A brief overview of food hygiene legislation.

Following several animal disease outbreaks and food contaminant scandals in Europe in recent years, the European Commission adopted the White Paper on Food Safety in 2000. This White Paper contains a number of recommendations aimed to increase food safety, improve the traceability of food products and regain consumer confidence in the food industry. To this effect a package of new European legislation on food and feed has been prepared with the following characteristics: responsibility of food safety lies with the food business operator, while the competent authority of the Member State verifies correct implementation of the new rules. Production should be based on good hygienic practice and HACCP principles and products are subject to microbiological criteria and temperature limits. The legislation deals with all food and covers the entire food chain ("from stable to table"). The general framework of the new food hygiene legislation is explained. The General Food Law (Regulation (EC) No 178/2002) is discussed in more detail as well as the Regulations concerning food hygiene. The characteristics and requirements of each one of the three Hygiene Regulations is presented (Regulation (EC) No 852/2004, Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 and Regulation (EC) No 854/2004) with a particular emphasis on the changes in the new (horizontal) legislation as compared to the old (vertical) Directives. Implementing measures of the Hygiene Regulations have been published in the form of four Commission Regulations in December 2005. The implementing measures deal with technical issues often in great detail and became applicable at the same time as the Hygiene Regulations with effect of 1 January 2006. The major issues as laid down in the four Commission Regulations are presented. Finally, various guidance documents are mentioned. These documents are available on the Internet site (http//ec.europa. eu/food/food/biosafety/hygienelegislation/guide_en.htm) of DG SANCO and explain in plain language some of the topics of the Hygiene Regulations.

Driving circumstances and accidents among novice drivers.

OBJECTIVE: The study evaluated the accident risk of certain driving circumstances and driving motives among novice drivers. METHODS: Self-reported exposure and accidents according to driving circumstances and driving motives were compared between young (n = 6,847) and middle-aged (n = 942) male and female novice drivers. For young drivers, self-reported accidents were further compared to fatal accidents (n = 645) in terms of the driving conditions in which they occurred. The survey was conducted in 2002 and the questions regarding the quantity and quality of driving exposure and accidents covered the first four years of the novice drivers' driving career after licensing. Data on fatal accidents related to the period of 1990 to 2000. RESULTS: Leisure-time driving, driving just for fun, and driving with passengers and during evenings and at night was more typical for young drivers than for middle-aged drivers. For middle-aged drivers, the most typical driving was driving to or from work. Driving on errands was more typical for females than males. Nighttime driving was overrepresented in young drivers' self-reported and fatal accidents, compared to the share of young drivers' driving at night. Slippery road conditions were over-represented in young male drivers' self-reported accidents, but not in their fatal accidents, whereas for young females slippery road conditions seemed to increase the propensity of fatal accidents. CONCLUSIONS: The study concluded that some driving conditions increase the risk of certain types of accidents among certain driver groups, but not among all drivers. For example, slippery road conditions were overrepresented in young male drivers' minor (self-reported) accidents, but not in their fatal accidents. For young female drivers slippery road conditions seem to increase the propensity of fatal accidents. Driving circumstances are different in minor (self-reported) and fatal accidents. When drawing conclusions regarding accident risk, it is important to determine the seriousness of the accidents which take place.

Novice drivers' accidents and violations--a failure on higher or lower hierarchical levels of driving behaviour.

The study compared accident and offence rates of 28 500 novice drivers in Finland. The purpose was to study differences in accident and offence rates between male and female novice drivers of different age. The drivers reported in a mailed questionnaire, how many accidents they had been involved in and how much they had driven during their whole driving career. All the drivers had a driving experience of 6-18 months. Information about offences for a 2-year period was obtained from an official register of drivers' licences. The drivers were classified into three age brackets: 18-20, 21-30 and 31-50 years. The effect of driving experience was controlled by dividing the drivers into different mileage brackets. The data was analysed and the results were discussed in the framework of the hierarchical model of driving behaviour. Young novice drivers and especially young male drivers showed more problems connected to the higher hierarchical levels of driving behaviour than middle-aged novice drivers. The number of accidents and offences was highest among the young males and their accidents took place more often at night than female or older drivers' accidents. Female drivers showed more problems connected to the lower hierarchical levels of driving behaviour, e.g. problems in vehicle handling skills. Ways of measuring accident risk of different driver groups were also discussed, as well as the usefulness and reliability of self-reports in accident studies.

Genotypes and enterotoxicity of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from the hands and nasal cavities of flight-catering employees.

Hand and nasal samples of flight-catering staff were collected from 1995 to 1997 to find employees carrying Staphylococcus aureus. Altogether 153 hand samples and 136 nose samples were taken. Nasal sampling showed a higher prevalence of S. aureus among food handlers (29%) than hand sampling (9%). A high proportion of the strains (46%) were enterotoxigenic, and a considerable amount of food handlers carried enterotoxigenic S. aureus, 6% and 12% according to hand and nasal sampling, respectively. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis macrorestriction profiles revealed a total of 32 different types associated with the 35 employees carrying S. aureus. In most cases, the same type colonized both the hand and nose of a person. Despite the wide variety of types found, one strain colonized five persons and the second most common strain was associated with four food handlers. The predominant toxin produced was B, which was produced by the most common strain. The results showed that nasal sampling is a good way to detect S. aureus carriers, whereas hand sampling may fail to reveal carriers. The high proportion of enterotoxigenic strains show that a food handler harboring S. aureus must be considered a potential source of enterotoxigenic strains for airline meals.

An outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes serotype 3a infections from butter in Finland.

In February 1999, an outbreak of listeriosis caused by Listeria monocytogenes serotype 3a occurred in Finland. All isolates were identical. The outbreak strain was first isolated in 1997 in dairy butter. This dairy began delivery to a tertiary care hospital (TCH) in June 1998. From June 1998 to April 1999, 25 case patients were identified (20 with sepsis, 4 with meningitis, and 1 with abscess; 6 patients died). Patients with the outbreak strain were more likely to have been admitted to the TCH than were patients with other strains of L. monocytogenes (60% vs. 8%; odds ratio, 17.3; 95% confidence interval, 2.8-136.8). Case patients admitted to the TCH had been hospitalized longer before cultures tested positive than had matched controls (median, 31 vs. 10 days; P=.008). An investigation found the outbreak strain in packaged butter served at the TCH and at the source dairy. Recall of the product ended the outbreak.

Microbiological quality of hot meals served by airlines.

The microbiological quality of 1,012 hot meals served on aircraft was studied in 1991 to 1994. The material included dishes prepared in 33 countries all over the world. The geometric means of aerobic colony counts and Escherichia coli were significantly lower in breakfasts (P < 0.05) than in main dishes. Pathogenic bacteria were found in 30 samples (3.0%), Bacillus cereus being the most common pathogen. The frequencies of B. cereus and Staphylococcus aureus did not differ between breakfasts and main dishes. Many of the samples exceeded the minimum acceptable microbiological standards recommended by the Association of European Airlines (AEA) for E. coli, S. aureus, B. cereus, Clostridium perfringens, and Salmonella; i.e., 8.2%, 0.6%, 0.7%, 0.7% and 0.3%, respectively. There were considerable differences in aerobic colony counts and E. coli counts between countries where the food was prepared.

Conflicting goals of skid training.

Efforts to make novice drivers drive more safely on slippery roads by means of special courses have mainly failed. In order to understand why the courses have failed, the views of instructors and students on the goals of skid training courses were compared. The importance given to anticipating vs manoeuvring skills was analysed. After completing a skid training course, students in four Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden) assessed manoeuvring skills to be equally important to anticipating skills in the courses. However, instructors assessed anticipating skills to be more important than manoeuvring skills. The differences between the assessments of instructors and students were the same in all four countries. Manoeuvring exercises are widely used in the courses although the main purpose of these courses is to develop anticipating skills. The exercises may give students the impression that manoeuvring skills are more important than anticipating skills. Manoeuvring exercises also increase their self-confidence and may lead to underestimation of the risks involved, resulting in e.g. driving at higher speed.

Self-reported hostility and suicidal acts, accidents, and accidental deaths: a prospective study of 21,443 adults aged 25 to 59.

The association of self-reported hostility with morbidity and mortality due to external causes, including suicidal acts, was analyzed in 10,586 Finnish men and 10,857 Finnish women aged 24 to 59 years. Hostility was assessed from self-ratings on irritability, ease of anger-arousal, and argumentativeness. Three groups, low (33.6% of subjects), intermediate (50.6%), and extreme (15.9%), were formed from the self-reported hostility scores. A 6-year mortality follow-up yielded 76 violent deaths among men and 11 among women. A 4-year morbidity follow-up found 399 hospitalizations due to external causes among men and 169 among women. Among men, the risk ratio between the highest and lowest hostility groups was 1.51 (95% confidence interval, 1.16-1.96) for all events due to external causes and 3.6 (95% confidence interval, 1.63-7.89) for suicidal behavior, when effects of age, marital status, social status, and self-reported alcohol use were controlled in a multivariate model. No association was observed between traffic-related injuries and hostility. Hostility did not predict accidents or accidental deaths or suicidal behavior among women.

Oral health status in a Finnish village.

The aim of this study was to describe edentulousness, numbers of remaining teeth, dental caries, caries experience, periodontal pockets, and background factors in a Finnish village. It was particularly aimed at determining the incidence of simultaneous occurrence of untreated caries lesions and periodontal pockets. It was carried out in 1988 in Viekijärvi, a village in North Karelia. Half of the population was invited to participate in the investigation. Seventy-two percent of those invited participated (n = 179). The subjects were examined clinically using standard WHO methods and criteria. The subjects were interviewed to establish socioeconomical factors and health habits. Thirty-five per cent of subjects were edentulous. Numbers of remaining teeth decreased with age, except in the age group 55-59 years. Numbers of teeth and edentulousness were strongly associated with use of dental services but not with health habits. More than half of the dentate population had untreated caries. Of habits affecting health, only smoking was associated with caries. Twenty-nine per cent of the dentate population had shallow pockets and 7% deep pockets. The occurrence of pockets was negatively associated with frequency of handwashing. Only 20% of the dentate population were orally healthy. The age group 55-59 years was healthier than the younger and older groups.

The occurrence of Salmonella in airline meals.

The occurrence of Salmonella in airline meals was studied in 1989-1992. Samples were collected from flight kitchens in 29 countries. The material consisted of 400 cold dishes and 1,288 hot dishes as well as salads, cheese plates and deserts. Total number of samples was 2211. Salmonella spp. were isolated from 6 samples; 1 contaminated sample was a cold dish prepared in Bangkok, 1 was a hot dish prepared in Mombasa and the remaining 4 contaminated samples were hot dishes prepared within one week in Beijing. The isolated serotypes were S. ohio, S. manchester and S. braenderup. The contaminated cold dish prepared by a flight kitchen in Bangkok was found to be connected with a Salmonella outbreak which occurred in Finland in 1990. Cold airline dishes containing food of animal origin seems to be more risky as a source of Salmonella infections among airline passengers.

Salmonella outbreak among railway and airline passengers.

A widespread outbreak by Salmonella infantis, infecting a total of 226 people, occurred in Finland at the beginning of August 1986. Of those infected, 107 were railway passengers, 91 were airline passengers and 28 were employed in a food processing establishment. The outbreak among the railway passengers was caused by egg sandwiches, the airline passengers were infected by a meal served on board and the catering employees by the breakfast served in the establishment. The outbreak was caused by food prepared in the establishment's kitchen. The employees' breakfasts had probably been contaminated by an employee who was a symptom-free Salmonella infantis carrier, and a number of the employees subsequently became infected, leading to widespread contamination of the food prepared in the establishment. The spread of the outbreak was further influenced by a heatwave at the time and by shortcomings in the cold storage facilities. The kitchen's hygiene supervision and the quality control of its output were reorganized after the outbreak.

Health habits in a Finnish village.

This study is part of a collaborative study entitled "Life-style and health" which is being conducted in Finland, India and Tanzania, using the same methods. The aim of the study is to describe health habits (smoking, alcohol consumption, use of medical drugs, exposure to sugars and hygiene habits) in Viekijärvi, a village in eastern Finland. Of the villagers 50% of those aged 20 years and over were randomly selected to take part in the study. Of these, 72% (n = 179) returned the standard questionnaire they had been sent. Smoking was as common among men in Viekijärvi as in Finland in general, but less common among women. Alcohol consumption reflected the national consumption. The use of medical drugs was high: 45% of respondents used such preparations daily. The most common exposure to sugar on a daily basis was sugar-sweetened coffee. Most people in Viekijärvi (89%) brushed their teeth at least once a day. A strong positive correlation was found between frequencies of toothbrushing and handwashing mirroring unidimensional hygienic behaviour. The results of this study will form a basis for a health promotion programme, to be developed by the villagers themselves.

Trichinella spiralis in wild animals, cats, mice, rats and farmed fur animals in Finland.

A total of 1 399 samples of wild animals, cats, mice, rats and fur animals were examined for Trichinella larvae during the period 1.1.1982-30.6.1984. Samples were obtained both from the problem area, were Trichinella larvae had been found in pigs, and for comparison from the rest of Finland. The frequency of the infection in wild carnivores, badgers, pine martens, raccoon dogs, foxes and wild mink was significantly higher in the problem area than in the rest of Finland.