Prevent the Spread of Norovirus

Five simple ways you can protect yourself from Norovirus.

Noroviruses are a group viruses related with food borne illness, these viruses causes gastroenteritis (inflammation of the stomach and intestines). This leads to stomach cramping, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, and in children and old people could be lethal.

Noroviruses are the most common cause of gastroenteritis in the United States. CDC estimates that each year on average 19 to 21 million cases of acute gastroenteritis are caused by noroviruses. Norovirus is also estimated to cause 56,000 to 71,000 hospitalizations and 570 to 800 deaths each year in the United States.

This virus can spread very quickly form person to person in many closed placed (Schools/university, hotels, etc). The normal cause of contagion of this virus are: Eating or drinking liquids that are contaminated, touching surfaces or objects contaminated with this virus and the putting hands in the mouth and having direct contact with a person who is infected (sharing foods, kissing or with eating utensils with them). This illness can be no longer than 3 days after they recover, but many people may be contagious for even longer.

Actually there is no vaccine to prevent norovirus infection; also there is no drug to treat people who have been sick. (It’s a virus not bacteria). The best way to reduce your chance of getting this illness is by following these 5 simple tips:

1)    Wash your hands carefully with soap and water, especially after using the toilet and changing diapers and always before eating or preparing food.

2)    Wash fruits and vegetables, and cook oysters and other shellfish thoroughly before eating them.

3)    Do not prepare food while infected, this may be produce more contamination.

4)    Clean and disinfect contaminated surfaces using bleach made with 5 tablespoons to 1.5 cups of household bleach per 1 gallon of water.

5)    Immediately remove and wash clothing or linens that may be contaminated with vomit or stool and wash your hands after handling. The items should be washed with detergent at the maximum available cycle length and then machine dried

Fuente: http://www.cdc.gov/features/norovirus/index.html

Aporte: Sebastián Castillo

EPA halts pesticide use on apples until new safety studies are done

People who eat nitrosamines have higher levels of cancers

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) is calling on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to halt use of a pesticide commonly applied to conventionally grown apples to limit storage damage until EPA has done further safety studies.

EWG’s president, Ken Cook, wrote EPA on Thursday asking that the agency launch a new investigation to determine whether the use of diphenylamine, or DPA, is safe for U.S. consumers who, according to 2010 industry data, use about 42.5 pounds of apple products per person each year.

The American public deserves the same level of protection as Europeans from pesticide risks. We urge EPA to halt the use of DPA on U.S. fruit until a rigorous analysis by EPA of the chemical can prove that it poses a reasonable certainty of no harm to consumers.

Applying DPA to European apples and pears was banned by the European Commission in 2012, citing lack of sufficient safety data from the manufacturers, and, since March of this year, the European Union will only allow importation of conventionally grown U.S. apples if detectable DPA levels are 0.1 parts per million or below.

In 2010, the U.S. Department of Agriculture found measurable levels of DPA on 82.7 percent of the raw, conventionally grown apples tested and at average concentrations four times the EU import limit. The EPA tolerance level for DPA is 10 ppm.

DPA is typically applied to the fruit by dipping, drenching or spraying after it’s picked to help prevent “storage scald,” a blackening or browning of the skin that can occur on apples held in cold storage for months after the fall harvest. While it’s officially regulated as a pesticide, DPA functions as a fungicide and growth regulator.

People who eat nitrosamines have higher levels of cancers. These contaminants are known by EPA and other agencies to be something we want to avoid..

There are about 7,500 apple growers across the U.S., who produce nearly 100 varieties of the fruit in every state, although Washington state is the top producer. Apples are considered one of the most valuable crops grown in the U.S., and we are the world’s second-largest apple producer after China.

Source: Food Safety News

Michel Leporati nuevo Secretario Ejecutivo de la ACHIPIA

Declaró: Asumo este desafío porque puedo hacer algo para el país

Michel Leporati Néron, la nueva autoridad de la Agencia Chilena para la Calidad e Inocuidad Alimentaria (ACHIPIA),  estudió Medicina Veterinaria en la Universidad de Chile, es Doctor de Economía de los Recursos Alimentarios y del Ambiente, del Instituto Uni

versitario Navale di Napoli, Italia, y cuenta con más de 20 años de experiencia laboral en el ámbito de desarrollo de políticas públicas para el fomento productivo, la investigación y el desarrollo en el sector agrícola y en la industria de alimentos.

Ha sido Director de la Escuela de Medicina Veterinaria de la Sede Talca de la Universidad Santo Tomás, miembro del comité de manufactura y minería de FONDEF de la Comisión Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología CONICYT, Director Ejecutivo de la Plataforma de Innovación en Alimentos (PIAL) y Director de CERES_BCA servicios de bioseguridad y calidad alimentaria.

Fue asesor de los Ministros de Agricultura entre los años 2006 y 2010 en el Gabinete esa secretaría de Estado, fue Vicepresidente del Consejo Directivo de la Fundación para la Innovación Agraria (FIA); Miembro del  Cluster Alimentario; Consejero (s) del consejo de ministros para la innovación, Secretario Técnico del Consejo Público/Privado Chile Potencia Alimentaria y del Comité Exportador de  Alimentos y Coordinador Técnico del convenio de desarrollo tecnológico con Fundación Chile, entre otras actividades.

Ha desarrollado investigaciones y ha publicado, tanto a nivel nacional como internacional, acerca del fomento productivo, la innovación y el desarrollo del sector agropecuario y alimentario.  Ha asesorado proyectos de Cooperación internacional, a través de la Agencia de Cooperación de Chile  (AGCI), en temas relativos al desarrollo de la micro y mediana empresa agroalimentaria.

En sus primeras declaraciones como Secretario Ejecutivo de ACHIPIA,  MicheL Leporati  señaló que “El sentido de mi misión en ACHIPIA  es hacer algo para Chile.  Asumo este desafío porque puedo hacer algo para el país. La idea es ir construyendo, ir mejorando”.

El  Médico Veterinario asumió su cargo acompañado por el Subsecretario de Agricultura, Claudio Ternicier González.

Fuente: http://www.achipia.cl/

Will your HACCP plan be acceptable under FSMA?

The HACCP plan is a part of the food safety management system, which includes prerequisite programs, vendor quality, traceability and recalls, communication and management commitment.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is asking is nowhere near as rigid as what is mandated under the ISO 22000 international standard (ISO 22000: Food safety management systems — Requirements for any organization in the food chain) or in the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) food safety audit schemes. What the proposal does indicate, however, is that FDA will be taking longer and harder looks at what food processors are doing to ensure the safety of what they are manufacturing.

The current seafood and juice Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) regulations mandate that a HACCP plan be assessed or re-evaluated on a regular basis, which means at least once a year. ISO 22000 and the GFSI audit schemes have similar requirements. So, your first step should be not just a re-assessment, but a complete and very detailed evaluation. Because of economic pressures and a need to protect their customers, brands and reputations, most processors have established HACCP plans based on the seven principles described in the 1997 guidelines established by the National Advisory Committee for Microbiological Criteria for Foods or the Codex Food Hygiene document. These two documents are harmonized. If your company has properly followed these guidelines when developing your plans, you should be okay when it comes to a review by FDA. Note that the word “should” is used. Some processors have had a tendency to be a bit lax when it comes to developing, documenting, implementing and maintaining their HACCP plans. Areas where companies can do better are as follows:

1.  

Conducting the Hazard Analysis (risk assessment) on ingredients, processes and finished products

2.    Validating and documenting that their CCPs are adequate for controlling established hazards

3.    Verifying that the system is working as designed

This is not to say that these elements are lacking in their current programs; they simply need to be strengthened and managed better. This is one reason why it would be a good idea for more companies to take a long look at the ISO 22000 standard. In this case, look at the standard as a system for managing food safety. The HACCP plan is a part of the food safety management system, which includes prerequisite programs, vendor quality, traceability and recalls, communication and management commitment.

A food safety management system will take time and effort (and money, if the goal is to do it right), but a processor does not have to be certified in the USA. In Europe and Asia building a strong food safety management system is required (ISO 22000) is a tool that will help ensure that you do so.

Source: FDA, FSMA

Samples of the coating, which contains dyes that make bacteria die

Highly reactive oxygen radicals destroy the cell walls of bacteria.

Hospital-acquired infections are a major health threat, and have prompted the development of preventative measures incorporating things like blue light and selenium nanoparticles. One of the latest such developments is a light-activated antimicrobial surface coating made from silicone, dye and gold. For some reason, it also works in the absence of light.

Created at University College London, the coating incorporates crystal violet and methylene blue dyes, along with gold nanoparticles. When the dyes are exposed to light, the electrons in them become excited. This in turn results in the production of "highly reactive oxygen radicals," which destroy the cell walls of bacteria.

To make the material, an organic solvent was used to swell the silicone, which allowed the methylene blue and gold to diffuse throughout it. The dye- and gold-infused silicone was then dipped in a bath of crystal violet, causing a layer of that dye to bond to its surface.

In lab tests, the coating was shown to have "the most potent bactericidal effect ever observed in such a surface" when exposed even just to a regular fluorescent light bulb, killing all the bacteria placed upon it within three to six hours.

What was surprising, however, was that it also killed microbes when contaminated with them and left in the dark – it just took longer, up to 18 hours. It's reportedly the first time that a light-activated antibacterial substance has shown such good no-light performance. Exactly how it was able to do so is still being investigated.

Additionally, the coating is said to be relatively inexpensive to manufacture, and resists being worn off of surfaces when they're being cleaned. It could end up being used on items ranging from medical equipment to a hospital's door handles, keyboards or other frequently-touched objects.

Source: University College London

South Korea Granted Poultry Inspection Equivalency

Slaughtered poultry or parts or other products thereof processed in certified Korean establishments will be eligible for export to the United States.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has added South Korea to the list of countries eligible to export poultry products to the U.S. after determining that the country’s poultry-inspection system is equivalent to ours.

Under this final rule, slaughtered poultry or parts or other products thereof processed in certified Korean establishments will be eligible for export to the United States, reads the Federal Register notice published Wednesday. All such products will be subject to re-inspection at United States ports of entry by FSIS inspectors.

In 2005, the government of South Korea requested approval for the importation of Korean poultry products into the U.S. South Korea stated that its immediate intention was to export two types of ginseng chicken stew products. USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) then began to evaluate South Korea’s inspection system to determine whether it is equivalent to the U.S. system.

After two audits and two corrective action plans, FSIS proposed equivalency. This final rule will become effective on May 27, 2014.

Under import regulations, the South Korean government must still certify to FSIS that those establishments that wish to export poultry products to the U.S. are operating under requirements equivalent to those of the United States.

Source: Food Safety News

CDC reporta Datos de Vigilancia de 32 serotipos de Salmonella

La CDC reporta 32 serotipos de aislados de Salmonella  provenientes  de un periodo de 40 años. 

El  Centro  de Control y Prevención de Enfermedades (CDC) está reportando datos  de Vigilancia en línea (on line) de 32 aislados de Salmonella provenientes de personas, animales y ambiente comprendidos en un lapso de 40 años.

Este “Atlas de Salmonella de EEUU, 1968-2011” categoriza a los aislados por geografía, estación del año, edad y sexo de la persona infectada, en un documento de 248 páginas o 32 reportes individuales de cada serotipo. Esto  permitirá a los usuarios  ver las tendencias  de infección de Salmonella en relación al tiempo, a la geografía, a la edad y sexo de las personas infectadas en ese país.

Este Atlas, además de los informes de infecciones reportados en humanos, incluirá  informes de presencia de Salmonella en los animales, en el ambiente y en los alimentos para animales, que puedan ser fuentes para la generación de cepas resistentes a los antibióticos.

Salmonella es la causa número uno de las enfermedades transmitidas por alimentos en EE.UU. Salmonelosis enferma un estimado de 1.2 millones de personas cada año y causa más de 23,000 hospitalizaciones y 450 muertes, según la CDC. 

Infección por Salmonella es usualmente causada por el consumo de carne cruda, carne de aves, huevos o subproductos derivados del huevo. El período de incubación varía desde varias horas a dos días. Signos y síntomas más comunes son náuseas, vómitos, dolor abdominal, diarrea, fiebre, escalofríos, dolor de cabeza, dolores musculares y sangre en las heces.

Funcionarios de los CDC señalaron que los datos presentados en el "Atlas" son sólo la punta del iceberg, ya que muchos casos de salmonelosis humana no son diagnosticados y reportados a los departamentos de salud. Este “subregistro” puede ocurrir debido a que la persona enferma no aquede a la atención médica, o que los resultados de los coprocultivos no son reportados a las autoridades de la salud pública.

Source: Food Safety News  

Honey may stop bacterial resistance to antibiotics

Honey could be one solution to the ever-growing problem of bacterial resistance to antibiotics, according to researchers.

It uses hydrogen peroxide, acidity, osmotic effect, high sugar concentration and polyphenols to actively kill bacterial cells, said a study presented at the 247th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS).

Previous studies have shown that honey inhibits the formation of biofilms by disrupting quorum sensing, which weakens bacterial virulence, rendering the bacteria more susceptible to conventional antibiotics, said the researchers.

Honey to control biolfilms?: Susan Meschwitz, assistant professor, Department of Chemistry and Salve Regina University, told FoodQualityNews.com that it would make sense to prevent and control biofilm formation by using naturally occurring compounds such as honey. She said they are testing various honeys to see if they can inhibit quorum sensing and initial studies indicate that some can.

“We are in the preliminary stages of our research where we are looking at the effect that honey has on a process called quorum sensing, which is a bacterial communication system. “It is believed that in many bacteria, this quorum sensing controls the production of virulence factors and biofilm formation.”

Antibiotic resistance is becoming a growing issue in the food industry with a US study showing that Kosher chicken has the highest frequency of antibiotic-resistant E. coli at nearly twice that of conventional products.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said last year that antibiotic use for promoting growth of food producing animals plays a role in drug resistance and should be “phased out”.

Inhibit biofilms: Researchers will test the same honeys for their ability to inhibit biofilm formation.  “We are in the process of developing these assays. Many of these effects have already been seen with NewZealand Manuka honey. “We are hoping to see this effect also with honeys from floral sources common to North America. Also, the fact that honey uses various mechanisms for its antimicrobial properties makes it less likely for bacteria to be able to build up a resistance.”

The osmotic effect, which is the result of the high sugar concentration in honey, draws water from the bacterial cells, dehydrating and killing them, Meschwitz said at the ACS meeting. "The unique property of honey lies in its ability to fight infection on multiple levels, making it more difficult for bacteria to develop resistance," she said.

Source: FoodQualityNews

Muere segunda paciente contagiada con Clostridium difficile en el Hospital de Antofagasta.

Aumentan a 13 los contagiados con la bacteria intrahospitalaria.

Una mujer de 68 años es la segunda paciente contagiada con la bacteria Clostridium difficile que fallece en el Hospital Regional de Antofagasta, según confirmaron en el recinto asistencial.

Actualmente existen 13 pacientes con Clostridium difficile en el Hospital Regional de Antofagasta, encontrándose aislados con el respectivo tratamiento y las medidas del caso. Todos con patologías bases crónicas, hombres y mujeres, mayoritariamente de la tercera edad, evolucionando favorablemente al tratamiento de esta patología, el cual está ad portas de su finalización en la mayoría de ellos.

De estos 13 pacientes, todos pacientes de riesgo, es decir, con patologías bases crónicas; entre ellas VIH, cáncer de vesícula y hospitalizaciones prolongadas con uso de antibióticos por periodos extensos.

Debido a la detección de nueves casos se mantienen las medidas de seguridad y de contención, aunque no se descarta la aparición de nuevos casos.

C. difficile es parte de la microbiota intestinal normal en un pequeño número de individuos sanos y de pacientes hospitalizados. Sin embargo, cuando el paciente, por diversos motivos debe consumir antibióticos, la flora normal disminuye y se le da a ésta y otras bacterias la posibilidad de aumentar y causar enfermedad.

Tras la aparición de esta bacteria intrahospitalaria, se acrecentaron las críticas respecto al manejo de la higiene en el recinto, así como la molestia por los continuos retrasos en la construcción de un nuevo centro de salud para la ciudad.

 Fuente: http://www.diarioantofagasta.cl/portada/29459

The Global Health Security Agenda goals were recently announced

Safer World: Prevention, Detection, & Response

Even today’s severe snowstorm in Washington was not enough to deter diplomats, health ministers and secretaries from dozens of countries from joining us at HHS headquarters to discuss a new agenda for global health security.  We were joined via satellite by the Directors General of the World Health Organization, the World Organization for Animal Health, and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

We came together in the belief that everyone – regardless of which country they happen to live – deserves the basic human dignity of being protected from infectious disease. 

Our world is connected in ways previously unimagined or foreseen.  This greater connectedness brings with it both new vulnerabilities and new opportunities.

On the one hand, microbes and diseases are moving faster and farther than ever.  And one thing we know for certain: They do not recognize or stop at national borders.  A threat anywhere is indeed a threat everywhere.

And yet, for all the challenges we face, we’re seeing an unprecedented willingness to work together.  Meanwhile, scientists and researchers at places like the National Institutes of Health are discovering new cures, developing new vaccines, and unleashing new innovations.

The Global Health Security Agenda is framed around three primary strategies:

1.    Enhanced prevention of infectious disease threats both naturally-occurring and manmade.

2.    More robust detection which includes real-time bio surveillance and more effective modern diagnostics.

3.    More effective response, including a public health Emergency Operation Center in each country that functions according to common standards.

Global health security is one of President Obama’s top priorities, and the Administration is working to advance these strategies.

Working together across 30 countries, we can protect at least 4 billion global citizens within the next five years.  And our vision is for all people in all countries to be effectively protected against the threats posed by infectious disease.

Ridding the world of infectious diseases is not a small goal.   There are few simple solutions and no magic cures, but we can’t afford the cost of defeat—economically, socially, or in the devastating loss of lives. With prevention, detection, and effective response, we can build a safer world.

Source: http://www.hhs.gov/secretary/about/blogs/global-health-security.html