Beef specific polymerase chain reaction assay for authentication of meat and meat products

The aim of this study was to develop species-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for specific detection of beef using self-designed primer pair based on D-loop region of mitochondrial gene for amplification of 513 bp DNA fragments from fresh, processed and autoclaved meat and meat products. The beef-specific primer pair was self-designed based on the available gene sequences on NCBI nucleotide database. The primer pair was individually optimized for amplification of desired 513 bp DNA fragments from isolated DNA of fresh beef. After successful amplification of desired DNA fragments by this primer pair, the PCR assay was evaluated for their efficiency to amplify DNA extracted from cooked and autoclaved meat and meat emulsion. The level of detection of this beef-specific primer pair was found to be less than 1 percent using PCR assay, even in admixed meat products containing meat of beef, buffalo meat, pork, chevon, mutton and chicken. No adverse effect of heat treatment, processing conditions and ingredients was observed on amplification pattern. The experiments were repeated for several time and results was found to be repeatable every-time.     

Daily intake and bacteriological quality of meat consumed in the households of Kigali,Rwanda

Meat is consumed worldwide as a source of animal proteins, but it is recognized as one of the most important vehicles for food borne infections in humans. This study was conducted to determine the daily intake; the levels of hygiene indicator bacteria, namely the total mesophilic bacteria (TMC) and Escherichia coli counts (ECC); and the prevalence of Salmonella in meat consumed within the households of Kigali (Rwanda). The survey on meat consumption was carried out in 400 households by using a questionnaire, whereas the bacteriological analyses of meat samples were performed by using conventional culture methods. The results from the survey indicated that beef was the type of meat mostly consumed in Kigali city households, and the daily meat intake significantly varied with the social category of the household. No significant difference was observed between daily meat intakes in different age classes of household members. In the samples where microorganisms were detected, the average levels of TMCs and ECCs in raw meat were found to be 5.4 and 1.6 log cfu/g, respectively, whereas in cooked meat they were significantly reduced to 3.1 and 1.1 log cfu/g, respectively. The prevalence of Salmonella was reduced from 21.4% in raw meat to 3.4% in ready-to-eat cooked meat. Salmonella was not detected in cooked meat consumed in high-income households. The results from this study highlight the need for hygiene improvements in meat shops as well as in the households of Kigali, particularly those with low and medium incomes.     

Food safety and food quality perceptions of farmers’ market consumers in the United States

The number of farmers’ markets in United States (U.S.) increased dramatically from 1775 markets in 1994 to 8476 markets in 2014. However, few studies have investigated consumers’ food safety perceptions toward products in farmers’ market or their impact on consumers’ purchasing behaviors. The objectives of this study were to understand consumers’ perception of food safety at farmers’ markets and to explore the role of food safety perception on their purchasing fresh produce at a farmers’ market. Analysis of covariance was used to investigate food safety perceptions at farmers’ market among different demographic groups. In addition, multiple linear regression was used to explore factors including consumers’ food safety perception and quality perception on their purchasing at a farmers’ market. The results from the ANCOVA indicated that millennial generation consumers perceived better food safety conditions at farmers’ markets. The linear regressions indicated quality perception and willingness to support local foods are primary reasons that consumers purchase products at farmers’ markets, while food safety perception is not significantly related to purchasing fresh produce. The results imply that consumers generally hold a positive food safety perception that may be in contrast to actual microbial safety of produce obtained from farmers’ markets. The results highlight an increasing need for consumer education specifically related to food safety awareness at farmers’ markets.     

Consumer preferences and willingness to pay for beef food safety assurance labels in the Kumasi Metropolis and Sunyani Municipality of Ghana

The demand surge for assured food safety and quality in livestock products among consumers in developing countries in particular has been phenomenal. The present paper examines consumers' preferences and willingness to pay for beef food safety assurance labels in the Kumasi Metropolis and Sunyani Municipality of Ghana. Consumers' in both Kumasi and Sunyani mainly rely on beef attributes which assures them of their safety. Key attributes include hygienic condition of the shopping environment, excellent and attractive packaging that minimizes contamination, leanness and certification of beef products for safety and quality. Therefore, guaranteed food safety information and attributes should emerge as a new index and basis for future trade in the beef industry. Preference heterogeneity exists among consumers in Kumasi Metropolis and Sunyani Municipality for verified animal health status, food safety inspection and certification and nutritional label. Hence, it is important for beef investors, government and NGO's to segment consumers into different classes when designing strategies to mitigate unsafe beef production, marketing and consumption. Higher willingness to pay exists for verified animal health stamp in both Kumasi and Sunyani compared to assured nutritional label, food and drugs board food safety certification license. Willingness to pay estimates in Kumasi were higher for assured nutritional label, food and drugs board food safety certification license compared to Sunyani. Consumer preferences for food safety inspection and certification, and nutritional label are explained by age, income and education in Sunyani Municipality whereas preferences for verified animal health status, food safety inspection and certification, and nutritional label are influenced by age, income, education and gender in Kumasi Metropolis. Albeit the impact of gender and age are negative for verified animal health status and food safety certification license in both locations. Therefore, the use of selective demographic targeting to maintain or build strong food safety and quality measures should be seen as a reality by policy makers and investors in the beef industry. Minimizing microbial, chemical and physical food contamination and incidents of food safety in Kumasi and Sunyani requires adoption of strict certification and inspections starting from the health status of animals to be slaughtered to the final product with proper labeling information for consumers, combined with strict sanitary inspections at the shopping or selling place. Also, sensitization of women on food safety practices, handling and violation of food safety is very essential in Kumasi and Sunyani.     

Production and preliminary characterization of monoclonal antibodies highly specific to pork fat protein

Meat and food products adulterated with pork fat concern Islamic consumers whose dietary laws prohibit consumption of pork meat. The objectives of this study are to investigate the existence of thermal stable-soluble protein (TSSP) in pork fat tissues and to develop and characterize monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) highly specific to the TSSP in pork fat tissues. The TSSP extracted was used as an immunogen. After cell fusion and cloning, seven monoclonal antibodies (MAbs; PF 2B8-3, 2B8-9, 2B8-20, 2B8-28, 2B8-31, 2B8-32, and 2B8-33) were developed and confirmed to be specific to pork fat protein without cross-reaction to other animal meats and fats in an indirect ELISA and Western blot. The ELISA assay based on MAb PF 2B8-31 can sensitively detect 1% pork fat protein mixed in other animal meats. These results support that the developed MAbs especially PF 2B8-31 can be sufficiently used as a bio-receptor in the development of immunoassay for the easy and rapid detection of pork fat adulteration. In addition, the ELISA based on the MAbs developed could be a useful tool to rapidly detect low levels of pork fat fraudfully adulterated in meat and food products.     

Risk assessment of the intake of pesticides in Croatian diet

A total of 866 samples of 28 different kinds of fresh fruits and vegetables from import and domestic production were analyzed. In 67.1% of the samples no residues were found, 27.3% of samples contained pesticide residues at or below maximum residue limit (MRL), and 5.6% of samples contained pesticide residues above MRL. In this study, the exposure to pesticide residues through fruit and vegetable consumption is evaluated based on the 2007-2009 surveillance data. According to the results the long-term exposure of consumers did not raise health concerns. The short-term exposure assessment revealed that for 12 food samples analyzed the acute reference dose (ARfD) might have been exceeded if the food sample was consumed in high amounts. The short-term risk assessment could not be performed for 7 pesticides because there are no available data on acute reference doses.     

Prevalence of Yersinia enterocolitica from food and pigs in selected states of Malaysia

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of Yersinia enterocolitica and its bioserotypes from food and pigs in Malaysia. Fifty-eight raw porcine (raw pork meat, internal organs and other parts) and 48 non-porcine food (raw beef, poultry products, seafood, vegetables, tofu, and pasteurised milk) from wet markets located in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Perak, and Pahang were examined for the presence of Y. enterocolitica. Specimens (nasal, oral and rectal swabs) from 165 pigs (from nine farms) located at central and northern parts of Malaysia were also collected for Y. enterocolitica detection. Presumptive isolates were characterised biochemically and further confirmed by PCR. Out of 58 raw porcine food, Y. enterocolitica was detected in 7 (12.1%) samples in which raw pork meat (whole meat) had the highest prevalence 5/21 (23.8%), followed by raw pork liver 1/5 (20.0%) and raw pork intestine 1/8 (12.5%). No Y. enterocolitica was isolated from the 48 non-porcine foods. Overall, two pathogenic (bioserotypes 3 variant/O:3 and 1B/O:8) and one non-pathogenic (bioserotype 1A/O:5) Y. enterocolitica strains were isolated from food. Out of 165 pigs examined, 3 (1.8%) pigs were carriers for Y. enterocolitica. All 3 pigs were asymptomatic grower pigs from Penang, carried Y. enterocolitica bioserotype 3 variant/O:3. Post-enrichment PCR approach gave a higher prevalence, 60.3%, 41.7% and 27.9% for porcine food, non-porcine food and pigs, respectively. Both pathogenic and non-pathogenic Y. enterocolitica were present in our domestic pigs and food. Improper food handling and processing may cause cross contamination of this pathogen to humans, affirms a potential risk for public health.     

Monitoring the presence of residues of tetracyclines in baby food samples by HPLC-MS/MS

Tetracyclin is a group of antimicrobial permitted in animal food production, but their concentrations in food of animal origin should not exceed 100 μg kg⁻¹ (in meat and milk). Although the detection of these substances above these limits involves fines and jail for the producer, residues of tetracyclines are still being detected in food a potential risk to consumer health, especially babies.In the past, baby foods were carefully prepared at homes. However, modern lifestyles have led to the commercialization of ready-made baby food. Generally, these products are made with vegetable and meat from different animals, such as pork, chicken or beef. The presence of tetracyclines in meat at concentrations above 100 μg kg⁻¹ is forbidden in Europe by the Regulation 37/2010. Consequently this concentration is also applicable to the portion of meat present in baby food. Even if the presence of tetracyclines is controlled regularly in meat, they should also be monitored in baby food as babies are vulnerable to such as drugs.A rapid analytical method based on high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to a tandem mass spectrometer (HPLC-MS/MS) for quantification of four tetracyclines (tetracycline, chlortetracycline, doxycycline and oxytetracycline) in baby food is presented. The tetracyclines are extracted with EDTA-McIlvaine buffer, acidified at pH 4.0, followed by liquid–liquid extraction with ethyl acetate. The final extract is analysed within 19 min on a Sunfire HPLC column from Waters. Validation was performed according to the Commission Decision 2002/657/EC. The mean accuracy was 103 μg kg⁻¹, and the mean precision, was less than 23% for all the tetracyclines. The method was tested on 31 prepared baby food samples containing vegetable and beef. The presence of oxytetracycline was detected in one of the samples at a concentration of 5 μg kg⁻¹.     

Behaviour of Belgian consumers,related to the consumption,storage and preparation of cooked chilled foods

Cooked chilled foods or Refrigerated and Processed Foods of Extended Durability (REPFEDs) are a heterogeneous group of food products designed for consumer convenience. The consumer exposure to pathogenic microorganisms due to the consumption of REPFEDs is influenced by the industrial production process and by consumer behaviour. A consumer survey was organised and conducted to assess the consumption frequency, storage time, reheating practices and perception of and respect for the product's ‘use by’ date. The survey was conducted at a local food fair in Belgium with 874 respondents correctly completing the questionnaire. Over three quarters (77.5%, n = 677) had consumed at least one REPFED over the last year. Consumption frequency was the highest between the ages of 18 and 30. Nine out of ten consumers were able to give an acceptable estimate of the shelf life of REPFEDs (e.g. less than four weeks). By contrast, only half of the consumers (53.3%) fully respected the ‘use by’ date as indicated on the packaging. The majority of the remaining consumers (39.6%) would consume the product until three days past the ‘use by’ date; 2.5% of the consumers would still consume the product after more than three days past the ‘use by’ date and 4.6% did not consider the ‘use by’ date. In addition, only half of the consumers fully complied with the reheating instructions on the label, 36.5% only partially followed these instructions and 13.4% did not follow them at all. Data analysis showed that consumers, who did not respect the ‘use by’ date, were also less likely to follow the reheating instructions. To determine the distribution of the time a REPFED spends in a consumer fridge, the consumers were asked how frequently they bought REPFEDs and how they stored them. Using this information an attempt was made to construct a time-to-consumption (TTC) distribution. This TTC demonstrated that approx. 20% of REPFEDs was consumed on the day of purchase; about half (52.9%) were consumed within two days of purchase, 75.5% within four days and over 90% during the first week. These short storage times are likely to reduce the exposure to psychrotrophic microorganisms present in REPFEDs.     

Mass spectrometry quantification of beef and pork meat in highly processed food: Application on Bolognese sauce

Food frauds have become a very important issue in the field of food quality and safety. The risk of food adulteration is higher in highly processed food and mainly affects high added value foodstuff. The methods currently available to face this issue, PCR and ELISA, are very sensitive and specific, but they have some limitations. In the present work, tandem mass spectrometry is presented as an emerging approach to detect beef and pork meat in very complex and highly processed food matrices, such as Bolognese sauce, both in qualitative than in quantitative way. The detection is achieved using two different marker peptides, specific for beef and pork meat, both deriving from α2-collagen chain. Then, a calibration curve is set up using real sauces made by different percentages of pork and beef meat in a working range from 0 to 100%. The method here developed allows to quantify beef and pork meat in a complex product such as Bolognese sauce.     

Antibiotic residues in meat,milk and aquatic products in Shanghai and human exposure assessment

In this study, we screened 20 common antibiotic (three tetracyclines, four fluoroquinolones, three macrolides, three β-lactams, four sulfonamides, and three phenicols) residues in 125 samples from common types of livestock and poultry meat, milk and aquatic products in Shanghai by ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry in 2016 and assessed their role in human exposure by Monte Carlo Simulation. Overall, 15 out of screened antibiotics were found in these samples and the overall detection frequency was 39.2%. Antibiotics were found in 28.6% of livestock and poultry meat (35.3% for pork and 22.2% for chicken), 10.6% of milk, and 52.1% of aquatic products. Of aquatic products, the overall detection frequency of antibiotics was 91.7% for snakeheads, 81.8% for loaches, 76.9% for carps, 40.0% for yellow-head catfishes, and 16.7% for shrimps, but none was detected in swamp eels. Four human antibiotics were detected: azithromycin was detected in 50.0% of snakeheads and 5.1% of loaches, roxithromycin in 5.9% of pork, and chloramphenicol and cefradine respectively in 5.3% of milk. Enrofloxacin and trimethoprim exceeded the maximum residue limits in 7.7% of carps and 8.3% of snakeheads, respectively. The estimated daily exposure dose by Monte Carlo Simulation was less than 1 μg/kg/day. Antibiotic residues in aquatic products and their consumption accounted for 74.71% and 70.35% of overall variance of estimated antibiotic exposure for men and women, respectively. These findings indicated a high level of antibiotic residues in meat, milk and aquatic products and aquatic products were an important source for exposure of human to antibiotics.     

Comparing foodborne illness risks among meat commodities in the United States

Food-safety regulatory agencies are often tasked with oversight of a broad range of food commodities. For these agencies to regulate multiple commodities effectively, they need to develop policies and allocate resources that consider the varying magnitudes of the risk of illness that each of the commodities poses to the broad population of consumers. Process modeling is used in risk assessment to estimate the likelihood of illness by modeling contamination of raw foods, the microbial dynamics of pathogens between production and consumption, and dose–response relationships for the pathogen to estimate the risk and total number of illnesses for a specific commodity. Nevertheless, these models are usually unique to each commodity and constructed using different models and data sources, which can produce estimates that are difficult to compare. An alternative approach is presented that stems primarily from public health data. It uses simple methods to estimate various risk metrics simultaneously for multiple pathogens and commodities. This alternative approach is used to compare multiple risk metrics for beef, lamb, pork, and poultry for both Salmonella and Escherichia coli O157:H7. The implications of the different risk metrics are discussed with respect to current regulatory efforts in the United States.     

Species identification of commercial jerky products in food and feed using direct pentaplex PCR assay

The direct pentaplex PCR assay was developed for simultaneous identification using species-specific primer sets and a universal eukaryotic primer set in processed jerky products without DNA extraction. The specific primer sets of target meat species amplified the expected 83-, 133-, 166-, and 204-bp PCR products for pork, chicken, beef, and duck, respectively, and obtained no cross-reactivity against a total of sixteen animal species. A universal eukaryotic primer set amplified a 99-bp conserved fragment in all meat species. To evaluate the sensitivity of this assay, the different percentages of jerky samples were prepared with the meat species having the possibility to be mixed. Adulterated beef jerky samples contaminated with 0.1, 0.5, 1, 5, 10, and 50% pork and adulterated duck jerky samples contaminated with 0.1, 0.5, 1, 5, 10, and 50% chicken were prepared in a laboratory. The detection level of direct pentaplex PCR was below 0.1% pork in adulterated beef jerky and 0.1% chicken in adulterated duck jerky. The optimized assay was also applied to the analysis of commercial food and feed jerky products. The meat species in commercial jerky products were successfully identified without DNA extraction.     

Awareness of Listeria and high-risk food consumption behavior among pregnant women in Louisiana

Listeria monocytogenes is transmitted predominantly through contaminated food. About one in seven (14%) cases of Listeria infection occurs during pregnancy. In this study, we assessed the awareness of foodborne pathogens including Listeria and high-risk food consumption, among 218 pregnant women in southeastern Louisiana parishes in and around an urbanized area. The results showed the relationship between awareness of Listeria and selected demographic variables, such as age, race, and education level. The majority (71.1%) of pregnant women reported the consumption of high-risk foods during pregnancy. One person reportedly consumed six of the seven high-risk foods. Gaps existed between awareness of Listeria and high-risk food consumption behaviors, although as pregnant women’s awareness of Listeria increased, their high-risk food consumption behaviors decreased. Targeted continuing education for pregnant women in Louisiana should address the gaps identified in this study.     

Food standards and the control of chemicals in foods — their impact on international trade C.W. McMillan reports to the FAO/WHO conference on Food Standards, Chemicals in Food and Food Trade, Rome, Italy, 18–27 March 1991

The establishment of international standards for chemicals in foodstuffs is essential if trade disputes are to be avoided. The banning of a particular chemical by an individual country will complicate and confuse international trade, and variations in food quality standards between exporting and importing countries leads to rejection of imports and the possibility of sales to third countries with less stringent controls. The Codex Alimentarius Commission has played a vital role in the control of contaminants such as pesticides, heavy metals, food additives, microbiological contamination and antibiotic residues, and mycotoxins in grains, and this role needs to be extended in the future to embrace genetically engineered products. The Commission's aims are to harmonize and co-ordinate acceptance of international food standards, to protect consumers and to ensure fair food trade practices internationally. Its work has allowed the minization of technical barriers to trade through the control of chemicals in foods.     

Molecularly imprinted polymer-high performance liquid chromatography for the determination of tetracycline drugs in animal derived foods

In this study, a molecularly imprinted polymer solid phase extraction method combining high performance liquid chromatography was developed to determine the residues of tetracycline drugs in animal derived foods. The polymer was synthesized with chlortetracycline as template molecule, methacrylic acid as functional monomer at template/monomer ratio of 1:4. The prepared solid phase extraction column was able to capture four tetracyclines simultaneously with high adsorption capacities (3560–4700 ng) and high recoveries (>87%), and was able to be reused for at least thirty times. The limits of detection were in a range of 20–40 ng/g, and the recoveries from fortified blank samples (milk, egg and pork) were in a range of 74%–93%. Furthermore, the polymer-based column achieved better purification effect than three commercial solid phase extraction columns. This is the first study reporting the use of chlortetracycline based molecularly imprinted polymer for determination of tetracyclines in animal derived foods.     

Prevalence and antimicrobial resistance of Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella strains isolated in ready-to-eat foods in Eastern Spain

Antimicrobial resistance is a major global public health concern and a food safety issue considered in the framework of Horizon 2020. Bearing this in mind, the current study determined the prevalence of Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella strains isolated in ready-to-eat food sampled in industry and retail between 2006 and 2012 by the Official Food Control Services of the Valencian administration (Spain). The presence of L. monocytogenes was analysed in a total of 2864 samples including pasteurized cheese (624); cooked ham (487); dried pork sausages (192); ice cream (758) and smoked salmon (803). The presence of Salmonella was analysed in a total of 1264 samples: pasteurized cheese (289); cooked ham (316); dried pork sausages (78); ice cream (376) and smoked salmon (205). The results showed that L. monocytogenes was present in 3.8% of the samples, being most common in smoked salmon. Salmonella was not found in any of the products studied with the exception of 7 out 78 samples of dried pork sausage. Both L. monocytogenes and Salmonella showed resistance to 4 antimicrobials (ampicillin, cephalothin, tetracycline and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole). Moreover, the former was resistant to amikacin, ciprofloxacin, erythromycin and vancomycin while the later showed resistance to amoxicillin-clavulanate and chloramphenicol. Furthermore, multi-resistance was found for both microorganisms.     

The risk management dilemma for fumonisin mycotoxins

Since the discovery of the fumonisins in 1988, extensive academic studies have generated much knowledge, including data on chemistry, biochemistry, toxicology, methods of analysis, natural occurrence in food supplies, fate during various processing procedures, and human and animal exposures. These mycotoxins have also been assessed by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and have twice been the subject of risk assessments by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA). The outcome of these investigations has been of a nature to alert risk managers to the necessity of controlling human exposure. However, the fumonisins occur mostly in maize, a world staple crop which is consumed in various communities at levels which can be as many as 100-fold different. Compounding the problem is the fact that maize is widely used as animal feed in many developed countries, whereas in Africa and some other developing countries, it is the primary food source. This contrast produces a problem for risk managers, partly solved at national level by the regulation of maximum tolerated levels (MTLs) applicable to individual countries. MTLs at an international level are currently under discussion at the Codex Committee on Contaminants in Food. The divergence in use and consumption and the fact that maize in various regions of the world can also vary greatly in contamination levels, leads to a dilemma for setting such MTLs, which would need to be low to protect the high maize consumers, but might then cause rejection of high amounts of the world supply. Higher MTLs, acceptable to maize exporters, would only protect the low maize consumers. This dilemma may only be solved by accepting that harmonizing regulations for raw maize is problematic and a more nuanced approach may be required.     

European consumers and beef safety: Perceptions,expectations and uncertainty reduction strategies

European beef consumption has been gradually declining during the past decades, while consumers’ concerns about beef safety have increased. This paper explores consumer perceptions of and interest in beef safety and beef safety information, and their role in beef safety assessment and the beef consumption decision making process. Eight focus group discussions were performed with a total of 65 beef consumers in four European countries. Content analysis revealed that the focus group participants experienced difficulties in the assessment of the safety of beef and beef products and adopted diverging uncertainty reduction strategies. These include the use of colour, labels, brands and indications of origin as cues signalling beef safety. In general, consumer trust in beef safety was relatively high, despite distrust in particular actors.     

Occurrence,serotypes and virulence genes of non-O157 Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli in fresh beef,ground beef,and beef burger

This study determined the prevalence, serotypes and virulence genes distribution of non-O157 Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli in meat products collected from butchers shops and supermarkets in Mansoura city, Egypt. We have characterized 18 non-O157 STEC strains among the identified 100 E. coli isolates recovered from the examined 87 meat product samples. The prevalence of non-O157 STEC strains in fresh beef, ground beef and beef burger samples were 11.1% (3/27), 16.7% (5/30), and 33.3% (10/30), respectively. The eighteen non-O157 STEC isolated strains were serotyped into seven (38.9%) O111:H8, six (33.3%) O26:H11, two (11.1%) O111:H–, and one (5.56%) for each of O55:H7, O126:H5 and O128:H2. PCR assays for different virulence genes showed that nine (50%), eleven (61.1%), and nine (50%) strains carry stx1, stx2, and eae genes, respectively. The distribution of shiga toxin genes among the isolated strains indicated that seven (38.9%) strains harbored stx1 only, nine (50%) strains harbored stx2 only, and two (11.1%) strains harbored both stx1 and stx2. The eae gene was present in association with five (27.8%), three (16.7%), and one (5.6%) strains that harbored stx1 only, stx2 only, and both stx1 and stx2, respectively. This study concluded that the examined meat products, particularly beef burger, consumed in Egypt are considerably contaminated with a variety of non-O157 STEC serotypes, and hence consumption of such products may constitute a potential health risk for consumers.