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Category Archives: Food Safety

UF/IFAS Family Day at the Dairy Farm offers education, fun

Topic(s): Agriculture, Conservation, Economics, Environment, Extension, Families and Consumers, Food Safety, IFAS, Livestock, New Technology, Pollution, Research

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Milk may be sold in supermarkets, but it comes from cows – that’s the lesson being offered this Saturday at Family Day at the Dairy Farm, a free open-house event at the University of Florida’s dairy farm in Hague, 20 minutes northwest of Gainesville.

From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., dairy researchers and Extension specialists with UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences will showcase the farm’s operations and explain how their work helps commercial dairy producers. For directions, see http://tinyurl.com/d3a5626.

Visitors can watch cows being fed and milked, learn about cattle nutrition and health-care practices, pet live calves, tour barns, sample dairy products and make their own butter.

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UF/IFAS Family Day at the Dairy Farm returns March 16, public invited

Topic(s): Agriculture, Economics, Families and Consumers, Food Safety, IFAS, Livestock, New Technology, Nutrition, Research

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Last year’s open house at the University of Florida dairy farm was so successful that organizers were “moo-tivated” to repeat the event, which returns to Alachua County on Saturday, March 16.

Free and open to the public, Family Day at the Dairy Farm takes place 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Hague, 20 minutes northwest of Gainesville just off U.S. Highway 441. For directions, see http://tinyurl.com/d3a5626.

Visitors can watch cows being milked, pet calves, walk through free-stall barns, make butter, see farming equipment and learn how UF research helps keep dairy cows happy, healthy and productive. There will even be free samples of dairy products, a giant cow statue to admire, and a hayride to transport visitors to and from the parking area.

Local actor Houston Wells will reprise his role as President Abraham Lincoln, greeting visitors and posing for photos. It will be one of his final appearances commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Morrill Act, a bill Lincoln signed in 1862 to establish the land-grant university system. UF is the state’s flagship land-grant university.

Organizers hope to exceed last year’s attendance, which was about 800 people, said dairy Extension specialist Albert De Vries, an associate professor with UF’s animal sciences department.

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Beneficial bacteria control effects of Southern corn rust, aflatoxin in silage, UF/IFAS researchers find

Topic(s): Agriculture, Biocontrols, Environment, Families and Consumers, Food Safety, Livestock

 

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Corn silage is an important dairy feed but it sometimes harbors an unwelcome addition – Southern corn rust, a fungal disease that thrives under hot, humid conditions.

 The fungus responsible, Puccinia polysora, seems harmless to cattle. However, a Southern corn rust infection can severely reduce the yield and nutritional value of corn plants and inhibit their fermentation to silage.

 Worse, it damages corn tissue, providing a gateway for opportunistic microbes such as Aspergillis. This genus of fungi includes species that produce a toxic compound called aflatoxin, which can harm or even kill cattle that eat contaminated silage. Aflatoxin can also be transmitted to the milk of cows that eat contaminated foods; in people aflatoxin can cause cancer, other diseases and death.

 Now, researchers with the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences have found a way to control negative effects of Southern corn rust on silage and prevent aflatoxin accumulation, by inoculating the silage with beneficial bacteria.

 The study was published in the September issue of Journal of Dairy Science.

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UF/IFAS experts offer wild game processing workshop for hunters

Topic(s): Announcements, Families and Consumers, Food Safety, IFAS

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Hunting can put meat on the family table, and a University of Florida workshop is helping area men and women learn the fine points of bringing that meat home safe and ready to cook or store.

It’s called Wild Game Processing: From Field to Table, a six-hour workshop held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 29 at the UF animal sciences department, part of the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.

“Proper handling and processing minimizes the risk of foodborne illness and improves the quality and storage life of wild game products for your family,” said Chad Carr, a UF meat science assistant professor. He organizes and leads the workshop, now in its second year.

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Florida small farms conference slated for July 27-29

Topic(s): Agriculture, Announcements, Crops, Environment, Food Safety, IFAS, Nutrition, Vegetables

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Florida Small Farms and Alternative Enterprises Conference is a one-stop shop for anyone who has thought about starting a farm or supporting local foods.

The conference, now in its fourth year, is presented by the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences and Florida A&M University. It will feature tours, vendor exhibits, lunch and nearly 30 presentations.

The conference will be held at the Osceola Heritage Park located at 1875 Silver Spur Lane in Kissimmee July 27-29.

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Under lab conditions, Salmonella can reach tomato fruits through leaves, IFAS study shows

Topic(s): Crops, Food Safety, Research

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Food-safety experts have long believed that Salmonella bacteria could only enter tomatoes through wounds in the stem or fruit — but a new University of Florida laboratory study shows it can also happen another way.

Plant pathologist Ariena van Bruggen, a professor in UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, published a paper today in the online journal PLoS One, with research findings that show — for the first time — that Salmonella can enter tomato plants through intact leaves, travel through the plant and end up in the fruit itself. (more …)

UF researcher reduces allergens in peanuts using pulsed light

Topic(s): Departments, Food Safety, IFAS, New Technology, Research

Multimedia available: http://news.ufl.edu/2011/06/08/peanut-allergen-multimedia/

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A University of Florida researcher has developed a new technique to make peanuts safer for people with peanut allergies.

Wade Yang, an assistant professor in UF’s food science and human nutrition department, used pulsed ultraviolet light, or PUV, to reduce the allergenic potential of peanuts by up to 90 percent. The study was published this week by the journal Food and Bioprocess Technology.

By releasing pulsed, or concentrated, bursts of light containing multiple wavelengths, PUV changes peanut allergens so that human antibodies can’t recognize them and cause the release of histamines, which are responsible for allergy symptoms such as itching, rashes and wheezing.

“We believe the allergen can be controlled at the processing stage, before the product even goes to the shelf,” Yang said.

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UF research finds salmonella responds differently to tomato varieties, ripeness

Topic(s): Agriculture, Cultivars, Food Safety, Safety, Vegetables

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Multimedia available: http://news.ufl.edu/2010/09/21/salmonella-multimedia/

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — University of Florida researchers have discovered that tomato variety and maturity influence the ways salmonella bacteria respond to the fruit.

The findings, published Aug. 31 by the online, open-access journal Public Library of Science (PLoS) ONE, suggest researchers may be able to develop tomato cultivars more resistant to salmonella contamination.

Also, by monitoring tomato ripeness, it may be possible to reduce fruit’s susceptibility to contamination during and after harvest, said Max Teplitski, an associate professor in soil microbiology. (more …)

UF discovers house flies carrying five new illness-causing bacteria

Topic(s): Entomology and Nematology, Food Safety, Household Pests

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Everyone knows that house flies aren’t welcome around food.

But University of Florida scientists have discovered five new reasons why.

Researchers with UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences have documented five more bacteria species carried by house flies, and all of them cause illness in humans, ranging from food poisoning to respiratory infections.

In the current issue of Florida Entomologist, the researchers describe collecting house flies near rear entrances and trash bins at four restaurants in Gainesville. About 20 flies from each location were collected in sterile containers and returned to the campus laboratory.

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UF Food Summit to showcase Florida food issues, sustainability

Topic(s): Agriculture, Food Safety, Green Living, Safety

The University of Florida Office of Sustainability will host the first Florida Food Summit April 12-13. The event at UF’s Reitz Student Union will facilitate networking, dialogue and visioning among members of the Florida food system. The summit will help develop the connections needed for robust farm-to-institution programs and is part of the Office of Sustainability’s “40 Days of Change” campaign – a celebration of the 40th anniversary of Earth Day.

The event will begin with a welcome reception, followed by discussion panels focusing on local food systems at the local and state level. Other events include film screenings, multimedia presentations, a “Food on the Lawn” fair and farmers market.

“Food on the Lawn” will take place on UF’s Plaza of the Americas from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 12, featuring food demonstrations, educational displays and local produce for sale. A photography exhibition, “Range, Furrow, and Grove: Images of Florida Agriculture,” will also be on display April 5-17 in the Reitz Student Union Gallery. (more …)

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