Pre-requisites: a help or a hindrance to HACCP?

Formal pre-requisite programmes are increasingly and successfully used to support the implementation of HACCP in food processing. However, in many areas there is a lack of understanding of the pre-requisites concept, and even a fear in some sectors that pre-requisites might dilute the strength of HACCP, making it a less effective food safety control mechanism. This paper explores the concept of pre-requisite programmes and discusses whether they are of benefit to the HACCP approach or whether food safety is best managed through the HACCP plan alone, concluding that they are an essential element in the task of developing simple, effective HACCP systems     

Efficiency of a reheating step to inactivate Clostridium perfringens vegetative cells: How to measure it?

Clostridium perfringens is responsible for foodborne diseases often associated with processed meats in institutions. This study investigated the behavior of C. perfringens in beef-in-sauce products in a French hospital. In the studied process, the final reheating step makes the inactivation of C. perfringens vegetative cells possible. The aim of this study was thus to combine microbial, thermal and dose response modeling to propose, for this reheating step, three new control measures which are as efficient as current French regulation while also being easier to apply. These measures were based on thermal process duration (DA53), final temperature in food (FTF) and sum of temperatures-minutes above 53 °C (ST53) required to achieve food safety. A criterion was defined to describe the ability of the proposed control measures to lower the risk of foodborne illness related to the consumption of products with high populations of C. perfringens vegetative cells before reheating.To estimate acceptable values of DA53, FTF and ST53, variability and uncertainty were taken into account separately. A two dimensional Monte Carlo simulation enabled the definition of 14 measure thresholds which made sure with a 97.5% confidence that less than 20%, 10% or 5% of exposed consumers in a specified population would experience diarrhea. The three proposed control measures, single and combined, were then compared by estimating the duration required to reach control measure thresholds. This required duration differs significantly from a control measure to the other, with the lowest duration for the combination of FTF and DA53.     

Salmonella in table eggs from farm to retail – When is cooling required?

Storage time and temperature are known to be important factors in determining Salmonella growth in table eggs. It is assumed that growth of Salmonella within eggs starts when the egg yolk membrane breaks down, allowing Salmonella to enter and grow. The length of time for which the yolk membrane remains intact is time and temperature dependent.The present study addresses the question whether the current legal requirement in Germany to cool table eggs marketed 18 days after laying needs to be updated. Detailed data on the current storage and transport conditions in Germany were collected. On the basis of these data, typical combinations of temperature and time were selected. For these different time-temperature scenarios, the consequences regarding the probability of growth of Salmonella Enteritidis inside the eggs were calculated. A probabilistic model consisting of nine modules reflecting storage/transport stages from farm to retail in Germany was used to calculate whether the yolk membrane remains intact during the individual steps. Growth of Salmonella was simulated without cooling (room temperature) as well as with two different cooling scenarios (4–6 °C and 8–12 °C), which are temperature ranges used in Germany by various retailers. Simulations of these scenarios resulted in relative low numbers of eggs with Salmonella growth until purchase (89 out of 50,000 eggs in the uncooled scenario, 10 out of 50,000 eggs stored at 8–12 °C and 5 out of 50,000 eggs stored at 4–6 °C). These results show that for an average egg trading time of 7.5 days, as was observed for Germany, the probability for the consumer to purchase eggs where no Salmonella growth has started and yolk membrane integrity still exists is high. However, the model supports the necessity for egg cooling after the yolk membrane integrity time is exhausted. Furthermore, the model shows clearly that cooling will extend the time period before the egg yolk membrane breaks down. According to our results, the requirement to cool eggs from the 18th day onwards after laying, as required by legislation in Germany, is reasonable, as it matches the time point of the yolk membrane breakdown for the average egg kept at 18–20 °C. Therefore, continuation of this regulation is strongly supported.     

China to Be a Big Producer of Natural Gas

China has gained fruitful results in scientific and technical research of natural gas. Up to the present, the proven reserves of natural gas in China reached 438,168 million cubic meters or more. 32 big gasfields have been discovered, of which 7 gasfields with the reserves over 100 billion cubic meters each have been determined and 6 gas provinces have been set up initially; in addition, and important breakthrough has also been made in Songliao Basin. According to the statistics, the annual output of natural gas is 40.77 billion cubic meters and it will break 50 billion cubic meters at the end of this year, reflecting China is striding toward to the big producer of natural gas in the world. The annual gas output in China is expected to reach 85 billion cubic meters by 2010 and exceed 100 billion cubic meters before 2015. The important progresses have been made in both natural gas geologic and exploration theories, and meanwhile big breakthroughs have been achieved in many aspects, such as the hydrocarbon derived from coal beds （natural gas is predominant associated with oil）, geochemistry, geologic feature of gas reservoir and reservoiring theory, and the distribution regularities and exploration direction of large gasfields.     

Huludao of Liaoning Province to Construct a 100kt/a TDI Project

China Weaponry Industry Corporation and Liaoning HuludaoMunicipal Government had clinched an agreement on Octo-ber 17, 2004 to cooperate in construction of a TDI project.Both sides intended to construct a 100 kt/a TDI project. Thesize of first phase project will be 50 kt/a TDI with a totalinvestment of 960 million RMB. The construction of thisproject will be commenced in April 2005 and startup of theunit is slated for the end of 2006. By that time Huludao citywill become a chemical…     

Time to seriously consider optional third-party clearing of FTRs?

Since the launch of the first auction for Financial Transmission Rights (FTRs) 1 in 1999, the Independent System Operator (ISO)-conducted FTR markets have seen tremendous growth. Six ISOs—CAISO, ERCOT, ISO-NE, MISO, NYISO, and PJM—now offer FTRs as a way to hedge exposure to the congestion charges that emerge when out-of-merit generators are dispatched during periods of transmission grid congestion. Over time, many ISOs have increased the variety of terms available for FTRs, allowing participants to purchase FTRs years in advance. Financial participants have increasingly joined the FTR markets as well, providing useful liquidity.     

Revamping of Yangzi 1050 kt／a PTA Planl to Be Started

A new round of revamping of Yangzi Petrochemical Companyis PTA plant will start based on market demand and production status. This round of revamping will be based on the technical achievements in revamping 600 kt/a PTA plant and a new 450 kt/a production line will be added by adopting advanced technology and experience at home and abroad to     

Is Capacity Oversupply Too Much of a Good Thing?

Capacity oversupply can inhibit the grid from embracing nimble, flexible, and customer-friendly technologies. Oversupply brings down energy prices for generators while imposing excess total costs on consumers.¹     

The Conversion of a Boron-Containing Pyrotechnic Mix to a “Ceramic-Like” Material by Electron Beam Interaction

The transformation of a boron-containing pyrotechnic mix to a “ceramic” vitreous-like material by the impingement of an electron beam on a boron-barium chromate pyrotechnic, in a scanning electron microscope, is reported. The thickness of the “ceramic”-like material is ×250 the penetration depth for the electron beam and indicates that a self-sustaining chemical reaction was induced by interaction of the energetic material with the electron beam at temperatures well below the mix's ignition temperature of over 1000?°C. This links with earlier observations on the low-temperature liquefaction of boron to boron suboxides in an electron microscope.     

Styrene Company of Taiwan Province to Construct 200 kt／a Styrene Unit

The Styrene Company of Taiwan Province plans to construct a 200 kt/a SM (styrene monomer) unit in mainland China,and the plant site will depend on feedstock supply, possibly in Shanghai Chemical Industry Park or Quanzhou Petrochemical Zone.     

Capacity of PTA Unit Expanded to 400 kt／a at Shanghai Petrochemical Company

SINOPEC Shanghai Petrochemical Company has declared to expand the existing 280 kt/a PTA unit at Jinshan plant to 400 kt/a, while intending to construct an aromatics unit at the same site. The first phase construction of the PTA expansion project will be completed in the fourth quarter of 2004, and the construction of the second phase PTA expansion project will be implemented in the second quarter of 2005 during turnaround of equipment. The newly increased PTA product will be fed to the new 150 kt/a polyester chip unit.     

Cook-serve method in mass catering establishments: Is it still appropriate to ensure a high level of microbiological quality and safety?

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the hygienic quality of three traditional “cook-serve” catering establishments in Lombardy, Italy (with an output ranging from 800 to 1700 meals a day), by monitoring the microbiological quality and safety of foods ready for consumption (n = 727), tap water (n = 32), microfiltered drinking water (n = 28), food contact surfaces (n = 280), and food handlers (n = 76). The food contact surfaces showed unacceptable contamination in 17.1% of samples. The hygienic level of the washed hands of food workers was very high, since only 1.3% of samples showed unacceptable contamination. Food sample analyses highlighted a percentage of samples that did not conform to microbial reference standards: the presence of Listeria monocytogenes was found in 11.5% of “soft cheese” samples. Staphylococcus aureus non-conforming percentages ranged from 2.2% for “first and second courses” to 34.6% for “soft cheeses”; Escherichia coli, from 2.7% for “raw vegetables” to 7.7% for “soft cheeses”; total coliforms from 6.7% for “first and second courses” to 76.4% for “raw vegetables”. The results of the water analysis indicated a high frequency of contamination with Pseudomonas aeruginosa (21.4% for microfiltered drinking water and 21.9% for tap water samples). In conclusion, the results suggest that more effort should be made in the application of HACCP principles. In addition in order to ensure a higher level of microbiological safety of meals, various changes in the timing of food preparation and holding temperatures are needed.     

Shandong Yanzhou Mining Group to Invest in Construction of 500kt/a Methanol Unit

The Shandong Yanzhou Mining Group will invest 2.145 bil-lion RMB in a 500-kt/a methanol unit in Zhoucheng,Shandong.which will apply advanced production technology using itsown high-sulfur coal as the starting material.This projecthas been listed as one of major key construction projects ofShandong province in 2005.The construction duration will     

The Greening of Fossil Fuels——Absolutely essential to a sustainable development of the entire world in the future

Over the last 20 years, it has gradually become clear that the emission of greenhouse gases constitutes a serious environmental problem for the global society. One of such gases is carbon dioxide （CO2）. At present about 25000 million tons of CO2 from fossil fuels is released into the atmosphere annually. This will increase in the foreseeable future with the increase in demand for energy. The use of fossil fuels from oil, gas and coal comprises about 33 percent of the global energy supply. It is clear that consumption of fossil-based energy will continue to grow and dominate the energy picture in several decades. One obvious challenge then is how we can moderate and gradually reduce the amount of CO2 released into the earth＇s atmosphere on a basis of the current emission. Electricity production from coal and gas will be our special concern.     

Poultry marketing controls – Inter-laboratory validation of a method to detect previously frozen chicken breasts by determination of HADH activity

EU poultry marketing legislation requires that poultry be marketed either as fresh (chilled) poultry or as frozen (or quick-frozen) poultry. It is not permitted to market poultry which has been previously frozen as if it were fresh. A robust analytical method that is capable of distinguishing between fresh and previously frozen poultry is therefore required for the enforcement of the legislation. A method to detect whether poultry and other meats have been previously frozen was developed and validated by an earlier collaborative study in 1997. The method is based on measuring the HADH activity of intracellular juice pressed from the test samples. The ratio of the HADH activity of sub-samples tested before and after laboratory freezing is compared to a reference cut-off limit, to determine whether the sample has previously been frozen. In a subsequent study in 2010, improvements were made to the analytical procedure and a revised cut-off limit for chicken of 0.5 was determined. The aim of the current study was to validate the improved analytical procedure and the revised cut-off value for chicken via a collaborative trial with 12 European NRLs and 12 UK OCLs. Each laboratory was asked to analyse 24 chicken breast samples and to use the results to determine their thermal history (chilled or previously frozen) according to the SOP provided. All samples were supplied as chilled blind samples. The results of the study showed inter-laboratory variation between the results obtained for chilled and for previously frozen chicken breasts, however despite this, almost all of the samples were correctly identified and reported in terms of their thermal history. Although some reduction in the analytical variability of the method would be beneficial, the results confirmed the suitability of the method and the revised cut-off limit of 0.5 for the official control of marketing of chicken breasts within the EU.     

Viability of the etiologic agent of the Lethargic Crab Disease, Exophiala cancerae, during cooking of the mangrove-land crab: Does this traditional dish represent a risk to humans?

One of the most typical seafood dishes in the Brazilian coastal areas is the cooked mangrove-land crab, Ucides cordatus (L.). Mortality events of U. cordatus were reported from a large extension for over 15 years, especially in the Northeast region. These mortalities are known to be triggered by an epizooty known as Lethargic Crab Disease, for which the putative etiological agent is a new species of black yeast, Exophiala cancerae De Hoog, Vicente, Najafzadeh, Harrak, Seyedmousavi, & Boeger. Although there is no compelling evidence that this fungus may represent a zoonosis, there is great public concern regarding consumption of crabs from affected regions. Thus, this study evaluates the efficiency of cooking procedures on the inactivation of the etiologic agent. The variation of the internal temperature of crabs and tests of the activity of E. cancerae to temperature under simulated cooking condition were determined and the results were analyzed combined. The results indicate that crab’s core body attains the boiling water temperature about an average of 14 min after exposition. Furthermore, short intervals of exposure (30 s) to such boiling temperatures were sufficient to warrant inactivation of E. cancerae. Thus, the traditional mode of preparation of the mangrove-land crab is sufficient to inactivate the pathologic agent and the consumption of sick or carrier animals should not represent a potential public health risk.