Pork Quality Assurance Plus™ Program

Pork producers in the United States have developed a new food safety and animal care certification program that builds on the current Pork Quality Assurance (PQA\u27) program. Working with the pork industry\u27s customers, pork producers have created a workable, credible and affordable solution to assure food safety and animal care and at the same time meet the needs of customers including restaurants, food retailers and, ultimately, consumers. The industry\u27s solution is a continuous improvement system focused on producer education and premises assessment, which is called PQA Plus™

Isolation of Salmonella spp. and bacteriophage active against Salmonella spp. from commercial swine

Bacteriophage are viruses that prey on bacteria and may be a potential strategy to reduce foodborne pathogemc bactena in the gastromtestlnal tract of food animals Phages are fairly common in the gastrointestinal microbial ecosystem of mammals, but the incidence is unknown. If phage are to be an intervention strategy, we must understand their role in the microbial ecology of the gut. From a regulatory perspective, knowing incidence of phage is crucial. Therefore the current study was designed to determine the incidence of phage active against Salmonella spp in the feces of commercial finishing swine in the United States. Fecal samples (n=60) were collected from each of six commercial swine finishing operations. Samples were collected from 10 randomly selected pens throughout each operation. Total number of fecal samples collected in this study was n=360 Salmonella spp were found in 66% of the fecal samples Salmonella spp. were isolated from only 2 farms and the serotypes represented were Schwarzengrund, Anatum, Ohio and Heidelberg Bacteriophages were isolated from fecal sample through 2 parallel methods, 1) initlal enrichment in Salmonella Typhimunum, or 2) initial ennchment in E. colt B (a strain very sensitive to phages), followed by direct spot-testing against Salmonella Typhimurium Bacteriophages active against Salmonella Typhimunum were isolated from 1.1% 4/360) of the individual fecal samples when initially enriched in Salmonella Typhimurium, but E coli S-killing phages were 1solated from 43.8% (158/360) of the fecal samples but only 2 of these Isolates were capable of k1ll1ng Salmonella Typhimunum. Our results mdicate that bactenophage capable of killing Salmonella Typh1murium are fairly w1despread across commercial swine production facilities but may be present at relatively low populat1ons These results md1cate that phage (predator) populations may vary along w1th Salmonella (prey) populations and that phage could potentially be used as a food safety pathogen reduction strategy

Isolation of Salmonella spp. and bacteriophage active against Salmonella spp. from commercial swine

Abstract Bactenophage are viruses that prey on bacteria and may be a poten tial strategy to reduce foodborne pathogemc bactena in the gastromtestlnal tract of food ammals Phages are fa1rly common m the gastrointestinal m1crob1al ecosystem of mammals, but the incidence is unknown. If phage are to be an intervention strategy, we must understand the1r role in the m1crobial ecology of the gut From a regulatory perspective, knowmg mc1dence of phage 1s cruc1al Therefore the current study was designed to determine the incidence of phage active against Salmonella spp 1n the feces of commercial finishmg swine m the Umted States Fecal samples (n=60) were collected from each of s1x commerc1al swme fimshmg operations Samples were collected from 10 randomly selected pens throughout each operation Total number of fecal samples collected m th1s study was n=360 Salmonella spp were found 1n 6 6% of the fecal samples Salmonella spp. were ISOlated from only 2 farms and the serotypes represented were Schwarzengrund, Anatum, Ohio and Heidelberg Bacteriophages were isolated from fecal sample through 2 parallel methods, 1) in1tlal enrichment m Salmonella Typh1munum, or 2) 1n1t1al ennchment 1n E. colt B (a stram very sensitive to phages), followed by direct spot-testing against Salmonella Typhimurium Bactenophages active against Salmonella Typhimunum were Isolated from 1 1% (4/360) of the individual fecal samples when initially enriched m Salmonella Typhimurium, but E coli S-killing phages were 1solated from 43.8% (158/360) of the fecal samples but only 2 of these Isolates were capable of k1ll1ng Salmonella Typhimunum. Our results mdicate that bactenophage capable of killing Salmonella Typh1murium are fairly w1despread across commercial swine production facilities but may be present at relatively low populat1ons These results md1cate that phage (predator) populations may vary along w1th Salmonella (prey) populations and that phage could potentially be used as a food safety pathogen reduction strateg

Functional similarities between pigeon \u27milk\u27 and mammalian milk : induction of immune gene expression and modification of the microbiota

Pigeon ‘milk’ and mammalian milk have functional similarities in terms of nutritional benefit and delivery of immunoglobulins to the young. Mammalian milk has been clearly shown to aid in the development of the immune system and microbiota of the young, but similar effects have not yet been attributed to pigeon ‘milk’. Therefore, using a chicken model, we investigated the effect of pigeon ‘milk’ on immune gene expression in the Gut Associated Lymphoid Tissue (GALT) and on the composition of the caecal microbiota. Chickens fed pigeon ‘milk’ had a faster rate of growth and a better feed conversion ratio than control chickens. There was significantly enhanced expression of immune-related gene pathways and interferon-stimulated genes in the GALT of pigeon ‘milk’-fed chickens. These pathways include the innate immune response, regulation of cytokine production and regulation of B cell activation and proliferation. The caecal microbiota of pigeon ‘milk’-fed chickens was significantly more diverse than control chickens, and appears to be affected by prebiotics in pigeon ‘milk’, as well as being directly seeded by bacteria present in pigeon ‘milk’. Our results demonstrate that pigeon ‘milk’ has further modes of action which make it functionally similar to mammalian milk. We hypothesise that pigeon ‘lactation’ and mammalian lactation evolved independently but resulted in similarly functional products

Pork Quality Assurance Plus™ Program

Pork producers in the United States have developed a new food safety and animal care certification program that builds on the current Pork Quality Assurance (PQA') program. Working with the pork industry's customers, pork producers have created a workable, credible and affordable solution to assure food safety and animal care and at the same time meet the needs of customers including restaurants, food retailers and, ultimately, consumers. The industry's solution is a continuous improvement system focused on producer education and premises assessment, which is called PQA Plus™.</p

Synthesizing Scientific Progress: Outcomes from U.S. EPA’s Carbonaceous Aerosols and Source Apportionment STAR Grants

In response to recommendations by the National Research Council in the late 1990s and early 2000s for critical research into understanding sources and formation mechanisms of PM_2.5, EPA created multiple funding opportunities through the Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program: “Measurement, Modeling, and Analysis Methods for Airborne Carbonaceous Fine Particulate Matter” (2003) and “Source Apportionment of Particulate Matter” (2004). The carbonaceous fine PM solicitation resulted in 16 different projects focusing on the measurement methods, source identification, and exploration of the chemical and physical processes important for PM_2.5 carbon in the atmosphere. The source apportionment funding opportunity led to 11 projects improving tools and characterization of source-receptor relationships of PM_2.5. Many funding mechanisms include a final synopsis of funded research and published manuscripts. Here, this evaluation is extended to include citations of research published as part of these solicitations. These solicitations resulted in 275 publications that included more than 850 unique authors in 37 different journals with a weighted average 2011 impact factor of 4.21. At the time of this assessment, these publications have been cited by 13 612 peer review journal articles with 31 (11%) of the manuscripts being cited over 100 times