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News Headlines: 12 - 18 June 2010

Elevated levels of pollutants found in free-range eggs; China develops new test for adulterated milk; Lobster meat recalled over Listeria risk; Nanosilver not recommended for use in consumer products; US report recommends risk-based approach to food safety

Elevated levels of pollutants found in free-range eggs

A newly published research study from Taiwan has found levels of certain types of dioxins and furans (PCDD/Fs) to be more than five times higher in locally produced free-range eggs than in eggs from chickens kept in cages.

The researchers, from the National Cheng Kung University in Tainan, carried out 'congener-specific analyses' of 17 PCDD/Fs in six free-range and 12 caged chicken egg samples. They found that the mean level of PCDD/Fs were 5.7 times higher in the free-range samples.

The authors of the study suggest that their results represent differing exposures to environmental pollutants in caged and free-range chickens. PCDD/Fs are produced during the incineration of waste at the many municipal incinerators on the island of Taiwan and may thus be present in the environment. The authors also raise concerns over the safety of consuming free-range chicken eggs.

The full report can be accessed via the link below.

http://pubs.acs.org/stoken/presspac/presspac/full/10.1021/jf100456b

China develops new test for adulterated milk

According to a report from Reuters in Hong Kong, researchers at the University of Nanjing in China have been developing a new test aimed at identifying milk that has been diluted or adulterated with materials like melamine or egg protein.

The report states that the new test is based on the presence of seven stable microRNA biomarkers in milk that are detectable at all stages of lactation. However when milk is diluted or adulterated with materials designed to raise the apparent protein content, levels of the markers are greatly reduced.

The test has been developed partly as a response to the melamine contamination scandal of 2008, which caused kidney problems in an estimated 300,000 children. Melamine is a waste product of the plastics industry and can give falsely high protein content values for milk when added before testing.

The research is reported to be published in the journal Cell Research.

Lobster meat recalled over Listeria risk

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that Portland Shellfish Company Inc is voluntarily recalling several brands of cooked ready-to-eat fresh or frozen lobster meat because it has the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

Nine products are included in the recall, sold under the Portland Shellfish Co, Claw Island, Craig's All Natural and Inland Ocean brands. The recalled lobster meat was distributed to retail and wholesale outlets nationwide during May. The contamination problem was identified by microbiological tests, but there have been no reported cases of related illness as yet.

http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm215524.htm

Nanosilver not recommended for use in consumer products

The German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) has reiterated its opposition to the use of nano-scale silver particles in food, textiles or cosmetics at least until it can be determined whether there is any risk to consumers.

The BfR statement says that it is not currently possible to conclusively evaluate the potential health risks to consumers from nanosilver particles, and until this can be done manufacturers should refrain from using the material in consumer goods of all kinds. The Institute recommends that more research into possible health risks and the likelihood of microbes developing resistance to nanosilver is required before it is more widely used.

Silver ions have antimicrobial properties and nano-scale silver particles with a diameter of less than 100 nm have already been used in a variety of consumer products to inhibit microbial growth. The BfR points to applications in products like antimicrobial sports socks and the surfaces of domestic appliances such as refrigerators as examples. Food storage containers coated with nanosilver have also been marketed. Silver is also approved as a dye for food use (E174), although nanosilver itself is not currently approved for food use in the EU.

http://www.bfr.bund.de/cd/50960

US report recommends risk-based approach to food safety

According to a newly published report from the US Institute of Medicine (IOM) and the National Research Council, the efforts of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to prevent food safety incidents would be more effective if it adopted a risk-based approach.

The report sets out a blueprint for the FDA to develop a risk-based model that would enable it to make better use of its limited resources by identifying the points in the food chain where there is the greatest threat of contamination and concentrating attention on those points.

A further recommendation in the report is for the federal government to set up a central food safety data centre to collect information and assess food safety risks rapidly. This could act as a first step in the widely called for consolidation of food safety activities within a single agency. Delegation of food factory inspections to the state authorities is also suggested with the FDA retaining responsibility for training inspectors and setting national inspection standards.

More details about the report can be found at the link below.

http://www.iom.edu/Reports/2010/Enhancing-Food-Safety-The-Role-of-the-Food-and-Drug-Administration.aspx

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