Feature Channels: Food and Water Safety

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Foodborne illnesses spread easily and, as such, are a difficult-to-control problem -- even more so in developing nations. Quick detection can play a critical role in halting the spread of contamination. Traditional detection methods, however, tend to be haltingly slow. Recognizing the need for a real-time biosensing system to detect pathogenic bacteria, a team at Auburn University came up with a novel design, which they describe in the AIP's Journal of Applied Physics.

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Interdisciplinary standards needed for studying antibiotic resistance

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Childhood and infancy factors have been linked to a predisposition to developing Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) infection, the leading cause of health-care associated diarrhea, according to new research being presented at the American College of Gastroenterology’s 78th Annual Scientific Meeting in San Diego, CA.

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What can be done on farms to limit the spread of antibiotic resistant genes?

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As more and more people recognize the importance of the wild relatives of crop plants to agriculture and food security, interest in cataloging and conserving these plants is building around the world. At the annual meetings of the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America on Nov. 3-6, 2013, two speakers will describe the latest efforts to identify and protect the wild relatives of domesticated crop plants both in the United States and abroad.

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Antibiotic resistant (ABR) pathogens are an emerging, critical human health issue. ABR has been found in soils dating back for millennia. Current research illustrates the need for considering natural, background resistance in soils in any scientific study examining the effects of antibiotics on the environment.

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Nationwide, thousands are sickened—some seriously—and many die after consuming mushrooms they picked in the wild that they did not know were poisonous. Rutgers experts explain how to keep people and animals safe.

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IFT spokesperson Christine Bruhn, Director of the Center for Consumer Research at University of California-Davis, dispels some common myths about foodborne illness and gives tips on how to prevent it.

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The scientists responsible for four inventions that affect the lives of millions of people around the globe will be inducted into the highly prized scientific “Hall of Fame” today as the latest Heroes of Chemistry chosen by the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society.

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The Institute of Food Technologists is hosting a live webcast event to officially launch its new Global Food Traceability Center. IFT’s Global Food Traceability Center will bring together key stakeholders in the food system to create the first single, not-for-profit, unbiased scientific entity focused on product tracing.

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A Michigan Technological University water resources engineer is working with experts from 10 other universities across the nation to develop a sustainable model for water resources management in South Florida. It will serve other areas facing similar issues.

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When it comes to back-to-school safety, you cover the basics vigilantly, such as teaching kids to avoid strangers, buckling them in the car and providing appropriate safety gear when they play sports. But have you considered taking as much care when it comes to packing lunch boxes?

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Flouride is added to drinking public drinking water supplies to help reduce the incidence of tooth decay in children, but too much can lead to health issues.

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Hints that a favorite ingredient in Mexican, Southeast Asian and other spicy cuisine may be an inexpensive new way of purifying drinking water are on the menu today at the 246th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society.

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The citrus flavor and aroma of grapefruit — already used in fruit juices, citrus-flavored beverages, and prestige perfumes and colognes — may be heading for a new use in battling mosquitoes, ticks, head lice and bedbugs thanks to a less expensive way of making large amounts of the once rare and pricey ingredient, a scientist said here today at the 246th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society.

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An ambitious partnership among more than 100 organizations and governments led by Procter & Gamble’s nonprofit program, Children’s Safe Drinking Water, has helped provide more than 6 billion quarts of clean drinking water to families in developing countries, saving an estimated 32,000 lives. The talk was given at the 246th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society.

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Nature has provided the food industry with the perfect packages to imitate in the drive to embrace a new genre of sustainable packaging material, according to a presentation on the topic here today. Speaking at the 246th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, Sara Risch, Ph.D., said that new packaging materials must meet the criteria for being sustainable without sacrificing the security, freshness and visibility of the food inside.

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The scientist who turned fresh-cut apple slices into a popular convenience food, available ready-to-eat in grocery stores, school cafeterias and fast-food restaurants, today described advances in keeping other foods fresh, flavorful, and safe for longer periods of time through the use of invisible, colorless, odorless, tasteless coatings. The overview of these edible films was part of the 246 National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society.

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The first study under realistic field conditions has found reassuringly low levels of chemicals from pharmaceuticals and personal care products in crops irrigated with recycled sewage water, scientists reported here today at the 246th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society.

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The diets of people in North America shed almost 1.5 billion pounds of unhealthy saturated and trans fat over the last six years thanks to a new phase in the agricultural revolution, an expert said here today. In an interview before his address at the 246th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, Daniel Kittle, Ph.D., cited the achievement as part of an expanded mission for agricultural science and biotechnology.

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“Don’t wash your chicken!” This dramatic exclamation punctuated with a sound of shattering glass punctuates each of four short video stories released by food safety researchers. The sound signifies the shattering of the commonly held illusion that washing raw chicken prior to cooking is safe, or even prevents food-borne illness. In fact, the opposite is true, according to food safety researcher Dr. Jennifer Quinlan, an associate professor at Drexel University, who helped develop the “Don’t Wash Your Chicken” campaign.

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Food poisoning causes 48 million illnesses in the U.S. each year, and most recently more than 300 Midwesterners were sickened by an outbreak of cyclospora, a foodborne pathogen. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics encourages everyone to reduce their risk with simple safety steps from www.HomeFoodSafety.org and by downloading the free Is My Food Safe? mobile app.

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A seafood contaminant that thrives in brackish water during the summer works like a spy to infiltrate cells and quickly open communication channels to sicken the host, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center report.

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Michigan Tech scientist Jaroslaw Drelich has found a new way to stop dangerous bacteria like E.coli before they attack. He embeds copper nanoparticles into vermiculite, an inexpensive, inert compound. Copper has been known for centuries for its antibiotic properties.

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July is National Picnic Month and many of us are headed outdoors to celebrate this summer ritual. As food heats up in warmer temperatures, bacteria can multiply rapidly.

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Seafood continues to be a proven strong nutrient-rich food providing essential vitamins, minerals and omega-3 fatty acids, but consumers and some toxicologists still keep a watchful eye on safety, according to a July 16 panel discussion at the 2013 Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Annual Meeting & Food Expo® held at McCormick Place.

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Today’s global food supply chain has become increasingly complex as companies seek greater efficiencies to feed the world’s growing population. Product tracing has emerged as a critical tool for increasing the transparency of the attributes and origin of food products―from farm to processing to retail and food service, or to the family table.

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) needs full cooperation at every step of the manufacturing and distribution process to ensure food imported into the United States complies with the same safety standards as domestic food, according to a panel discussion at the 2013 Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Annual Meeting & Expo®.

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A special section in the Journal of Environmental Quality details the challenges China faces today in managing nutrient losses from crop and livestock production, and how the country must shift from a sole focus on food security to a triple emphasis on food security, efficient use of resources, and environmental protection.

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NAS awards a three-year, $271,930 grant to chemist Vincent Rotello to develop, test and deploy sensitive new reliable and affordable inkjet-printed, nanoparticle-based test strips for detecting pathogenic bacteria in drinking water, with research collaborators in Pakistan.

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A new study in PLOS ONE that examined food poisoning infection as-it-happens in mice revealed harmful bacteria, such as a common type of Salmonella, takes over beneficial bacteria within the gut amid previously unseen changes to the gut environment. The results provide new insights into the course of infection and could lead to better prevention or new treatments.

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America’s beaches experienced over 20,000 closing and advisory days for the third consecutive year because of polluted water or threatened contamination, according to the 23rd annual beachwater quality report released today by the Natural Resources Defense Council. Over 80 percent of the closings and advisories were issued because testing revealed bacteria levels in the water violated public health standards, confirming that serious water pollution persists at many U.S. shores. The primary known cause of this pollution is massive stormwater runoff and sewage.

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Al fresco dining is one of the great pleasures of warm weather. Whether you’re hosting a neighborhood barbecue or an intimate dinner party on your deck, outdoor dining is a great way to savor good food, company and the great outdoors. To ensure your meals are safe and enjoyable, it’s important to know how to prepare, transport and store food for outdoor eating.

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Like a stealthy enemy, blast disease invades rice crops around the world, killing plants and cutting production of one of the most important global food sources. Now, a study by an international team of researchers sheds light on how the rice blast fungus, Magnaporthe oryzae, invades plant tissue. The finding is a step toward learning how to control the disease, which by some estimates destroys enough rice to feed 60 million people annually.

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E. coli that produce a toxin dangerous to humans may survive longer in water than benign counterparts, a new study finds.The findings have implications for water quality testing, suggesting that a lake's overall E. coli population may be a poor indicator of danger.

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When it comes to technology and the future of food, the pessimists are wrong.

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New technology uses directional microwaves delivered at varying doses and intensities in order to target disease-causing microorganisms in food, water and even fabric, with great precision.

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Al fresco dining is one of the great pleasures of warm weather. Whether you’re hosting a neighborhood barbecue or an intimate dinner party on your deck, outdoor dining is a great way to savor good food, company and the great outdoors. To ensure your meals are safe and enjoyable, it’s important to know how to prepare, transport and store food for outdoor eating. The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) offers some advice for safely handling food when you’re dining outdoors this summer.

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It's time to kick off outdoor grilling season but before that first juicy bite, there are a few things to know about barbequing safely. Experts at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute explain how to enjoy healthy grilling.

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Chickens likely raised with arsenic-based drugs result in chicken meat that has higher levels of inorganic arsenic, a known carcinogen, according to a new study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future at the Bloomberg School of Public Health.

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Harsh Bais and Janine Sherrier of the University of Delaware’s Department of Plant and Soil Sciences are studying whether a naturally occurring soil bacterium, referred to as UD1023 because it was first characterized at the University, can create an iron barrier in rice roots that reduces arsenic uptake.

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A research project at Indiana State University into Capri Sun has found five types of fungus.

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North America isn’t known as a hotspot for crop plant diversity, yet a new inventory has uncovered nearly 4,600 wild relatives of crop plants in the United States, including close relatives of globally important food crops such as sunflower, bean, sweet potato, and strawberry.