Articles -

A changing environment and ambitious plans to ramp up wheat exports pushes Russian veterinary watchdog Rosselhoznadzor to enhance control over the presence of mycotoxins in grain.Rosselkhoznadzor is currently designing a new traceability system to ensure exported grain is free of mycotoxins. Russia needs to tighten control over the quality of expor [...]

A survey to investigate topics including the technologies used, the number of analyses conducted, and the test kits’ certifications.Rapid testing for grainAflatoxin and deoxynivalenol (DON) contamination of grain depends on several factors, primary among them weather conditions in the pre-harvest period. In Europe, aflatoxin in corn is mostly a p [...]

Abstract – Ochratoxin A has been regulated in Europe since 2006, with the first official risk assessment dating back to 1994. There have been many efforts over the years in the agro-food system to control, monitor, and mitigate its occurrence in food commodities. However, the recent scientific evaluation of EFSA shed light on several still-op [...]

Abstract  With the comprehensive legislation in many countries and co-existence of mycotoxins in different agricultural commodities and foods, as well as large monitoring and risk assessment programs related to these compounds, finding rapid, easy-to-use, accurate, and cost-effective solutions for multi-mycotoxin detection is of high demand. T [...]

We now know that we live our whole lives under a rain of hazardous chemicals. But there is a period in our lives when this exposure can create even more problems. It is when we are developing in our mothers’ wombs and when we are breastfeeding. Not only can our development be hindered but that exposure can increase the probability that we will co [...]

“Modern factory farming methods could not be carried on without the use of antibiotics.” “The resistant bacteria can be passed direct from animals to man and secondly, they can be passed on in the food so produced.” These sentences are not from one of the authors of this issue of Affidia. I am quoting Ruth Harrison from 1964 [...]

A lot of words, reports, and good will but where is the reduction in agricultural antibiotic use?      “Antimicrobial resistance is the ability of microorganisms, such as bacteria, to become increasingly resistant to an antimicrobial to which they were previously susceptible. AMR is a consequence of natural selection and geneti [...]

The presence of antibiotics in fresh water: the global antimicrobial resistance threat, inadequate legislation, and technical gaps in water treatment systems.     The worldwide use and abuse of antimicrobials in the past 50 years has had a heavy impact on the planet’s ecosystems. Antimicrobial-resistant genes, already present in bac [...]

Antimicrobial resistance is selected for in human and veterinary medicine alike, and resistance may be transferred from animals to humans and vice versa.IntroductionAntimicrobial (antibiotic, antifungal, antiviral, and antiparasitic) resistance (AMR) is defined as the development in microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, viruses, and some parasite [...]

The European food production industry has been shaken over the past two years by multiple reports of foodborne outbreaks. Food safety authorities also report a trend in the growing number of outbreak-related recalls. Is something going wrong?     Introduction The summer of 2019 saw numerous foodborne outbreaks linked to Listeria and Salmo [...]

Antibiotic use and antimicrobial resistance; personal experience, policies and regulatory response.     Background Antimicrobial compounds are a natural phenomenon in any microbiome. As an example, in the human microbiome it is estimated as many as 1011 organisms per milliliter are found in the large intestine. A healthy human microbiome, [...]

Russian authorities claim they want to decrease antibiotic use both in veterinary and healthcare systems but any changes have been delayed either because of the cost to the federal treasury, potentially amounting to billions of rubles, or because local businesses do not welcome these changes.Anti-antibiotics campaign is needed in RussiaOn 3 Decembe [...]

Insight to the point of view of animal health authorities, food producers and retailers.     The point of view of animal health authorities in one EU country: education and training are very important, aside the regulations, in order to reduce antibiotic use. In the EU, total antibiotic use on average has decreased significantly over the [...]

A never-ending story and lessons learned.     At the beginning of the first dioxin crises at the end of the last century, we did not anticipate that they would continue to pop up as a problem in the world for so long and that so many unexpected dioxin sources existed in the feed and food sector (see the figure on page 46). Over time, we h [...]

Because of its relatively high price and its liquid form, honey has been a target for food fraud perpetrators from time immemorial.     Honey. Naturally delicious, syrupy and sweet, with a delicate, unique flavour, honey has been prized as a special food since pre-history. Cave paintings in Europe that date back more than 8000 years depic [...]