New, potent anti-microbial wash developed

Washington, June 25 (IANS) Scientists have developed a new anti-microbial wash that kills Salmonella and E. coli more effectively and speedily in vegetables, fruits, poultry products and meats.
Made from inexpensive and readily available ingredients that are recognised as safe by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the new wash is expected to replace chlorine.

At present, a chlorine wash is most widely used to reduce harmful bacteria levels in food products, but it has its limitations. For one, it does not kill all microbes.

Chlorine is also toxic at high concentrations, may produce off-flavours and undesirable appearance of certain food products, and it can only be used with specialised equipment and trained personnel.

In addition, chlorine may be harmful to the environment.

“This new technology is effective, safe for consumers and food processing plant workers, and does not affect the appearance or quality of the product,” said Michael Doyle of Georgia University, who invented the wash.

“It may actually extend the shelf-life of some types of produce,” added Doyle.

In recent years, there have been several outbreaks of food-borne illnesses that are being partly attributed to the fast-paced distribution of food.

For instance, raw tomatoes recently caused an outbreak of salmonellosis that affected people in at least 28 states in the US and in neighbouring Canada.

Doyle is an internationally recognised authority on food safety whose research focuses on developing methods to detect and control food-borne bacterial pathogens at all levels of the food continuum, from the farm to the table.

The new anti-microbial technology, developed by Doyle and colleague Tong Zhao, uses a combination of ingredients that kills bacteria within one to five minutes.

It can be used as a spray and immersion solution, and its concentration can be adjusted for treatment of fragile foods such as leafy produce and more robust foods such as poultry.

It can also be used on food preparation equipment and vehicles that transport food.


Can grandma's remedy help reduce diabetes, obesity?

Washington, June 21 (IANS) Can turmeric, used in Indian curries and grandma's remedy for healing wounds and reducing inflammation, prevent diabetes?
Since inflammation is believed to be involved in onset of both obesity and Type 2 diabetes, Drew Tortoriell of Columbia University Medical Centre and colleagues addressed this question.

Tortoriello, working with paediatric resident Stuart Weisberg and fellow endocrinologist Rudolph Leibel, discovered that turmeric-treated mice were less susceptible to developing Type 2 diabetes, based on their blood glucose levels, among others.

They also discovered that turmeric-fed obese mice showed significantly reduced inflammation in fat tissue and liver compared to controls.

They speculate that curcumin, the anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant ingredient in turmeric, lessens insulin resistance and prevents Type 2 diabetes in these mouse models by dampening the inflammatory response provoked by obesity.

Turmeric (Curcuma longa) has no known dose-limiting toxicities in doses of up to at least 12 grams daily in humans. Researchers tested high-doses of a dietary curcumin in two distinct mouse models of obesity and Type 2 diabetes: high-fat-diet-fed male mice and leptin-deficient obese female mice, with lean wild-type mice that were fed low-fat diets used as controls.

Administration of curcumin was also associated with a small but significant decline in body weight and fat content, despite level or higher calorie consumption, suggesting that curcumin beneficially influences body composition.

Their finding is slated for publication in Endocrinology and were presented at ENDO 2008, the Endocrine Society's recent annual meeting in San Francisco.

Why overcrowded hospitals don't cure

Washington, June 25 (IANS) Overcrowding and understaffing in hospitals facilitate transmission of infections within the premises, according to a review study.
Crowding results in increased levels of Meticillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) infections, prompting increased indoor stay, bed-blocking, overcrowding and even more MRSA infections, according to Archie Clements of the US School of Population Health.

Clements, who was part of a seven-member team that undertook the review study, described MRSA as a resistant type of Staphylococcus Aureus, a common bacteria, present on the skin and in the nostrils of many healthy people.

“MRSA often colonises hospital patients to no ill effect but, if present in a surgical wound or carried to the bloodstream by an intravenous catheter, it can cause serious infection and possibly the death of the patient,” he said.

Clements attributed higher levels of MRSA to overcrowding and understaffing because of its impact on hand hygiene, the number of contacts between healthcare workers and different patients, overburdening of screening and isolation programmes.

“Overcrowding and understaffing, root causes of the MRSA problem, are partly related to policy that promotes high patient output and fewer beds, and partly to a diminishing, ageing health care workforce.

“These problems are likely to continue or worsen, and impact on patient health and safety, unless new ways are found to reduce overcrowding and understaffing of hospitals.”

The findings of the review are slated to be published in the July edition of the journal Lancet Infectious Diseases.  



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