ITEMS OF INTEREST

FOODBORNE ILLNESS NUMBERS DECREASE
Federal health inspectors from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said March 16 that gastrointestinal illnesses caused by food contaminated with bacteria, such as E. coli, Campylobacter and Shigella, have declined 19 percent since 1997. Dr. Patricia Griffin of the CDC’s National Center for Infectious Diseases said the drop suggested that prevention programs in the meat and poultry industry were working.
Despite the overall decline, the number of people sickened by Salmonella increased between 1998 and 1999, climbing to the highest level since the government started keeping track four years ago. Salmonella infections rose from 12.3 per 1000,000 people in 1998 to 14.8 per 100,000 in 1999. Researchers blamed the increase on large outbreaks of salmonellosis linked to unpasteurized orange juice, imported mangoes, and raw sprouts. "So we think we have not made as much progress in decreasing the contamination of fruits and vegetables," commented Griffin. Notably, the variety of the pathogen found commonly in poultry and egg products, Salmonella enteritidis, declined 7 percent from 1998 to 1999.

TIME OFF FOR A JOB WELL DONE
Today, there is much talk about employee perks and company-benefits packages. But the big surprise may be that it is not a cash benefit that is number one with workers. Surveys indicate that employees are most interested in the recognition that their work is making a positive contribution to the business and in being rewarded for it by being given time off to spend with their families. This perk is easily accomplished by offering salespeople the direct incentive of time off in exchange for meeting their goals. Also, other departments can benefit by receiving flextime or time off as reward for productive work weeks. Inc., August 1999, p. 112

NEW 2000-01 FOOD DIRECTORY REFLECTS CHANGING INDUSTRY
The New 2000-01 Directory of the Canning, Freezing, Preserving Industries, listing food processors in North America, is ready for immediate shipment.
Detailed profiles for 2,350 food processors include products processed at each plant according to process; plant and headquarter personnel; divisions and parent companies; brands owned; custom packers, production volume, number of plant employees, and private label indicators; phone and fax numbers; and SIC codes.
Of the 3,282 food processing plants listed, 1,625 plants have freezing capacity; 654 are canning; 587 are glass packing; 380 are drying or dehydrating; 116 pack aseptic products; and 740 plants produce refrigerated foods. Companies merged, or subject to acquisition, since the last edition are cross-referenced to the surviving company. The extensive cross-referencing and depth-of-market information contained in The Directory of the Canning, Freezing, Preserving Industries is not available from any other source.
THE DIRECTORY is published in a Standard Edition, Special DELUXE Edition and an Electronic Version bundled with custom-designed, WindowsTM-based search and retrieval software.
To order contact: Edward E. Judge & Sons, Inc., P.0. Box 866, Westminster, MD 21158, USA. Phone 800-729-5517 or 410-876- 2052; fax 410-848-2034; See sample pages at
http://www.eejudge.co

PRESIDENT ANNOUNCES LISTERIA TESTING
President Clinton used his weekly radio address on May 6 to announce 'an aggressive new strategy to significantly reduce the risk of foodborne illnesses caused by Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat foods such as hot dogs and lunch meats.'
One facet of the new regulations to be proposed is systematic testing for Listeria at food-processing plants. The President also called on Congress to fully fund the $68 million increase he has requested for the President’s Food Safety Initiative, after Congressional committees voted to block the funding. The increase would, in part, fund the administration’s new activities to address Salmonella contamination in eggs.
A copy of the radio address and the announcement are available from the FDA web site at:
http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~lrd/press.htm

SACCHARIN REMOVED, ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES ADDED
TO LIST OF CARCINOGENS
After an extensive review of evidence of carcinogenicity in experimental animals, saccharin has been removed from the list of substances known or reasonably anticipated to cause cancer in the 9th Edition of the Report on Carcinogens released by the Department of Health and Human Services May 15. Saccharin had been listed in the report as 'reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen' since 1981. The review that resulted in the de-listing determined that the bladder tumors observed in rats arose from a mechanism that is not relevant to humans.
The new edition of the report adds consumption of alcoholic beverages as a 'known human carcinogen' for its causal relationship to cancers of the mouth, pharynx, larynx, and esophagus. The risk is most pronounced among smokers, and at the highest levels of consumption. The report also states that there is evidence that suggests a link between alcoholic beverage consumption and cancer of the liver an breast.
A press release about the new edition is available from:
http://www.niehs.nih.gov/oc/news/9thROC.htm A copy of the report is posted at: http://ehis.niehs.nih.gov/roc/toc9.html

IRRADIATED BURGERS NOW AVAILABLE
Initial reaction to Huisken Beef Patties, the first products irradiated using SureBeam technology to eliminate foodborne pathogens, has been positive, according to an article on The MEATINGPLACE.com. The product was originally launched May 16 in 84 supermarkets in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul area, but within a week, the number of stores offering the product had climbed to 150 stores in Minnesota, North and South Dakota, Iowa, and Wisconsin.