Food Protection Trends - February 2010 - 97

P1-23 Advancing Access to Global Food Safety Research Information: The Research Projects Database taRa M. sMItH, yvette alonso, Joyce Merkel, and Kristina Brandriff, UsDa Food safety Research Information office, 10301 Baltimore ave., Beltsville, MD 20705, United states Introduction: the Food safety Research Projects Database (http://fsrio.nal.usda.gov/advsearch.php) was created by the Food safety Research Information office (FsRIo) at the UsDa national agricultural Library (naL) (http://www.nal.usda.gov/). the FsRIo program is a collaborative project with the UsDa agricultural Research service. Rational: FsRIo’s vision is to provide a publicly accessible and searchable database that showcases food safety research projects funded by both United states and International government agencies, as well as educational institutions and other private or non-government organizations. the information provided by this database can assist in the assessment of food safety research trends, identification of research gaps and avoidance of unnecessary duplication, as well as provide a valuable tool to the food safety community and policymakers. Results: the Food safety Research Projects Database currently provides access to more than 4,000 food safety research projects, and is the largest searchable collection of research conducted among government agencies. the projects are organized by food safety categories, including risk assessment, on-farm food safety, food defense, and sanitation and pathogen control, which capture the broad concept of the research data and are indexed with key terminology from the naL thesaurus (controlled vocabulary) developed by experts. these features result in faster access to the information. Conclusions: the Research Projects Database uses both cutting edge technology and library resources to leverage access to the breadth of food safety information. Future efforts will focus on expanding collaborations with both International and U.s. agencies, further enhancing the collection and establishing it as the central place to access global food safety research initiatives. P1-24 P1-25 WITHDRAWN Evaluation of a New Swab-based Test for Salmonella on Food Contact Surfaces DOUGlAS J. SHEDDEN, Medical Wire & equipment, Leafield Industrial estate, Corsham, sn13 9Rt, United Kingdom Introduction: Salmonella remains a significant cause of foodborne illness around the world, and food manufacturers must take measures to control its presence of within production areas. traditional methods of surveillance require samples being sent for laboratory testing, and can take several days for results to be reported, by which time the food product may have been consumed. Rationale and Objectives: the Salmonella Detection transwab (sDt) is a self-contained swab-based kit for the detection of Salmonella on food contact surfaces. the kit consists of a premoistened swab, together with a tube of red Salmonella Detection Gel. The swab is used to sample the test surface, then placed into the tube of red gel and incubated at 37°C (a small portable incubator would be suitable). Salmonella is confirmed within 24 hours by the development of a black colouring around the swab, eventually spreading through the whole gel. early development of the black colour is clearly seen at the tip of the conical base of the tube, and can allow detection of Salmonella in less than one day. this study was designed to show the performance of the device, firstly by challenging with known dilutions of Salmonella enteritidis, Salmonella typhimurium, and also Citrobacter freundii, an organism which gives false positive reactions in some Salmonella media. In addition, known amounts of Salmonella enteritidis, Salmonella typhimurium, and also Citrobacter freundii, together with various other species of bacteria were spread onto food grade stainless steel plates, before sampling with the swab. Results and Findings: In both experiments Salmonella was clearly detectable by the presence of a black colour in the gel at both 24 and 48 hours, while there was no change with other species, including Citrobacter. Conclusions: It is concluded that sDt could offer a suitable method for the detection of Salmonella in food production facilities. P1-26 Comparison of a Self-contained Listeria Detection Test against USDA and ISO Reference Methods DOUGlAS J. SHeDDen, Medical Wire & equipment, Leafield Industrial estate, Corsham, sn13 9Rt, United Kingdom Introduction: Listeria monocytogenes is a life-threatening foodborne pathogen that causes much illness and many deaths (up to 500 annually in United states). It is important for food manufacturers to have effective control measures in place, including measures for testing food contact surfaces. FEBRUARY 2010 | FOOD PROTECTION TRENDS

http://fsrio.nal.usda.gov/advsearch.php http://www.nal.usda.gov/

Food Protection Trends - February 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Food Protection Trends - February 2010