Recent developments in the application of nuclear technology in agro-food quality and safety control in China

Having effective control on quality and safety of Chinese agro-food is of global significance due to the massive volume of production and export. Because of the technical advantages, as well as advocation of peaceful use of such technique by international community, nuclear techniques have been widely applied in China for food control purpose. This paper reviewed the recent developments of nuclear technique applications for food traceability (stable isotope analysis on beef, wheat, lamb, tea) and authentication (stable isotope analysis on organic food, apicultural products, camellia oil, orange juice), food contaminant analysis (radio-immunoassay and stable-isotope dilution for drug residues and microbial toxins) and food quality assurance (gamma ray and electron beam irradiation) in China, specifically with an intense discussion upon the first application as the authors believe it will be the most promising nuclear based technique for food quality and safety control. In conclusion, current situation of application was outlined and defects of discussed technologies were identified for future development.     

Advances with intelligent on-line retort control and automation in thermal processing of canned foods

This paper presents a review of recent developments over the past 10 years that have further advanced the state of the art in improving food safety, quality and manufacturing efficiency in the canned food industry worldwide. The review focuses initially on retort control systems, and the various approaches that have been taken to help canned food processors accomplish on-line correction of unexpected process deviations, the major cause of lost productivity. Important features of each approach are discussed, along with suggested industry applications that would be appropriate for each method. The review also describes recent advances in industrial automation, including new retort systems for flexible and semi-rigid retortable packages, and automated materials handling systems for loading and unloading of batch retorts. The review concludes with a discussion of future trends to be expected in the industry.     

Controlling the environmental impact of the food industry: an integral approach

The food industry generates large amounts of solid and liquid wastes and consumes considerable amounts of water. Most of these wastes are biodegradable and putrescible, and may contain valuable resources. The environmental and economic impact of food processing may be high unless effective environmental control systems are in place. Modern environmental control strategies feature efficient waste treatment systems to reduce the environmental impact, as well as measures to minimize waste generation and to maximize resource recovery and upgrading, efficient water conservation, recycling and waste segregation. These key concepts of environmental process integration are reviewed in the context of environmental control in the food industry. Particular attention is paid to environmental auditing as a tool for identification, implementation and control of an environmental management system.     

降膜蒸发研究进展

降膜蒸发广泛用于工业过程的各个领域,如海水淡化、食品加工、造纸等。分析了水平管式、竖直管式以及板式降膜蒸发器中的各种流型,综述了国内外降膜蒸发的研究现状,重点介绍了降膜蒸发器中的传热、传质、干壁现象、波动现象以及分布器对传热的影响,并对现有研究成果进行了总结。全面阐述了降膜蒸发的研究成果,以期有效指导实验研究及生产实践工作。     

Effectiveness of enforcement measures in local food control in Finland

Enforcement measures are an administrative tool used by food control authorities for making food business operators (FBOs) comply with food safety regulations. This study evaluates the effectiveness and uniformity of the use of enforcement measures in local food control units in Finland. The study investigates whether and how rapidly the use enforcement measures leads to compliance with food safety regulations and whether the enforcement processes and their durations vary according to the seriousness of non-compliance. Enforcement decisions were requested from 29 (34%) local food control units, ten of which had used no enforcement measures during the study period. A total of 188 enforcement cases from 19 control units were analysed. The food safety violations were categorized into critical and non-critical, based on their likeliness to directly contribute to food contamination or foodborne outbreaks.The use of enforcement measures led to verified compliance in 87.2% of the violations. However, enforcement measures were used recurrently in 15.7% of the violations, due to repeated violations. The duration of the enforcement processes ranged from one day up to several years. The duration of the enforcement process was significantly shorter in critical violations than in non-critical violations (Mann–Whitney U, p < 0.001).Enforcement measures appear to be an effective way of ensuring that FBOs correct their food safety violations, although the enforcement processes were rather long in some cases and required recurrent enforcement. However, several control units had not used enforcement measures, which may be due to dissimilarities in food control actions. Use of enforcement measures should be uniform among food control authorities and equal for FBOs.     

A situation analysis of the food control systems in Arab Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries

Increased concerns over food safety have led to the adoption of international guidance on the key elements for national food control systems. This guidance had been used to conduct an initial assessment of the status of the food control systems in the countries belonging to the Gulf Cooperation Council. Our research has identified how the countries have been attempting to enhance their food control systems. Although the countries have different approaches to food control management, cooperation is leading to increased harmonization of legislation and food control practices. Progress is being made but there is evidence of some weakness where additional efforts may be needed.     

European developments following incidents with dioxins and PCBs in the food and feed chain

Incidents with dioxins and PCBs have resulted in a strategy within the EU to reduce the exposure of the population to these compounds. Maximum levels were set for food and feed products and criteria were developed for the analytical methods (both confirmatory and screening) used for official control measurements. Ideally, any analysis performed with the aim of comparing the result with the legal limits should be performed according to these criteria. It should also apply to monitoring, performed to estimate human exposure and trend analysis rather than compliance with limits, since risk assessments and EU-policies rely heavily on these data.In recent years, analytical capacity has largely increased to complement the additional testing. In line with the responsibility of producers for the safety of their products, self-control has strongly increased and has played an important role in the discovery of several of the incidents. However, the increased monitoring seems not to have resulted in a clear further decrease in the levels reported for food and feed in the last decade. This may in part be due to a lack of follow up when elevated levels (above action levels) are found, which would lead to a reduction of output from remaining sources. It may also be related to the sensitivity of applied methods and the data collected in databases.This paper reviews the incidents and developments that have taken place within the EU over the last 15 years in the area of dioxins and PCBs, including the role of applying screening and confirmatory methods for achieving the desired further reduction in the levels.     

The rise of inorganic nanomaterial implementation in food applications

The amalgamation of nanoparticles (NPs) with food industry has improved the quality of our lives despite the discovery of some plausible health concerns arising from the inclusion of NPs. Certain physical properties such as fine particle size, high surface area, and high reactivity are the preeminent reasons for the frequent application of NPs in a diversified range of industrial applications. The contribution of inorganic nanomaterials (INMs) is of great significance considering its potential for development of the food industry. Therefore, the toxicological impact on human health causes by INM-associated food applications is an issue currently being addressed. Albeit there being plenteous associations with nanomaterials in the food industry, inclusion of INMs is chiefly found in food packaging. INMs are also used to encapsulate sustenance supplements, develop sensors, or detectors that are utilizable in food applications and to boost the growth of crops. Only a limited number of elements such as Zn, Al, Ti, Au, Ag, Si, Cu, Co, and Fe and/or their derivatives have been documented as possible INMs befitting food applications. Implementation of most INMs is still in the research and development stage, and applications in the food industry are yet to find approval owing to health concerns. In this review recent findings, benefits, detriments, conveniences, and risks that are associated with INMs in food applications are discussed.     

Auditing local official food control: Perceptions of auditors and auditees

We surveyed the perceptions of regional food control officials (auditors) and municipal food control officials (auditees) on food control audits during 2007–2010 in Finland. According to the responses, the perceptions of auditors and auditees differed significantly. The regional officials had experienced the audits as clearly more useful and positive than the municipal officials and also found the current auditing system to be more suitable for evaluating municipal food control. The regional officials did, however, state that the audit results had not been adequately utilized in planning the guidance and education of professionals working in official food control. The municipal officials, in turn, were not satisfied with the expertise of the auditors concerning official food control in practice and did not find the audits very useful. The results suggest that more emphasis should be placed on peer-auditing to enhance the impact of food control audits.     

Evaluating the determinants of public and private costs of local food control

The level of food safety is determined by the actions of the consumers, the food business operators (FBOs) and the authorities that undertake official food control. Food control requires substantial investments by the FBOs as well as by the society, and these investments should be proportionate to the benefits obtained. The aim of this study was to assess the magnitude of economic resources currently invested in food control by the local food control authorities and by the restaurant business operators (RBOs). We also analysed the determinants of the variation in costs and evaluated the implications of the variation for the efficiency and equity of food control. Our results revealed a large variation in the costs, which in relation to the RBOs may in some cases imply risk-based targeting of food control, whereas in relation to the local control units, it may simply lead to unequal treatment of the control objects. The personnel resources (work years devoted to food control) of the local control units varied widely, and there were large differences (at most fourfold difference) in the number of control objects per personnel work year. The units that were found to have high costs had high costs regardless of the measurement unit (cost per work year, cost per control object, cost per inhabitant). Furthermore, larger units were found to have higher costs per work year and per control object. Less food control revenue was collected from control objects in units with a higher number of control objects per inspector. The challenge of management increases with the unit size, and focusing on the management skills and the organizational functionalities of the control units seems necessary.     

Food control in Zimbabwe: A situational analysis

The food control and regulatory system in Zimbabwe is beset by many challenges. The system is fragmented and consists of many entities in the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Agriculture and in local authorities. There are no clear mechanisms to coordinate the activities of these different entities and, in practice, they act independently except in times of a national food safety challenge. This, therefore, makes it difficult to ensure food safety throughout the food chain. Lack of the requisite resources is a major contributory factor to weaknesses in the food control system. In view of the food safety challenges in Zimbabwe, the food control system in the country is currently being reviewed. This paper describes and compares the current system with the proposed food control system as outlined in the draft Food Control Bill 2011. Particular attention is given to the establishment and functions of a Food Control Authority of Zimbabwe which will replace the existing State authorities in the control and regulation of food. The proposed Food Control Bill 2011 has provisions for a coordinated approach to food safety which would strengthen and improve food regulation in Zimbabwe. It includes proposals to bring together all inspection and analytical services under the supervision of one organisation. However the priority given to enhancing the overall supply of food and the lack of resources to develop a modern food control system is leading to continuing delays in implementing an enhanced food control system for food safety and quality.     

Assessment of the food control systems in the Sultanate of Oman

National food control systems are vital tools in governing the safety and quality of food intended for human consumption. This study of the Omani system was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the current food controls in place for protecting, in particular, the public health from emerging biological and chemical hazards. In response to this situation, a survey was undertaken within the different food safety authorities in Oman to examine the different elements of the national food control systems in terms of their existing food control management, food legislation, food inspection, food analysis laboratories and information, education and communications. Officials from the different authorities were interviewed and results were captured in prepared questionnaires. Overall examinations of the challenges, strength and weakness of the existing system have been highlighted. The findings of the study indicate significant progress is being made and the creation by the government of a national Centre for Food Safety and Quality is a significant positive step.     

Implementation of HACCP in food businesses: the way ahead

Food-borne diseases constitute an important public health problem in both developed and developing countries. Although their health and economic aspects are often obscured by insufficiency of data, available evidence on incidence and associated costs of medical care indicates that they are a major cause of morbidity, and a drain on resources. A joint WHO/FAO expert committee on food safety asserts that illness due to contaminated food is probably the most widespread health problem in the contemporary world, and an important cause of reduced economic productivity. Given the inadequacies of traditional approaches to food safety control, viz. inspection and end-product testing, there is a need to apply such other strategy of proven effectiveness as the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) system which has been described as the most viable means for the prevention of food-borne diseases yet devised. While there is an extensive literature suggesting the effectiveness of HACCP in preventing food-borne diseases, food operators have yet to embrace it with the anticipated enthusiasm. This paper examines factors that are likely to hinder wider acceptance and practical implementation of HACCP in food operations and discusses measures to overcome them. It is concluded that HACCP training and education of food operators and food regulatory officials is a conditio sine qua non for the realization of the fullest benefits of the strategy.     

The role of the Hellenic Food Safety Authority in Greece—Implementation strategies

During the last 15 years, a series of food scares and crises (BSE, dioxin, foot and mouth disease) have seriously undermined public confidence in food producers and operators and their capacity to produce safe food. As a result, food safety has become a top priority of the European legislative authorities and systems of national food control have been tightened up and have included the establishment of the European Food Safety Authority. In Greece a law creating the Hellenic Food Safety Authority has been approved. The main objectives of this Authority are to promote the food security to consumers and inform them of any changes or any development in the food and health sector.

The paper reviews the general structure of the current food control system in Greece. It describes the structure and the mission of the Hellenic Food Safety Authority and explains the strategy to carry out inspections and the analysis of the preliminary results of such inspections. Details are also given of the personnel training and certification and accreditation standards to be met by the Authority by the end of 2004.     

New strategies for the use of microbiological examinations in food control in Denmark

The development of the use of microbiological examinations in Danish food control is described. At the end of the millennium an increased number of cases of food-borne disease caused by zoonotic microorganisms necessitated a new strategy. The developments of international concepts and risk analyses procedures have been valuable guides on this route. The organisation of the Danish control structure is described, as well as a summary of the experiences with the new strategy that have been gathered until now.     

Appraisal of lactic acid bacteria as protective cultures

Food industry employs various physical and chemical methods to control fungal contamination of food products. However, many fungal strains are defiant to these techniques as a result of various resistance mechanisms they acquired with time. The synergistic actions of various antimicrobial compounds produced by lactic acid bacteria (LAB) prevent the growth of food spoilage bacteria and fungi. Antimicrobial peptides and phenolic compounds from LAB have been successfully applied in wheat grain preservation against fungi. Bread made from sourdoughs fermented with various LAB strains is found to prevent or delay fungal attack. Apart from the mycotoxin removal, some of these bioactive from LAB have antioxidant and anti-cancer potential and it further enhances nutritional value and safety of food products. This review focuses on recent research developments on the bioactive potential of compounds from LAB as well as the commercially available protective cultures and biopreservatives based on LAB and thus tried to substantiate its status as protective culture.     

Does waiving preventive food control inspections in Finland weaken the prerequisites for safe food handling in restaurants?

Finnish food control authorities waived pre-inspections of food premises in 2011, leaving food business operators to begin operating with no pre-operation food control. This study aims to investigate the effects of this food policy change on the preconditions for Good Hygienic Practices (GHPs) on food premises. Of the 916 food premises that were included in this study, 379 were pre-approved whereas 537 merely notified their operations. The results show that notified food service premises (restaurants) preparing food displayed significantly more non-compliance pertaining to infrastructure than did restaurants pre-approved for food preparation (11.5% and 1.8% of the premises, respectively) (p < 0.05). Significant differences also emerged in the number of premises with non-compliance pertaining to cleaning facilities and equipment, and marked differences in the adequacy of hand and other washing sites. Such instances of non-compliance weaken the preconditions for GHPs. The results suggest that re-introducing pre-inspections of restaurants would strengthen the preconditions for GHPs and possibly provide a model for other countries with similar food control systems.     

Key informants’ perceptions and attitudes towards national food control systems: Evidence from two countries of the Southern African Development Community

This study was carried out to assess perceptions and attitudes of key informants towards national food control systems (NFCSs) in developing countries. Two Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries were selected, namely Botswana and Mauritius. The methodology involved qualitative and quantitative techniques. The qualitative method was an in-depth interview of key informants to identify strengths, weaknesses and improvements relating to the NFCSs. The quantitative method involved the use of a 5 point likert scale where key informants were requested to express their level of agreement with attitude statements pertaining to the NFCS. The participants were twenty-two and twenty key informants from Mauritius and Botswana respectively. Specific and common issues emerged from the key informants’ evaluation of the NFCS in their respective countries. Strengths, weaknesses and improvements perceived by the majority of key informants in Botswana and Mauritius, were identified. Perceived strengths: regulations are based on international standards; analytical services use internationally recognised methods; participation in international meetings related to food control. Perceived weaknesses: the food laws do not cover primary production; food control laboratories are not accredited; food control administration activities are spread across a number of government ministries with overlapping responsibilities; the lack of code of practice and inspection manuals; implementation of HACCP is not required by the law. Proposed improvements: the law should cover primary production; accreditation of food control laboratories; development of enforcement codes of practice; setting up of a Food Control Agency; the law should make HACCP mandatory. The median of responses to attitude statements revealed common trends in key informants’ expressed attitude to most defined NFCS issues. In both countries, most key informants indicated agreement with negative attitude statements and disagreement with positive attitude statements. This research constitutes a starting point for further regional studies to drive harmonisation of NFCSs.     

Food additives: recommendations for harmonization and control

The harmonization of international food standards has been a major objective of the Codex Alimentarius Commission since its creation in 1962. Since then, however, many countries have altered their approach to food legislation and have introduced more extensive food labelling legislation and a reduced level of compositional standards. This change is only slowly being reflected in the work of the Codex Commission. This review, originally written for the Codex Committee on Food Additives and Contaminants, highlights how the work of the Committee and the Codex as a whole needs to take account of these developments. International developments are reviewed and from them certain conclusions are drawn and recommendations provided for the future work of Codex. The problems of additives in the Codex context are specifically addressed and it is recommended that countries should be much more prepared to accept international scientific assessments of the safety of additives. There is also a considerable variation in the evaluation of technological need leading to further differences in the use of additives. Countries must be prepared to accept the varying needs of different countries. Clear recommendations are made for the future work of Codex.     

Restaurant business operators' knowledge of food hygiene and their attitudes toward official food control affect the hygiene in their restaurants

We surveyed the knowledge and attitudes of restaurant business operators (RBOs) with respect to their restaurants' hygiene. A total of 82 RBOs were interviewed and a hygiene evaluation was performed in each of the restaurants by one researcher. Fifty-six food control officials responded to an electronic questionnaire. Based on our results, positive correlations exist between hygiene knowledge of the RBOs, their attitudes toward food hygiene and official food control, and their restaurants' hygiene level. Proper justification of control measures used by food control officials and a negotiative approach appear to be highly important for improving restaurant hygiene.