Louisiana Agriculture Magazine, Spring 2000

Detection laboratory helps meet food safety needs

Consumers continue to demand more convenience with food products, including meat. Safety is a primary concern with precooked, ready-to-eat meat products.

Ciguatera fish poisoning is a typeof food poisoning caused by ingestion of certain tropical and subtropical marine fish that harbor natural toxins originating from microscopic algae (dinoflagellates).

In December 1996, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a requirement that all seafood must be processed using Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles. The intent of the requirement is to increase food safety and consumer confidence.

Throughout the various phases ofthe food production and processingsystem, opportunities for contaminationexist. Reliable laboratory and fieldmethods are necessary to rapidly detectand trace the source of contamination.

Cheese is one of the most ancient forms of manufactured food. It is the product of enzymatic action and lactic fermentation of milk using various bacterial cultures.

A partnership between scientists at the LSU Agricultural Center and entrepreneurs in Louisiana’s oyster industry has resulted in a revival of the Gulf Coast raw oyster.

1) Pathogenic microorganism hazards with reduced oxygen packaging of ground beef.2) Influence of display gas mixture on shelf life of ground beefin modified atmosphere packaging

Beef consumers are provided with various kinds of information on the fresh beef sold in grocery stores.

Scientists at the LSU AgCenter have developed a new medium-grain rice variety, named Earl, that offers improved yield and disease resistance.

Ozone is a substance best known intwo divergent ways. It is both beneficial—as in the ozone layer protecting the Earth from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays—or detrimental when ground-level concentrations become excessive, particularly on hot, humid days.

Although Americans enjoy the safest food supply in the world, several recent outbreaks of foodborne illness have heightened concern about food safety.

Food consumption plays two roles in human development: nutrition and disease prevention. Foods provide not only protein, fats, vitamins, minerals andother constituents essential for growth, but also components necessary for prevention of certain diseases.

Recent illnesses and deaths traced to foods contaminated with Escherichia coli (E. coli) O157:H7 have caused processors, regulatory officials and scientists to examine different techniques to control and destroy pathogenic microorganisms.

Aflatoxin is a natural toxin produced by the fungus Aspergillus flavus. Aflatoxin in corn appears when high temperatures and drought stress occur, which favors infection of the ear by the fungus.

LSU AgCenter Extension conducts “Safe Food Handlers” workshops to help people learn to keep food safe.