Food Allergen Management

Overview

•                Food Allergens

– What they are and what they do?

•                Allergen Management in Manufacture

– Making food safe for all consumers

•                Training and Education

– Raising awareness at all levels

•                Allergen Labelling

– Proper use of allergen labelling

HISTAMINE - POISONING

Histamine poisoning is one of the major problems in Tuna industry. Histamine poisoning (Scombroid Food Poisoning) is a food-borne illness, which is a result of consuming fish with poorly chilled or handled. Histamine poisoning is the second most common type of fish poisoning (after Cigutera).

HISTAMINE FORMATION
Histamine is an Organic Nitrogen Compound, which is derived from the “decarboxylation” of an amino acid named “HISTIDINE”
The reaction is as followed,

                                   Conversion of Histidine to Histamine by histidine decarboxylase
                                   
In animal guts, especially in Scombroid fish, there are certain Bacteria which is capable of producing Histamine, using the catalyst enzyme named “Histidine Decarboxylase”.

CONTROLLING THE FORMATION OF HISTAMINE IN TUNA
This controlling should start from the boat. Here only considered the “Long Line” caught Tuna fish. Once the fish is taken to the boat, Guts and Gils should remove (Evisceration) and it should bled in order to remove the blood.
Symptoms of Histamine Poisoning
- Nausea
- Flushed face
- Dizziness
- Sweating
- Rapid heartbeat
- Stomach pain
- Headache
- Burning taste in mouth

Those symptoms then further developed in to following,
- Swelling (Oedema)
- Stomach Cramps
- Diarrhea
- Hives

When it goes more severe,
- Blurred Vision
- Swollen Tongue
- Difficulty of breathing

Seafood processing benefits from ozone

Ozone, long known as a ptotective shield between humans and the sun’s rays, has a new use in the seafood industry. Researchers from the NorthCarolina State Seafood Laboratory have found that ozone may enhance the freshness of raw seafood.

The study, administered by North Carolina Sea Grant, found that treating raw fish and processing equipment with ozone significantly reduced the amount of bacteria that could potentially spoil seafood, according to reasearcher Barry Nash.

FDA 2001 Food Code - Annex 5: HACCP Guidelines (Part 01)

FDA 2001 Food Code - Annex 5: HACCP Guidelines

U. S. Department of Health and Human Services
Public Health Service
Food and Drug Administration
2001 Food Code (Updated April 2004*)
Supplement to the 2001 Food Code

Five New Listeria Species Found

Looking for the Original Article ?. . . . Click here 

Findings has implications for understanding the evolution of what makes Listeria monocytogenes pathogenic, and also for developing faster and more specific testing methods. 

Researchers at Cornell University have discovered five new species of Listeria – including one named for Cornell. The discovery is expected to provide new insights that could lead to better ways to detect soil bacteria in food. 

The Future of Food Safety Testing

Culture-free pathogen testing, multiplexing, and leveraging genome sequencing and the power of bioinformatics are some trends that will shape the future of food labs, according to Stan Bailey, Director of Scientific Affairs for bioMérieux.

By Sangita Viswanathan

With an estimated 47.8 million of illnesses caused each year due to foodborne pathogens, resulting nearly

128,000 hospitalizations and 3000 deaths, pathogen testing is the biggest driver of food safety testing. So what will the future of food safety testing look like? 

CDC Releases 40 Years of U.S. Salmonella Data

Looking for the Original Article ?. . . . Click here 

The data, collected by state and federal health officials, provides a wealth of information on Salmonella, the top food-borne cause of hospitalizations and deaths in the United States.

Forty years of data on a major cause of food poisoning now is available to the public, the food industry, and researchers in a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The data, collected by state and federal health officials, provides a wealth of information on Salmonella, the top food-borne cause of hospitalizations and deaths in the United States.

Recycling symbols

Recycling symbols can be further divided into two separate categories.

1. 'Recyclable' symbols marking products made from specific materials that are suitable for recycling depending on whether there is a collection mechanism in place within the local community for those particular materials.
2. 'Recycled' symbols designating products containing recycled materials.

The use of the terms 'recycled' and 'recyclable', among others, and the display of the symbols is governed by the Federal Trade Commission's Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims. These guidelines govern all environmental claims attached to and/or associated with products, including those described in labeling, advertising, and all forms of marketing.

The international standard for defining environmental claims on products or packaging can be found in ISO 14021: Environmental Labels and Declarations-Self-declared Environmental Claims.

Seafood and Your Health

In a balanced diet, Seafood plays an important role because it is rich in OMEGA-3 fatty acids, which help to reduce the risk of heart disease, strokes, cancers and other ailments as well as it helps to boost immunity of the consumer.

Omega-3s are especially important for young children, and nursing and pregnant women. But unfortunately, there are some fish, which carry toxins that can become harmful when consumes frequently.   

Contaminants in Seafood

Seafood contaminants includes heavy metals (i.e. Mercury – affects brain function and development), Industrial chemicals (Dioxins and PCBs) and pesticides (DDT). These toxins usually originates on land and make their way in to the smallest animals and plants at the base of the ocean food chain. As smaller species are eaten by lager ones, contaminants are accumulated and concentrated. Finally lager predators (i.e. Shark, Sward fish) are ended up with most toxins.

By choosing seafood carefully, consumer can minimize the risk. 

Is our food SAFE?

Here I am not going to talk about only fish but food as a whole. If we take a good look at quality within our food system, recent surveys conducted by various governing and testing bodies suggested that our food and food supplies are safer than ever. However, from the information available in recent news, as consumers we may be excused for thinking it is not necessarily so.

I.e.

• E. coli, Salmonella and Listeria have been found far more than we would guess in restaurants and supermarkets.
• Bovine spongiform (Mad Cow Disease) has caused countries to ban the importing of beef

HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point)

History

          In 1959, The HACCP system was developed by the “Pillsbury Company” when working on producing safe food products for NASA to use in space missions. In 1971, HACCP concept was presented to the general public through National Conference on Food Protection, and during that time the system was based on 3 principles. HACCP system was further developed to what we know today during 1992, with “Famous 7 Principles of HACCP”.