Consumer demand for meat from extensive production (e.g., organic, free-range, and antimicrobial-free) is increasing, partly due to consumers' perception that these types are safer than conventional meats.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFood safety is a shared responsibility of all actors along the food supply chain. Changes in the primary production system can affect food safety hazards along the supply chain. This highlights the need for a framework that enables primary producers (i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNuclear accidents do not occur frequently, but their biological, psychosocial, and/or economic consequences may be severe. Hence, a thorough preparation for nuclear emergencies is needed to provide appropriate actions. During the transition phase of an accident, it is vital to include stakeholders in the decision-making process in order to gain support for the recovery strategy to be implemented as well as to share different perspectives, knowledge, and views on the decision problem.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFollowing legislation, European Member States should have multi-annual control programs for contaminants, such as for mycotoxins, in feed and food. These programs need to be risk based implying the checks are regular and proportional to the estimated risk for animal and human health. This study aimed to prioritize feed products in the Netherlands for deoxynivalenol and aflatoxin B₁ monitoring.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProduction of sufficient, safe and nutritious food is a global challenge faced by the actors operating in the food production chain. The performance of food-producing systems from farm to fork is directly and indirectly influenced by major changes in, for example, climate, demographics, and the economy. Many of these major trends will also drive the development of food safety risks and thus will have an effect on human health, local societies and economies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFClimate change is expected to aggravate feed and food safety problems of crops; however, quantitative estimates are scarce. This study aimed to estimate impacts of climate change effects on deoxynivalenol contamination of wheat and maize grown in the Netherlands by 2040. Quantitative modelling was applied, considering both direct effects of changing climate on toxin contamination and indirect effects via shifts in crop phenology.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe aim of this research was to determine the decimal reduction times of bacteria present on chicken fillet in boiling water. The experiments were conducted with Campylobacter jejuni, Salmonella, and Escherichia coli. Whole chicken breast fillets were inoculated with the pathogens, stored overnight (4°C), and subsequently cooked.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe improvement of food safety in the domestic environment requires a transdisciplinary approach, involving interaction between both the social and natural sciences. This approach is applied in a study on risks associated with Campylobacter on broiler meat. First, some web-based information interventions were designed and tested on participant motivation and intentions to cook more safely.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIt has been established that, to a considerable extent, the domestic hygiene practices adopted by consumers can result in a greater or lesser microbial load in prepared meals. In the research presented here, an interdisciplinary study is reported in which interviews, observations of consumers preparing a recipe, and microbial contamination of the finished meals were compared. The results suggest that, while most consumers are knowledgeable about the importance of cross-contamination and heating in preventing the occurrence of foodborne illness, this knowledge is not necessarily translated into behavior.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThermal inactivation of pathogens has been studied extensively, which has resulted in a wide range of D- and z-values. Estimating the inactivation rate for a specific condition based on these reported values is difficult, since one has to select representative conditions, and data obtained exactly at the required representative conditions are generally not available. Therefore, a first step could be to globally assess a heat treatment taking into account largest effects only.
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