Meat quality of pork loins from Hereford×Berkshire female and intact male pigs reared in an alternative production system.

Objective: The objective of the present study was to investigate pork quality from Hereford×Berkshire (HB) female and intact male pigs reared outdoors in an alternative production system. Methods: Berkshire purebred sows were artificially inseminated, once in the fall and again in the spring of the following year, with semen from Hereford boars and managed free of antibiotics in an outdoor hoop structure until the last month of pregnancy, after which they were moved to a pasture-based unit of 0.8 hectares with individual lots with a farrowing hut, shade, and water ad libitum. Piglets were weaned at 4 weeks of age and housed in a deep-bedded hoop structure, grouped by sex. Animals were harvested at market weight of 125 kg, approximately 200 days of age. Hot carcass weight was collected at the time of the harvest. After 24 hours of refrigeration, carcass characteristics were measured. Longissimus dorsi samples collected from the right side loin. Loins were cut into 2.54-cm thick chops and were used to measure marbling score, color score, drip loss, and ultimate pH. Sensory panel tests were conducted as well at North Carolina State University. For pork characteristics and sensory panel data, trial and sex were included in the statistical model as fixed effects. Hot carcass weight was included in the model as a covariate for backfat thickness. Results: Neither the subjective nor the objective color scores displayed any differences between the boars and the gilts. No difference was found for pH and marbling score between trials or sexes. Gilts had a thicker backfat measurement at the last lumbar and a narrower longissimus muscle area measurement when compared to the boars. The only difference in the sensory characteristics was found between the trials for texture and moisture scores. Conclusion: Consumers were not able to detect boar taint under the condition of this study, which is that the intact males were reared outdoors. Additional trials would be necessary; however, based on the results of the present study, outdoor rearing can be suggested as a solution to the issue of boar taint.

Assessment of Risk Communication about Undercooked Hamburgers by Restaurant Servers.

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration 2013 Model Food Code, it is the duty of a food establishment to disclose and remind consumers of risk when ordering undercooked food such as ground beef. The purpose of this study was to explore actual risk communication behaviors of food establishment servers. Secret shoppers visited 265 restaurants in seven geographic locations across the United States, ordered medium rare burgers, and collected and coded risk information from chain and independent restaurant menus and from server responses. The majority of servers reported an unreliable method of doneness (77%) or other incorrect information (66%) related to burger doneness and safety. These results indicate major gaps in server knowledge and risk communication, and the current risk communication language in the Model Food Code does not sufficiently fill these gaps. The question is "should servers even be acting as risk communicators?" There are numerous challenges associated with this practice, including high turnover rates, limited education, and the high stress environment based on pleasing a customer. If servers are designated as risk communicators, food establishment staff should be adequately trained and provided with consumer advisory messages that are accurate, audience appropriate, and delivered in a professional manner so that customers can make informed food safety decisions.

Skin cancer (Basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and malignant melanoma): new cases, treatment practice, and health care costs in new brunswick, Canada, 2002-2010.

BACKGROUND: In Canada, there is no formal process for registering nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC); thus, the epidemiology, treatment practices, and associated health costs are not well known. OBJECTIVES: To investigate trends in new cases of skin cancer, treatment practices, and health care costs in New Brunswick, Canada. METHODS: Data were extracted from the Provincial Cancer Registry and New Brunswick administrative health databases for 2002-2010. RESULTS: New cases: Basal Cell Carcinoma (BCC) was the most common skin cancer diagnosed, and incidence rates significantly increased between 1992 and 2010.Treatment practice: Dermatologists managed the majority (45%) of the overall skin cancer treatments.Health care costs: NMSC accounted for ∼80% of the health care costs for skin cancer and was dominated by BCC. CONCLUSIONS: Development of best practice treatment guidelines for NMSC in New Brunswick would improve future health care efficiencies, and standard protocols for registering new cases of NMSC in Canada would strengthen surveillance and reporting capacity.

Effect of direct culture versus selective enrichment on the isolation of thermophilic campylobacter from feces of mature cattle at harvest.

Campylobacterjejuni and Campylobacter coli are leading bacterial causes of human gastroenteritis in the United States and other industrialized nations. These organisms frequently colonize avian hosts, including commercial poultry, but are also found in the gastrointestinal tract of other warm-blooded animals, including swine, sheep, and cattle. This study investigated the effect of direct culture versus selective enrichment on the isolation of thermophilic Campylobacter from the colon of 610 cattle. Fecal samples were taken from the colon of mature cattle (older than 30 months of age) immediately after slaughter in a commercial abattoir over a period of 17 months. Campylobacter was isolated from 23.4% of the animals. Most (93%) of the culture-confirmed Campylobacter isolates were C. jejuni, with the remaining 7% being C. coli. Additionally, of the 143 samples from which pure cultures of Campylobacter could be isolated, 72 (50.3%) were positive only with selective enrichment, 18 (12.6%) were positive only with direct plating, and 53 (37.1%) were positive by both methods. The data suggest that, even though selective enrichment was more effective than direct plating, both direct plating and selective enrichment protocols might need to be employed for optimal surveillance of C. jejuni in fecal material from cattle.