UE: preocupación por el rol de los envases en la inocuidad de los alimentos

¿Nos importa el tipo de envase de nuestros alimentos?

 Según una encuesta realizada en 11 países por la Federación Europea de Envases de Vidrio (FEVE) como parte de la campaña de Friends of Glass, los consumidores más preocupados por la inocuidad de los alimentos son los españoles, croatas e italianos.

De acuerdo a los resultados de la encuesta, el 80% de los consumidores españoles se preocupan por la inocuidad alimentaria. En el caso de los italianos y croatas un 79%.

A los 8.000 consumidores encuestados entre 24 y 64 años, se les preguntó sobre su percepción de los envases de los alimentos en relación con la inocuidad alimentaria, el medio ambiente y el sabor.

Los resultados revelaron que los consumidores europeos están más preocupados de cómo afectan a los alimentos y bebidas en envases de plástico (60%), seguido por los envases de lata (47%), las latas de bebida (46%), las bolsas de plástico (40%), los envases de cartón para bebidas (29%) y el vidrio (8%).

El 84% de los consumidores encuestados cree que las interacciones químicas del envase con el alimento podrían ser un riesgo para la salud humana. Dos tercios (66%) admitieron estar preocupados por la contaminación de los alimentos, así como del riesgo de traspaso de sustancias químicas al contenido del envase.

Dieter Schrenk, profesor y experto en farmacología y toxicología de la Universidad de Kaiserslautern, señaló que la transferencia de compuestos transmitidos por el material del envase a los alimentos es un tema importante: “ya ha sido demostrado que los polímeros plásticos, los metales, el papel y el cartón pueden ser una fuente importante de productos químicos no deseados en los alimentos”.

La manipulación de los productos también es causa de preocupación, el 71% de los encuestados indicó que les preocupaba ‘mucho’ o ‘hasta cierto punto” la contaminación de los alimentos a través de la manipulación intencional o por fraude alimentario.

Entre los que optaron por el vidrio, el 61 % confía en él como el embalaje más seguro para la salud, en comparación al 48% de los consumidores encuestados en 2010. En relación al material de embalaje seguro para alimentos y bebidas, el vidrio es considerado el más seguro por casi la mitad de los encuestados.

Para los otros envases incluidos en la encuesta, la percepción fue la siguiente: metal (16%), bolsas de papel (14%), envases de cartón para bebidas (14%), plástico (11%) y latas para bebida (2%).

Fuente: http://www.foodproductiondaily.com/Packaging/EU-food-safety-concerns-drive-growing-glass-packaging-trust

Aporte: Edgar Alcarraz 

Autoridades locales siguen la pista a los nocivos furanos

La International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) ha clasificado a los furanos como posibles carcinogénicos para humanos.

La ACHIPIA (Agencia Chilena para la Calidad e Inocuidad Alimentaria) del Ministerio de Agricultura dijo que se debe dar seguimiento a los resultados de los diversos estudios que se desarrollan sobre los furanos, compuesto que pudiera formarse en alimentos y  presumiblemente provocar cáncer en humanos.

La entidad dijo que se realizan investigaciones sobre los furanos, tanto a nivel internacional como nacional a fin de evaluar y gestionar el riesgo asociado a la presencia de esta sustancia en ciertos alimentos para la salud de la población. Achipia agregó que después de ese seguimiento de los estudios “se definirá si es necesario tomar acciones, como podría ser establecer una regulación, directriz o recomendación”, acerca de la sustancia.

Los Furanos son compuestos orgánicos  altamente volátiles que pueden formarse de manera no intencional en los alimentos durante el procesamiento a partir de precursores que son componentes naturales de los alimentos, por ello se consideran como contaminantes  de los alimentos.

La Achipia aclara que actualmente no existe regulación nacional al respecto, ni se han establecido contenidos máximos en los alimentos. Tampoco existe normativa al respecto en la Unión Europea ni en Estados Unidos, como tampoco el Codex Alimentarius, referente normativo internacional en materia alimentaria.

Agrega que “estudios en animales han demostrado que los furanos son carcinogénicos en ratas y ratones. Sin embargo, no está claro que estos resultados puedan extrapolarse al ser humano, por lo que la International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) lo ha clasificado como posible carcinogénico para humanos”.

La entidad dijo que en 2004, la Food and Drug Administration (FDA) publicó un reporte de la presencia de furanos en alimentos procesados térmicamente, el cual reveló la existencia de este compuesto en alimentos enlatados y conservas.

Fuente: Agencia Chilena para la Calidad e Inocuidad Alimentaria (ACHIPIA)

Aporte: Gloria Olavarría A.

3M™ Molecular Detection Assay Salmonella was validated through AOAC INTERNATIONAL

Is the First Action Official Method of Analysis SM (OMA method number 2013.09) for the detection of Salmonella in selected foods.

3M’s Molecular Detection Assay Salmonella was introduced in December 2011 at the same time as the 3M™ Molecular Detection System as a means to help food processors and other parties detect Salmonella and thereby help to prevent salmonellosis, which affects millions of people each year. It received certification from the AOAC-Research Institute as a Performance Tested Methods (PTM) in April 2012.

The Official Methods of Analysis (OMA), AOAC INTERNATIONAL’s premier, internationally recognized program for chemical, microbial and molecular biological testing methods, consists of a multi-laboratory validation of the method, and review by an expert panel. Methods assigned AOAC-OMA Final Action status are used throughout the world by standards organizations who rely on OMA’s reputation for rigorous scientific and systematic scrutiny.

“Food safety is increasingly recognized throughout the world as a crucial to human, social and economic development,” said DeAnn Benesh, 3M Food Safety regulatory affairs specialist. “Our commitment to partnering with leaders in food and science to offer accurate, effective and easily implemented testing solutions is unwavering, and we’re proud to have received this OMA First Action approval from the AOAC’s distinguished review committee.”

The 3M Molecular Detection System offers a unique, reliable and rapid qualitative method of pathogen detection in enriched food and feed, as well as food manufacturing environment samples. Developed with insights from customers around the world and representing multiple food industries, the system integrates two innovative technologies – isothermal DNA amplification and bioluminescence detection. Additional assay test kits are available for E. coli O157 (including H7), Listeria and Listeria monocytogenes.

See more at: http://news.3m.com/press-release/company/3m-molecular-detection-system-receives-first-aoac-official-methods-analysis-va#sthash.zjarOgqd.dpuf

Danish report: Most Pesticides in Foreign Fruit

Foreign fruit contains almost double the amount of pesticide residues than Danish fruit.

Foreign fruit generally has a higher content of pesticides than Danish fruit, and fruit has a higher content of pesticides than vegetables. Danes’ intake of pesticide residues appears to be on a par with the latest monitoring from 2003. The findings show that eating 600 grams of fruit and vegetables a day does not constitute a health risk. These are the findings of a new report from the National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark, on pesticide residues in food.

The National Food Institute has gathered the findings of the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration’s studies of pesticide residues in Danish food in the period 2004-2011. The calculations of the intake show that pesticide residues in foods on the Danish market do not constitute a health risk.

Pesticide residues are found primarily in fruit and vegetables. In general, pesticide residues are more often found in fruit than in vegetables, and foreign fruit contains more pesticide residues than Danish fruit. The share of Danish fruit with a content of pesticides under the EU maximum residue limits (MRL) for content in foods is between 38-67%. The corresponding share of foreign fruit with a content of pesticides is between 61-82% in the study period.

The average daily intake of pesticide residues is 98 micrograms for children and 146 micrograms for adults.

 “The risk assessment showed that Danes have no risk of adverse health effects following exposure to pesticides in fruit and vegetables even following consumption of the recommended 600 grams of fruit and vegetables per day. If only commodities of Danish origin are consumed whenever possible Danes can reduce their intake of pesticide residues by 50%,” says Senior Adviser Bodil Hamborg Jensen from the National Food Institute.

Pesticide residues located in the peel: For most pesticides, studies show that the majority of foreign fruit contains more pesticide residues than Danish fruit.

Source: file:///C:/Users/gfigueroa.UEC-INTA/Downloads/rapport_overvaagning_pesticider_2004-11.pdf

FDA Approves Campylobacter jejuni Vaccine for Human Trials

The vaccine is a conjugate containing polysaccharides from C. jejuni joined to a protein

Campylobacter is a major cause of bacterial diarrhea worldwide — estimated to be the cause of 4-15 percent of cases. It’s a problem in both developed and developing countries and is associated with unpasteurized dairy products, contaminated water, poultry and produce.

In the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that campylobacteriosis affects more than 1.3 million people every year.

Although Campylobacter infections are generally mild but severe complications can include reactive arthritis and neurological disorders such as Guillain-Barré syndrome.

Campylobacter is one of a select group of pathogens that produces a polysaccharide capsule — or sugar coating on the surface, which is kind of a protective layer. So the vaccine is a conjugate containing polysaccharides from C. jejuni joined to a protein to enhance its immunogenicity. The idea is it can generate antibodies against the polysaccharide capsule to cause bacterial lysis.

There are a number of polysaccharides conjugate vaccines on the market today. Prevnar for pneumococcal pneumonia is one of the best-known examples. They have been very successful for pneumococcal infections, but Campylobacter is unusual for an enteric pathogen in that it also expresses the polysaccharide capsule. There are currently no licensed vaccines for Campylobacter, but NMRC has tested two others that it ultimately did not develop past Phase I.

This latest vaccine is currently in Phase I testing where it’s being tested for safety and immunogenicity. The previous ones passed in terms of safety, but they weren’t particularly immunogenic. If the current vaccine passes into Phase IIB we would immunize other volunteers to select the best dose and then challenge them with a strain of Campylobacter jejuni to see if it protects against diarrhea.

The military is interested in this vaccine because troops are a certain sub-class of travelers, but it could also be marketed to civilian travelers going to endemic areas.

Source: http://www.uoguelph.ca/news/2014/05/vaccine_develop.html

La OMS publica nuevo informe sobre la resistencia a los antibióticos

Las bacterias poseen diversos mecanismos de resistencia que podrían causar el

“estado de portador silencioso”

La organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) ha publicado un nuevo informe sobre la resistencia a los antibióticos. En el se detalla la resistencia de patógenos específicos   como de la bacteria E.coli a las cefalosporinas de tercera generación y a las fluoroquinolonas. El informe describe la carga sanitaria y económica que produce la resistencia  a los antibióticos en animales destinados a alimentación humana.

Mientras la resistencia a los antibióticos crece, la OMS señala que no hay esfuerzos  coordinados de vigilancia, lo que podría ayudar a controlar la situación.

En EE.UU. hubo un brote de Salmonella en pollos que ha durado más de un año,  enfermando a 524 personas, donde participaron siete cepas que son resistentes a     varios antibióticos, la tasa de hospitalización en este brote es casi el triple del número habitual debido a la resistencia a los antibióticos, aumentando la gravedad de la enfermedad.

Los antibióticos usados en animales productores de alimentos son en su mayoría los mismos usados en humanos, por lo que la resistencia que se desarrolla en animales  de ganadería, aumenta el riesgo de que los antibióticos puedan llegar a ser inútiles en tratamientos requeridos por el hombre en un futuro.

Los animales productores de alimentos son reservorios de agentes patógenos que tienen el potencial de transferir la resistencia a las personas.

Además las bacterias poseen diversos mecanismos de resistencia que podrían causar el “estado de portador silencioso” y generar infecciones de origen alimentario.

La OMS afirma que es urgente tomar medidas para reducir el uso de antibióticos en la ganadería y en la acuicultura, así como en los seres humanos, además recomienda que los países trabajen juntos para desarrollar un método de muestreo y pruebas  que podrían ayudar a aclarar la situación y establecer la mejor forma de hacer frente a este problema creciente.

Fuente: http://foodpoisoningbulletin.com/2014/who-issues-new-report-on-antibiotic-resistance/

Aporte: Stefania Barbato 

Epidemiological lessons from Hamburg in 2011

Pathogens came on the surface of fenugreek seeds, which had left Egypt by boat on Nov. 24, 2009.

 We might now be in a position where we could genome-sequence E.coli 0104:H4 quickly, but because it was a new strain, the authorities initially confused it for the more prevalent E.coli 0157:H7. When they found this latter bug on the cucumbers, they thought they had found the culprit. New bugs will always make life difficult for scientists.

The German outbreak also pointed to another unavoidable issue: the Egyptians initially denied responsibility. Whatever your technological advances, politics is still likely to slow you down. One bright spot here, though, is that the Chinese are much more cooperative than they once were. This is vital given that the country’s size and relative concentration of people makes it quite a likely source for outbreaks.

Another important step forward has been global food safety standards. The worldwide adoption of the hazard analysis critical control points system – HACCP — originally developed by NASA to protect astronauts from food poisoning, makes it less likely that the world food supply could lead to a major epidemic — even if some countries are still more diligent than others.

Food poisoning is more common than a century ago (albeit not dysentery spreading from person-to-person or tuberculosis in milk). The Ministry of Health for England and Wales recorded 59 food poisoning incidents during the years 1931-1935, compared to more than 73,000 in 2012, itself a gross underestimate because most people with food poisoning don’t seek medical advice.

The number of sufferers from the UK’s number-one cause, Campylobacter jejuni, has been convincingly estimated at 500,000 people each year. To some extent this is down to better diagnosis, but probably not entirely. The realities of 21st century mass production of cheap meat are likely to have driven up infection, for example.

Above all else, the big lesson from Germany was that a major outbreak could still take us completely by surprise. With microbes evolving as they do, we can be certain it will happen again.

Source: © Food Safety News

See more: http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2014/05/draft-our-ability-to-cope-with-food-poisoning-outbreaks-has-not-improved-much-in-50-years/#.U3IeNfl5PTo

Límites para el consumo de alimentos de alto riesgo en Chile

¿Qué dice la normativa sobre las fechas de vencimiento de los alimentos?

La normativa Chilena (Reglamento Sanitario de los Alimentos D.S. 977) establece que en el rotulado de todos los productos alimenticios que se almacenen, transporten o expendan envasados deberán llevar un rótulo o etiqueta que contenga la fecha de vencimiento o plazo de duración del producto, junto con las  instrucciones de almacenamiento e instrucciones para su uso.

La información de la fecha de vencimiento se debe ubicar en el envase en un lugar fácil  de localizar y con una leyenda destacada.

Los productos que incluyan la fecha de elaboración (lote), deberán rotular la duración en términos de fecha de vencimiento, mientras que los que indiquen expresamente la fecha de elaboración podrán utilizar la fecha de vencimiento o plazo de duración.

¿Se ha estudiado la posibilidad que los productos tengan una fecha preferente de consumo, con el fin de evitar el desperdicio de alimentos?

El Gobierno de España, propuso el año 2013 una estrategia amplia para prevenir o reducir la perdida de alimentos. Se llevaron a cabo estudios para conocer cuánto, cómo, dónde y por qué se producen las perdidas. Se divulgó y promovió buenas practicas, se revisaron las normas y se fomentó el diseño y desarrollo de nuevas tecnologías.  

¿Existe algún listado de los productos alimenticios y agentes que con más frecuencia afectan a los chilenos?

Las enfermedades transmitidas por alimentos (ETAs) se originan por la ingestión de alimentos con agentes contaminantes que afectan la salud del consumidor.

Según, Informe de Brotes por Enfermedades Transmitidas por Alimentos del Departamento de Epidemiología del Ministerio de Salud, en Chile el número de brotes de ETAS, desde 2010 hasta 2012 mostró que las causas más frecuentes eran las infecciones  debidas a Salmonella con un 19,2% y la Intoxicación por Estafilococos con un  7.7%.

Según tipo de alimento involucrado, desde el 2010 hasta el año 2012, los más frecuentes han sido los platos preparados con un 38%, seguido por pescados con un 19,6%, los huevos y ovoproductos con un 14,1% y  las carnes con un 13%.

¿Existen estudios sobre los rangos o sobre cuánto tiempo de “gracia” tienen los distintos productos alimenticios después de la fecha de vencimiento?

Los peligros pueden provenir de dos tipos de fuentes, una de parte de patógenos o sus toxinas y otra por la presencia de microorganismos alterantes. Los primeros causan infección o enfermedad en los consumidores y los segundos alteraciones organolépticas en el alimento (cambios indeseables de sabor color u olor). Las fechas de vencimiento deben ser delimitadas tomando en cuenta ambos factores.

Conforme a lo anterior ¿Qué falta en Chile?

En el caso del yogur, como muchos otros alimentos, se sabe que las pérdidas son elevadas por su no uso luego de cumplida su vida útil, por lo que parece necesario hacer estudios de inocuidad y organolépticos para alargar el plazo sin perjudicar al consumidor.

Fuente: Maria José Saludes

The effect of malnutrition on Norovirus infection

Malnourished mice develop more severe Norovirus infections and they fail to mount effective memory immunity to a secondary challenge.

Human noroviruses are the primary cause of severe childhood diarrhea in the United States, and they are of particular clinical importance in pediatric populations in the developing world. A major contributing factor to the general increased severity of infectious diseases in these regions is malnutrition—nutritional status shapes host immune responses and the composition of the host intestinal microbiota, both of which can influence the outcome of pathogenic infections. In terms of enteric norovirus infections, mucosal immunity and intestinal microbes are likely to contribute to the infection outcome in substantial ways. We probed these interactions using a murine model of malnutrition and murine Norovirus infection. Our results reveal that malnutrition is associated with more severe Norovirus infections as defined by weight loss, impaired control of norovirus infections, reduced antiviral antibody responses, loss of protective immunity, and enhanced viral evolution. Moreover, the microbiota is dramatically altered by malnutrition. Interestingly, murine norovirus infection also causes changes in the host microbial composition within the intestine but only in healthy mice. In fact, the infection-associated microbiota resembles the malnutrition-associated microbiota. Collectively, these findings represent an extensive characterization of a new malnutrition model of norovirus infection that will ultimately facilitate elucidation of the nutritionally regulated host parameters that predispose to more severe infections and impaired memory immune responses. In a broad sense, this model may provide insight into the reduced efficacy of oral vaccines in malnourished hosts and the potential for malnourished individuals to act as reservoirs of emergent virus strains.

Malnourished children in developing countries are susceptible to more severe infections than their healthy counterparts, in particular enteric infections that cause diarrhea. In order to probe the effects of malnutrition on an enteric infection in a well-controlled system devoid of other environmental and genetic variability, we studied Norovirus infection in a mouse model. We have revealed that malnourished mice develop more severe norovirus infections and they fail to mount effective memory immunity to a secondary challenge. This is of particular importance because malnourished children generally mount less effective immune responses to oral vaccines, and we can now use our new model system to probe the immunological basis of this impairment. We have also determined that noroviruses evolve more readily in the face of malnutrition. Finally, both Norovirus infection and malnutrition independently alter the composition of the intestinal microbiota in substantial and overlapping ways.

Source: mBio 5(2):e01032-13. doi:10.1128/mBio.01032-13.

Epidemiological, microbiological and environmental investigations indicate frozen berries as the vehicle.

Since 1 January 2013, 1.315 cases of Hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection have been reported by 11 Member States as potentially linked to the ongoing HAV outbreak. Of these, 240 were confirmed outbreak cases, sharing the same sequence KF182323 at the junction VP1-2a of the viral genome. When first declared, the outbreak was associated with travel to Italy. In addition to Italy, seven other Member States have now reported cases with no travel history: France, Germany, Ireland, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden and the UK. Epidemiological, microbiological and environmental investigations indicate frozen berries as the vehicle of infection for this outbreak and suggest that it could be a single outbreak, linked to a common, continuous source in the EU/EEA.

However other hypotheses cannot be excluded, such as cross contamination in a food production environment or an outbreak strain that is already widespread but has, to date, gone undetected. Due to the characteristics of the pathogen (i.e. low infectivity dose and long incubation period) and of the food vehicle (i.e. long shelf-life and complex processing and distribution chain), it is expected that more cases will be reported and other Member States may become involved. In accordance with their national guidelines, Member States may consider active or passive immunization of those in close contact with cases in order to prevent secondary transmission. 

Despite coordinated efforts from EFSA, ECDC, affected Member States and the European Commission (HAV-Trace Working Group), the ongoing trace-back investigation has not yet identified a likely source of contamination.

Given the epidemiological and laboratory evidence of contaminated frozen berries, the risk to human health, and ongoing transmission with increasing geographical spread, affected Member States could consider implementing mitigating measures at national level. In particular, Member States could consider promoting risk communication, recommending heat treatment of frozen berries before consumption and encouraging HAV vaccination of those in contact with cases and throughout the larger community. Implementation of an enhanced sampling scheme for frozen berries at the processing and distribution level could also be considered. Enhanced epidemiological and microbiological surveillance for HAV in the EU/EEA should also be encouraged. A whole genome sequencing approach needs to be considered to examine viral isolates from different points in time during the outbreak in order to confirm the hypothesis of a single outbreak. ECDC, EFSA and the European Commission, in cooperation with the affected Member States, will continue to their efforts to identify the vehicle and source of infection and closely monitor this event. The risk assessment will be updated as soon as any new relevant information becomes available.

Source: EFSA: www.efsa.europa.eu/publications