Dairy May 2009 – Newsbites
FDA Announces Proposed Delay of BSE Final Rule Implementation
The Food and Drug Administration today announced a proposed delay in the implementation of the final rule entitled, "Substances Prohibited from Use in Animal Food or Feed" or more commonly referred to as the 2008 BSE final rule. The final rule, which would have gone into effect on April 27, 2009, is proposed to be delayed 60 days to June 26, 2009. The agency is taking this action in response to comments from affected parties expressing concerns about their ability to fully comply with the rule by the April 27, 2009 effective date. In addition, some affected parties are finding it difficult to identify appropriate alternate ways of disposing of material that may no longer be rendered for animal feed use once the rule takes effect.
The FDA is also providing 7 days for public comment solely on the question of whether to delay the effective date. Comments must be submitted within 7 days of publication in the Federal Register of the notice of proposed delay of effective date.
Interested persons may submit written comments on or before April 16, 2009 to the Division of Dockets Management (HFA-305), Food and Drug Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, Rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852. Electronic comments may be submitted to http://www.regulations.gov. Identify all submissions to the docket with the following docket number: FDA–2002–N–0031 (formerly Docket No. 2002N–0273).
Antibiotics pose concern for MN ethanol producers
Ethanol's main by-product, which is sold as livestock feed, has raised potential food safety concerns.
Several studies have linked the byproduct, known as distillers grain, to elevated rates of E. coli in cattle. And now, distillers grain is facing further scrutiny because the Food and Drug Administration has found that it often contains antibiotics left over from making ethanol.
Ethanol production relies on enzymes, yeast and sugar to convert corn into fuel. And just as the wrong bacteria in the body can sicken people, it can also cause a variety of ailments in a batch of ethanol.
Mark von Keitz with the University of Minnesota's Biotechnology Institute said in ethanol production, the main enemy is a bacterial bug that makes lactic acid.
"What these organisms do is they also compete with the yeast for the sugar," said von Keitz. "But instead of making alcohol, they make primarily lactic acid."
If enough of the bacteria are present, von Keitz said fermentation can be ruined. "It gets acidified to the point that the yeast is no longer able to properly produce ethanol, and then you're stuck with a big batch of corn mash," said von Keitz. If that happens, there's no ethanol and no profit. To prevent the problem, producers rely on medicine. "What people operating these plants are trying to do is to keep these lactic acid bacteria in check," said von Keitz. "And one way of doing that is with the help of antibiotics."
To view the complete story, visit http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Antibiotics-pose-concern-for-apf-14851325.html
Water is to blame for perchlorate in infant formula, says industry
Two brands of infant formula – which make up almost 90 percent of the US market – were found to have the highest levels of contamination with the chemical perchlorate by a recent government study, but the industry has dismissed the findings on the basis that detected levels were too low to do any harm.
The study, published last month in The Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology, found that all 15 infant formula brands tested contained some levels of perchlorate, a chemical used in the production of jet fuel.
To read about the key findings of the study, conducted by researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), click here .
Brands most affected
The study had found that the highest levels of perchlorate were present in two brands of infant formula made from cow’s milk and containing lactose. These contained a perchlorate concentration of 3.86 and 3.44 parts per billion (ppb), compared to the average perchlorate concentration of milk-based formula of 1.72 ppb.
The researchers would not identify the brands, but said that they made up 87 percent of the US powdered infant formula market in 2000, as determined by the US Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service (USDA/ERS).
The ERS report cited identifies the two most popular infant formula brands in 2000 as ones produced by Mead Johnson, owned by Bristol-Myers (52 percent market share) and Ross Labs, owned by Abbott Laboratories (35 percent share).
Water is to blame, says industry
However, the infant formula industry has countered that the levels of perchlorate detected “are far below” the safe reference values set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of 0.7μg/kg body weight per day. IFC said that the average level of perchlorate in milk-based infant formula, as tested in the CDC study, remains more than eight times lower than the level determined by the EPA to be safe in drinking water (15 ppb).
To view the complete story, visit http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/Industry/Water-is-to-blame-for-perchlorate-in-infant-formula-says-industry/?c=KrRubAp2pXauo3E9zzABog%3D%3D&utm_source=newsletter_weekly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Newsletter%2BWeekly
‘Great potential’ of probiotic ice-cream
Ice-cream as a vehicle for delivering probiotic strains has ‘great potential’, giving a health boost without affecting the sensory profile of ice-cream, say Brazilian scientists.
But the products must be backed up by the science and accompanied by consumer education to change eating habits of ice-cream from an occasional to a frequently consumed food, according to a new review published in Food Research International.
“The incorporation of probiotic bacteria into ice-creams is highly advantageous since, in addition to being a rich food from the nutritional point of view, containing dairy raw material, vitamins and minerals in its composition, it is usually consumed by everybody, being well accepted by the public,” wrote the reviewers, led by Adriano Cruz from Universidade Estadual de Campinas in Sao Paulo.
“In the specific case of probiotic ice-cream, this is a concrete challenge as, most of the times, ice-cream is not consumed daily by most of the consumers, and this frozen dessert is more frequently consumed during the summer in most of the countries, and it is hence considered as an occasional food.”
The review was welcomed as “timely” by probiotic expert Professor Gregor Reid from the Canadian R&D Centre for Probiotics at the Lawson Health Research Institute, and The University of Western Ontario.
“In the end, I suspect it will not give more than other delivery vehicles, just an alternative source for consumers,” Prof Reid told NutraIngredients.com..
Technological issues
Successful formulation of probiotic ice-cream is dependent on overcoming certain technical challenges.
According to the reviewers, frozen products like ice-cream present particular challenges, such as the beating in of air - known as overrun. There is also the issue of storage under freezing temperatures, which would affect the viability of the strains over time.
Additional issues to be considered by formulators is which strain to use, how and when the bacterial inoculum is added to the product, in what quantities, as well as the choice of other ingredients, “especially any fruit pulp/juice, which will give the final flavor to the product”, wrote Cruz and his colleagues.
To view the complete story, visit http://www.dairyreporter.com/Publications/Food-Beverage-Nutrition/NutraIngredients.com/Research/Great-potential-of-probiotic-ice-
cream/?c=KrRubAp2pXYBjUXnyHmRLw%3D%3D&utm_source=newsletter_daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Newsletter%2BDaily
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