Psychosocial factors at work and perceived health among agricultural meat industry workers in France

Objective  The objective of this study was to describe the perceived health status of the meat industry employees—i.e., working in the slaughtering, cutting, and boning of large animals and poultry—and its relation to their organisational and psychosocial constraints at work. Methods  This postal survey included all 3,000 employees of the meat industry (beef, pork and poultry) in four districts in Brittany, France, whose companies were affiliated with the agricultural branch of the national health insurance fund. The questionnaire asked for social and demographic data and information describing their job and the organisation of their work. The psychosocial factors at work were described according to Karasek’s questionnaire (demand, latitude and social support at work). Perceived health was measured with the Nottingham Health Profile perceived health indicator. Results  This study shows the high prevalence of poor health reported by the workers in this industry. This poor perceived health was worse in women and increased regularly with age. Among the psychosocial factors studied, high quantitative and qualitative demand at work, inadequate resources for good work and to a lesser extent, inadequate prospects for promotion appear especially associated with poor perceived health. Other factors often associated with poor perceived health included young age at the first job and work hours that disrupt sleep rhythms (especially for women). Conclusion  Our results show that this population of workers is especially vulnerable from the point of view of perceived physical and psychological health and is exposed to strong physical, organisational and psychosocial constraints at work. They also demonstrate that poor perceived health is associated with some psychosocial (such as high psychological demand and insufficient resources) and organisational factors at work. These results, in conjunction with those from other disciplines involved in studying this industry, may help the companies to develop preventive activities.     

Assessment of immunization as a technique to extend the chilled storage life of vacuum‐packaged lamb

The growth at — 1.5°C of Lactobacillus delbrueckii, a meat spoilage organism, was evaluated on vacuum‐packaged lamb legs obtained from animals immunized against that organism. Growth was significantly lower than that on similarly treated legs obtained from non‐immunized lambs. These findings suggest that immunization against spoilage organisms may contribute toward increasing the chilled storage life of fresh meat.     

高效液相色谱质谱测定肉品中的磺胺二甲嘧啶

〔目的〕用高效液相色谱电喷雾质谱 (ESI -MSn)测定肉品中的磺胺二甲嘧啶。〔方法〕通过多级质谱对阳性样品确证。〔结果〕以二级碎片做定量离子 ,磺铵二甲嘧啶测定线性范围为 (2 5～ 40 0 ) μg L ,最低检出浓度为 5 μg L。〔结论〕方法简便快速 ,检出限低。     

Taxonomic Characterization and Secondary Metabolite Profiling of Aspergillus Section Aspergillus Contaminating Feeds and Feedstuffs

Xerophilic fungal species of the genus Aspergillus are economically highly relevant due to their ability to grow on low water activity substrates causing spoilage of stored goods and animal feeds. These fungi can synthesize a variety of secondary metabolites, many of which show animal toxicity, creating a health risk for food production animals and to humans as final consumers, respectively. Animal feeds used for rabbit, chinchilla and rainbow trout production in Argentina were analysed for the presence of xerophilic Aspergillus section Aspergillus species. High isolation frequencies (>60%) were detected in all the studied rabbit and chinchilla feeds, while the rainbow trout feeds showed lower fungal charge (25%). These section Aspergillus contaminations comprised predominantly five taxa. Twenty isolates were subjected to taxonomic characterization using both ascospore SEM micromorphology and two independent DNA loci sequencing. The secondary metabolite profiles of the isolates were determined qualitatively by HPLC-MS. All the isolates produced neoechinulin A, 17 isolates were positive for cladosporin and echinulin, and 18 were positive for neoechinulin B. Physcion and preechinulin were detected in a minor proportion of the isolates. This is the first report describing the detailed species composition and the secondary metabolite profiles of Aspergillus section Aspergillus contaminating animal feeds.     

A comparison of the nutrient content of uncooked and cooked lean from New Zealand beef and lamb

The composition in terms of proximate analysis, cholesterol, vitamins, minerals, and fatty acids of the lean tissue of 17 beef cuts and 18 lamb cuts was determined on within-cut composite samples (each containing lean tissue from at least 7 animals), following the knife-separation of raw and cooked cuts into lean, fat, and bone. Composite lean samples for 4 beef cuts and 4 lamb cuts were also analysed for amino-acid composition. For analysis, different cuts were the experimental unit as individual animal data were not available. The composition of lean from beef and lamb was shown to be highly desirable with a high nutrient density (mg/kJ) for many nutrients. Although lean from beef and lamb were very similar in many respects, several significant differences were detected. Changes in composition with cooking were largely eliminated when considered on a dry-matter basis, but proportions of the n-3 and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids increased with cooking (P < 0.05). The amino acid composition was similar for lean from beef and lamb but showed small deviations from recommended patterns for human nutrition with branched chain amino acids being limiting.     

Decontamination Techniques of Pathogen Bacteria in Meat and Poultry

Means of controlling or even improving the safety of food products is to decontaminate the carcasses or products during or at the end of the production line. The decontamination of meat and poultry can help to reduce human foodborne infections. However, process hygiene to prevent contamination should never be neglected. Some techniques of decontaminating raw meat and poultry meat products are discussed in this review.     

Mise au point sur l’assurance de la qualité microbiologique des viandes et des produits à base de viande au Maroc

Background

Food safety has become an absolute necessity in all countries. As a result, Morocco has taken several measures and actions to develop food safety and food-borne disease control.

Influence of Long-Term Storage on the Caking Properties Determined in Punch Test and Fungal Contamination of Potato Starch and Wheat Flour

The presented results are an attempt to identify the changes taking place during a punch test experiment and the development of fungal impurities of powdered food materials over long-term storage at 75% RH. The potato starch and wheat flour market has a large share of the global production of bulk materials. The growing interest in powdered food materials requires additional production expenditure. This is associated with an increase in storage time of the discussed product and providing it with the appropriate conditions. The samples of potato starch and wheat flour were stored in perforated containers in a climatic chamber at 75% humidity and 21 °C for five months and then samples were measured by a punch test in a Lloyd LRX materials testing machine. The graphs obtained in the potato starch punch test differed significantly from wheat flour. The thickening of potato starch was observed in the form of layers, while potato starch was uniformly thickened throughout the experiment. The conditions of 75% humidity and 21 °C can be described as the beginning of the caking process. In potato starch, linear sections were observed, which changed the length of their storage time and, additionally, was correlated with the appearance of fungal contamination. These results may suggest the influence of fungi on the phenomenon of bulk material caking.