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The number of people suffering from food poisoning increased 165 percent last
year from 2002, the Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) said on Friday.
The KFDA said a total of 7,909 people were affected by 135 large-scale cases of
food poisoning in 2003. The figure is up from 2,980 people involved in 78 cases
the previous year.
More than 4,600 patients, or 58 percent of the total, became sick after 49 cases
of cafeteria food poisoning in schools. Another 46 cases occurred in
restaurants, while 18 occurred at cafeterias in companies or plants, and seven
were in households.
Food poisoning cases are also becoming larger in scale, with an average of 58.6
people coming down with symptoms for each, compared with 38.2 in 2002.
As for the cause of the food poisoning, vibrio parahaemolyticus, which is
transmitted through fish and crabs, took up 22 of the cases, followed by
salmonella bacteria with 17, food poisoning viruses with 14, and staphylococcus
aureus with 13.
``To avoid food poisoning, people should always keep their hands clean and make
sure to eat food well cooked,“ a KFDA official said.
[KOREA]
Agriculture Minister Stresses Importance of Food Security
2003-12-04 -- Agriculture
and Forestry Minister Huh Sang-man on Wednesday emphasized the need to balance
discussions about the promotion of free trade with adequate consultation
regarding food security and the protection of local agriculture. Huh made the
remarks in a keynote speech at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
Conference in Rome, Italy.
``Today we see talks focused only on international trade, Huh said at the
meeting. ``I would like to point out that this type of approach disregards the
characteristics and reality of the international food market and therefore it
might be a dangerous approach to take as we try to also ensure that the food
supply is adequate and safe.
The 59-year-old minister, who is currently participating in the biennial 6-day
event, added that the preservation of the farming industry is much more to
developing countries and food importers.
``Particularly, in the case of developing and food importing countries,
maintaining a certain level of local production is crucial in terms of food
security as well as other economic functions provided by agriculture, Huh said.
According to Huh, global cooperation is essential in order to win the battle
against poverty and hunger, FAO's public enemy No. 1. He then urged the world
food governing body to play an active role for promoting agriculture
sustainability.
``The FAO, as highlighted at the World Food Summit in 1996, should continue to
work for peoples¡¯ right to adequate and safe food by playing an important role
in the process of building the global trade system,¡¯¡¯ he added.
The 32nd meeting of agriculture ministers will continue through Dec. 10 to
discuss a variety of issues, including the world's food situation and fight
against hunger. Huh will return home on Dec. 5.
voc200@koreatimes.co.kr
New E. coli tests in
the cards
New tests that slice off the time taken to identify dangerous strains of the
harmful bacteria Escherichia coli are the focus of new research from US
government scientists.
Agricultural Research Service (ARS) microbiologist Pina Fratamico, at the
agency's Eastern Regional Research Center ( ERRC), is working with Pennsylvania
state university to develop tests that quickly identify E. coli strains.
Sixty-one deaths and 73,000 illnesses are blamed on eating foods contaminated
with E. coli each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.
Certain E. coli strains, such as O157:H7, causes serious diseases, including
bloody diarrhea and hemorrhagic colitis. Infections may result in serious health
complications, including kidney failure. Other E. coli serogroups, including E.
coli O26, O111 and O121, also cause gastrointestinal illnesses in humans.
Currently, scientists commonly use a procedure called serotyping to distinguish
between different types of E. coli - some harmful, others harmless. However,
this procedure is time-consuming and labour-intensive.
Fratamico, with ERRC's Microbial food safety research unit, and her team are
developing both conventional and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR)
tests. These chemical procedures generate enough of a bacterium's genetic
material so that it can be studied and identified. With one real-time PCR
reaction, four products can be amplified simultaneously and detected in "real
time" as they multiply.
Scientists have little information about some individual E. coli serogroups,
therefore, the number of diseases these organisms cause is likely
underestimated, report the scientists. Fratamico is targeting genes in the E.
coli O-antigen gene clusters so researchers can detect and identify specific
serogroups and increase knowledge about each one's potency.
In one study, a real-time PCR assay was more sensitive than other detection
methods. According to Fratamico, the US department of agriculture's Food Safety
and Inspection Service has expressed interest in the new PCR tests for detection
and confirmation of E. coli O157:H7 and a range of other E. coli strains.
In September 2003, the US government reported that the number of ground beef
samples tainted with harmful E. coli bacteria had dropped. Inspectors found 0.32
per cent of 4,432 samples of hamburger meat tested positive for E. coli from
January to August this year, said Elsa Murano, the Agriculture department's
undersecretary for food safety. That compares with 0.78 per cent for the same
period in 2002 and 0.84 per cent in 2001. The agency has been testing 7,000
samples each year since 2001.
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