Evaluation of public and animal health risks in case of a delayed post‐mortem inspection in ungulates

The potential effects of a 24 or 72‐h delay in post‐mortem inspection (PMI) of ungulates on public health and monitoring of animal health and welfare was evaluated. The assessment used a survey of meat inspectors, expert opinion, literature search and a stochastic model for Salmonella detection sensitivity. Disease detection sensitivity at a delayed PMI is expected to reduce detection sensitivity to a variable extent, depending on the hazard and on the signs/lesions and organs involved. No reduction is expected for Trichinella detection in meat from susceptible animal species and any decrease in detection of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) will not exceed the current tolerance for fallen stock. A 24‐h delay in PMI could result in a small reduction in sensitivity of detection for tuberculosis, echinococcosis and cysticercosis. A greater reduction is expected for the detection of pyaemia and Rift valley fever. For the detection of Salmonella, the median model estimates are a reduction of sensitivity of 66.5% (90% probability interval (PI) 0.08–99.75%) after 24‐h delay and 94% (90% PI 0.83–100%) after 72‐h delay of PMI. Laboratory testing for tuberculosis following a sampling delay of 24–72 h could result in no, or a moderate, decrease in detection depending on the method of confirmation used (PCR, culture, histopathology). For chemical contaminants, a delay in meat inspection of 24 or 72 h is expected to have no impact on the effectiveness of detection of persistent organic pollutants and metals. However, for certain pharmacologically active substances, there will be a reduced effectiveness to detect some of these substances due to potential degradation in the available matrices (tissues and organs) and the non‐availability of specific preferred matrices of choice.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Urinary Concentrations of Steroids in Bulls under Anabolic Treatment by Revalor-XS® Implant

Despite the European ban of using anabolics in food-producing animals, growth promoters might still be illegally used in the European Union. To control the food chain and guarantee consumers’ health, there is a need of highly sensitive analytical methods for the identification of marker residues of such treatments. In the present study, a group of bulls (n=16) received trenbolone acetate (200 mg) and estradiol (40 mg) by a commercial ear implant during a time range of 71 days, and a second group (n=16) was kept for control. The aim of the research was to measure the residual urinary concentrations of the administered drugs (β-trenbolone and β-estradiol), their main metabolites (α-trenbolone and α-estradiol), and possible alterations of the urinary profile of other endogenous hormones metabolically related. The analytical method was based on liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Results showed average urinary concentrations of α-trenbolone and α-estradiol during treatment in the range of (0.81÷2.1) ng mL−1 and (0.96÷4.4) ng mL−1, respectively, whereas β-trenbolone and β-estradiol exhibit urinary concentrations lower than 0.22 ng mL−1 in both cases. Data obtained from the urinary profiles of endogenous steroids indicate that they could be useful to indirectly detect the ongoing treatment

Targeted proteomics for the indirect detection of dexamethasone treatment in bovines

The illegal use of pharmacologically active compounds for growth promotion in food-producing species poses risks for consumer health and animal welfare. Surveillance relies on the quantification of drug residues in animal fluids or tissues, but the efficacy can be negatively affected due to undetectable residual concentrations in biological matrices. Consequently, techniques focusing on the indirect biological effects of exogenous compound administration have been proposed as more sensitive detection methods. The purpose of the present study is to develop a tandem mass spectrometry analytical method based on low-energy collision-induced dissociation (CID-MS/MS) using multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) for the quantification of 12 potential protein markers of skeletal muscle to detect anabolic treatments with dexamethasone. Protein markers identified in a previous study applying a 2D-DIGE proteomics approach have been quantified using the signature peptide method. A group of proteins were confirmed as reliable markers. Quantitative results enabled a predictive model to be defined based on logistic regression for the detection of treated animals. The developed model was finally cross-validated in an independent animal set. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

Drawing instead of answering to evaluate the effectiveness of food safety programmes in primary school

Objective: The high incidence of foodborne disease among children suggests the value of health promotion. Children are a high-risk group so far as foodborne disease is concerned, although they may be hard to reach with training programmes. This research investigated the use of drawings, compared with questionnaires, to evaluate the impact of a health promotion programme to improve knowledge and habits in the context of food handling and personal hygiene. Setting: Children (184) attending primary school and living in the north of Italy were enrolled in the programme. Methods: Qualitative and quantitative tools: pre- and post-intervention questionnaires were administered, and children were asked to produce pre- and post-intervention drawings about microorganisms and their effects on humans. An observation grid was built to code key features in the drawings. Results: Results clearly showed that some drawing features correlated with and predicted high scores in the questionnaire on knowledge of microorganisms. These were the use of captions, the representation of a natural context and the presence of a causal link between depicted elements. Conclusion: Study findings highlight the potential of the use of drawing as an effective evaluation tool. The use of drawing can support the design of strategies for the validation of health campaigns aimed at the amelioration of children's food contamination-related (and perhaps other) risks

Survival of Salmonella Typhimurium in poultry-based meat preparations during grilling, frying and baking

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Climate change as a driver of emerging risks for food and feed safety, plant, animal health and nutritional quality

European Food Safety Authority et al.-- 146 pages, 45 figures, 25 tables, appendixes, supporting information https://doi.org/10.2903/sp.efsa.2020.EN-1881Climate change constitutes a relevant driver of emerging risks. While a broad range of forward‐looking studies and reports examine the impact of climate change on food security, future challenges for food and feed safety, plant and animal health and nutritional quality are usually not investigated in depth.The CLimate change and Emerging risks for Food SAfety (CLEFSA) project has explored the possibility of: (a) using the specific driver, climate change, for long‐term anticipation of multiple emerging risks, using scenarios of climate change; (b) using crowdsourcing and text mining to collect a broad range of signals from a variety of information sources; (c) using a knowledge network of experts from international organisations; (d) designing a Multi‐Criteria Decision Analysis tool for characterising signals through a participatory process, in which expert knowledge is used to identify relevant issues from the vast and often incomplete information; (e) developing methodologies and indicators for the analysis of the information available, addressing uncertainty.Climate change and its implications for food safety demand complex scientific study, given the number and diversity of hazards to be considered, the large uncertainties involved and the interconnections between the different areas. The effects of climate change are characterised by a multidisciplinary nature (human–plant–animal health and environmental sciences) and go beyond the recognition of specific emerging risks. CLEFSA has identified numerous issues that are driven by climate change and that may affect food safety in Europe. Climate change has the potential of causing, enhancing or modifying the occurrence and intensity of some food‐borne diseases and the establishment of invasive alien species harmful to plant and animal health. It has an impact on the occurrence, intensity and toxicity of blooms of potentially toxic marine and freshwater algae and bacteria, on the dominance and persistence of various parasites, fungi, viruses, vectors and invasive species, harmful to plant and animal health. Climate change is likely to drive the (re)emergence of new hazards, increase the exposure or the susceptibility to known hazards and change the levels of micronutrients and macronutrients in food and feed items. By the very nature of the challenge, this list is inevitably incomplete, and undoubtedly unanticipated surprises await us in the futur