Costs of Food Safety Investments in the Meat and Poultry Slaughter Industries.

To develop regulations efficiently, federal agencies need to know the costs of implementing various regulatory alternatives. As the regulatory agency responsible for the safety of meat and poultry products, the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service is interested in the costs borne by meat and poultry establishments. This study estimated the costs of developing, validating, and reassessing hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP), sanitary standard operating procedures (SSOP), and sampling plans; food safety training for new employees; antimicrobial equipment and solutions; sanitizing equipment; third-party audits; and microbial tests. Using results from an in-person expert consultation, web searches, and contacts with vendors, we estimated capital equipment, labor, materials, and other costs associated with these investments. Results are presented by establishment size (small and large) and species (beef, pork, chicken, and turkey), when applicable. For example, the cost of developing food safety plans, such as HACCP, SSOP, and sampling plans, can range from approximately $6000 to $87000, depending on the type of plan and establishment size. Food safety training costs from approximately $120 to $2500 per employee, depending on the course and type of employee. The costs of third-party audits range from approximately $13000 to $24000 per audit, and establishments are often subject to multiple audits per year. Knowing the cost of these investments will allow researchers and regulators to better assess the effects of food safety regulations and evaluate cost-effective alternatives.

Food Safety Practices in the Egg Products Industry.

We conducted a national census survey of egg product plants (n = 57) to obtain information on the technological and food safety practices of the egg products industry and to assess changes in these practices from 2004 to 2014. The questionnaire asked about operational and sanitation practices, microbiological testing practices, food safety training for employees, other food safety issues, and plant characteristics. The findings suggest that improvements were made in the industry's use of food safety technologies and practices between 2004 and 2014. The percentage of plants using advanced pasteurization technology and an integrated, computerized processing system increased by almost 30 percentage points. Over 90% of plants voluntarily use a written hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) plan to address food safety for at least one production step. Further, 90% of plants have management employees who are trained in a written HACCP plan. Most plants (93%) conduct voluntary microbiological testing. The percentage of plants conducting this testing on egg products before pasteurization has increased by almost 30 percentage points since 2004. The survey findings identify strengths and weaknesses in egg product plants' food safety practices and can be used to guide regulatory policymaking and to conduct required regulatory impact analysis of potential regulations.

Rapid determination of (237)Np and plutonium isotopes in urine by inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry and alpha spectrometry.

A new rapid separation method was developed for the measurement of plutonium and neptunium in urine samples by inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and/or alpha spectrometry with enhanced uranium removal. This method allows separation and preconcentration of plutonium and neptunium in urine samples using stacked extraction chromatography cartridges and vacuum box flow rates to facilitate rapid separations. There is an increasing need to develop faster analytical methods for emergency response samples. There is also enormous benefit to having rapid bioassay methods in the event that a nuclear worker has an uptake (puncture wound, etc.) to assess the magnitude of the uptake and guide efforts to mitigate dose (e.g., tissue excision and chelation therapy). This new method focuses only on the rapid separation of plutonium and neptunium with enhanced removal of uranium. For ICP-MS, purified solutions must have low salt content and low concentration of uranium due to spectral interference of (238)U(1)H(+) on m/z 239. Uranium removal using this method is enhanced by loading plutonium and neptunium initially onto TEVA resin, then moving plutonium to DGA resin where additional purification from uranium is performed with a decontamination factor of almost 1×10(5). If UTEVA resin is added to the separation scheme, a decontamination factor of ~3 × 10(6) can be achieved.

Rapid separation method for 237Np and Pu isotopes in large soil samples.

A new rapid method for the determination of (237)Np and Pu isotopes in soil and sediment samples has been developed at the Savannah River Site Environmental Lab (Aiken, SC, USA) that can be used for large soil samples. The new soil method utilizes an acid leaching method, iron/titanium hydroxide precipitation, a lanthanum fluoride soil matrix removal step, and a rapid column separation process with TEVA Resin. The large soil matrix is removed easily and rapidly using these two simple precipitations with high chemical recoveries and effective removal of interferences. Vacuum box technology and rapid flow rates are used to reduce analytical time.

Determination of 237Np and Pu isotopes in large soil samples by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.

A new method for the determination of (237)Np and Pu isotopes in large soil samples has been developed that provides enhanced uranium removal to facilitate assay by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). This method allows rapid preconcentration and separation of plutonium and neptunium in large soil samples for the measurement of (237)Np and Pu isotopes by ICP-MS. (238)U can interfere with (239)Pu measurement by ICP-MS as (238)UH(+) mass overlap and (237)Np via (238)U peak tailing. The method provides enhanced removal of uranium by separating Pu and Np initially on TEVA Resin, then transferring Pu to DGA resin for additional purification. The decontamination factor for removal of uranium from plutonium for this method is greater than 1×10(6). Alpha spectrometry can also be applied so that the shorter-lived (238)Pu isotope can be measured successfully. (239) Pu, (242)Pu and (237)Np were measured by ICP-MS, while (236)Pu and (238)Pu were measured by alpha spectrometry.

Rapid separation method for actinides in emergency air filter samples.

A new rapid method for the determination of actinides and strontium in air filter samples has been developed at the Savannah River Site Environmental Lab (Aiken, SC, USA) that can be used in emergency response situations. The actinides and strontium in air filter method utilizes a rapid acid digestion method and a streamlined column separation process with stacked TEVA, TRU and Sr Resin cartridges. Vacuum box technology and rapid flow rates are used to reduce analytical time. Alpha emitters are prepared using cerium fluoride microprecipitation for counting by alpha spectrometry. The purified (90)Sr fractions are mounted directly on planchets and counted by gas flow proportional counting. The method showed high chemical recoveries and effective removal of interferences. This new procedure was applied to emergency air filter samples received in the NRIP Emergency Response exercise administered by the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) in April, 2009. The actinide and (90)Sr in air filter results were reported in less than 4 h with excellent quality.

Ablation of prion protein immunoreactivity by heating in saturated calcium hydroxide.

BACKGROUND: Prions, the infectious agents that cause transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), are relatively resistant to destruction by physical, enzymatic, and chemical treatments. Hydrolysis in boiling saturated calcium hydroxide (limewater) utilizes inexpensive chemicals to digest protein components of offal. The purpose of this work was to determine if incubating brain material from scrapie-infected sheep in near-boiling saturated calcium hydroxide solution (Ca(OH)2) would abolish immunoreactivity of the infectious prion (PrPSc) as determined by western blot. FINDINGS: After incubating for as few as 10 minutes in saturated calcium hydroxide at 99 degrees C, immunoreactivity of protease resistant bands by western blot analysis is completely lost. CONCLUSION: Boiling in limewater may offer an alternative for disposal of carcasses and enable alternative uses for rendered products from potentially infected carcasses.