Assuring Seafood Safety: Contaminants and Residues in Irish Seafood 2004-2008

This report provides an overview on the occurrence of environmental contaminants, such as metals and persistent organic pollutants (POPs), and veterinary residues in Irish seafood. Compliance of seafood (shellfish, crustaceans, wild and farmed finfish) with relevant EC Regulatory Limits for contaminants is examined and an overview of conformance of the aquaculture sector with the requirements of the EC Residues Directive (Dir 96/23/EC) is presented for 2004 - 2008. The contribution of seafood to the dietary intake of certain contaminants for the Irish adult seafood consumer is estimated and the risks of contaminant exposure from seafood consumption are considered in the context of the well established health benefits of seafood consumption

CHEMREP 2022-028

On behalf of the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine (DAFM), the Marine Institute carries out monitoring of chemical residues in finfish for aquaculture sector. This monitoring is set out in the annual National Residue Control Plan, which is approved by the European Commission, and is an important component of the DAFM food safety controls and is implemented under a service contract with the Food Safety Authority of Ireland. Since 1999, the Marine Institute has implemented the National Residues Monitoring Programme for aquaculture. This is carried out on behalf of the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority, which is the responsible organisation for residue controls on farmed finfish. In 2021, in excess of 632 tests and a total of 1,870 measurements were carried out on 120 samples of farmed finfish for a range of residues. Implementation of the Aquaculture 2021 Plan involves taking samples at both farm and processing plant: *80 target samples taken at harvest: 70 farmed salmon and 10 freshwater trout. *40 target samples were taken at other stages of production: 30 salmon smolts and 10 freshwater trout. All 2021 samples were compliant. For target sampling of farmed fish, a summary table of the residue results from 2005 - 2021 is outlined in Table 1. Overall, the outcome for aquaculture remains one of consistently low occurrence of residues in farmed finfish, with no non-compliant target residues results for the period 2006-2014, 0.11% and 0.10% non-compliant target residues results in 2015 and 2016 respectively and no non-compliant target results for the period 2017 to 2021

Association of Accelerometry-Measured Physical Activity and Cardiovascular Events in Mobility-Limited Older Adults: The LIFE (Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders) Study.

BACKGROUND:Data are sparse regarding the value of physical activity (PA) surveillance among older adults-particularly among those with mobility limitations. The objective of this study was to examine longitudinal associations between objectively measured daily PA and the incidence of cardiovascular events among older adults in the LIFE (Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders) study. METHODS AND RESULTS:Cardiovascular events were adjudicated based on medical records review, and cardiovascular risk factors were controlled for in the analysis. Home-based activity data were collected by hip-worn accelerometers at baseline and at 6, 12, and 24 months postrandomization to either a physical activity or health education intervention. LIFE study participants (n=1590; age 78.9±5.2 [SD] years; 67.2% women) at baseline had an 11% lower incidence of experiencing a subsequent cardiovascular event per 500 steps taken per day based on activity data (hazard ratio, 0.89; 95% confidence interval, 0.84-0.96; P=0.001). At baseline, every 30 minutes spent performing activities ≥500 counts per minute (hazard ratio, 0.75; confidence interval, 0.65-0.89 [P=0.001]) were also associated with a lower incidence of cardiovascular events. Throughout follow-up (6, 12, and 24 months), both the number of steps per day (per 500 steps; hazard ratio, 0.90, confidence interval, 0.85-0.96 [P=0.001]) and duration of activity ≥500 counts per minute (per 30 minutes; hazard ratio, 0.76; confidence interval, 0.63-0.90 [P=0.002]) were significantly associated with lower cardiovascular event rates. CONCLUSIONS:Objective measurements of physical activity via accelerometry were associated with cardiovascular events among older adults with limited mobility (summary score >10 on the Short Physical Performance Battery) both using baseline and longitudinal data. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION:URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01072500

The Making of a Journal: Disseminating Research to Inform Practice

Objective: The journal Evidence Based Library and Information Practice (EBLIP) published its first issue in March 2006. The purpose of the journal is to provide a forum for librarians and other information professionals to discover research that may contribute to decision making in professional practice. EBLIP publishes original research and commentary on the topic of evidence based library and information practice, as well as reviews of previously published research (evidence summaries) on a wide number of topics. Setting: EBLIP is an international, peer reviewed, open access journal published quarterly by the University of Alberta Learning Services, using the Open Journal Systems (OJS) Software. Participants: The journal is comprised of an editorial team of four editors, five copyeditors, more than 40 editorial advisory board members, and more than 20 evidence summary team writers. Program: This paper will detail the process of creating a new journal to support evidence based librarianship. The process of establishing the journal and the evolution that occurred over the first year will be discussed. The authors will discuss reasons why the journal was necessary and the various roles of sections and the content within. The importance of open access to the dissemination of this literature will also be discussed. Main Results: By May 2007, EBLIP will have published 5 issues. We will examine the number of submissions to the journal for the first year, topics included, and average turnaround time from submission to publication. Conclusion: With a full year’s publication complete and moving forward into the second year, the editors will reflect on their experience and discuss future directions for EBLIP

Text-Comprehension Strategies Based on Outlines: Immediate and Long-Term Effects

Prior to studying an instructional text, college students were given either a topically relevant outline or a topically irrelevant (control) outline and asked to generate propositions about the topics by drawing upon their existing knowledge. The results indicate that comprehension was highest among those students who activated relevant prior knowledge before text study, and who were again provided with an outline of that knowledge during testing. The measure of comprehension used here was total meaningful recall: It included text propositions plus valid elaborations based on the interaction of text information and students\u27 existing knowledge. The results of conceptual clustering analyses suggest that organization was one of the mechanisms by which topical outlines increased meaningful recall. Additional analyses conducted only on the elaborations indicate that students produced more of them during long-term (six week) recall than during immediate recall

Summary Report on 2020 Residue Monitoring of Irish Farmed Finfish & 2020 Border Inspection Post Fishery Product Testing undertaken at the Marine Institute

As with other farmed animals, farmed finfish can be subject to disease and infestation which can have animal welfare, environmental and commercial implications. Therefore, authorised veterinary medicines and treatments may be used, and sometimes must be used, to control disease and infestation as part of health control plans e.g. antibacterial and antiparasitic treatments. The National Residues Control Plan (NRCP) sets out the monitoring requirements for residues in animal products in accordance with Official Control Regulation 2017/625 and Annexes of Council Directive 96/23/EC of 29 April 1996 on measures to monitor certain substances and residues thereof in animals and animal products. Under EU legislation (Article 19 of Official Control Regulation (EU) 2017/625, each member state is required to implement a residue monitoring plan and to submit their programmes annually to the European Commission for approval. Ireland’s National Residue Control Programme (NRCP) for 2020 was approved by the European Commission. On behalf of the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine (DAFM), the Marine Institute carries out monitoring of chemical residues for aquaculture. The main objectives of the NRCP for Aquaculture are to ensure farmed fish are fit for human consumption, to provide a body of data showing that Irish farmed fish is of high quality, to promote good practices in aquaculture and to comply with Official Control Regulation 2017/625 and Annexes of EU Directive 96/23/EC. In 2020, in excess of 626 tests and a total of 1,888 measurements were carried out on 120 samples of farmed finfish for a range of residues. Implementation of the Aquaculture 2020 Plan involves taking samples at both farm and processing plant: * 80 target samples taken at harvest: 70 farmed salmon and 10 freshwater trout. * 40 target samples were taken at other stages of production: 30 salmon smolts and 10 freshwater trout. All 2020 samples were compliant. For target sampling of farmed fish, a summary table of the residue results from 2005 - 2020 is outlined in Table 1. Overall, the outcome for aquaculture remains one of consistently low occurrence of residues in farmed finfish, with no non-compliant target residues results for the period 2006-2014, 0.11% and 0.10% non-compliant target residues results in 2015 and 2016 respectively and no non-compliant target results for the period 2017 to 2020.Department of Agriculture Food and Marine (DAFM) - Implements the overall residues controls in Ireland Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) - Coordinates the activities of the departments and agencies involved Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) - Ensures compliance with the Directive for finfish aquaculture Marine Institute - Implements the surveillance monitoring programme for farmed fish and is the official laboratory for residue sampling and analysis. The MI is National Reference Laboratory (NRL) for a number of substances in aquaculture DAFM Veterinary Inspectors - Carry out routine on-farm inspections to verify compliance with various regulations including fish health, animal remedies, feedstuffs, et

Risk-based approach to developing a national residue sampling plan for testing under European Union regulation for veterinary medicinal products and coccidiostat feed additives in domestic animal production

<p>A ranking system for veterinary medicinal products and coccidiostat feed additives has been developed as a tool to be applied in a risk-based approach to the residue testing programme for foods of animal origin in the Irish National Residue Control Plan (NRCP). Three characteristics of substances that may occur as residues in food are included in the developed risk ranking system: Potency, as measured by the acceptable daily intake assigned by the European Medicines Agency Committee for Medicinal Products for Veterinary Use, to each substance; Usage, as measured by the three factors of Number of Doses, use on Individual animals or for Group treatment, and Withdrawal Period; and Residue Occurrence, as measured by the number of Non-Compliant Samples in the NRCP. For both Number of Doses and Non-Compliant Samples, data for the 5-year period 2008–12 have been used. The risk ranking system for substances was developed for beef cattle, sheep and goats, pigs, chickens and dairy cattle using a scoring system applied to the various parameters described above to give an overall score based on the following equation: Potency × Usage (Number of Doses + Individual/Group Use + Withdrawal Period) × Residue Occurrence. Applying this risk ranking system, the following substances are ranked very highly: antimicrobials such as amoxicillin (for all species except pigs), marbofloxacillin (for beef cattle), oxytetracycline (for all species except chickens), sulfadiazine with trimethoprim (for pigs and chickens) and tilmicosin (for chickens); antiparasitic drugs, such as the benzimidazoles triclabendazole (for beef and dairy cattle), fenbendazole/oxfendazole (for sheep/goats and dairy cattle) and albendazole (for dairy cattle), the avermectin ivermectin (for beef cattle), and anti-fluke drugs closantel and rafoxanide (for sheep/goats); the anticoccidials monensin, narasin, nicarbazin and toltrazuril (for chickens). The risk ranking system described is a relatively simple system designed to provide a reliable basis for selecting the veterinary medicinal products and coccidiostat feed additives that might be prioritised for residue testing.</p