Notes and News

Headlines: Vatican-Israel; The First International Jewish-Christian Conference; A New Step Towards Religious Liberty in Israe

Adhesion of Pathogenic Bacteria to Food Contact Surfaces: Influence of pH of Culture

The adhesion of Aeromonas hydrophila, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella Enteritidis, and Staphylococcus aureus to hydrophobic and hydrophilic surfaces in cultures with different pHs (6, 7, and 8) was studied. The results indicated that the type of material had no effect on the attachment capacity of microorganisms, while environmental pH influenced the adhesion of A. hydrophila, E. coli, and S. aureus to both solid substrates. The attachment of S. Enteritidis (P > .05) was not affected by the type of substrate or the culture pH, whereas E. coli displayed the weakest affinity for both polystyrene and glass surfaces. No correlation was established between the physicochemical properties of the materials, or the bacterial and the rate of bacterial adhesion, except for S. aureus. Photomicrographs have shown that surfaces were contaminated by small clusters of S. Enteritidis while S. aureus invaded the food contact surfaces in the form of small chains or cell aggregates

VOCs and formaldehyde emissions from cleaning products and air fresheners

International audienceHuman indoor exposure to Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) may be associated with the use of household products. However little is known about their emissions and to what extent they contribute to indoor air pollution. The French Agency for Environmental and Occupational Health Safety (Afsset) conducted tests in order to characterize VOCs emissions from 32 consumer products: air fresheners, glass cleaners, furniture polishes, toilet products, carpet and floor cleaning products. All experiments were conducted by the Scientific and Technical Centre for Building (CSTB) in realistic conditions of use (in emission test chamber or in an experimental house). Results show that the use of consumer products can lead to high indoor VOCs concentrations. Some of them are toxic airborne contaminants. The link between formaldehyde emissions and product compositions is discussed. Finally, formaldehyde concentrations are compared to the indoor air quality guideline value proposed by Afsse