Die Früherkennung zur Verbesserung der Lebensmittelsicherheit des Bundesamtes für Lebensmittelsicherheit und Veterinärwesen der Schweiz

ZusammenfassungDie Identifizierung von Gefahren in einem frühen Stadium ist ein zentraler Baustein der öffentlichen Gesundheit im Bereich der Lebensmittelsicherheit. Das Bundesamt für Lebensmittelsicherheit und Veterinärwesen der Schweiz verwendet seit 2018 ein System zur Früherkennung. Dieses stützt sich auf eine Gruppe von Fachpersonen, welche Informationen zu Gefahren identifizieren und periodisch bewerten. Der Beirat, ein wissenschaftliches Gremium von Experten und Expertinnen aus der Wirtschaft, von Hochschulen, Vollzugsbehörden und Referenzzentren erörtert anschließend die Themen und gibt seinerseits Empfehlungen an das Bundesamt für Lebensmittelsicherheit und Veterinärwesen ab. Insgesamt wurden bislang 37 Themen bearbeitet. Monatlich wird ein Newsletter zu Themen der Früherkennung publiziert. Zudem werden unregelmäßig bei Bedarf Briefing Letters mit einer vertieften Recherche zu einem Thema erstellt.

International Pesticide Operator Safety Meeting 2021: hand-held application scenarios in low- and middle-income countries

An international web meeting on the topic of operator safety for pesticide operators was held on 20–21 September 2021. The meeting provided an opportunity for experts from regulatory agencies, pesticide industry, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and other organizations to discuss operator safety in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). The meeting focused on risk assessment and risk mitigation, the first steps to address operator safety. The key message at the meeting was the need for an operator exposure model that includes common hand-held scenarios used in LMIC and consistent personal protective equipment communication. The experts supported a transparent collaborative process that will enable us to build on the past efforts.

Hepatitis E virus cross-contamination on the surface of porcine livers after storage in Euro meat containers in a German pig abattoir

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a foodborne zoonotic pathogen and known as the causative agent of hepatitis E in humans. The specific role of porcine liver as a vehicle for human HEV infections has been highlighted in different studies. Nevertheless, gaps of knowledge still exist regarding possible HEV cross-contamination both at consumer and production level. Furthermore, people working in the food production industry, e.g. veterinarians and abattoir employees, are exposed to an increased risk of HEV infection. The aim of the present study was to investigate HEV cross-contamination on the surface of porcine liver in a German abattoir. The sample set included 250 samples of porcine liver parenchyma and the corresponding 250 superficial layer samples of the same livers, which were analyzed for the presence of HEV ribonucleic acid (RNA). Afterwards, the initial status of the tested liver parenchyma was compared with the occurrence of HEV RNA in the corresponding superficial layer. HEV RNA was detectable in 34% (85/250) of superficial layer samples, with 58% (49/85) of the samples originated from initially HEV negative livers. To our knowledge, this is the first study that provides an insight in the potential of HEV cross-contamination at abattoir level in Germany. Furthermore, it could be identified that the joint storage of livers in Euro meat containers has a significant impact on the presence of HEV RNA on the surface of porcine liver.

Aus der § 64 LFGB-Arbeitsgruppe MALDI-TOF: Leitlinien für die Validierung von Spezies-Identifizierungen mittels MALDI-TOF-MS

Matrix-assisted laser-desorption/ionization-time-of-flight-mass-spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) is widely used to identify microorganisms. Recently, new applications such as identification of the animal species from meat, milk or fish are emerging. Standards for the validation of species identifications are still missing. Now, the § 64-LFGB working-group “MALDI-TOF”, established at the Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety, has compiled a guideline for the validation of species identifications. This guideline is intended for single laboratories as well as for lab networks and shows practical ways for validation of qualitative MALDI-TOF-MS methods. The special opportunities of the technology, in particular the use of extended reference databases and of collections of well-documented individual spectra for validation, have been taken into account in the guideline presented.

Deriving “potential target values” of PCDD/F in animal feed: the role of livestock at the interface between feed and food chain

Linking derivation of potential target values of PCDD/Fs in animal feed with risk assessment for consumer protection is a challenge when tolerable weekly intake (TWI) and transfer factors from feed to food are considered. Generally, maximum values for feed and food are set separately without considering the feed and the food producing animal as an important factor along the food chain from farm to fork. Levels of contaminants in feed can accumulate in animals and their products effect consumers at the end of the food chain. Hence, the process of setting legal maximum levels of contaminants should account for transfer from feed consumed by food producing animals into animal products for human consumption. Here, we calculated potential target values of PCDD/F in feed to ensure that animal products such as milk from dairy cows, eggs from laying hens and pork and pork products from fattening pigs are safe for human consumption. In our approach, we calculated potential target values of PCDD/Fs in animal feed using transfer factors for PCDD/F-TEQs from feed to milk fat, eggs fat, and fat in pork and pork products, taking into account the tolerable weekly intake derived by European Food Safety Authority. We assumed equal proportions of WHO-PCDD/F-TEQ and WHO-PCB-TEQ in feed. Potential target values of PCDD/F in feed are expressed as the quantity of toxicologically evaluated PCDD/Fs, expressed in WHO toxic equivalents (WHO2005-PCDD/F-TEQ) per kg feed with 12% moisture. In the current approach, derived values would be 10–54 times lower than the current legal maximum level of 0.75 ng WHO2005-PCDD/F-TEQ per kg feed (12% moisture), according to Directive 2002/32/EC as amended.