FSNET AUGUST 15, 2000 -- II E coli-Ohio New inspection resource available Farm-scape for August 15, 2000 (episode 493) FSIS announces availability of in-distribution materials and requests comments Identification of type II restriction and modification systems in Helicobacter pylori reveals their substantial diversity among strains A distinctive role for the yersinia protein kinase: actin binding, kinase activation, and cytoskeleton disruption More Canadians using internet for health information ********** FSnet is produced by the Centre for Safe Food at the University of Guelph, and is supported by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Health Canada, the U.S. National Pork Producers, the U.S. National Food Processors Association, Pfizer Animal Health Group, Ag-West Biotech, AGCare (Agricultural Groups Concerned About Resources and the Environment), Monsanto Canada, Pioneer Hi-Bred Limited (Canada), Canadian Animal Health Institute, Novartis Crop Protection Canada, Meat & Livestock Australia, Canadian On-Farm Food Safety Program, Unilever Research, Halton Regional Health Department, Ontario Egg Producers, Canadian Pork Council, the U.S. National Cattlemen's Beef Association, Maple Leaf Meats/Poultry, Caravelle Foods, CKE Restaurants Inc., the Rutgers Food Risk Analysis Initiative, Ontario Farm Animal Council, Fleishman-Hillard Canada, Food Safety Initiative at New England Medical Center, J.M. Schneider, University of Illinois, CLF Central Laboratories, Capital Health, ConAgra Refrigerated Prepared Foods, Parmalat Food, Tyson Foods, Freybe Sausage Ltd., the Ontario Soybean Growers Marketing Board, the Canadian Cattlemen's Association, Food Industry Environmental Network, Canadian Poultry and Egg Processors, Adculture, Chicken Farmers of Canada, MDS Nordion, American Meat Institute, International Food Focus, 3M, Saskatchewan Nutraceutical Network, ABC Research, and the Agricultural Adaptation Council(CanAdapt Program). archieved at: http://www.plant.uoguelph.ca/safefood/archives/fsnet-archives.htm ********** BRF--E COLI-OHIO Aug. 15/00 AP CLEVELAND -- The number of people infected by E. coli bacteria in northeast Ohio rose to 14 Tuesday, and, according to this story, a health official was cited as saying children petting animals at the Medina County Fair seems likely to be at least one source of the contamination. Medina County Health Commissioner David Baldwin, was quoted as saying, "As far as we know at the moment, the common denominator seems to be petting animals at the fair and then eating or drinking -- children putting their hands in their mouths without washing." The Ohio Department of Health on Monday was cited as saying there were six confirmed cases of E. coli O157:H7 infection in northeast Ohio. The health department increased the number to 14 on Tuesday afternoon. The people who were infected are between 15 months of age and 67. On the Net: Centers for Disease Control: http://www.cdc.gov/health/diseases.htm NEW INSPECTION RESOURCE AVAILABLE August 14, 2000 Herd on the Hill Edited by Jeremy Russell NMA is offering its newest resource titled "The Inspection Relationship," developed by NMAıs Executive Director, Rosemary Mucklow, and NMA consultants , L.L. Gast and Dr. Carl Jolley. This resource provides guidance on how to work and deal with your inspector in various situations. For example, do you know what is the proper handling of a USDA Retain/Reject tag? Or do you know what to do if your inspector leaves the facility after a dispute, "suspends" inspection services, and locks up the official stamps? Learning more about your rights and the inspectorıs rights can help make your inspection relationship, a better working relationship. FARM-SCAPE FOR AUGUST 15, 2000 (EPISODE 493) August 15, 2000 Farm-Scape Canada Pork International says a new hypodermic needle specially designed to be easily detectable by metal detectors when present in cuts of meat is generating worldwide interest. Iım Bruce Cochrane and this is Farm-Scape...a presentation of Manitobaıs pork producers. Iıll be back...in a moment. Commercial Break The new hypodermic needle was developed by Manitoba based Process Detectable Needles to address concerns over instances when fragments of broken needles end up in cuts of meat. The stainless steel needles commonly used in the livestock industry today are rarely detectable but tests conducted by the Canada Pork Council and the US based National Pork Producers Council show the new needle, which is made of a special alloy, to be 95 to 100 per cent detectable. Canada Pork International Market Development Director David Wasylyshen says, while cases of needle fragments showing up in meat are rare, it is a world wide food safety concern. Clip-David Wasylyshen-Canada Pork International There has been a lot of interest from producer groups and also a lot of slaughter plants, not just in Canada but in the US. Weıve had some interest or some calls coming out of Mexico, including Australia for their lamb industry. I think theyıre finding the same kind of problem and most recently in Europe. Like I say, itıs a worldwide problem so everybody wants to know how you get a hold of these needles and how do you get them going. Hopefully PDN Inc., who is the manufacturer, will have these needles out in the next couple of months. Wasylyshen says indications are the new needle will be more costly than the needles currently being used but, even if they cost three or four cents more per hog, itıs a small price to pay for improving food safety. PDN expects the first shipment to be out this month which would make the product commercially available by November. For Farm-Scape...Iım Bruce Cochrane. FSIS ANNOUNCES AVAILABILITY OF IN-DISTRIBUTION MATERIALS AND REQUESTS COMMENTS August 15, 2000 Food Safety and Inspection Service United States Department of Agriculture Carol Blake (202) 720-9113 carol.blake@usda.gov WASHINGTON --The U.S. Department of Agricultureıs Food Safety and Inspection Service is announcing the availability of materials from its June 9 public meeting on in-distribution inspection activities and initiatives. FSIS is requesting public comment on its current thinking about how to ensure that meat and poultry products do not become adulterated, and continue to qualify for USDAıs mark of inspection, during distribution. The June 9 public meeting was held to discuss the agencyıs strategy for addressing the safety of meat and poultry products during distribution and to provide an overview and update on the In-Distribution Project. Presentations made by the speakers and a transcript of the meeting may be viewed in the FSIS Docket Room, Room 102 Cotton Annex, 300 12th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20250-3700. An electronic version of the documents is available at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/rdad/Notices_99_00.htm. Persons are invited to review the materials and submit comments referencing Docket #00-027N to the above address by Sept. 13 . Under the Federal Meat Inspection Act and the Poultry Products Inspection Act, FSIS has the authority and responsibility to ensure the safety of meat and poultry products during in-plant production, as well as through transportation, storage, and other handling. The agency is looking at strategies for monitoring the safety of meat and poultry products after they leave an inspected plant, and one of these strategies is through the In-Distribution Project, which explores the effects of redeployment of inspection personnel outside the plant. IDENTIFICATION OF TYPE II RESTRICTION AND MODIFICATION SYSTEMS IN HELICOBACTER PYLORI REVEALS THEIR SUBSTANTIAL DIVERSITY AMONG STRAINS August 15, 2000 Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, Vol. 97, Issue 17, 9671-9676 Qing Xu*, Richard D. Morgan, Richard J. Roberts, and Martin J. Blaser*,,§ Department of Microbiology and Immunology and Division of Infectious Diseases, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232; and New England Biolabs, Inc., Beverly, MA 01915 Edited by John J. Mekalanos, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, and approved June 16, 2000 (received for review March 15, 2000) Abstract A total of 22 type II restriction endonucleases with 18 distinct specificities have been identified in six Helicobacter pylori strains. Among these 18 specificities are three completely new endonucleases, Hpy178III, Hpy99I, and Hpy188I, that specifically cleave DNA at TCNNGA, CGWCG, and TCNGA sites, respectively. The set of endonucleases identified in each strain varies, but all have four- or five-base recognition sequences. Among 16 H. pylori strains, examination of the DNA modification status at the recognition sites of 15 restriction endonucleases reveals that each strain has a substantially different complement of type II modification systems. We conclude that the type II restriction-modification systems in H. pylori are highly diverse between strains, a unique characteristic of H. pylori. The diverse methylation status of H. pylori chromosomal DNA may serve as a new typing system to discriminate H. pylori isolates for epidemiological and clinical purposes. This study also demonstrates that H. pylori is a rich source of type II restriction endonucleases. A DISTINCTIVE ROLE FOR THE YERSINIA PROTEIN KINASE: ACTIN BINDING, KINASE ACTIVATION, AND CYTOSKELETON DISRUPTION August 15, 2000 Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, Vol. 97, Issue 17, 9431-9436 Stephen J. Juris, Amy E. Rudolph*, Don Huddler, Kim Orth, and Jack E. Dixon Department of Biological Chemistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-0606 Contributed by Jack E. Dixon, June 19, 2000 Abstract The bacterial pathogens of the genus Yersinia deliver several virulence factors into target cells using a type III secretion system. We demonstrate that Yersinia protein kinase A (YpkA), an essential bacterial virulence factor, is produced as an inactive serine/threonine kinase. The inactive kinase is activated within the host cell by a cytosolic eukaryotic activator. Using biochemical purification techniques, we demonstrate that actin is a cellular activator of YpkA. This stimulation of YpkA kinase activity by actin depends on the presence of the C-terminal twenty amino acids of YpkA, because deletion of these 20 aa not only obliterates YpkA activity, but it also destroys the interaction between YpkA and actin. Activated YpkA functions within cultured epithelial cells to disrupt the actin cytoskeleton. The disruption of the actin cytoskeleton by YpkA would be expected to inhibit macrophage function and phagocytosis of Yersinia. MORE CANADIANS USING INTERNET FOR HEALTH INFORMATION August 15, 2000 from a press release TORONTO -- The family doctor remains the number one source of health information for Canadians, but the Internet is catching up according to the HealthInsider, a national, semi-annual survey conducted by the National Healthcare Practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. Responses to the May 2000 HealthInsider show that in the last year, 53 per cent of survey respondents sought health-related information from their family physician, but 22 per cent used the Internet. When asked what their primary source of health information was, 33 per cent of respondents said the family physician and 9 per cent said the Internet. Canadians are most interested in information about healthy lifestyles, specific diseases and medication. "The Internet is quickly becoming integrated into the way Canadians receive healthcare," says Dale McMurchy, a senior healthcare consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers and author of the HealthInsider report. "Doctors today should be prepared to deal with patients who are much better informed than they used to be." According to the survey, most people go on-line to get information about a specific illness, but some are also using it to diagnose themselves, confirm or dispute a physicianıs diagnosis, manage their medical condition as part of a program, check the results of clinical studies, or chat with others who have similar health conditions. "People want more services from their own physician online, such as the ability to get appointments, referrals, prescription renewals, and test results," says McMurchy. "And they want the Internet to be a two-way street where they can ask questions and get answers." Those polled said they use the Internet because it helps them makes better choices about their health and is available 24 hours a day from their home. However, people who use the Internet are cautious. They are reluctant to provide personal information to health Web sites and are concerned about privacy, the accuracy of health information, on-line diagnostic services, and the extent of Canadian content. Most survey respondents said that increased government regulations in these areas are necessary. Survey highlights include: 41 per cent of Internet users and 22 per cent of Canadians get health-related information on the Internet; 84 per cent of respondents said they would like to be able to ask their doctors general health questions electronically; 83 per cent would like to be able to make appointments, 58 per cent of respondents want to get a referral to a specialist and 41 per cent of respondents want the ability to get a prescription electronically; and 29 per cent of respondents said the Internet and/or the media were their primary source for health information. Accessing and using health information was the theme of the Spring/Summer 2000 issue of the HealthInsider, formerly the Canada Health Monitor, which polled more than 2,500 Canadians aged 15 and older. Survey questions addressed the opinions of Canadian healthcare consumers on personal health, health information sources, on-line medical and drug information and advice, medication and complementary use of remedies, Smart Cards and personal medical records, and biotechnology. For more information on HealthInsider, visit the Web site: www.pwcglobal.com/healthinsider. HealthInsider (www.pwcglobal.com/healthinsider) is the most comprehensive consumer report currently available to the Canadian healthcare industry. The HealthInsider offers a new concise format, increased sample size and input from leading healthcare experts. The report provides subscribers with timely results, topical information and the opportunity to incorporate their own questions into future surveys. The HealthInsider provides in-depth data and analysis on consumer attitudes toward health policies, programs, products and services, and is distributed in hard copy or electronically. ********** To subscribe to FSnet, send mail to: listserv@listserv.uoguelph.ca leave subject line blank in the body of the message type: subscribe fsnet-L firstname lastname i.e. subscribe fsnet-L Doug Powell To unsubscribe to FSnet, send mail to: listserv@listserv.uoguelph.ca leave subject line blank in the body of the message type: signoff fsnet-L For more information about the FSnet research program, please contact: Dr. Douglas Powell dept. of plant agriculture University of Guelph Guelph, Ont. N1G 2W1 tel: 519-824-4120 x2506 fax: 519-763-8933 dpowell@uoguelph.ca http://www.plant.uoguelph.ca/safefood archived at: http://www.plant.uoguelph.ca/safefood/archives/fsnet-archives.htm