This is really a false argument as more traditional manufacturing processes such as cheese making are not always suited to HACCP and are therefore offered less control thorough regulation designed for major processors," she stated. Large companies often use mechanized plants with state-of-the art inspection regimes and technology.
Source: FoodProductionDaily.com
Aporte: Guillermo Figueroa

Crisis Alimentaria

El mundo está enfrentando una compleja y poco anticipada crisis alimentaría, por el rápido y sostenido aumento de los precios de los alimentos, en el contexto de un aumento generalizado de alza de los productos básicos y de la crisis financiera de EE.UU.Esta crisis no tiene una sola causa.

Nace del enorme aumento de los precios del petróleo que encarecen los insumos agrícolas, como los fertilizantes y el transporte, y del incremento de los ingresos de los países en desarrollo, de la creciente orientación de tierras agrícolas a la producción de insumos para biocombustibles y de los efectos adversos del cambio climático.

La FAO realizó una conferencia de alto nivel en la cual han participado presidentes y jefes de Estado de todos los continentes. Una de las principales conclusiones es que los países deben volver a preocuparse de sus agriculturas y del desarrollo de sus territorios y poblaciones rurales.

También, que se debe finalizar de manera exitosa la Ronda de Doha (negociación emprendida para liberalizar el comercio mundial), que debe eliminar la protección y los subsidios que los países desarrollados aplican a sus agriculturas y que distorsionan el comercio agrícola internacional. El crecimiento de los países en desarrollo necesita de más y mejor comercio agrícola, de un comercio internacional con reglas claras y justas.

Chile reiteró su compromiso con el multilateralismo para enfrentar los problemas globales, con la solidaridad internacional y con la cooperación técnica.

Chile es exportador neto de alimentos e importador neto de energía. Hemos prosperado con la globalización y buscamos aprovechar la mejoría de nuestros términos de intercambio. Los sectores medios y pobres están siendo golpeados al igual que los de otros países por una alta inflación. Gracias a políticas fiscales responsables podemos mitigar su pérdida de poder adquisitivo y así evitar que sufran la suerte de otras latitudes.

La agricultura chilena tiene una oportunidad, pues ha desarrollado capacidades empresariales e institucionales. Más aun la pequeña y mediana agricultura, que históricamente se han dedicado más a los cereales y a la leche. El Gobierno apoyará a estos rubros.

La agricultura chilena puede producir cada vez más y mejores alimentos para los chilenos y para el mundo. Debemos dar nuevos contenidos a la tarea de trasformar a Chile en potencia alimentaría.

Fuente: El Mercurio
Aporte: Pamela Belaunde

FDA Warns Consumers Nationwide Not to Eat Certain Types of Tomatoes

Number of affected States is expanding
The Food and Drug Administration is expanding its warning to consumers nationwide that a salmonellosis outbreak has been linked to consumption of certain raw red plum, red Roma, and red round tomatoes, and products containing these raw, red tomatoes.FDA recommends that consumers not eat raw red Roma, raw red plum, raw red round tomatoes, or products that contain these types of raw red tomatoes unless the tomatoes are from the sources listed below. If unsure of where tomatoes are grown or harvested, consumers are encouraged to contact the store where the tomato purchase was made. Consumers should continue to eat cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, and tomatoes sold with the vine still attached, or tomatoes grown at home.On June 5, using traceback and other distribution pattern information, FDA published a list of states, territories, and countries where tomatoes are grown and harvested which have not been associated with this outbreak. This updated list includes: Arkansas, California, Georgia, Hawaii, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Belgium, Canada, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Israel, Netherlands, and Puerto Rico. The list will be updated as more information becomes available.
FDA recognizes that the source of the contaminated tomatoes may be limited to a single grower or packer or tomatoes from a specific geographic area. FDA also recognizes that there are many tomato crops across the country and in foreign countries that will be ready for harvest or will become ready in the coming months. In order to ensure that consumers can continue to enjoy tomatoes that are safe to eat, FDA is working diligently with the states, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Indian Health Service, and various food industry trade associations to quickly determine the source of the tomatoes associated with the outbreak. FDA is taking these actions while the agency continues to investigate this outbreak with state and federal partners. Such actions are a key component of FDA’s Food Protection Plan, a scientific and risk-based approach to strengthen and protect the nation’s food supply.FDA will continue to issue updates as more specific information becomes available.
Source: FDA www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/tomatoes.html#retailers
Aporte: Guillermo Figueroa

FDA Takes Action against Seafood Processing Company, Executives

Repeated federal violations and failure to correct drove action
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today filed a complaint for permanent injunction against seafood processor Captain's Select Seafood, Inc., Minneapolis, Minn., and two of its top officers for violating the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act).
The FDA’s enforcement action follows the company’s extensive history of violating the FD&C Act and the agency’s Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) regulations. FDA’s HAACP regulations require that all seafood processors develop and implement adequate plans that identify all food safety hazards that are likely to occur for each kind of seafood product, and contain preventative measures that the processor can implement to control those hazards.
“We simply can’t allow a company to put the public’s health at risk by not having adequate procedures and plans to produce safe food,” said Margaret O’K. Glavin, associate commissioner for regulatory affairs. “Our warning letters should not be taken lightly. We will take action against companies and against their executives who violate the law and endanger public health.”
Captain’s Select Seafood makes a variety of fish and fishery products. The HACCP violations documented by the FDA pose a public health hazard because, without adequate controls, products made by Captain’s Select Seafood could harbor pathogenic bacteria, such as Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria monocytogenes. Food products with these kinds of pathogens can cause serious illnesses in people who eat them.
The complaint was filed by the U.S. Department of Justice in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. This enforcement action follows a February 2006 warning letter and other violations dating back to April 2004.
There are no reported illnesses associated with consuming Captain’s Select Seafood products. Consumers can call the FDA’s toll-free Food Safety Hotline at 1-888-SAFEFOOD, should they have any food safety questions, and they can report any problems to the FDA consumer complaint coordinator in their geographic area.
Contact FDA: http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2008/NEW01846.html
Aporte: Guillermo Figueroa

California firm recalls 130 pounds of chicken products for possible Listeria

RTE chicken tainted with Listeria
Gourmet Foods, Inc., a Rancho Dominquez, Calif., firm, is recalling approximately 130 pounds of various ready-to-eat chicken products that may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service announced. The following products are subject to recall:
· 17-ounce packages of "Famima!! CHICKEN TERIYAKI BOWL WITH SAUCE ON RICE, KEEP REFRIGERATED / PERISHABLE." Each package bears the establishment number "EST. P-7738" inside the USDA mark of inspection, as well as a "SELL BY" date of "06/04/08," "06/05/08," "06/06/08" or "06/07/08."
· 12.85-ounce packages of "Famima!! THAI STYLE CHICKEN WITH RICE, PEANUT SAUCE AND VEGETABLES, KEEP REFRIGERATED / PERISHABLE." Each package bears the establishment number "EST. P-7738" inside the USDA mark of inspection, as well as a "SELL BY" date of "06/04/08," "06/05/08," "06/06/08" or "06/07/08."
These ready-to-eat chicken products were distributed to retail establishments in the Los Angeles, Calif., area. Consumers that may have purchased these products at retail establishments between June 2 and June 7 are urged to check their refrigerators and freezers and discard them if found. FSIS has received no reports of illnesses associated with consumption of these products. The problem was discovered through FSIS microbiological sampling.
Source: Meatingplace.com
Aporte: Guillermo Figueroa

MYCOBACTERIUM BOVIS, CHEESE - USA: (California ex Mexico)

Unpasteurized 'queso fresco' involved in resistant tuberculosis cases
A rare form of [human] tuberculosis [TB] due to Mycobacterium bovis has emerged and has been traced to the ingestion of illegal, unpasteurized dairy products, including tainted 'queso fresco' cheese. The outbreak is rising among Hispanic immigrants in Southern California and is also raising fears about a revival of this strain that was nearly completely destroyed in the USA in the 1900s.
The increase in this TB is being seen chiefly in San Diego, particularly among children who drink or eat dairy foods made from the milk of infected cattle, but Mycobacterium bovis TB can infect anyone who eats contaminated fresh cheeses sold by street vendors, smuggled across the Mexican border, or produced as so-called "bathtub cheese" made in home tubs and backyard troughs. The problem originates from cattle in Mexico, where _M. bovis_ infects about 17 percent of herds; occasional outbreaks among isolated herds affect the USA.
This rare TB accounts for about 10 percent of all new TB cases in the California border region. "M. bovis TB is a disease of antiquity," said Timothy Rodwell, a researcher who led a study published by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). "It is important that it not be allowed to re-emerge as a cause of TB in this country."
Unfortunately, this species is uniformly resistant to one of the front line anti-TB drugs [pyrazinamide]. Adults who contract M. bovis TB are more than twice as likely as those with traditional TB to die before completing treatment.
Researchers analyzed nearly 3300 culture-confirmed cases of TB in San Diego between 1994-2005. Approximately 265 were identified as due to M. bovis; this increased by nearly 65 percent, rising from 17 to 28 cases annually. By 2005, over half the M. bovis cases were diagnosed in children under 15. The majority were in Hispanics, 60 percent from Mexico. Between 2001-2005, 19 adults with M. bovis died before or during treatment. Dr. Kathleen Moser, director of TB control programs for San Diego County, said: "It's clearly being seen in places where people drink unpasteurized milk and eat unpasteurized dairy products."
In California, 108 million pounds of legal, properly pasteurized 'queso fresco' and other cheeses were produced last year [2007], according to the California Department of Food and Agriculture. Last year, Moser launched a public health campaign, and agricultural officials seized over 375 pounds of "bathtub cheese" from an open-air market in San Bernardino, according to Steve Lyle, the agency's director of public affairs. Such illegal cheeses have been infected with Salmonella, Listeria, Escherichia coli, and M. bovis.
Source: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
Aporte: Guillermo Figueroa

Study finds protective intestinal bacteria within chicken eggs

Beneficial intestinal bacteria protect newly hatched chicks.
The conventional wisdom among scientists has long been that birds acquire the intestinal bacteria that are a necessary for good health from their environment, but a new University of Georgia study finds that chickens are actually born with those bacteria.
Lead author Adriana Pedroso said the finding, presented at the 108th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in Boston, could have important implications for the poultry industry and for food safety.
“Understanding the microbial ecology of the developing chicken is the first step toward producing healthy birds without antibiotics,” said Pedroso, a post-doctoral researcher in the UGA College of Veterinary Medicine.
Pedroso and her colleagues incubated more than 300 eggs and dipped them into a light bleach solution before extracting the embryos using sterile tools. DNA analysis revealed a diverse community of bacteria within the intestines of the developing embryos. Pedroso and her colleagues hypothesize that the bacteria penetrate the surface of the shell to the egg white, which is then ingested by the developing embryo.
Study co-author John Maurer, professor of avian medicine, said the findings could lead to better methods for promoting growth of poultry and for reducing the risk of food borne illness. He explained that as the poultry industry has moved away from the use of growth promoting antibiotics in recent years, it increasingly relies on administering probiotics – beneficial intestinal bacteria – to newly hatched chicks. Establishing a community of healthy bacteria in the birds is thought to make it more difficult for pathogenic bacteria to establish themselves, but studies on the effectiveness of probiotics have shown mixed results. Maurer said it appears now that the timing of probiotic administration is important.
“Currently, most probiotics are administered after the chicks have hatched,” Maurer said. “But our study suggest we might need to administer probiotics in ovo (in the egg) to get better results.”
The idea that embryos are sterile in the egg and that chicks acquire their intestinal bacteria after hatching goes back to the 1960s, when early experiments using bacterial cultures failed to grow any bacteria. Newer DNA techniques such as those Pedroso and her colleagues used are much more sensitive, however, and aren’t influenced by how well a bacterium grows in a Petri dish.
“Previous assumptions were based on the use of cell cultures,” Pedroso said, “but we now know that only 1 percent of bacteria in the biosphere can be cultured.”
Source: American Society for Microbiology
Aporte: Guillermo Figueroa