Standard safety policy: a retrospect of the Korean chicken egg crisis in 2017 Abstract On August 14, 2017, a report released by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs confirmed the presence of pesticides in chicken eggs in South Korea. The literature has identified various causes for the crisis, such as the lack of criteria for permissible amounts of residual pesticides, and dichotomized management and supervision systems. This study investigated current laws and enactments relevant to South Korea’s 2017 crisis of pesticide-contaminated eggs, seeking to extract applicable safety standards. Of the 12 laws directly related to eggs, eight contained a combined total of 19 safety standards. The main problems of these standards include the lack of criteria to regulate permissible amounts of residual pesticides, the lack of standardized countermeasures against residual chemicals, conflicting standards between higher-ranking and lower-ranking legal norms, and confusing misuse of terminology. It is suggested that these problems in egg-related safety standards can be addressed by South Korea adopting the internationally recognized Codex Alimentarius standard, with strengthened application of stricter administrative measures exceeding the Maximum Residue Levels in the field, using unified terminology. Thus, the present study aims to investigate the 2017 crisis to extract safety standards from the law and analyze related problems. The study also makes suggestions to improve applicable safety standards in the hope of preventing the recurrence of similar crises.

PAGIF method to verify animal species in dairy products: improved separation performance, sensitivity and efficiency Abstract Over more than 20 years, isoelectric focusing (IEF) in a polyacrylamide gel (PAGIF) has been the only official method in Germany to verify the animal species in dairy products, including cheese. The method remains valid until now, using the analytical standards and the detection and quantification limits of that time. With the introduction of faster, cheaper and more sensitive methods, the PAGIF is in danger to lose importance in food control. Therefore, based on the § 64 method(s) of the German Food and Feed Code (LFGB), the pH gradient has been optimized, on the one hand, to sharpen the protein bands and thus to improve the detection limit (cow’s milk: 0.1%, previously 1%) and on the other hand, to make it possible to analyze simultaneously several animal species, such as cow, sheep, goat and buffalo in one single gel. By condensing the workflow and improving the original performance data, the revised PAGIF will continue to be the official method in food control alongside new analytical methods.

Prevalence of Salmonella spp. in Egyptian dairy products: molecular, antimicrobial profiles and a reduction trial using d -tryptophan Abstract The study aims to determine the prevalence and serotypes of Salmonella spp. in milk and dairy products sold on Egyptian markets, characterize their virulence-associated genes, and assess their antimicrobial profile. Furthermore, d-tryptophan was used as a new approach for controlling the growth of Salmonella in combination with heat stress. A total of 125 samples (raw market milk, bulk tank milk, Kareish cheese, white soft cheese, and small scale ice cream, 25 each) were used for assessing the prevalence of Salmonella spp. Nine Salmonella isolates with different serotypes were recovered from bulk tank milk (4/9; 44.44%) and Kariesh cheese (5/9; 55.55%), respectively. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing indicated that all isolates were resistant to streptomycin and erythromycin. PCR analysis revealed that 100%, 66.67% and 88.89% of the obtained isolates possessed invA, avrA and stn genes, respectively. d-Tryptophan (40 mM) in combination with heat stress had a significant inhibitory effect on Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) added to control milk samples. The results indicate insufficient hygienic measures adopted during handling by dairies in Egypt. Therefore, strict hygienic approaches are recommended during milking, processing and distribution of dairy products in Egypt. A synergistic effect of d-tryptophan and heat stress is considered as a promising tool for controlling growth of Salmonella in milk.

Stichprobenplanung in der Lebensmittelüberwachung: Reduktion des notwendigen Stichprobenumfangs durch Pooling Zusammenfassung Es wird ein Verfahren zur Berechnung des notwendigen Stichprobenumfangs in einem Pooling-Design zur Ermittlung des Substanzgehalts in Lebensmitteln beschrieben. Mit diesem kann die Poolgröße und die Anzahl notwendiger Messungen zur Bestimmung eines Mittelwerts mit einer vorgegebenen Konfidenzintervallbreite berechnet werden. Wie stark sich die Anzahl analytischer Messungen durch Pooling mehrerer Proben in einer Sammelprobe reduzieren lässt, hängt dabei von der Relation zwischen biologischer Varianz (Variation zwischen Proben unterschiedlichen Ursprungs) und technischer Varianz (Variation zwischen Wiederholungsmessungen) ab. Die Anwendung der Methode wird am Beispiel der Bestimmung von Dioxinen und polychlorierten Biphenylen (PCB) in Hühnereiern erläutert, kann jedoch auf andere Kontaminanten und Lebensmittel übertragen werden.

Toy swords revisited: identification of additional odour-active contaminants Abstract Odorants related to offensive odours in three children’s toy swords were identified and characterized by human sensory and chemical analyses. Samples were initially evaluated by a trained sensory panel. Panellists reported unpleasant smells in all samples that were dominated by mothball-like, phenolic and rubber-like notes and additionally almond-like and fatty notes. The odorants from the samples were then extracted using dichloromethane and subsequent solvent-assisted flavour evaporation distillation. Enriched distillates were then analysed by means of single and two-dimensional gas chromatography–mass spectrometry/olfactometry. An additional screening analysis for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons was also performed on all samples. The most predominant odorants identified in the samples were naphthalene, 1- and 2-methylnaphthalene and diverse dimethylnaphthalene isomers with gasoline-like smells. Acetophenone, with an almond-like, flowery smell, was also detected. Furthermore, the phenolic/leather-like smelling substances 3-ethylphenol, 3-hydroxyacetophenone, and 3-methoxyacetophenone were identified in one sample.

Characteristics of enterotoxin-producing methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from meat in Tehran, Iran Abstract In this study, we investigated the clonality, antibiotic susceptibility and presence of different enterotoxin genes among 49 methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains isolated from 131 fresh raw meat samples in Tehran, Iran during 2016. 47% of beef, 30% of chicken and 27% of turkey samples were MRSA positive. PhenePlate (PhP typing) revealed the presence of 12 PhP types consisting of five common types and seven single types, and 86% of the strains harbored staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) type III and type 3 cassette chromosome recombinases (ccr). Moreover, SCCmec type IVa was positive in all isolates with SGA prophage types. High level resistance to ciprofloxacin, erythromycin, tobramycin and kanamycin was also observed. The rate of resistance to most of the antibiotics tested was higher in chicken samples compared to other meat samples. Out of eleven different enterotoxin genes found, sea, sek and seq were the dominant genes in all strains. Our results illustrate the presence and persistence of highly resistant clonal groups of enterotoxin-producing MRSA in meat samples. These isolates had PhP and SCCmec types and prophage patterns which were similar to the clinical isolates previously reported in Iran, supporting the notion of dissemination of the MRSA in the hospital, community, as well food products in Iran.