El impacto de los pesticidas sobre la fertilidad en la mujer
Las mujeres con una exposición indirecta a los pesticidas, ya sea en el trabajo o en el hogar, se demoran más en quedar embarazada que las mujeres sin exposición a estos químicos.
Una investigación del año 2008 en EE.UU tuvo como estudio a mujeres embarazadas que vivían en una comunidad de inmigrantes en California. Si bien todas estaban embarazadas, aquellas mujeres que trabajaban en agricultura, vivían a 60 metros de tierras agrícolas o usaban este tipo de químicos en sus casas se demoraron más tiempo en concebir que aquellas que no han sido expuestas a pesticidas. Los investigadores examinaron 2 tipos de pesticidas: aquellos similares al DDT usado en los años 70’s y los que son actualmente usados en la agricultura. Si bien los niveles de DDT fueron medidos en la sangre de las mujeres, no se asoció con la habilidad para concebir. Sin embargo, los niveles observados fueron un poco altos debido a que muchas mujeres son inmigrantes mexicanas y el DDT fue usado en México hasta el año 2000.
Muchos estudios han hallado una relación entre los pesticidas y la fertilidad masculina, incluyendo los efectos sobre la salud de los espermatozoides y embarazos largos en mujeres. Sin embargo, pocos estudios han examinado cómo la exposición a los pesticidas podría afectar la capacidad para concebir. Mujeres que reportaron sufrir exposición en sus trabajos al igual que en sus casas fueron menos afortunadas que mujeres sin exposición en la espera de embarazarse cada mes. En este estudio se consultó a 402 mujeres sobre sus hogares y los hogares de sus parejas y sobre la exposición en el trabajo a pesticidas. También les consultaron sobre cuánto tiempo les tomó en quedar embarazadas, según el número de ciclos menstruales antes de embarazarse.
Cabe destacar que sólo la exposición de la madre a los pesticidas fue asociada con periodos largos antes de embarazarse y no así la exposición paterna, además solo fueron entrevistadas mujeres que ya estaban embarazadas. Si se hubiesen entrevistado a parejas infértiles en este estudio se cree que se hubiese visto un efecto mayor de los pesticidas en la concepción.

Fuente: Enviromental Health News

More Peanut Butter Recalled in Salmonella Outbreak

The strain of Salmonella has been identified as Salmonella Typhimurium.

A nationwide recall of peanut butter made in a Georgia plant was issued late Tuesday even as the number of people sickened by Salmonella-contaminated peanut butter rose to 425 in 43 states. Peanut Corp. of America, based in Lynchburg, Va., issued the recall of 21 lots of peanut butter for possible Salmonella contamination. The product was made at a plant in Blakely, Ga., on or after July 1, 2008, and sold under the brand name Parnell's Pride and by the King Nut Company as King Nut, the Associated Press reported. Peanut Corp., which also has plants in Virginia and Texas, makes the product for bulk distribution to institutions, food service industries and private label food companies. The recall follows findings that bacteria in an open container of King Nut creamy peanut butter in Minnesota was a genetic match to the strain of Salmonella that has struck across the country. "This is a complex, widespread outbreak that appears to be ongoing," said Lola Russell, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For its part, Peanut Corp. issued a statement from its owner and president, according to AP. "We deeply regret that this has happened," Stewart Parnell said. "Out of an abundance of caution, we are voluntarily withdrawing this produce and contacting our customers." On Monday, Minnesota health officials reported that lab tests on a tainted five-pound tub of peanut butter collected from a long-term care facility produced the genetic match. The Minnesota report, issued on its Department of Health Web site, was a follow-up to initial tests done last week. Officials from the Minnesota Departments of Health and Agriculture had issued a product warning Friday after preliminary testing indicated the presence of Salmonella in the peanut butter. Peanut Corp. had issued its own statement on its Web site late Saturday, confirming the Salmonella finding. The statement added, however, that the finding "leaves open the possibility of cross-contamination from another source. PCA is working with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other agencies to determine whether the current outbreak could be at all related to products made in the PCA facility." Reports of people sickened have occurred between Sept. 3 and Dec. 31, 2008, with most illnesses starting after Oct. 1. About 18 percent of those who fell ill were hospitalized.The strain of Salmonella has been identified as Salmonella Typhimurium, the most common of the more than 2,500 types of salmonella bacteria in the United States. It's often found in uncooked eggs and meats, said CDC officials. The recall and the potential link to the multi-state outbreak come two years after ConAgra recalled its Peter Pan brand peanut butter, which had been linked to at least 625 Salmonella cases in 47 states.
Source of Article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Aporte: Guillermo Figueroa

“Transgénicos en Chile: ¿qué esperamos como país?

Recientemente con el objetivo de discutir sobre las opciones que tiene Chile frente al uso de los transgénicos y el uso de organismos genéticamente modificados, se realizó, en el Centro de Conferencias de la Sociedad de Fomento Fabril (Sofofa) el seminario “Transgénicos en Chile: ¿qué esperamos como país?. En este encuentro participaron la Ministra de Agricultura Sra. Marigen Hornkohl, representantes del gobierno, de la agroindustria, ecologistas y académicos.
Actualmente, el uso de estos transgénicos concita un debate internacional sobre las ventajas, los beneficios y los potenciales riesgos de la incorporación de esta biotecnología agrícola a las políticas de desarrollo de los países. Según el Dr. Rodrigo Gutiérrez, director del Núcleo Milenio en Genómica Funcional de Plantas, entidad organizadora del seminario, la experiencia internacional revela que en la decisión de optar o no por cultivos transgénicos no sólo se deben tomar en cuenta consideraciones técnicas o científicas. Las decisiones que como país se deben tomar respecto del uso de los organismos modificados genéticamente en la agricultura requiere reconocer las oportunidades, pero también considerar la dimensión social, política, ética y económica de la adopción de esta tecnología en el país
Hasta ahora ni el ejecutivo, ni parlamentarios de distintas tendencias le han otorgado la importancia que realmente merece este tema, y menos han sido capaces de promover una discusión abierta, convocando a todos los actores para definir lo que es mejor para el país. Esto se debe probablemente a las contradicciones y diferentes visiones que hay respecto del tema y a la ausencia de una política explícita. Evidentemente esta situación no puede continuar y es necesario contar con un soporte legal para enfrentar adecuadamente al menos algunos de los desafíos que los OGM nos imponen.
Por ello , las principales conclusiones del seminario fueron la necesidad de acceder de manera fácil y transparente a información sobre el uso de los transgénicos en Chile. Además, se valoró esta nueva instancia de discusión pública y la necesidad de continuar con este tipo de iniciativas. Finalmente, los participantes también opinaron de la necesidad de disponer de un marco regulatorio para el uso de los transgénicos en el país.
En nuestro país, desde el 2001 solo se autoriza la producción de semillas transgénicas para la exportación y se permite la comercialización de productos transgénicos cultivados en otros países. Sin embargo, se prohíbe el cultivo comercial de transgénicos para otros usos, ya sea consumo interno o elaboración de productos procesados.

Fuente: Newsletter de Agroeconómico

Aporte: Miriam Troncoso

Los granos y vegetales también pueden contener antibióticos.

Podríamos estar ingiriendo antibióticos en los distintos vegetales cultivables incluso aquellos provenientes de granjas orgánicas.
Durante medio siglo los productores de carne han dado a sus animales, como parte del alimento, antibióticos para incrementar su crecimiento y combatir distintas enfermedades infecciosas y cerca de un 90% de estas drogas son excretadas por la orina o las heces. Ahora, los antibióticos han empezado a aparecer en lugares inesperados.
Las personas han sido expuestas a los antibióticos durante mucho tiempo a través de la carne y la leche, pero algunas investigaciones realizadas recientemente en EE.UU muestran que también podrían ser ingeridos en los vegetales, incluso aquellos que crecen en granjas orgánicas. Vegetales como el maíz, papas y lechugas absorben antibióticos cuando crecen en suelos fertilizados con estiércol de animales
En el año 2005, investigadores de la Universidad de Minnesota realizaron un estudio en donde plantaron maíz, cebolla y repollo en suelos fertilizados con estiércol de animales para evaluar el impacto ambiental que podría tener el hecho de adicionar antibióticos al alimento de animales de granja. Seis semanas después se analizaron las cosechas y se encontró la presencia de Clortetraciclina, una droga ampliamente usada para tratar enfermedades de los animales. Este antibiótico fue encontrado en las hojas en un periodo de 6 semanas, un poco menos que una temporada de plantación normal pero si crecieran por la temporada completa podrían encontrase, entonces, en las partes que normalmente comemos los humanos.
El gran temor en este tema es que al consumir vegetales y carnes con antibióticos podemos promover la resistencia bacteriana y reducir la efectividad de la medicina humana ya que estudios anteriores han mostrado que el abuso de los antibióticos reducen su habilidad de curar infecciones y con el tiempo algunos antibióticos ya no tienen el efecto esperado.
Fuente:
Enviromental Health News

Nearly 400 Sickened in 42-State Salmonella Outbreak

CDC are closely collaborating to determine the outbreak’s source
An ongoing salmonella outbreak has sickened 388 people and hospitalized 67 in at least 42 states, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention has announced. The CDC reported that the age range of those who have fallen ill ranges from under one.year-old to 103 years of age, said WebMD.“We are collaborating with public health officials in 42 states, the FDA, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to investigate an ongoing multi-state outbreak of human infection with Salmonella typhimurium,” CDC spokesperson Lola Russell told WebMD. Although the CDC is not saying which states are involved, the Ohio Department of Health issued a news release confirming that Ohio has seen 50 cases there, said WebMD, which noted that Ohio is the state with the “second most” cases.

The source of the outbreak remains unknown.A U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) spokesperson says it and the CDC are closely collaborating to determine the outbreak’s source, reports WebMD, which also explained that if it is found that the illness originated with an FDA-regulated item, that agency will handle the “traceback” investigation. Tracebacks are foodborne outbreak investigations that look for the specific item that caused the outbreak as well as how that item became contaminated, said WebMD.

The salmonella strain involved in this particular outbreak. Salmonella typhimurium is considered common and is also the same strain responsible for the 2007 wide-scale outbreak that sickened over 400 people in over 40 states, Russell told WebMD. In that case, Russell added, the CDC found that undercooked, not-ready-to-eat Banquet brand frozen pot pies were to blame. Last year’s huge salmonella outbreak that was finally traced to Mexican peppers and was first blamed on tomatoes, was linked to Salmonella Saintpaul, a different salmonella strain than is involved in the current cases.

Salmonella typhimurium outbreaks have been linked to poultry, raw milk and cheese, and pet turtles said WebMD. “We are reminding people that it is often difficult to trace the source or sources of Salmonella outbreaks,” Russell told WebMD, adding, “We don’t have a potential source at this point.”WebMD noted that the CDC receives at least 40,000 reports of Salmonella poisoning annually, with about 400 deaths reported. It is believed that the actual number of cases is much higher 30-fold more, said WebMD.because less serious cases are often not reported.

Source of Article: http://www.newsinferno.com/archives/4509
Aporte: Guillermo Figueroa

Marea roja ataca de nuevo en el norte de Chile

Controles detectan el ácido domoico, no hay afectados hasta hoy
Las autoridades sanitarias de Atacama decretaron la prohibición de extraer moluscos bivalvos tras detectarse la presencia de la llamada "toxina amnésica" en un sector del litoral de la zona, informaron hoy fuentes oficiales. Hasta el momento no hay personas afectadas, dijo la Secretaria Regional de Salud, Pilar Merino, quien precisó que la zona en riesgo se sitúa en el sector de Pan de Azúcar, a unos 1.000 kilómetros al norte de Santiago. "No tenemos ninguna persona afectada, nuestra misión es adelantarnos a cualquier tipo de eventos que tengan que ver con la salud de las personas", subrayó Merino. Se trata, según expertos, de un elemento conocido también como ácido domoico, que se genera en algunas variedades de plancton que es consumido por los moluscos, en los que se asienta de forma similar a otros venenos presentes en la llamada marea roja. Cuando la toxina es consumida por el ser humano produce un cuadro de intoxicación que puede causar problemas gastrointestinales y neurológicos como pérdida de memoria de corto tiempo, ya que daña las células del hipocampo y en aquellos casos de intoxicaciones más graves, puede ocasionar la muerte. Pilar Merino indicó, según pruebas de laboratorio, que una concentración de 20 microgramos de toxina por gramo de marisco provoca la muerte de ratones y las muestras tomadas en Pan de Azúcar se encontraron concentraciones de hasta 198,5 microgramos por gramo. En caso de que las personas lo consuman, la autoridad indicó que al comienzo pueden presentar vómitos y diarrea y posteriormente, síntomas neurológicos; después "se les borra el disco duro", es decir, se les borra la memoria inmediata y puede haber hasta muerte cuando la ingesta es abundante", precisó. Merino advirtió que la toxina no se elimina con la cocción de los mariscos, por lo que la única medida útil es la abstención del consumo de moluscos bivalvos provenientes de zonas en las que se haya detectado la sustancia.
Fuente: Radio Cooperativa
Aporte: Guillermo Figueroa

Mouth bacteria boost some flavours: Study

Bacteria present in the mouth may delay the flavour response for some fruit, vegetables, and wine, according to a new study.
Scientists from the Swiss company’s Corporate R&D Division studied the effects of oral microflora on a series of sulphur-containing compounds found commonly in foods such as wine and fruit.
It is known that cysteine-S-conjugates are transformed by bacteria in the mouth, and that this transformation “explains long-lasting sulfury odours in the mouth that give a second dimension to the flavour perception of food products”.
How consumers sense food is crucial knowledge for a food industry constantly organising the building blocks of new food formulations.
The study showed that the mouth act like a reactor and therefore we can modulate the odour perception. A free thiol has a high impact but short, the corresponding cysteine conjugate will produced a delayed impact and stay longer in the mouth. The study also shows how critical saliva and the enzymes, proteins, and bacteria it contains, is critical
Study details
Thirty trained panelists sampled the compounds and reported that they could immediately detect the scent of the thiols, but it took another 20 to 30 seconds for them to smell the cysteine-S-conjugate precursors.
The delayed detection of the precursors lasted for as much as three minutes, said the researchers, while the thiols lasted only a few seconds.
In order to get a better understanding of what was happening in the mouth, Starkenmann and his co-workers incubated the cysteine-S-conjugates with sterile saliva or saliva containing Fusobacterium nucleatum, a Gram-negative anaerobe present in the mouth.
After 24 hours, the F. nucleatum-containing saliva was associated with an 80 per cent breakdown of the precursor compounds, whereas the sterile saliva was associated with a 15 per cent breakdown after four days.
“The cysteine−S-conjugates are transformed in free thiol by anaerobes,” wrote the authors. “The mouth acts as a reactor, adding another dimension to odour perception, and saliva modulates flavours by trapping free thiols.”
Potential for bad breath
The research also has implications for halitosis, said Dr Starkenmann, a condition mainly due to the degradation of cysteine and methionine coming from food proteins which sticks between your teeth.
Interestingly these "bad" bacteria are also producing nice aroma from these cysteine conjugates. This was not known before.
Source: Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry Vol 56, Issue 20, 9575-9580
Aporte: Guillermo Figueroa

Canadian company developed a new preservative to fight Listeria

The preservative, when used in combination with sodium lactate, can inhibit the growth of Listeria monocytogenes
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Health Canada gave the backing for the use by Canadian food processors of sodium diacetate as a preservative in meat, poultry and fish products. According to the food scientists, the preservative, when used in combination with sodium lactate, can inhibit the growth of Listeria monocytogenes.
The rules allow interim use of such preservatives in preparations of meat, meat byproducts, poultry meat, poultry meat byproducts and prepared and preserved fish products at a maximum level of 0.25 per cent of final product weight.
Listeria Last week CEO of Maple Leaf, Michael McCain said that Listeria exists in 100 per cent of all meat processing plants and it is impossible to eliminate it.
L monocytogenes is a pathogenic bacterium causing listeriosis, which is a rare but potentially lethal infection that can kill vulnerable people, such as the elderly and pregnant women, as well as those suffering from immuno-compromising diseases like cancer or HIV.
The pathogen can contaminate ready-to-eat meat and poultry during post-processing steps such as slicing, peeling and packaging.
Maple Leaf said that it identified listeria lurking deep inside two meat-slicing machines as the most likely source of the contamination, which caused it to shut down its Toronto processing plant in August.
Testing The meat processor subsequently sanitized the facility, which led the government to permit the company to resume food production on 17 September. However, products are not allowed to leave the site until the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) finishes its testing programme.
Maple Leaf said that since the plant re-opened 841 environmental samples have been taken, with one positive test result for listeria: “This is considerably lower than what normal practice would yield in listeria management programs.”
Officials are taking 60 samples from each production line every day, said McCain.
Safety plan Maple Leaf said that it has developed a five-point plan for food safety, including a proposal to strengthen Canada's food-inspection system that would involve:
· Instituting tighter specifications for managing microbiological hazards such as Listeria in the plant;
· Enhancing auditing practices to make sure the industry delivers on those high standards; and
· Developing a common approach to sharing data with the public on food safety as a means to increase transparency.
Source: Food Quality News Alerts http://www.foodqualitynews.com/Food-Alerts/Maple-Leaf-to-tackle-Listeria-with-newly-approved-preservative
Aporte: Guillermo Figueroa

Consumo de mariscos crudos generó masiva intoxicación en el Maule

77 personas han acudido hasta el hospital de Chanco, Cauquenes y de Talca, afectados por intoxicación por Vibrio parahemolticus
Una masiva intoxicación se registró este fin de semana (17-18 diciembre 2008) en la Región del Maule, presuntamente por el consumo de mariscos crudos principalmente en los balnearios de Chanco y Pelluhue.
La gobernadora provincial de Cauquenes, Angélica Sáez, confirmó la situación y señaló que las personas estarían afectadas por el Vibrio parahemoliticus .Hasta el momento, 19 intoxicados han llegado hasta el hospital de Chanco, mientras que al recinto de Cauquenes han llegado 33 casos, a los que se suman otros 25 enfermos en el hospital de Talca provenientes del balneario de Constitución.

Aparentemente, todos los pacientes consumieron mariscos crudos durante el fin de semana y llegaron hasta los recintos asistenciales con síntomas de diarrea, temperatura alta y náuseas.

Global Warming and Vibrio parahaemolyticus in Alaska

Oyster men in Alaska have never had to deal with the bacterium Vibrio parahaemolyticus, a dangerous microbe infected in warmer waters like the gulf of Mexico. However, water in Alaska has been getting warm enough for the dangerous microbe to survive in the 59 degree water. Due to this, cruise ship passengers in Alaska that had eaten local oysters came down with diarrhea, cramping, and vomiting...the first cases of Vibrio parahaemolyticus food poisoning in Alaska. Scientists later determined that it wasn't just the bacterium but the warming water that allowed them to migrate.
The spread of human disease is one of the main fears scientists have with global climate change. Incremental changes in temperature is allowing for a re-distribution of bacterium, insects, and plants (invasive species)...introducing people to new diseases that they have never seen before.

Fuente: El Mercurio Online
Aporte: Guillermo Figueroa

FDA Calls Off Ban on Animal Antibiotics

Cephalosporins treat respiratory diseases in cattle and swine but are also often given "off-label"

The Food and Drug Administration said it would continue allowing the widespread use of a class of powerful antibiotics in food-producing animals, making a last-minute reversal after calling the practice a public-health risk in July.The agency's bid this summer to ban many uses of cephalosporin drugs in cows, swine, chickens and other animals came under fire from the industry. Agriculture groups and animal-drug makers, including Pfizer Inc., said the antibiotics are needed to prevent many infectious diseases in animals.Public-health officials and the American Medical Association are worried that excessive use of antibiotics -- including in animals -- can promote resistance and produce strains of bacteria that threaten human life. Cephalosporins treat respiratory diseases in cattle and swine but are also often given "off-label" for uses not approved by the FDA to poultry or more generally in livestock for non-approved infectious diseases.On July 3, the FDA announced a planned crackdown on off-label uses in animals, citing "the importance of cephalosporin drugs for treating disease in humans."That position was reiterated in September by the FDA's director of veterinary drugs, Steven Vaughn. "We have [bacterial organisms] moving around the world that we have never seen before," he told a conference, according to Dairy Herd Management magazine. Dr. Vaughn, who couldn't be reached for comment, told the group that antibiotic-resistant bacteria are becoming more common in cattle.Groups such as the Animal Population Health Institute, the Kansas Health Department and the National Turkey Federation, objected to the proposed ban. The American Veterinary Medical Association complained to the FDA that the data on the human impact it used to support the ban were flawed.On Nov. 25, five days before the ban was to take effect, the FDA quietly revoked it with a notice in the Federal Register. The FDA's statement said the agency received many comments and needed more time to review them. A spokeswoman said the agency still could impose restrictions later."You have to give the FDA credit for its good-faith response to our concerns," said Tom Burkgren, director of the Association of American Swine Veterinarians. Dr. Burkgren said some of the new diseases striking swine today aren't mentioned on cephalosporin labels, and there are few alternatives.Keep Antibiotics Working, a group that promotes agriculture-production changes, denounced the FDA's reversal. "They were under a lot of pressure from companies and agriculture, the producers, to end the ban," said the organization's chief, Steven Roach.Pfizer, whose cephalosporin drug Excede is approved for certain uses in animals, said more time is needed to analyze the risk posed to treatment of animal diseases from cephalosporin restrictions.The FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine has been involved in other recent controversies. In June, it abruptly announced it was allowing Wyeth's heartworm drug ProHeart 6 back on the market. It was withdrawn in 2004 amid some 500 reports of dog deaths.
Source: Wall Street Journal
Aporte: Guillermo Figueroa