One of the biggest challenges for the food and drink industry in Northern Ireland is currency movement, according to Michael Bell, Executive Director of the Northern Ireland Food & Drink Association (NIFDA). 

“The average net margin for most food manufacturers is below 3 per cent, but the euro/sterling exchange rate has moved over 10 per cent in the last nine months, and that is beyond the range of some companies to adapt,” he says.

While NIFDA can’t control currency movement, it does try to create a fair environment, says Michael, a chartered food scientist who helped to found the organisation in 1996. It seeks to give its 102 full and 24 associate members a voice and acts as an “industry self-help” group, he adds.

Training suppliers

NIFDA recently pioneered training in the Grocery Suppliers Code of Practice in Northern Ireland. “A retailer may be 20-30 per cent of a supplier’s turnover but, almost in every case, a supplier will be a tiny fraction of the retailer’s turnover – there is a major imbalance there,” explains Michael. “So it is very important that suppliers are trained in understanding their rights and obligations.”

Small companies have also benefited from NIFDA’s involvement in Access 6, an EU-funded INTERREG project that recently provided training and mentorship to 90 food and drink-related SMEs in border regions in Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and Western Scotland.

“Many small food companies are export-averse, so we created an e-learning training package around exports and an online distribution tool that lets you plan and cost transport of goods. These are legacies from the project,” he says.

“We export four-fifths of what we produce in Northern Ireland. Local food has a lot of advantages relating to air-miles and carbon dioxide. That said, it is very important that we export and that other markets remain open and don’t decide they are only going to eat local food.”

Educating consumers

NIFDA has had a “long and very productive” relationship with safefood, according to Michael. “We have the challenges of building more integrity into food on many dimensions: fraud, microbiological and chemical safety,” he says, emphasising the importance of consumer awareness. “It is becoming increasingly apparent that consumers need more education to understand these aspects of food products.”

The island of Ireland has a massive opportunity in the agri-food sector, as our abundance of grass and temperate climate are the envy of other countries, according to broadcaster Ella McSweeney. If we don’t protect farmers and biodiversity, and if we don’t keep an eye on the entire food chain, we will lose ground.

“The island’s agri-food sector is definitely well positioned to be very successful, but it needs strong leadership and there are huge challenges,” says Ella, who is well-known for her work on magazine programmes such as Ear to the Ground and The Consumer Show, as well as numerous radio documentaries and series.

“We have so many benefits here. We are an island, we have a good international reputation and this incredible free resource of grass growing everywhere,”

Protecting farmers is key

Uppermost among the challenges are the pressures facing farmers, which can affect the food chain and the environment, notes Ella. “Where you marginalise farmers, you marginalise animals; issues such as antibiotic use and dealing with climate change are very difficult to deal with,” she says.

“We need to protect the farmer’s role in food production and make sure they get a good margin for what they do and not fall into debt.”

Striking the balance

Ella, a Trinity College Dublin science graduate, has written extensively about the perils of overusing antibiotics in farming and she is also concerned about biodiversity loss on the island of Ireland.

“There is a balance to be struck between incredibly successful production and also making sure that we don’t push aside what we have naturally,” she says. “We don’t want to find ourselves in 20 years saying everything we had is no longer here.”

She also laments that here we seem to be attuned to working in sectors rather than as a more connected network, which would help address issues of food security and safety, and environmental protection.  

“For example, issues such as VTEC, Campylobacter, Listeria and Salmonella demand not only immediate dissemination of information, but also a look right across the food chain,” she says.

“There is no point in looking at these issues in isolation. They have to be tracked at a minute level across the food chain. This is the only way to understand what is going on.”

In that regard she has found the safefood Knowledge Networks a trove of relevant and timely news. “To have that dissemination of information right across all aspects of the food chain is really helpful for someone in my job,” she says.

Inclusive food policy

Top of Ella’s wish list for the island of Ireland would be a food policy that takes the bigger picture into account. “We have never had such a food policy,” she says. “But if you look at examples from other countries where their food policies are designed to be inclusive of jobs, agriculture, science, health and environmental impact, you get this powerful connectedness that serves the public well.”

Ella’s life and likes

Lives: Between Dublin and “beautiful, dramatic, rural” New York, with partner Mark and their two young sons.

Hobbies: Running and hillwalking with friends.

Pets: Not at the moment, too much to-ing and fro-ing!

Favourite books: Anything by John McGahern, and Harry Potter with the kids.

Favourite podcast: Serial.

Interesting fact: She realised she wanted to be a broadcaster when she was about nine or ten. On hearing an interview on the radio, she thought, “I want to do that!”

We’d love to hear from you. Would you like us to feature your research or industry sector? What else would you like us to cover in the world of food safety? Send your letters, article ideas, feedback and suggestions to networks@safefood.eu or contact one of our facilitators.

While you’re at it, subscribe! The Food Chain comes in print and email format. To subscribe, contact us on networks@safefood.eu.

Niamh is a research fellow in the Biomedical Diagnostic Institute and Applied Biochemistry Group led by Professor Richard O’Kennedy and based in the DCU School of Biotechnology.

For the past few years, I have worked on a project called BioliSME [projectbiolisme.eu] for the rapid and easy detection of Listeria monocytogenes. This is a European-funded project and is a consortium of various universities and SMEs.

One of the major issues in the food industry is Listeria contamination. Even if you're cleaning your surfaces every day, you can get biofilms that sometimes break away from the surface and contaminate food.

The EU regulation in relation to Listeria  [Commission Regulation (EC) No 2073/2005]  is very strict because, as those working in the food safety arena are all too aware, a resulting infection can kill vulnerable people such as the elderly, new-borns, pregnant women and people suffering from immuno-compromising diseases.

Cutting wait times

One of the major issues with testing for Listeria is having to wait up to a week for test results. It is one of the primary issues for food businesses when they are trying to meet the requirements of European food legislation and prove their food is not infected with Listeria. The BioliSME system takes less than an hour from sampling to detection so it's much quicker and easier.

Another improvement is removing the need for pre-enrichment, which is currently done to increase the concentration of Listeria. Instead, we use magnetic particles with antibodies specific to Listeria to concentrate the cells into a small volume that can be put through our system.

My work on the project included this immunoassay-based detection system as well as finding an antibody that was specific for L. monocytogenes, but didn’t pick up other Listeria species that don't cause infection. This was challenging.

One of the key issues with Listeria is that it forms biofilms, because of that, it can withstand environments that would otherwise kill it. Biofilms are notoriously difficult to sample but, with the BioliSME system, a biofilm sample can be removed from the surface using a combination of air and water, and put through the detection system.

This was also one of the biggest engineering challenges during the project as the regimes that are used to clean up Listeria biofilms can be quite harsh. We had to figure out how to get the Listeria off the surface without killing it so we could put it through the detection system.

Prototypes in action

The project started in 2009 and finished last year. We have two working prototypes, which we have brought to various food businesses in England and Spain. We’ve found that food firms are very willing to try out new detection systems. Companies that make ready-to-eat products have been most interested in our prototypes as these products are notoriously difficult in terms of Listeria.

It was great to get involved in research in Europe and see what was going on in different countries. I enjoyed working in the consortium as everybody brought different expertise to the various problems.

The other partners involved in the project were: the University of Southampton in the UK; AINIA, a technology centre in Spain; Betelgeux, a Spanish hygiene and food safety company; 40-30, a French engineering firm;  and  the UK-based company Photek, which is a specialist manufacturer of vacuum-based tubes and camera systems for photon detection.

When I’m not in the lab, I enjoy running and cycling. At the moment I'm training to do the Ring of Kerry cycle in July. That takes up a lot of my time!

Ita White is a trainer consultant in the Food Industry Development Department,Teagasc.

Where do you work?

I work in the Food Industry Development Department and we're based within the Research Programme in Teagasc. A key part of our job is to transfer technology and information to industry.

What is a typical day at work for you?

My work varies a lot from giving certified or specialist training to organising events and dealing with enquiries from businesses. These include questions about food labelling, quality and safety standards, and other technical queries. For example, if I were doing a labelling review for a business, they would send in their product information. I'd review that against the legal requirements and give them a report.

What do you do on a training day?

I'm very much hands on and practical. For example, for our food safety training on HACCP, we want businesses to have an up-to-date plan in place at the end of the programme to make it as applied as possible for them.

What agencies do you work with?

We're very involved with Enterprise Ireland and Bord Bia on the FoodWorks programme. This aims to develop a new wave of food entrepreneurs in the Republic of Ireland and we provide the technology arm to that.

I’m also working with Dr James McIntosh from safefood on food authenticity. We've been working for some months on developing the programme and organising guest speakers for an industry event that took place in June. Hopefully, the event will have improved the knowledge base in the food sector so businesses can protect themselves from food fraud.

Does your work involve travel?

There's a reasonable amount of travel across the island of Ireland and some abroad. I'm involved in a European project, Better Training for Safer Food. As part of this, I travel to venues in Europe and deliver training on auditing to groups of officials from across the European Union.

What do you like about your job?

The one thing I love about the job is the variety as no two days are the same. The international angle is lovely, especially because of the different people I get to meet. There's also always something new happening from a technology point of view in Teagasc.

How did you get into this area?

I have more than 25 years’ experience working in food-related areas. A long time ago, I studied industrial microbiology in University College Dublin. Before Teagasc, I worked in Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM), the Department of Health in the UK, the manufacturing sector, and the European Commission’s Food and Veterinary office.

There is an almost infinite amount of interesting reading material at the touch of a button these days, but what happens if you’re blind or visually impaired?

“It's important that information is imparted and provided to people in a format they're able to access,” says Lina Kouzi, Library and Media Services Manager for the National Council for the Blind of Ireland (NCBI). Lina has been working with Dr James McIntosh, Chief Specialist in Toxicology at safefood for the last couple of years to create food safety braille documents and audio files. 

“There is a training centre in NCBI and cookery programmes are part of that. We produced the safefood leaflets in audio and in braille, and they used them as part of the teaching curriculum,” James explains.  

The 10 leaflets translated included Fridge hygiene, The ABC to BBQs and Cooking meat safely. Having them proved particularly useful for the food management course, which includes topics such as food hygiene and preparing for barbecues, according to Lina.

The leaflets are also available in Northern Ireland through the local libraries service and Libraries NI.  In addition to this, the Royal Institute of Blind People (RNIB) in Belfast has distributed copies of the CD resource pack to all their community staff.

An unusual library

The NCBI provides a library service in the Republic of Ireland that is different from most other public or academic libraries. “Not only do we distribute books, but we make books, so we are a distribution and production unit, which is quite unique,” says Lina.

Library members can choose from a collection of over 16,000 titles in braille, audio and large print. One book that has proven popular among members is 101+ Square Meals. “The 101 recipes went down very well as it gave the client an idea on how to budget for meals and eat healthily,” she adds.

The print version of this book was the initiative of Limerick Money Advice & Budgeting Service (MABS) with contributions from the Health Service Executive (HSE), Limerick Vocational Education Committee (VEC) and safefood. It is available in audio from the NCBI library and online at safefood.eu.

Producing books for the blind

For audio books, there is a recording studio in the NCBI, where a reader and sound engineer work to produce the file. The braille process is quite different. The relevant document is converted into Microsoft Word and software is used to transfer it into braille. Once produced, it is sent through braille embossers before being added to the library shelves.

For those that are technologically literate, modern synthetic speech software can be used to read back information on most websites and in documents. Lina explains that, despite technological advances, she has seen the demand for the library service grow and grow over the past decade.

“Many of our clients are older due to age-related eye problems, but we cater for all age groups. That's why we need to keep our services varied in format delivery in order to cater for the different requirements for different age groups.”

Dr Declan J Bolton is a Principal Research Officer, Food Safety Department, Teagasc Food Research Centre, Ashtown, Dublin 15.

Verocytotoxigenic E. coli (VTEC), also called Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), are now one of the most common causes of foodborne bacterial infection worldwide. The symptoms in humans range from mild diarrhoea to hemorrhagic colitis, hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), and thrombocytopenic purpura.

The VTEC group includes many different serogroups, some of which are more prevalent in human infections. Moreover, different strains may carry different combinations of virulence genes in addition to the vtx gene(s). While the vast majority of pathogenic strains are Enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC) that carry vtx genes, a major outbreak (4,321 confirmed cases, 852 HUS and 54 deaths) was associated with an Enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC) in 2011 in Europe.

The serogroups most frequently associated with severe human disease are O157, O26, O111, O103, and O145 and are regarded as the “top five”. After the 2011 outbreak, O104 was added to this list. Other serogroups including O91, O113, O117, O146 and O128 are also associated with human illness¹.

SAFE FOR HUMANS?

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) recently concluded that it is not possible to define human pathogenic VTEC absolutely, either in terms of serogroup or virulence gene combination. Although additional genes such as eae (for VTEC) and aaiC plus aggR (for EAEC that have acquired the vtx gene) may be associated with a higher risk in terms of occurrence and severity of illness, their absence does not mean the strain is non-pathogenic. The question therefore arises, if vtx genes are detected in a ready-to-eat (RTE) food, should this food be declared unfit for human consumption?

Policy-makers often use the precautionary principle to justify discretionary decisions when the possibility exists of harm and in the absence of clear scientific knowledge. This principle was recently applied in the revision of Article 14 of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002, which concluded that all RTE foods testing vtx-positive by PCR are ‘unsafe’ and should be ‘withdrawn or recalled from retail’ and subject to ‘corrective measures to eliminate the VTEC hazard’. As there is no corrective action for some RTE foods, the only option is disposal, which is expensive and arguably contrary to efforts to supply food to the ever-expanding global population.

GENES LINKED TO ILLNESS

The risk of serious human illness is related to the presence of vtx genes, but only when present with other key virulence factors in the same organism. To the best of our current knowledge, these other virulence factors are eae (intimin production) or aaiC (secreted protein of EAEC) plus aggR (plasmid encoded regulator)¹.

Thus, as concluded by EFSA, an RTE product contaminated with O157, O26, O103, O145, O111 or O104 in combination with vtx and eae or vtx and aaiC plus aggR genes, presents a high risk for diarrhoea and HUS. Other serogroups, in combination with the same genes, present a high risk for diarrhoea and an unknown risk for more serious illness. Outside of this serogroup-virulence gene combination framework, the risk and severity of human illness is unknown.

PCR TESTING NEEDED

All RTE products should therefore be tested initially using PCR for the presence of vtx genes. If these are absent, the RTE food does not present a risk of VTEC infection. If PCR positive, E. coli should be isolated from the food and tested for the presence of vtx plus eae (VTEC) and vtx, aaiC plus aggR (EAEC-VTEC) using PCR methods.

If these gene combinations are present, the food should be considered unsafe for human consumption and disposed of or used in a product that will be subject to cooking at temperatures sufficiently high to kill any E. coli present. The main issue, however, is what to do with RTE foods that are contaminated with E. coli that are vtx positive but negative for eae or aaiC and aggR.

Such E. coli may have alternative attachment factors such as saa (STEC agglutinating adhesion), common in O113 strains. Alternatively they may not be associated with illness in humans. Put simply, the risk is unknown.

IRISH RESEARCH

Research undertaken at Teagasc Food Research Centre, Ashtown^2,3 found that, on average, 15 percent of VTEC isolates that are eae negative carry the Saa mechanism.

Some of these strains; O33:H11 and ONT: H11 each carried vtx gene variants (Vtx2c and Vtx2dact) associated with an increased risk of HUS⁴. Further evidence for the importance of eae negative VTEC in human infections comes from the human infection data reported to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). Between 2007 and 2010, 770 (10.6%) of confirmed cases, where the causative VTEC was isolated and characterised, were attributed to eae negative VTEC¹.

Based on these data, it can be concluded that consuming RTE foods contaminated with eae negative VTEC would inevitably result in human infections and such food therefore represents a risk to public health. There seems little option but to remove such products from the food chain unless corrective action, such as heat treatment, can be applied to kill any VTEC present.

References

1. EFSA (2013). EFSA Panel on Biological Hazards (BIOHAZ); Scientific Opinion on VTEC-seropathotype and scientific criteria regarding pathogenicity assessment. EFSA Journal 2013;11(4):3138.

2. Monaghan, A., Byrne, B., Fanning, S., Sweeney, T., McDowell, D. and Bolton D. J. (2011) Serotypes and Virulence Profiles of non-O157 Shiga-Toxin producing Escherichia coli (STEC) from Bovine Farms. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 77 (24), 8662-8668.

3. Monaghan, A., Byrne, B., Fanning, S., Sweeney, T., McDowell, D. and Bolton D. J. (2012). Serotypes and virulotypes of non-O157 shiga-toxin producing Escherichia coli (STEC) on bovine hides and carcasses. Food Microbiology, 32 (2), 223-229.

4. Bolton, D. J. (2010) Verocytotoxigenic (Shiga Toxin Producing) Escherichia coli: Virulence Factors and Pathogenicity in the Farm to Fork Paradigm. Foodborne Pathogens and Disease 8(3): 357-365.

(L-R: Prof Francis Butler, UCD; Prof Lisa Alban, University of Copenhagen; and Dr Joost Smid University of Utrecht)

How can we optimise meat inspections for Salmonella? Or trace bacteria back along the food chain if an outbreak erupts? And how can we best prevent contamination in raw or fermented artisan food products?

Those were some of the topics discussed at the safefood Salmonella Knowledge Network annual conference in April, which put the focus on supply chain management issues in the meat and dairy industries.

Around 70 delegates from industry, regulatory bodies and research attended the workshop at the DAFM Laboratories in Co Kildare. They discussed issues ranging from the diversity of food products where Salmonella can be a problem – including its emergence in low-moisture foods – to improving methods of tracking and preventing contamination.

Pork is a significant source of Salmonella outbreaks, and Professor Lis Alban from the University of Copenhagen spoke about abattoir inspections of pigs ante- and post-mortem. Dr Joost Smid from the University of Utrecht spoke about work from the EU-funded Biotracer project to detect microbial contamination and model its path back through the food chain.

Artisan and dairy products were also up for discussion, with Dr Lisa O’Connor from the Food Safety Authority of Ireland speaking about raw milk, while Dr Vasco Cadavez from the Polytechnic Institute of Braganza in Portugal highlighted factors that affect the microbial safety of traditional dry fermented sausages.

Food products that lack a critical cooking step pose a particular challenge for food safety management, according to safefood Salmonella Knowledge Network Facilitator Professor Francis Butler, who organised the meeting.

“The reality is pathogens are present and there is a food safety risk associated with these products,” says Francis, who is Head of the School of Biosystems Engineering at University College Dublin. “There is no magic bullet here and the problem won’t be solved by increased testing. We have to think long and hard about a code of practice and the steps that can be put in place.”

Salmonella Network members can see presentations from the conference here.

We’d love to hear from you. Would you like us to feature your research or industry sector? What else would you like us to cover in the world of food safety? Send your letters, article ideas, feedback and suggestions to networks@safefood.eu or contact one of our facilitators.

While you’re at it, subscribe! The Food Chain comes in print and email format. To subscribe, contact us on networks@safefood.eu.

Food safety professionals are all familiar with HACCP (Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Point), but what about TACCP (Threat Assessment Critical Control Point)?

“It’s important to understand that there are criminals out there and real threats to our business”, says Lynn Patterson of LP Associates, who specialises in food-safety training. “There are different types of people involved in food threats: the opportunistic, the extremist, the extortionist and the professional criminal, as food is a big opportunity for them.

“TACCP is a process that is very similar to HACCP. It has a familiar methodology but it involves looking at threats as opposed to hazards.”

“TACCP would certainly help you show that you understand your supply chain and the threats to your business,” says Lynn. “HACCP mainly involves quality, technical and production engineering, whereas TACCP brings in human resources, security and purchasing because it looks at the supply chain, the site and the production facility.” 

The supply chain in the food industry is complex so there is plenty of opportunity for food fraud. The horsemeat adulteration scandal in 2013 brought this type of crime to the attention of not only food processors and the retail industry, but also the public.

“Authorities are trying to tackle food crime and they want the industry to self-regulate”, says Lynn. “This is a great opportunity for us to take on this new methodology and actually look at our supply chain and process.”

Products known to be prone to threats such as mislabelling, include olive oil, basmati rice and manuka honey, which is sold at a high price for its health benefits. Fraud in the fish industry is also common, as was shown in a 2013 Oceana study, which reported that a third of the fish tested in retail outlets in the United States was mislabelled.

Food security is not completely new to companies. Those with the British Retail Consortium Global Standard for Food Safety already have detailed knowledge of their supply base. The newest version of this standard was released at the start of January. It focuses on encouraging companies to put systems in place to reduce their exposure to fraud. It also seeks to foster greater transparency and traceability in the supply chain.

She adds that the Global Food Safety Initiative, an industry-driven global collaborative platform to advance food safety, talks about an umbrella of food safety. It has three pillars: HACCP, TACCP and VACCP, which is vulnerability assessment. 

Marks & Spencer is introducing a five-point Campylobacter reduction plan across its UK stores. The plan consists of: zero thinning or flock-culling during the growing cycle; rapid surface chilling; front-of-pack labelling; double-bagging chickens; and a farmer bonus scheme for Campylobacter-free farms. 

Read more >

Prof Chris Elliott of Queen’s University Belfast will soon re-run his free online training course. The two-part MOOC (massive open online course) will run for two hours a week over two periods of four weeks each. It will focus on threats to global food security, supply chain integrity and the challenges of maintaining healthy and sustainable food supplies. Interested? Register on futurelearn.com

Malcolm is the Food Hygiene Unit Project Leader in the Food Science Branch of the Sustainable Agri-Food Sciences Division (SAFSD), Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI), Belfast

As a project leader, I’m involved in several areas of commercial research and testing, as well as government and publicly-funded research, primarily with the red and white meat sector. We provide molecular diagnostic testing as well as molecular research in the area of food microbiology.

Molecular biology has been available as a tool for microbiologists and researchers for more than 20 years, but its adoption by laboratories was limited in the past for various reasons. However, such analysis can now be undertaken at comparable costs to traditional culture. 

One of the limiting factors of molecular diagnostics has been cost and the number of samples one can deal with. In the past, robotics equipment was more expensive (£100,000 per robot), but now you can get units for £20,000.

The adoption of automated liquid-handling systems means that we can process several hundred samples a day, whereas in the past one operator could only do 50 samples. This has led to significant cost reductions and more rapid notification of results.

Rapid Campylobacter testing

One example of our work was a response to a research call from the Food Standards Agency (FSA), to evaluate assays that could be used to detect Campylobacter on the farm. Our laboratory was successful in being awarded a £360,000 project for the development of a rapid on-farm test for Campylobacter in broilers.

After looking at a number of different approaches, we came to the conclusion that instead of doing an on-farm test, it was more effective if a sample was collected by the farmer and sent in the post to a central lab where it was processed.

In brief, this method involves a farmer putting on a sampling sock over his wellington boot. He then walks up and down the poultry house. The sock is then put into a sealed bag inside a stamped, addressed, tear-proof envelope and sent for analysis. A report of the results is sent directly to the farmer’s phone by text.

This solution means that samples can be collected and results can be reported within 24 hours, if not sooner. Handling specimens at a central laboratory also ensures consistent quality control, which can be a problem with on-farm tests.

Testing for independent farmers

We’re currently working with the FSA and the National Farmers Union (NFU) across the UK on a Campylobacter testing scheme for independent farmers. Around 20 per cent of the UK broiler industry is independent. One of the things I’d like to do is roll this scheme out to the Republic of Ireland broiler industry.

Under this scheme, free testing is being offered to farmers who register online at act-nfu.org and input information anonymously into a national database. Farmers can benchmark their performance against national baselines and a statistical analysis will identify Campylobacter-reducing trends.

A recent safefood report on climate change and food safety predicts that local ecosystem changes will result in changes in land use and, potentially, agricultural land abandonment in some places.

Climate Change Ireland: The potential impacts of climate change on food safety from an island of Ireland perspective  provides the most comprehensive assessment yet of the potential impacts from an island of Ireland perspective, said Dr James McIntosh, a Toxicologist with safefood. He added that climate change could cause significant disruption to this economy. 

The Institute for Global Food Security at Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) conducted research for the report. It took into account the findings of a whole range of models for predicting climate fluctuations and for risk assessment of specific food safety hazards.

Climate change could cause major local upsets by affecting all aspects of the ecosystems in an area, says James.  “Since all agricultural production is ultimately plant-based, it will be influenced by these changes.”

One of the report’s main concerns was the potential increase in pests and invasive species, and it recommended a stepping up of biosecurity. 

“Biosecurity is any measure that is taken to prevent the introduction of diseases or disease-causing organisms,” says James.  “Everyone along the food chain must play their part in making sure current and emerging threats to food safety are monitored and detected in time.”

Toxin accumulation in both plants and animals could also become a problem in aquaculture. “Researchers are developing systems that will permit continuous monitoring of the aquatic physical environment and the concentrations of phytoplankton species present,” he says.  

This data will be combined with surveillance data on harmful phytoplankton blooms and enable the development of predictive models. Aquaculture managers can respond rapidly if the risk of toxin contamination of shellfish is high, thereby preventing contaminated product from entering the food chain.

Dr Jack Lennon from QUB worked on the report. He says scientists and policymakers must work together to identify and deal with potential problems in advance and avoid the need for much more expensive firefighting.

“There is an urgent need to establish a coherent body of expertise for evidence-based food security threat assessment, focusing on climate and environmental change both within and across political boundaries,” he said.

The full report is available online from safefood.eu/Publications/Research-Reports.

International and local experts presented new research to 120 delegates at the safefood VTEC Network Annual Conference held in Blanchardstown, Dublin, recently.

“We focused on the role of the production environment and water in the transmission of VTEC,” says Dr Geraldine Duffy, facilitator of the safefood VTEC Knowledge Network. Keynote speakers included Dr Eelco Franz (National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), The Netherlands), Dr Fiona Brennan (James Hutton Institute, Scotland) and Dr Paul Hynds (FoodNet Canada, Centre for Foodborne, Environmental and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Canada).

Verocytotoxigenic E. coli (VTEC) are bacteria that carry verotoxin genes as well as other virulence-related genes. They can cause serious illness, including kidney failure. 

Attendees heard some E. coli can persist for many years in soil. “We don’t know if that type of E. coli would cause human illness,” says Geraldine, who adds this interesting question needs more research.

VTEC in water was the hot topic of the afternoon session. “We have a very high rate of VTEC infection on the island of Ireland and the reasons behind that aren’t fully clear,” says Geraldine, who is the Head of Food Safety in the Teagasc Food Research Programme.

Private well supplies were linked to some outbreaks in recent years; many were contaminated by animal faeces carrying the toxigenic E. coli.

The Regulations on Household Food Waste and Bio-waste, which came into effect in 2013 and mandate waste separation, are likely to result in increased production of biodegradable municipal waste and this was identified as a future trend in agri-food. Discussions concentrated on the potential of pathogen survival in both composted and anaerobically digested waste.

Geraldine explains: “If the composting or digestion procedures are properly carried out, the pathogens shouldn’t survive, but there’s always a risk of recontamination after they’ve been treated, while they’re in storage and before they might be applied back to crops”.

The delegates also discussed current issues such as the application of PCR-based ISO 13136. “There are ongoing issues in the application of PCR as a detection tool” says Geraldine.

A frequent problem occurs when there is a positive PCR result, but bacteria cannot be cultured, she says. It is then unclear whether the genes identified by PCR were all present in the same bacteria, meaning it may or may not be pathogenic.

Delegates left with a good overview of emerging opportunities, future trends and research solutions to address in the coming year.

VTEC Network members can see presentations from the conference on safefood.ning.com. 

(L-R:Evonne McCabe, Teagasc; Fiona Brennan, James Hutton Institute; Geraldine Duffy, Teagasc; Anne Carroll - Public Health Laboratory)

Given the high levels of Campylobacter found in farmed poultry on the island of Ireland, what can we learn from other countries dealing with flock contamination? 

The recent safefood Knowledge Network conference ‘Campylobacter: The poultry control programmes in Norway, Sweden & Denmark’, heard about control programmes in place in these Scandinavian countries. Those present also heard insights into microbiological, hygiene and process criteria, and new technology to test for contamination on the broiler farm.

“There are an estimated 9.2 million cases of campylobacteriosis in the EU every year costing the European economy €2.4 billion,” says conference chair Dr Declan Bolton, the facilitator for the safefood Campylobacter Knowledge Network. “The corresponding figures for the island of Ireland are approximately 100,000 cases and €26 million, although many professionals consider this to be an underestimate.”

The Republic of Ireland fares particularly poorly for poultry contamination, notes Declan, a Principal Research Officer at Teagasc. “The only comprehensive surveillance study undertaken to assess the prevalence of Campylobacter was conducted throughout Europe in 2008. The Republic of Ireland was bottom of the league table with 83.1 per cent of broiler batches and 98.3 per cent of carcasses contaminated. The figures for contamination in the UK, which includes Northern Ireland, were 75.3 per cent for broiler batches and 86.3 per cent for carcasses.”

It was made clear at the conference that any Campylobacter control strategy in broilers would need to actively engage key stakeholders, including media.

It should also include farmer education and training, support for biosecurity infrastructure, audits, Campylobacter monitoring of every batch (and appropriate action based on that information), consumer education and smart use of packaging – possibly branding to acknowledge the work invested and to assure the consumer.

“Each of these activities will have to be considered from the economic, political and science point of view,” Declan says.

(L-R: Declan Bolton, Teagasc; Merete Hofshagen, Norwegian Veterinary Institute; Ingrid Hansson, National Veterinary Institute, Sweden; Marianne Sandberg, Danish Agriculture and Food Council)

A recent safefood campaign successfully used social media and targeted marketing to encourage consumers not to wash raw poultry before cooking it. 

Despite evidence that potentially harmful bacteria such as Campylobacter can ‘hitchhike’ on water droplets to contaminate nearby surfaces in the kitchen, safefood discovered that up to 66 per cent of people still wash raw chicken and poultry under the tap before cooking it, according to Dr Linda Gordon, Chief Specialist Food Science at safefood. 

The ‘Don’t Wash Raw Chicken’ campaign, which ran in late 2014, encouraged consumers to think about the ‘splash zone’ around their sink, and where those bacteria might land, invisible to the naked eye. “It might be a fruit bowl, washed dishes, baby’s bottles or dummies or even the person’s own clothes,” said Linda.

Rather than washing the chicken and splashing the bugs, the campaign encouraged consumers to cook chicken thoroughly to kill off potentially harmful bacteria, and to handle leftovers safely. 

As well as placing the messages at 197 purchase points, on 7,500 trolley handles and on numerous LCD screens and on outdoor advertising on the island of Ireland, the campaign also engaged consumers through social media.

It reached more than 825,000 people on Facebook and engaged with more than 10,000 Twitter users. Vox pops and short videos proved a particularly engaging element of the approach, according to Dr Aileen McGloin, Communication Manager: Digital and Health at safefood.

“We are very happy with how this campaign performed in terms of both reach and engagement, and are doing further research to see how it has changed attitudes and behaviours,” she says

Linda notes that everyone in the food chain, from producers to consumers, has a role to play in controlling Campylobacter. “Research is ongoing to try and keep Campylobacter out of broiler houses, but contamination rates on poultry are high and it is not a problem that is going to be solved very quickly,” she says. “So we need to give consumers the best advice to lower the risk of Campylobacter causing illness.”

For full event listings, see safefood.ning.com/events.

Thermal Processing Training Course

University College Cork

April 15th-16th, 2015

Salmonella Knowledge Network Conference

DAFM Laboratories, Backweston, Celbridge, Co.Kildare
April 16th, 2015

The theme this year is supply chain management in the meat and dairy industry.

11^th International Association for Food Protection (IAFP) European Symposium on Food Safety

Cardiff City Hall, Cardiff, Wales

April 20th-22nd, 2015

Professional Certificate in Strategic Food Security Planning
The International Centre for Parliamentary Studies, London
April 27th-May 1st, 2015

Listeria Knowledge Network Conference

Food Research Centre, Moorepark, Fermoy
May 20^th, 2015

This year’s theme is managing and communicating risks related to pathogens in food. Topics will include: 

• Hazard identification
• Risk assessment and management
• Risk communication

12th International Congress on Engineering and Food (ICEF12)

Québec City, Canada

June 14th-18th, 2015

Recent challenge studies carried out by Monaghan Mushrooms and researchers in Teagasc Food Research Centre, Moorepark, indicate that Listeria monocytogenes does not grow on refrigerated, pre-packed whole mushrooms during the shelf-life period.

Traditionally, the bacterium has not been an issue for mushroom growers, but in early 2014 L. monocytogenes was detected on a mushroom sample from one producer. The number of L. monocytogenes was not determined, and a concern arose that growth would occur and the numbers would exceed the regulations during the shelf life of the mushrooms.

A previous study conducted at retail level by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland in 2006 showed that 99 per cent of mushrooms were free of Listeria. In the remaining 1 per cent, the levels were within regulations and therefore safe for consumers.

This raised the question as to whether mushrooms support the growth of L. monocytogenes under normal shelf-life conditions, to the extent that the pathogen could grow above the safe level, according to Dr Juan Valverde, Research and Development Manager for Monaghan Mushrooms.

The company decided to conduct studies on the growth of L. monocytogenes on whole mushrooms, and to use conditions specified in a European Union Reference Laboratory for Listeria monocytogenes Technical Guidance Document published in June 2014.

The study was a safefood mini project and funded by the safefood Knowledge Networks. It was carried out with Dr Kieran Jordan, the Listeria Knowledge Network facilitator, who works at Teagasc, Moorepark.

The results showed that refrigerated fresh whole closed cap prepackaged mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus) did not support the growth of L. monocytogenes under these test conditions. 

“As a result, detection of L. monocytogenes on a mushroom sample is not sufficient as the numbers will not increase during the shelf-life,” says Dr Jordan. “Instead it is necessary to determine the actual numbers and the relationship between these numbers and the regulatory limit.”

The results were presented at the safefood Listeria Knowledge Network conferences in Dublin (September 2014) and Belfast (November 2014) by Dr Avelino Alvarez-Ordonez (Teagasc) and Dr Juan Valverde.

Juan says the results were welcomed, as it shows that Monaghan Mushrooms produce a safe product, but he cautions against complacency. “We have set a standard, and now we have to keep up to it,” he says.

Since the occurrence of L. monocytogenes on mushrooms in 2014, the mushroom industry has taken the issue seriously and embarked on a strategy to address the issue, notes Kieran.

That includes creating awareness about L. monocytogenes in all parts of the mushroom production chain; challenge studies to determine the ability of L. monocytogenes to grow on mushrooms; a survey of the occurrence of L. monocytogenes at growing facilities and supporting a research project under the Food Institutional Research Measure to look at novel methods for control of L. monocytogenes in mushroom-growing facilities.

From farm to consumer, we need to see the bigger picture to ensure food is both nutritious and safe, according to Owen Brennan, Executive Chairman of the Devenish Group.  

When it comes to tackling issues in the food industry, Owen Brennan cuts quickly to the chase: from farmer to consumer, we need to stop looking at food as a commodity and instead see it is a source of nutrition.   

“The words food and commodity don’t fit together,” says Owen, a co-founder of Belfast-based agri-tech business and animal feed manufacturer Devenish Nutrition. “Food is elemental. It is at the level of water and fresh air. While I am very much for affordability, if we go down the ‘cheapest price’ route, it leads us into all sorts of problems with sustainability.”

Growing up on the family farm in Carlow, Owen developed an interest in food production, and he studied agriculture at the now-closed Warrenstown College in Co Meath and University College Dublin before working as a nutritionist. 

In 1997, Owen and two colleagues bought Devenish. Since then, the company has expanded to include manufacturing sites in the Northern Ireland, Britain and the US, and has established a presence in the Middle East.     

“Agriculture and food is a pretty good place to be,” says Owen. “Anything that preoccupies people at least three times a day, 365 days a year, would strike you as being something of real significance.”

However, he stresses that the abiding notion of food being cheap and plentiful needs to be challenged, particularly in light of global population growth and dwindling resources. And even in economically challenging times, food quality and respect for the environment should be non-negotiable. 

“Nutrition and health are not demarcated, separate issues, they are a continuum,” says Owen.  “There’s a lot of noise out there about cost, but you can choose to buy good food very affordably.”

A former president of the Northern Ireland Grain Trade Association and a former chairman of the Livestock and Meat Commission, Owen praises the work done by these and other organisations through education programmes directed not just at schools and the community, but also at farmers and suppliers. “We have been highlighting to people they are not in the farming business, they are in the food business,” he says.

Seeing the value of food as a source of nutrition – with cost as just one element of that value – could help everyone in the chain to make the connection between food and health in a more meaningful way, according to Owen.
 

Owen’s life and likes

Lives: County Meath, three miles from Slane, which Owen says is a beautiful part of Ireland

Hobbies: Fishing, shooting, hunting and any horse-related sports

Pets: Eight dogs

Favourite type of book: History. Owen is currently reading about Napoleon

Favourite music: A wide range from Handel’s Messiah to Johnny Cash

Interesting fact: Owen plans to do a sponsored trek in Southern Ethiopia next November, to raise funds for Farm Africa, a charity that works on community projects from aquaculture to environmental renewal. Separately, Devenish has a partnership with Farm Africa to help farmers in Uganda establish pig production enterprises.