Issues to consider when setting intervention targets with limited data for low-moisture food commodities: a peanut case study.

Peanuts and peanut-containing products have been linked to at least seven salmonellosis outbreaks worldwide in the past two decades. In response, the Technical Committee on Food Microbiology of the North American Branch of the International Life Sciences Institute collaborated with the American Peanut Council to convene a workshop to develop a framework for managing risk in low-moisture food commodities where large data sets are unavailable (using peanuts as the example). Workshop attendees were charged with answering questions regarding the appropriate statistical and scientific methods for setting log reduction targets with limited pathogen prevalence and concentration data, suitable quantities of data needed for determining appropriate log reduction targets, whether the requirement of a 5-log reduction in the absence of data to establish a target log reduction is appropriate, and what targeted log reduction would protect public health. This report concludes that the judgment about sufficient data is not solely scientific, but is instead a science-informed policy decision that must weigh additional societal issues. The participants noted that modeling efforts should proceed with sampling efforts, allowing one to compare various assumptions about prevalence and concentration and how they are combined. The discussions made clear that data and risk models developed for other low-moisture foods like almonds and pistachios may be applicable to peanuts. Workshop participants were comfortable with the use of a 5-log reduction for controlling risk in products like peanuts when the level of contamination of the raw ingredients is low (<1 CFU/g) and the process well controlled, even when limited data are available. The relevant stakeholders from the food safety community may eventually conclude that as additional data, assumptions, and models are developed, alternatives to a 5-log reduction might also result in the desired level of protection for peanuts and peanut products.

Integrating the totality of food and nutrition evidence for public health decision making and communication.

The interpretation and integration of epidemiological studies detecting weak associations (RR <2) with data from other study designs (e.g., animal models and human intervention trials) is both challenging and vital for making science-based dietary recommendations in the nutrition and food safety communities. The 2008 ILSI North America "Decision-Making for Recommendations and Communication Based on Totality of Food-Related Research" workshop provided an overview of epidemiological methods, and case-study examples of how weak associations have been incorporated into decision making for nutritional recommendations. Based on the workshop presentations and dialogue among the participants, three clear strategies were provided for the use of weak associations in informing nutritional recommendations for optimal health. First, enable more effective integration of data from all sources through the use of genetic and nutritional biomarkers; second, minimize the risk of bias and confounding through the adoption of rigorous quality-control standards, greater emphasis on the replication of study results, and better integration of results from independent studies, perhaps using adaptive study designs and Bayesian meta-analysis methods; and third, emphasize more effective and truthful communication to the public about the evolving understanding of the often complex relationship between nutrition, lifestyle, and optimal health.

Chemical and physical stability of citral and limonene in sodium dodecyl sulfate-chitosan and gum arabic-stabilized oil-in-water emulsions.

Citral and limonene are the major flavor components of citrus oils. Both of these compounds can undergo chemical degradation leading to loss of flavor and the formation of undesirable off-flavors. Engineering the interface of emulsion droplets with emulsifiers that inhibit chemical reactions could provide a novel technique to stabilize citral and limonene. At present, emulsified flavor oils are usually stabilized by gum arabic (GA), which is a naturally occurring polysaccharide-protein complex. The objective of this study was to examine if citral and limonene were more stable in emulsions stabilized with a sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-chitosan complex than GA. Citral degraded less in GA-stabilized than in SDS-chitosan-stabilized emulsions at pH 3.0. However, SDS-chitosan-stabilized emulsions were more effective at retarding the formation of the citral oxidation product, p-cymene, than GA-stabilized emulsions. Limonene degradation and the formation of limonene oxidation products, limonene oxide and carvone, were lower in the SDS-chitosan- than GA-stabilized emulsions at pH 3.0. The ability of an SDS-chitosan multilayer emulsifier system to inhibit the oxidative deterioration of citral and limonene could be due to the formation of a cationic and thick emulsion droplet interface that could repel prooxidative metals, thus decreasing prooxidant-lipid interactions.

Chemical and sensory analysis of strawberry flavoured yogurt supplemented with an algae oil emulsion.

A yogurt mix (2 g fat and 17g solids/100 g) was supplemented with an algae oil emulsion to provide 500 mg omega-3 fatty acids per 272 g serving of yogurt white mass. The emulsion was added to the yogurt mix either before or after the homogenization step and prior to pasteurization. It was then flavoured with a strawberry fruit base and fermented and stored for up to three weeks. The oxidative deterioration of the products was determined by hydroperoxide measurements and by trained and consumer sensory evaluations. The hydroperoxide content of the supplemented yogurts increased over the storage treatment and was unaffected by the stage of addition. The trained panel could distinguish a stronger fishy flavour in both of the supplemented yogurts after 22 days storage, but the consumer panel rated both control and supplemented samples similarly, as 'moderately liked'.