基于区块链的食品安全溯源体系设计

近年来,食品安全案件屡次发生,亟需采用安全、可信、透明的食品安全溯源系统来加强对食品产业链的监管效率,提高食品安全水平,保障国民饮食健康;而目前的食品溯源系统主要面临着信息采集不标准、数据存储不安全、中心系统易受攻击和企业间信息交换过程隐私不能保障等问题。区块链技术具有分布式容错、不可篡改与隐私保护的特点,可以针对性地解决目前食品溯源系统中面临的问题。基于区块链的食品安全溯源系统通过技术架构的分析,提出将区块链恰当植入食品溯源体系的方案,即区块链技术应用于系统的数据库层与通信层,并对采用方案后的食品溯源体系的运行机制进行分析,结合具体应用场景与实际案例来论证设计方案的有效性。     

食品供应链管理新趋势——ISO22000将会如何影响食品行业

<正>ISO22000作为食品安全管理体系的 最新国际标准,目的在于保证整个食物 供应链中没有疏漏。由于整个供应链中, 食品被污染的情况可能出现在任何一个 环节上,因此对食物供应链安全的充分 控制则是食品安全的重中之重。     

The TraceFood Framework – Principles and guidelines for implementing traceability in food value chains

Requirements related to food safety and associated legislation and certification have increased a lot in recent years. Among these are the requirements for systematic recordings to be made throughout the supply chain so that in case of a food crisis it is possible to trace back to source of contamination, and to perform a targeted recall of potentially affected food items. These systematic recordings must be connected to the food items through unique identifiers, and the recordings, the identifiers and the documentation of how ingredients and food items join or split up as they move through the supply chain is what constitutes a traceability system. For the food industry, the traceability system is also an important tool for controlling and optimizing production, for getting better industrial statistics and better decisions, and for profiling desirable product characteristics. Current status is that many food producers have good, often electronic traceability systems internally, but exchange (especially electronic exchange) of information between the links in the supply chain is very time-consuming or difficult due to the diversity and proprietary nature of the respective internal systems. To facilitate electronic interchange of this type of data, an international, non-proprietary standard is needed; one that describes how messages can be constructed, sent and received and also how the data elements in the messages should be identified, measured and interpreted. The TraceFood Framework was designed for this purpose, and it contains recommendations for “Good Traceability Practice”, common principles for unique identification of food items, a common generic standard for electronic exchange of traceability information (TraceCore XML), and sector-specific ontologies where the meaning and the inter-relationship of the data elements is defined. The TraceFood Framework is a joint collaboration of many EU-funded projects dealing with traceability of food products; especially the integrated project TRACE where most of the work related to specification, design and testing of the framework has taken place.     

Mathematically assessing the consequences of food terrorism scenarios

We derive mathematical expressions for the mean number of casualties resulting from a deliberate release of a biological or chemical agent into a food supply chain. Our analysis first computes the amount of contaminated food as a function of the network topology and vessel sizes in the food processing plant. A probabilistic analysis, in which each potential consumer of contaminated food has his own random purchase time, infectious dose, and incubation period, determines the number of people who consume enough tainted food to get infected or poisoned before the attack is detected and food consumption is halted. These simple formulas can be used by the U.S. government and the food industry to develop a rough-cut prioritization of the threats from food terrorism, which would be a 1st step toward the allocation of appropriate prevention and mitigation resources.     

Food Safety Crisis Management—A Comparison between Germany and the Netherlands

In order to prevent food safety incidents from becoming a crisis, a good crisis management structure is essential. The aim of the current study was to compare and evaluate the national food incident response plans of 2 neighboring EU Member States: Germany and the Netherlands. This revealed that the structure of these plans is comparable, starting with initial alerting, assessment of the problem, upscaling, an execution phase and finally an evaluation of the crisis management. However, the German communication structure is more complex than the Dutch one and cross‐border communication between both countries is currently limited. In general, the presence of national response plans does not guarantee a good and swift response to a food safety incident as this is often hampered by difficulties in tracing the source of the problem as well as difficulties in communication between organizations involved in crisis management. A timely detection can be improved through the development of fast screening and detecting systems and through combining various data sources using computer software systems. Mutual cooperation and communication can be improved through joint exercises or projects. This will help to streamline communication toward consumers and trade partners. Such communication should be transparent relaying not only the facts but also the uncertainties in a crisis in order to gain consumer trust and safeguard international trade.     

Modelling pH evolution and lactic acid production in the growth medium of a lactic acid bacterium: application to set a biological TTI

Time temperature integrators or indicators (TTIs) are effective tools making the continuous monitoring of the time temperature history of chilled products possible throughout the cold chain. Their correct setting is of critical importance to ensure food quality. The objective of this study was to develop a model to facilitate accurate settings of the CRYOLOG biological TTI, TRACEO. Experimental designs were used to investigate and model the effects of the temperature, the TTI inoculum size, pH, and water activity on its response time. The modelling process went through several steps addressing growth, acidification and inhibition phenomena in dynamic conditions. The model showed satisfactory results and validations in industrial conditions gave clear evidence that such a model is a valuable tool, not only to predict accurate response times of TRACEO, but also to propose precise settings to manufacture the appropriate TTI to trace a particular food according to a given time temperature scenario.     

A review of Canadian and international food safety systems: Issues and recommendations for the future

In January 2019, the Safe Food for Canadians Act/Safe Food for Canadians regulations (heretofore identified as SFCR) came into force across Canada and brought a more streamlined process to food safety practice in Canada. Food trade and production processes have evolved rapidly in recent decades, as Canada imports and exports food products; therefore it is critically important to remain aware of the latest advances responding to a range of challenges and opportunities in the food safety value chain. Looking through the optics of the recent SFCR framework, this paper places the spotlight on leading domestic and international research and practices to help strengthen food safety policies of the future. By shedding some light on new research, we also draw attention to international developments that are noteworthy, and place those in context as to how new Canadian food safety policy and regulation can be further advanced. The paper will benchmark Canada through a review study of food safety best practices by juxtaposing (i) stated aspirations with, (ii) actual performance in leading Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) jurisdictions.     

Emerging DNA-based technologies to characterize food ecosystems

Food safety and quality depend on raw material characteristics and on the chemical, physical and biotechnological processes adopted during food transformation. Since a huge number of microorganisms are involved in food production, foodstuffs should be considered as complex matrices where any microbial component has a precise role and evolves in response to physical and chemical composition of food. Moreover, knowing the dynamics of microbial community involved in a food supply chain it is useful to reduce food spoilage, enhance the industrial processes and extend product shelf-life. In a more comprehensive vision, a precise understanding of the metabolic activity of microorganisms can be used to drive biotransformation steps towards the improvement of quality and nutritional value of food. High Throughput Sequencing (HTS) technologies are nowadays an emerging and widely adopted tool for microbial characterization of food matrices. Differently from traditional culture-dependent approaches, HTS allows the analysis of genomic regions of the whole biotic panel inhabiting and constituting food ecosystems. Our intent is to provide an up-to-date review of the principal fields of application of HTS in food studies. In particular, we devoted major attention to the analysis of food microbiota and to the applied implications deriving from its characterization in the principal food categories to improve biotransformation processes.     

Risk assessment of malicious biocontamination of food

Throughout the last decades of the 20th century, the biological threat evolved from primarily a government-controlled weapon to a tool of terrorism. One of the consequences of this trend is the near impossibility of foreseeing when and how an act of bioterrorism will occur. The suitability of food products for such an act stems from the multitude of microorganisms that may be used for contamination and the vulnerability of the products during and after processing. Tests that would enable the detection of a large variety of microorganisms quickly, reliably, and economically should also provide satisfactory means to prevent acts of malicious biocontamination of food products. Until such means become available, a priority-based approach to the problem is probably the most practical. Priorities should be determined based on a systematic risk assessment to define the relative likelihood of a certain microorganism being used in an act of malicious food contamination. Criteria to be evaluated are availability, weaponization processes, delivery of an effective dose, probability of early detection, and the microorganism's resistance to the conditions to which it will be exposed. Because the results of such an assessment may vary according to prevailing conditions, the assessment must be based on the existing circumstances. The results of the assessment should then be applied to the various procedures of food processing, which should further reduce the number of potential microbial threats. Existing methods of screening food for contaminating microorganisms and existing food safety and security procedures such as hazard analysis and critical control point programs may have to be modified to become suitable for the detection of acts of bioterrorism.     

Chemical safety of meat and meat products

Since the Second World War the consumer behaviour in developed countries changed drastically. Primarily there existed the demand for sufficient food after a period of starvation, afterwards the desire for higher quality was arising, whereas today most people ask for safe and healthy food with high quality. Therefore a united approach comprising consistent standards, sound science and robust controls is required to ensure consumers' health and to maintain consumers' confidence and satisfaction. Chemical analysis along the whole food chain downstream (tracking) from primary production to the consumer and upstream (tracing) from the consumer to primary production is an important prerequisite to ensure food safety and quality. In this frame the focus of the following paper is the “chemical safety of meat and meat products” taking into account inorganic as well as organic residues and contaminants, the use of nitrite in meat products, the incidence of veterinary drugs, as well as a Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) system assessing (prioritizing) vulnerable food chain steps to decrease or eliminate vulnerability.     

Chips and SNPs, bugs and thugs: a molecular sleuthing perspective

Recent events both here and abroad have focused attention on the need for ensuring a safe and secure food supply. Although much has been written about the potential of particular select agents in bioterrorism, we must consider seriously the more mundane pathogens, especially those that have been implicated previously in foodborne outbreaks of human disease, as possible agents of bioterrorism. Given their evolutionary history, the enteric pathogens are more diverse than agents such as Bacillus anthracis, Francisella tularensis, or Yersinia pestis. This greater diversity, however, is a double-edged sword; although diversity affords the opportunity for unequivocal identification of an organism without the need for whole-genome sequencing, the same diversity can confound definitive forensic identification if boundaries are not well defined. Here, we discuss molecular approaches used for the identification of Salmonella enterica, Escherichia coli, and Shigella spp. and viral pathogens and discuss the utility of these approaches to the field of microbial molecular forensics.     

The Etiology of Bioaerosols in Food Environments

The past two decades have been characterised by a significant increase in the worldwide scientific database on bioaerosols in indoor and outdoor environments. Recently, the threats of bioterrorism as well as issues such as SARS and avian influenza have gained more public attention. New techniques and analytical methods have been used towards the precise identification of the sources of microbial contamination, as well as in the evaluation and assessment of potential hazards. In spite of the tremendous scientific progress made by developed countries, the state of knowledge about the biological origin of indoor air pollution in food processing environments remains relatively narrow and insufficient in developing countries. Airborne microorganisms, when they appear at the centre of interest, they are usually related to occupational studies, health complaints, and/or bioterrorism. This passive attitude towards bioaerosols in developing countries, especially in food processing environments, has increased as a result of lack of internationally recognised assessment criteria, unavailability of approved standards, and diminutive interest in bioaerosols.     

Integrating silicon nanowire field effect transistor, microfluidics and air sampling techniques for real-time monitoring biological aerosols

Numerous threats from biological aerosol exposures, such as those from H1N1 influenza, SARS, bird flu, and bioterrorism activities necessitate the development of a real-time bioaerosol sensing system, which however is a long-standing challenge in the field. Here, we developed a real-time monitoring system for airborne influenza H3N2 viruses by integrating electronically addressable silicon nanowire (SiNW) sensor devices, microfluidics and bioaerosol-to-hydrosol air sampling techniques. When airborne influenza H3N2 virus samples were collected and delivered to antibody-modified SiNW devices, discrete nanowire conductance changes were observed within seconds. In contrast, the conductance levels remained relatively unchanged when indoor air or clean air samples were delivered. A 10-fold increase in virus concentration was found to give rise to about 20-30% increase in the sensor response. The selectivity of the sensing device was successfully demonstrated using H1N1 viruses and house dust allergens. From the simulated aerosol release to the detection, we observed a time scale of 1-2 min. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) tests revealed that higher virus concentrations in the air samples generally corresponded to higher conductance levels in the SiNW devices. In addition, the display of detection data on remote platforms such as cell phone and computer was also successfully demonstrated with a wireless module. The work here is expected to lead to innovative methods for biological aerosol monitoring, and further improvements in each of the integrated elements could extend the system to real world applications.     

The Etiology of Bioaerosols in Food Environments

The past two decades have been characterised by a significant increase in the worldwide scientific database on bioaerosols in indoor and outdoor environments. Recently, the threats of bioterrorism as well as issues such as SARS and avian influenza have gained more public attention. New techniques and analytical methods have been used towards the precise identification of the sources of microbial contamination, as well as in the evaluation and assessment of potential hazards. In spite of the tremendous scientific progress made by developed countries, the state of knowledge about the biological origin of indoor air pollution in food processing environments remains relatively narrow and insufficient in developing countries. Airborne microorganisms, when they appear at the centre of interest, they are usually related to occupational studies, health complaints, and/or bioterrorism. This passive attitude towards bioaerosols in developing countries, especially in food processing environments, has increased as a result of lack of internationally recognised assessment criteria, unavailability of approved standards, and diminutive interest in bioaerosols.     

Investigational tracing as a method for identification of causative foods and sources of food-borne outbreaks

Often, food-borne outbreaks cannot be clarified. One reason for this is that foods are no more available for testing once the outbreak is detected. Specifically, this can be the case for foods with a short shelf-life, such as plant foods. Moreover, sometimes the food matrix leads to performance failures of laboratory methods. In such situations, investigational tracing can be the key to outbreak clarification. The analysis of food flows in supply chains can display epidemiological correlations, show the extent of events and may allow rapid outbreak containment. This article presents three examples of outbreaks where the causative agent and/or the transmitting vehicle were unknown. Batch-precise traceability studies first helped to narrow down the list of questionable foods and later to identify the causative vehicles and their sources. Investigational tracing of food flows is a powerful tool for rapid outbreak clarification and specifically helpful for causative foods that are easily perishable and/or contaminated with viruses.     

Categorizing food-related illness: Have we got it right?

Since the 1950s food safety hazards have been categorized simply as (micro) biological, chemical or physical hazards with no clear differentiation between those that cause acute and chronic harm. Indeed international risk assessment methods, including hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) use these criteria. However, the spectrum of food related illness continues to grow now encompassing food allergy and intolerance, obesity, type 2 diabetes, stroke, heart disease, cancer as well as food poisoning, foodborne illness and food contamination. Therefore over a half-century later is this the time to redefine the spectrum of what constitutes food related illness? This paper considers whether such “redefinition” of food related intoxicating and infectious agents would provide more targeted policy instruments and lead to better risk assessment and thus mitigation of such risk within the food supply chain.     

在食品供应链中实施食品安全的可追溯性

<正>食品追溯包含了所有类型的食品,并对从牧场供应商到零售商的所有环节都有影响。在欧盟、美国和日本,食品供应链中的所有企业都有实施追溯系统的法定义务。     

低聚半乳糖的生理功能研究进展

低聚半乳糖作为一种益生元越来越受到人们的关注,在功能性食品方面应用越加广泛。低聚半乳糖能够在肠道内选择性增殖益生菌发酵生成短链脂肪酸,与肠道微生物协同参与生理功能机制调节,在保障肠道健康、免疫系统调节、抑制肿瘤细胞生成、改善人体矿物质吸收、改善心血管疾病等机制方面发挥重要的作用。本文从分子水平出发,全面剖析了低聚半乳糖及其代谢产物短链脂肪酸在维持肠道微生物平衡、抵抗肠道病毒感染、免疫机制调节、结直肠癌的抑制、脂质代谢的调节及血糖水平控制等功效方面的作用机理。为低聚半乳糖在功能性食品开发及健康保健领域的应用提供参考。     

食品安全解决方案:从被动到预防的转变

<正> 庄臣泰华施公司(JohnsonDiversey)是一家全球知名的清洁及食品安全解决方案供应商,为食品行业提供基于风险的食品安全解决方案。2007年9月12日,庄臣泰华施公司(JohnsonDiversey)在长城饭店召开新闻发布会,对其在中国市场推出名为"SafeKey~(TM)食品安全系统"的创新性食品卫生方案进行了介绍。     

Degree of antioxidant protection: a parameter to trace the origin and quality of goat's milk and cheese

Traceability is an essential tool in reassuring consumers and traders that food is as safe, authentic, and of good quality as expected. Today, food traceability procedures often consist of attached documents and declarations, but scientific parameters that could objectively identify a product would be preferable. Scientific efforts in this area are mostly focused on selection and validation of experimental indicators that would be useful for tracing a food product in any step of its commercial life, describing its raw materials, processing procedures, and storage conditions. In this research, milk and cheese samples from zero grazing and grazing goats were studied to identify a tracing parameter correlated to the feeding system. In particular, α-tocopherol and cholesterol were analyzed by HPLC on a normal phase column and were combined to calculate the degree of antioxidant protection (DAP). This parameter, expressed as the molar ratio between antioxidant compounds and an oxidation target, is useful for tracing and distinguishing products from grazing and zero-grazing animals. Degree of antioxidant protection values greater than 7.0 × 10⁻³ were found in samples from grazing goats and values lower than 7.0 × 10⁻³ were found in samples from zero-grazing goats, for both milk and cheese, meaning that cholesterol was highly protected against oxidative reactions when herbage was the only feed or was dominant in the goat diet. The reliability of DAP to measure the antioxidant protection of cholesterol appeared more effective when the feeding system was based on grazing than when cut herbage was utilized indoors by animals. The DAP index was able to distinguish dairy products when the grazed herbage in the goats’ diet exceeded 15%.