CERTIFICATION REPORT Certified reference materials for testing of the presence/absence of Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxin A (SEA) in cheese: IRMM-359a-c

This report describes the preparation of three cheese powder matrix reference materials (IRMM-359a-c) and their certification for testing of the presence/absence of Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxin A (SEA). Raw milk cheese was decrusted, cut into cubes, chopped in a kitchen-type food processor for a short time, freeze-dried, cryogenically milled, and mixed (blank material IRMM-359a). Moreover, a second portion of raw milk cheese was decrusted and cut into cubes. After addition of water and spiking with a solution of SEA, the sample was homogenised using a high-speed grinder (Ultra-Turrax). The cheese slurry was freeze-dried, cryogenically milled and mixed with blank cheese powder to obtain the two SEA-containing materials at SEA target levels of 0.1 and 0.25 ng/g cheese, respectively (IRMM-359b, IRMM-359c). Between unit-homogeneity was quantified and stability during dispatch and storage were assessed in accordance with ISO Guide 35:2006. The minimum sample intake is 15.1 g cheese powder (representing 25 g of cheese after reconstitution) per replicate analysis (n=5), as stipulated in Commission Regulation 1441/2007, and therefore no dedicated study on the minimum sample intake was performed. The reference material was characterised in an interlaboratory comparison of laboratories of demonstrated competence and adhering to ISO/IEC 17025 and using the European Screening Method with the VIDAS SET2 and the Ridascreen SET Total for detection (further on named ESM/VIDAS and ESM/Ridascreen, respectively) [4]. Technically invalid results were removed, but no outlier was eliminated on statistical grounds only. Certified values are reported as probability of detection and expressed as either diagnostic specificity (ratio of true negatives divided by the sum of true negatives and false positives) for the blank material, or diagnostic sensitivity (ration of true positives divided by the sum of true positives and false negatives) for the SEA-containing materials. Uncertainties for homogeneity and stability were estimated, but not used for an uncertainty budget due to the nature of the certified values (presence/absence certification). Instead, the certified values are expressed as intervals with a 95% level of confidence. The preparation and processing of the material, homogeneity and stability studies, and the characterisation are described hereafter and the results are discussed.JRC.D.2-Standards for Innovation and sustainable Developmen

Insight Into the Distribution of Staphylococci and Their Enterotoxins in Cheeses Under Natural Conditions

Staphylococcal food poisoning outbreaks are a major cause of food-borne illness in the European Union and their notification has been mandatory since 2005. Criteria for the enumeration of coagulase-positive Staphylococci (CPS) and the detection of staphylococcal enterotoxins (SEs) in cheese have been set down in Commission Regulation EC 2073/2005. Currently, few information are available about the distribution of SEs in naturally contaminated cheeses, including raw-milk and artisanal dairy products. The aim of this study was therefore to investigate at both the CPS enumeration and the succession of the enterotoxigenic Staphylococcus aureus and produced enterotoxins levels on the rind and the core of a raw-milk semi-hard cheese, produced on farm. The study has been conducted in three steps: (I) seven wheels at different time of ripening where tested for the presence of SEs. (II) from each wheel, four portions were subsequently sampled from four different areas (peripheral rind, central rind, peripheral core and central core). (III) two cheese wheels, characterized by the highest and lowest CPS numbers and SEs quantification, based on the second step of the study, were further analyzed. A significant difference has been observed in the distribution of CPS and SEs in the four areas sampled, irrespectively of the batch and the time of ripening. The results of this study provided a set of previously unknown information on the influence of natural conditions on the distribution of CPS and SEs thereof in the cheese matrix, filling a gap in the understanding of SEs biosynthesis process

A pan-European epidemiological study reveals honey bee colony survival depends on beekeeper education and disease control

Reports of honey bee population decline has spurred many national efforts to understand the extent of the problem and to identify causative or associated factors. However, our collective understanding of the factors has been hampered by a lack of joined up trans-national effort. Moreover, the impacts of beekeeper knowledge and beekeeping management practices have often been overlooked, despite honey bees being a managed pollinator. Here, we established a standardised active monitoring network for 5 798 apiaries over two consecutive years to quantify honey bee colony mortality across 17 European countries. Our data demonstrate that overwinter losses ranged between 2% and 32%, and that high summer losses were likely to follow high winter losses. Multivariate Poisson regression models revealed that hobbyist beekeepers with small apiaries and little experience in beekeeping had double the winter mortality rate when compared to professional beekeepers. Furthermore, honey bees kept by professional beekeepers never showed signs of disease, unlike apiaries from hobbyist beekeepers that had symptoms of bacterial infection and heavy Varroa infestation. Our data highlight beekeeper background and apicultural practices as major drivers of honey bee colony losses. The benefits of conducting trans-national monitoring schemes and improving beekeeper training are discussed

Biographical dictionary of Japanese history. Supervising éd. : Seiichi Iwao. Transl. : Burton Watson

Mutel Jacques. Biographical dictionary of Japanese history. Supervising éd. : Seiichi Iwao. Transl. : Burton Watson. In: Revue française d'histoire d'outre-mer, tome 65, n°241, 4e trimestre 1978. pp. 639-641

Boscaro (Adriana) : Sixteenth century European printed works on the first Japanese mission to Europe, a descriptive bibliography

Mutel Jacques. Boscaro (Adriana) : Sixteenth century European printed works on the first Japanese mission to Europe, a descriptive bibliography. In: Revue française d'histoire d'outre-mer, tome 65, n°239, 2e trimestre 1978. p. 298

Reischauer (Edwin O.) : Histoire du Japon et des Japonais. T. I : Des origines à 1945. T. II : De 1945 à 1970. Trad. de Richard Dubreuil

Mutel Jacques. Reischauer (Edwin O.) : Histoire du Japon et des Japonais. T. I : Des origines à 1945. T. II : De 1945 à 1970. Trad. de Richard Dubreuil. In: Revue française d'histoire d'outre-mer, tome 61, n°225, 4e trimestre 1974. pp. 631-632

Biographical dictionary of Japanese history. Supervising éd. : Seiichi Iwao. Transl. : Burton Watson

Mutel Jacques. Biographical dictionary of Japanese history. Supervising éd. : Seiichi Iwao. Transl. : Burton Watson. In: Revue française d'histoire d'outre-mer, tome 65, n°241, 4e trimestre 1978. pp. 639-641

Rfischaufr (Edwin O.), Histoire du Japon et des Japonais, t. I : Des origines à 1945 ; t. Il : De 1945 à 1970, traduit par Richard Dubreuil

Mutel Jacques. Rfischaufr (Edwin O.), Histoire du Japon et des Japonais, t. I : Des origines à 1945 ; t. Il : De 1945 à 1970, traduit par Richard Dubreuil. In: Revue belge de philologie et d'histoire, tome 54, fasc. 2, 1976. Histoire (depuis l'Antiquité) — Geschiedenis (sedert de Oudheid) pp. 694-695

Rfischaufr (Edwin O.), Histoire du Japon et des Japonais, t. I : Des origines à 1945 ; t. Il : De 1945 à 1970, traduit par Richard Dubreuil

Mutel Jacques. Rfischaufr (Edwin O.), Histoire du Japon et des Japonais, t. I : Des origines à 1945 ; t. Il : De 1945 à 1970, traduit par Richard Dubreuil. In: Revue belge de philologie et d'histoire, tome 54, fasc. 2, 1976. Histoire (depuis l'Antiquité) — Geschiedenis (sedert de Oudheid) pp. 694-695