Similarities and differences of the volatile profiles of six spices explored by Proton Transfer Reaction Mass Spectrometry.

Aroma properties of spices are related to the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) present, which can provide distinct analytical signatures. The aim of the study was to examine similarity and diversity of VOC profiles of six common market spices (black/white pepper, chili paprika, cinnamon, nutmeg and saffron). The key volatiles were identified by PTR-TOFMS. Twelve samples per spice were subjected to PTR-Quadrupole MS (PTR-QMS) and Principal Component Analysis to compare the groups and examine diversity. With PTR-TOFMS, 101 volatile compounds were identified as total sum across all samples by mass and comparing them with literature data. Some spices comprised key character aroma compounds, e.g. cinnamaldehyde in cinnamon. For others, VOC groups, such as terpenes, acids and aldehydes topped the list. The PTR-QMS in combination with variables selection resulted in distinct PCA patterns for each spice. Variation within the spice groups was observed, but varied with the kind of spice. The results are valuable for future authentication studies.

Control of Escherichia coli and Listeria monocytogenes in suckling-lamb meat evaluated using microbial challenge tests.

Escherichia coli and Listeria monocytogenes microbial challenge tests were performed on fresh suckling-lamb meat. Hind leg slices were chilly stored under two modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) environments (A: 15%O2/60%CO2/25%N2, B: 15%O2/30%CO2/55%N2) and vacuum packaging (V). Only E. coli was reduced between 0.72-1.25 log cfu/g from day 1 to day 4 by the combined use of MAP/V, chilling storage and the growth of native lactic acid bacteria. However, L. monocytogenes was not inhibited by the application of V or MAP. Even do, in inoculated samples, this pathogen increased between 1.2-2.7 log cfu/g throughout the study. Consequently, a second experiment that combined the effects of MAP/V and a protective culture (Leuconostoc pseudomesenteroides PCK 18) against L. monocytogenes was designed. Two different levels of protective cultures were assayed (4 and 6 log cfu/g). Lc. pseudomesenteroides PCK 18 was able to control the growth of L. monocytogenes when the differences between them are higher than 2 log cfu/g. Moreover, when high level of protective culture was used a significant reduction of L. monocytogenes counts were noticed in samples packaged in 60% of CO2 along the storage period, although sensory properties were also affected.

Assessing the status of food safety management systems for fresh produce production in East Africa: evidence from certified green bean farms in Kenya and noncertified hot pepper farms in Uganda.

The farms of fresh produce farmers are major sources of food contamination by microbiological organisms and chemical pesticides. In view of their choice for farming practices, producers are influenced by food safety requirements. This study analyzes the role of food safety standard certification toward the maturity of food safety management systems (FSMS) in the primary production of fresh produce. Kenya and Uganda are two East African countries that export green beans and hot peppers, respectively, to the European Union but have contrasting features in terms of agricultural practices and certification status. In the fresh produce chain, a diagnostic instrument for primary production was used to assess context factors, core control and assurance activities, and system output to measure the performance of FSMS for certified green bean farms in Kenya and noncertified hot pepper farms in Uganda. Overall, our findings show that in Uganda, noncertified hot pepper farms revealed only a "basic level of control and assurance" activities in their FSMS, which was not satisfactory, because no insight into potential pesticide microbial contamination was presented by these farmers. On the other hand, certified green bean farms in Kenya had an "average level of control and assurance," providing insight into the delivered food safety and quality by the farmers. Farm size did not impact the maturity level of FSMS. This study confirms the role played by food safety standard certification toward the maturity of FSMS implemented in developing countries and demonstrates the possibility of Ugandan farms to upgrade agricultural practices in the fresh produce sector.

Odors: appetizing or satiating? Development of appetite during odor exposure over time.

BACKGROUND: Exposure to palatable food odors influences appetite responses, either promoting or inhibiting food intake. Possibly, food odors are appetizing after a short exposure (of circa 1-3 min), but become satiating over time (circa 10-20 min). OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of odor exposure on general appetite and sensory-specific appetite (SSA) over time. DESIGN: In a cross-over study, 21 unrestrained women (age: 18-45 years; BMI: 18.5-25 kg m(-2)) were exposed for 20 min to eight different odor types: five food odors, two nonfood odors and no-odor. All odors were distributed in a test room at suprathreshold levels. General appetite, SSA and salivation were measured over time. RESULTS: All food odors significantly increased general appetite and SSA, compared with the no-odor condition. The nonfood odors decreased general appetite. All effects did not change over time during odor exposure. Savory odors increased the appetite for savory foods, but decreased appetite for sweet foods, and vice versa after exposure to sweet odors. Neither food odors nor nonfood odors affected salivation. CONCLUSIONS: Palatable food odors were appetizing during and after odor exposure and did not become satiating over a 20-min period. Food odors had a large impact on SSA and a small impact on general appetite. Moreover, exposure to food odors increased the appetite for congruent foods, but decreased the appetite for incongruent foods. It may be hypothesized that, once the body is prepared for intake of a certain food with a particular macronutrient composition, it is unfavorable to consume foods that are very different from the cued food.

Effect of frying instructions for food handlers on acrylamide concentration in French fries: an explorative study.

The objective of this study was to obtain insight into the effect of frying instructions on food handlers' control decisions in restaurants and to investigate the impact of control decisions on the variation and concentration of acrylamide in French fries. The concentrations of acrylamide and reducing sugars were analyzed, the frying temperature and time were measured, and thawing practices were observed. The results obtained before and after instructions were provided to the food handlers were compared for restaurants as a group and for each restaurant. Frying instructions supported food handlers' decisions to start frying when the oil temperature reached 175°C; all handlers started frying at the correct temperature. However, the effect of the instructions on the food handlers' decisions for frying time differed; most handlers increased the frying time beyond 240 s to achieve crispier French fries with a final color dictated by their preference. Providing instructions did not result in a significant difference in the mean concentration of acrylamide in French fries for the restaurants as a group. However, data analyzed for each restaurant revealed that when food handlers properly followed the instructions, the mean concentration of acrylamide was significantly lower (169 µg/kg) than that before instructions were provided (1,517 µg/kg). When food handlers did not complying with the frying instructions, mean acrylamide concentrations were even higher than those before instructions were provided. Two different strategies were developed to overcome the noncompliant behavior of food handlers: establishing requirements for the features of commercial fryers and strict monitoring of compliance with instructions.

Is lowering reducing sugars concentration in French fries an effective measure to reduce acrylamide concentration in food service establishments?

The objective of this study was to obtain insight into the actual effectiveness of lowering reducing sugars concentration in par-fried potato strips on the concentration and variation of acrylamide in French fries prepared in real-life situations in food service establishments. Acrylamide, frying time, frying temperature, and reducing sugars were measured and characteristics of fryers were recorded. Data showed that the use of par-fried potato strips with lower concentrations of reducing sugars than the commonly used potato strips was an effective measure to reduce acrylamide concentrations in French fries prepared under standardised frying conditions. However, there was still large variation in the acrylamide concentrations in French fries, although the variation in reducing sugars concentrations in low and normal types of par-fried potato strips was very small and the frying conditions were similar. Factors that could affect the temperature-time profile of frying oil were discussed, such as setting a lower frying temperature at the end than at the start of frying, product/oil ratio and thawing practice. These need to be controlled in daily practice to reduce variation in acrylamide.

Microbial performance of food safety management systems implemented in the lamb production chain.

The actual microbial status of the lamb production chain at three slaughterhouses, one processing plant, and five butcher shops selling whole or cut lamb carcasses to consumers was assessed with a previously developed microbial assessment scheme. All studied establishments had a food safety management system (FSMS) that was implemented according to legislative requirements. Microbial safety level profiles were constructed for each establishment and provided clear indications of which pathogens, hygiene indicators, or utility parameters required attention to improve the performance of the microbiological control protocols of the implemented FSMS. The highest contamination was found in the slaughterhouses in samples taken from the meat products (aerobic mesophilic plate counts [AMPs] of 3.40 to 6.63 log CFU/cm(2) and Enterobacteriaceae counts of 1.00 to 4.62 log CFU/cm(2)), contact surfaces (AMPs of 2.44 to 8.92 log CFU/cm(2)), and operators' hands and/or gloves (AMPs of 2.84 to 8.09 log CFU/cm(2)), especially after hide removal and evisceration. The microbial assessment scheme is a useful tool for providing insight into the actual microbiological results achieved with an FSMS implemented in establishments at various stages along the lamb production chain.

Possible causes of variation in acrylamide concentration in French fries prepared in food service establishments: an observational study.

Acrylamide is a probable human carcinogen, and its presence in a range of fried and oven-cooked foods has raised considerable health concern world-wide. Dietary intake studies observed significant variations in acrylamide concentrations, which complicate risk assessment and the establishment of effective control measures. The objective of this study was to obtain an insight into the actual variation in acrylamide concentrations in French fries prepared under typical conditions in a food service establishment (FSE). Besides acrylamide, frying time, frying temperature, and reducing sugars were measured and the actual practices at receiving, thawing and frying during French fries preparation were observed and recorded. The variation in the actual frying temperature contributed most to the variation in acrylamide concentrations, followed by the variation in actual frying time; no obvious effect of reducing sugars was found. The lack of standardised control of frying temperature and frying time (due to inadequate frying equipment) and the variable practices of food handlers seem to contribute most to the large variation and high acrylamide concentrations in French fries prepared in a restaurant type of FSE as compared to chain fast-food services, and institutional caterers. The obtained insights in this study can be used to develop dedicated control measures in FSE, which may contribute to a sustainable reduction in the acrylamide intake.

Food safety performance indicators to benchmark food safety output of food safety management systems.

There is a need to measure the food safety performance in the agri-food chain without performing actual microbiological analysis. A food safety performance diagnosis, based on seven indicators and corresponding assessment grids have been developed and validated in nine European food businesses. Validation was conducted on the basis of an extensive microbiological assessment scheme (MAS). The assumption behind the food safety performance diagnosis is that food businesses which evaluate the performance of their food safety management system in a more structured way and according to very strict and specific criteria will have a better insight in their actual microbiological food safety performance, because food safety problems will be more systematically detected. The diagnosis can be a useful tool to have a first indication about the microbiological performance of a food safety management system present in a food business. Moreover, the diagnosis can be used in quantitative studies to get insight in the effect of interventions on sector or governmental level.

Interdisciplinary thinking in agricultural and life sciences higher education.

Interdisciplinary thinking as a skill appears to be of value to higher education students and those in employment. This idea is explored with reference to the agricultural and life sciences. The need for further understanding of the development of interdisciplinary thinking is acknowledged. This is closely related to the requirement for well-founded curriculum and course design. This publication presents a brief introduction to a systematic review of scientific research into teaching and learning in interdisciplinary higher education. While tentative, the understanding arising from the review findings is considered to be of potential value to educational practice. A selection of the review findings is presented by way of illustration. The selection is believed to be of relevance to the agricultural and life sciences. The review findings presented here take the form of interdisciplinary thinking sub skills and enabling conditions.

A Microbial Assessment Scheme to measure microbial performance of Food Safety Management Systems.

A Food Safety Management System (FSMS) implemented in a food processing industry is based on Good Hygienic Practices (GHP), Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles and should address both food safety control and assurance activities in order to guarantee food safety. One of the most emerging challenges is to assess the performance of a present FSMS. The objective of this work is to explain the development of a Microbial Assessment Scheme (MAS) as a tool for a systematic analysis of microbial counts in order to assess the current microbial performance of an implemented FSMS. It is assumed that low numbers of microorganisms and small variations in microbial counts indicate an effective FSMS. The MAS is a procedure that defines the identification of critical sampling locations, the selection of microbiological parameters, the assessment of sampling frequency, the selection of sampling method and method of analysis, and finally data processing and interpretation. Based on the MAS assessment, microbial safety level profiles can be derived, indicating which microorganisms and to what extent they contribute to food safety for a specific food processing company. The MAS concept is illustrated with a case study in the pork processing industry, where ready-to-eat meat products are produced (cured, cooked ham and cured, dried bacon).

Evaluation of performance measurement instruments on their use for food quality systems.

Due to regular challenges of food safety, consumers put high demands on the performance of food quality systems. To deal with these requirements, food manufacturers need effective quality management. Performance of food quality systems can be partly realized by quality assurance systems, such as HACCP (hazard analysis and critical control point), ISO (international organization for standardization), and BRC (british retail consortium). However, it is still unknown to what extent these systems factually contribute to the realization of quality in the wider sense. Therefore, an instrument is needed that measures the effectiveness of quality systems. This article describes the evaluation of instruments on their suitability for the development of a diagnostic instrument that measures the effectiveness of food quality systems. For this evaluation, perspectives of quality, typical characteristics of agrifood production, quantification, and performance measurement of quality management were studied. Instruments that measure the performance of both quality management and production quality were identified and evaluated on the basis of the defined criteria. The criteria for the performance of production quality were 6 quality dimensions, i.e., product quality, availability, costs,flexibility, reliability, and service. The criteria for performance of quality management were analyses of the relationships between quality management, context of the organization, and production quality, a normative procedure, validation, applicability, classification, and a process approach. Finally, for the final instrument, the evaluation resulted in an integrated approach i.e., a technomanagerial approach, and 3 suitable instruments i.e., Wageningen Management Approach, Extended Quality Triangle, and the quality concept of Noori and Radford.

[A survey of the epidemiology of breast cancer in The Netherlands]. / Een overzicht van de epidemiologie van borstkanker in Nederland.

Breast cancer is responsible for the main part of the total cancer incidence (+/- 30%) and cancer mortality (+/- 20%) among Dutch women. Due to aging of the Dutch population alone, the absolute numbers of breast cancer cases and deaths will increase considerably. Risk factors for breast cancer give no clues for primary prevention. By means of periodic screening patients are diagnosed at an earlier stage of disease, with a better prognosis. Even without a screening programme symptomatic women are diagnosed at earlier stages of disease. This paper gives a review of trends in breast cancer incidence and mortality in The Netherlands, as well as a risk profile of breast cancer patients and the relation between disease stage and survival. Its purpose is to obtain a better insight into the intended effects of the national breast cancer screening programme.