Did You Know?

Research Grants—Fiscal 1999
It’s that time of year again.... On March 30, 1999, the USDA announced its request for proposals from those seeking special research grants in the area of Food Safety Research. The total funding available to support this program in fiscal year 1999 is $4,677,988. Those wishing to secure a piece of the pie, and who need a copy of the Request for Proposals (RFP), can secure information regarding application procedures and eligibility criteria from the Proposal Services Unit; Office of Extramural Programs; Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service; U.S. Department of Agriculture; STOP 2245; 1400 Independence Ave., S.W.; Washington, D.C. 20250-2245 (202/401-5048). To request this information via the Internet (for delivery by snailmail) you can e-mail the request, being sure to include your document request along with your name, mailing address and telephone number, to psb@reeusda.gov.

French Cheesemakers up in Arms
The makers of some of France’s most reknowned unpasteurized cheeses, including Camembert and the Napoleon favorite, l’Epoisses de Bourgogne, believe they are about to be forced out of business by authorities eager to enforce a recently enacted “zero tolerance” law obliging all cheese to be totally listeria free upon leaving the manufacturer. “I see nothing but unemployment ahead,” warned Epoisses mayor Jean-Luc Pinard, following the closure by health officials of a cheese factory in his Burgundy town, and the destruction of 200,000 cheeses. The closure came on the heels of the listeria-related deaths in France of one woman and a baby, which were traced to a shipment of l’Epoisses de Bourgogne cheese.

Retail HACCP Pilot On Hold
As of April 5, 1999, reports Food Regulation Weekly, FDA’s pilot program for retail HACCP remains stalled at the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, awaiting revision of a planned Federal Register notice on the project. The delay is due in part to negative comments submitted by the National Restaurant Association when advance notice of the program was published in the fall of 1998. HACCP Program head John Kvenberg announced last spring that the HACCP retail project was scheduled for imminent startup. However, because the project did not make the “A” list of CFSAN program priorities, its status remains unclear.

Clean Hands Halts Spread of Germs
In the fight against the spread of germs, washing your hands can be surprisingly effective. Just ask the children at the Grace Christian elementary school in Cyprus, California, where researchers for Woodward Laboratories, Inc., recently ran a clinical study of their new, alcohol-free hand sanitizer. During the 12-week study involving 420 students, researchers found a 41% drop in school absenteeism among those students who washed their hands several times a day, particularly after sneezing or coughing, upon returning from the playground, and just prior to eating. Woodward Labs credits these results, at least in part, to their newly developed, antimicrobial hand sanitizer, “Dr. G's Cleanhands.”

On-Site Irradiation
Herman Cain, president and CEO of the National Restaurant Association, was cited in an article appearing in the April 1999 issue of Farm Journal as attesting to his belief that on-site irradiation within restaurants could eventually become as commonplace as microwave cooking.

Kitchen Microbe Detection Systems of Tomorrow
In a somewhat related story, the Japanese firm Matsushita Electric recently announced plans to develop, within two to three years, a simple kitchen appliance that will allow users to measure the population of pathogenic bacteria in a food sample in less than 10 minutes. Matsushita made this announcement during the recently held 25th General Assembly of the Japanese Medical Congress in Tokyo, where company spokesmen noted they have already developed a prototype system which, in its final form, should be “as easy to (use) as a pregnancy test.”