All aspects of food safety, including microbes, toxins, contaminants and hazards. Any discussions of regulatory issues and legal challenges will be addressed.

The Biochemical Basis of Celiac Disease
(Open Access for a Limited Time to this Cereal Chemistry Article)
Celiac disease (CD) is an inflammatory disorder of the upper small intestine triggered by the ingestion of wheat, rye, barley, and possibly oat products. The clinical feature of CD is characterized by a flat intestinal mucosa with the absence of normal villi, resulting in a generalized malabsorption of nutrients. The prevalence of CD among Caucasians is now thought to be in a range of 1:100–300. There is a strong genetic association with human leukocyte antigens (HLA-)DQ2 and DQ8 and currently unknown non-HLA genes. During the last decade, intense biochemical studies have contributed to substantial progress in understanding the general principles that determine the pathogenesis of CD.

Approved Methods - Coliform—E. coli
(Open Access for a Limited Time to this Method)
The coliform/E. coli count can be a part of a measure of the overall quality of a food product or ingredient. Generally, high coliform counts indicate low product quality. In finished products, high coliform counts can be related to contaminated raw ingredients, underprocessing, or mishandling during or after processing. Elevated counts could indicate a potential health hazard in which pathogens and or toxins may be present. If coliform counts are high, conditions may be favorable for pathogenic bacteria. The identification of Escherichia coli in products or ingredients can indicate possible fecal contamination. This method is applicable to all types of food products and ingredients.

Whole Grains and Health, Evidence from Observational and Intervention Studies
(Open Access for a Limited Time to this Cereal Chemistry Article)
Nutritionists, dietitians and food manufacturers have advocated an increased consumption of whole grain foods. In some countries, this message is supported by governmental guidelines and health claims that can be used on whole grain foods. The bulk of evidence to support these messages comes from observational studies; in some cases, cohort studies with follow-up. Although these data are powerful indicators of the relationship between whole grain intake and improved health, they do not demonstrate causality.

Traceability Comments Submitted
AACC Intl. submitted comments in response to FDA’s request for input on Product Tracing Systems for Food and Feed. The letter supports traceability and explains why it is more complex to trace back grains than other food groups.

Building Safety into the Product Development Process
(Open Access to this CFW Online Article)
One thing that developers cannot take for granted is that all foods are safe. This is especially true with many grain-based products. Who would have thought that there would be two major foodborne outbreaks in a 10-year span associated with breakfast cereal? Or, even more surprising, is a documented outbreak traced to potato chips. Yes, potato chips—a product that is fried in hot oil at temperatures in the 340–360°F range. The causative agent was a seasoning blend containing paprika that was contaminated with salmonella. So, one can assume that almost any product can end up being a vehicle for foodborne illness, assuming the right (or wrong) series of events happens. Now, when these incidences were investigated, the problems were traced to breakdowns in the sanitation system, but the end results don’t change the fact that problems can occur with almost every product.

Food Safety-A Current Perspective for Stakeholders: Creating a Food Safety Culture Through Audits and Best Practice Sharing
(Open Access to this CFW Online Article)
As we respond to new audit requirements, we are face with the challenge of creating a food safety culture, maintaining the best food safety practices and retaining customer confidence, while effectively managing overall costs and complexity. The milling and baking industry as a whole has always been forefront in the efforts to assure the safety of the food supply-they were the early adapters of third-party audits and HACCP practices. AACC Intl. is one of the first associations in the industry to tackle this complex and highly specialized area from a truly global perspective.

Celiac Disease: A Multidisciplinary Point of View
Organizers: Peter Koehler, German Research Center for Food Chemistry, Freising, Germany; Jodi Engleson, Grains for Health Foundation, St. Paul, MN, U.S.A.
Financial Sponsors: R-Biopharm AG, General Mills, Inc., Romer Labs  
In genetically susceptible individuals, the ingestion of gluten triggers an immune-related entheropathy known as celiac disease (CD). CD is a multidisciplinary issue. Research is being conducted aimed at understanding the mechanisms that trigger CD. Because patients have to adhere to a strict, lifelong, gluten-free diet, methods are required to properly prepare gluten-free foods and to check whether they are in fact gluten-free. Novel approaches are aimed at using gluten-containing raw materials and degrading gluten during food processing, thereby providing gluten-free food with nutritional, textural, and sensory attributes that are comparable to those of gluten-containing foods. Another promising way to deal with CD is to use specific peptidases as drugs, which extensively hydrolyze dietary gluten and, thus, inhibit toxic gluten peptides from entering the small intestine. The symposium gives an overview of current activities related to CD and gluten-free foods.

Emerging and Persisting Food Scares: Analytical Challenges and Socioeconomic Impact
Organizer: Roland Poms, ICC - International Association for Cereal Science and Technology, Vienna, Austria
Sponsors: ICC - International Association for Cereal Science and Technology; MoniQA Network of Excellence  
This session will provide an overview of the state of the art with regard to analytical challenges and socioeconomic impacts connected with emerging and persisting food scares. In particular, this session will provide an in-depth look at areas including food allergens, food authenticity, chemical and processing toxicants, mycotoxins/phycotoxins, emerging issues such as melamine, and dioxins in foods and feeds.

Peanut Butter: The New Hazardous Food? Or Could It Have Been Something Else?
(Open Access to this CFW Online Article)
In mid-February, the news reported that U.S. government officials were going to declare peanut butter a hazardous food. Even though we are on the tail end of an outbreak that sickened more than 660, resulted in nine confirmed deaths, and caused the Peanut Company of America-the company that processed the products in question - to declare bankruptcy, is peanut butter really a hazardous food?

Grain-Based Food and Ingredient Safety in the Supply Chain
Organizer: Elizabeth Arndt, ConAgra Foods, Inc., Omaha, NE, U.S.A.
Financial Sponsors: ConAgra Foods, Kellogg Company  
Top concerns for food and ingredient companies include safety and quality throughout the supply chain. The implementation of traceability systems can help control risks and inform consumers about certain food attributes. The activity in development of GM wheat and growth of identity-preserved grain varieties can help provide grain ingredients that are traceable. Strong growth in the development and sales of gluten-free foods has increased the awareness and need for knowledge of the requirements for processing, testing, labeling, and certification. This symposium will provide an overview of some of the challenges and practices in providing food and ingredient safety and quality.

Food Safety Working Group Announces Key Findings.
Earlier this month, Vice President Joe Biden was joined by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to announce the key findings of the Food Safety Working Group. Created by President Barack Obama in March to advise the Administration on how to upgrade the food safety system for the 21st century, the Working Group is recommending a new, public health-focused approach to food safety based on three core principles: prioritizing prevention, strengthening surveillance and enforcement, and improving response and recovery. The Working Group announced specific steps designed to advance its core principles. Review these findings and recommendations of the Food Safety Working Group.

FDA Updates Information on Peanut Product Recalls
For the latest details on the investigation into the peanut butter Salmonella Typhimurium outbreak, visit the FDA website.

Redistribution of 16 Fusarium Toxins During Commercial Dry Milling of Maize (Subscription Required to View This Article)
The content of 13 A- and B-type trichothecenes, zearalenone, as well as α- and β-zearalenol was determined in products processed from raw maize by dry milling in an industrial plant. Two batches of samples were investigated derived from different lots of raw maize. Each of the toxins investigated was found in at least one of the samples analyzed, with up to 13 toxins co-occurring within one sample. This is the first time that the redistribution of a spectrum of 16 Fusarium toxins has been measured in a single dry-milling study.

Development and evaluation of a "codex definition method" for total dietary fiber (Subscription Required to View Presentation)
B. McCleary. Megazyme International Ireland, Bray County Wicklow, Ireland