Food Protection Trends - February 2009 - 85

The general causes for outbreaks in Portugal are similar to the reported in other EU countries and are mainly associated with deficiencies in food preparation, cooling and reheating, and food handling leading to cross contamination. Training the people that handle food is a major but important task that should lead to a decrease in the incidence of foodborne disease. The data provided by Portugal according to EU legislation framework, Directive 2003/99/EC, for monitoring and controlling foodborne diseases in the EU may be underestimates due to problems arising from limitation in the connection and communication among the many agencies that are important in terms of food safety and regulatory controls. In Portugal the Food and Economic Safety Authority (ASAE), a criminal police institution, is the national administrative authority overseeing food safety. The Health Authorities (DGS) are also involved as they license industrial establishments, including drawing up of plans regarding installation or alteration projects. It is also their responsibility to intervene in the licensing of restaurants (or similar outlets) and other food supply establishments, assure conditions of health and hygiene, and perform sanitary surveillance of the quality of water for human consumption and its bottling. The DGS intervenes directly at the level of evaluation of National Guides to Good Hygiene Practices and at the level of labelling and control of pesticide residues, nitrites, patulin, and others. The National Veterinary Autority (DGV) is involved in animal sites, concerning controls at the level of animal production and slaughtering among others. It is possible that, as in Europe, the cases of foodborne diseases in Portugal are under-reported. Efforts during the last years on both, compliance with the EU legislation on Hygiene and Safety improved the general knowledge about these matters among the persons who handle food and the consumers. Efforts and investments by the industry (including the tourism industry) regarding the issues concerning installations, equipment and training in food hygiene may also result in a continuous improvement of the safety of the food we produce and eat in Portugal. Food Safety in the European Union: Trends in Foodborne Pathogens FrANk BoElAErT, European Food Safety Authority, largo N. Palli 5/A, I-43100 Parma, Italy The European Community system for monitoring and collection of information on zoonotic agents in foodstuffs and animals is based on the Zoonoses Directive 2003/99/EC, which obligates the European Union (EU) Member States to collect relevant and where applicable comparable data of zoonoses, zoonotic agents, antimicrobial resistance and foodborne outbreaks. The Member States (MSs) transmit to the European Commission, every year, a report covering the data collected. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is assigned the tasks of examining the data collected and publishing the Community Summary Report. This Report is prepared in collaboration with the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and EFSA’s Zoonoses Collaboration Centre (ZCC, in the Technical University of Denmark). Another system for collecting zoonoses data at the Community level is the EU-wide baseline surveys, which concept has only recently been launched in accordance with Directive 2003/99/EC. The European Commission coordinates these surveys and the Decision/Regulation laying down the fully harmonised survey protocols oblige all MSs to conduct the surveys. The duration of the surveys is typically one year, and the results are analysed by EFSA. So far, baselines surveys have been performed for Salmonella in poultry and pig populations, and the ongoing and forthcoming surveys concern Salmonella, Campylobacter and Listeria monocytogenes in foods as well as methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) in pigs. Food Safety Challenges to New EU Member States DIANA BANATI, Central Food research Institute (kEkI), Herman otto ut 15 1537 Budapest, Hungary No Abstract SESSION 2: The Thin Line between Microbiological Quality and Safety Microbiological Quality versus Safety – Industry Point of View Timothy Jackson, Nestlé SA, Nestec Food Safety, Ave. 55, Vevey, CH-1800, Switzerland The microbiological quality and microbiological safety of foods intimately connected. Microbiological quality may relate to product spoilage or potential for spoilage, or to the hygienic status of the product. In the later case, the microbiological quality of a product may provide an indication of whether conditions exist during the product that could also impact product safety. While not a direct indicator of safety, spoilage can also provide an effective alarm that the product is not suitable for consumption. Efforts to suppress spoilage to extend product shelf life, often introduce new concerns in microbial safety that must be addressed during product development and managed during production. Bacillus PEr EINAr GrANUm, Norwegian School of Veterinary Science, Dept. of Food Safety and Infection Biology, P.o. Box 8146 Dep., N-0033 oslo; Norway The genus Bacillus encompasses a great diversity of species broadly defined as aerobic, Gram positive, sporeforming rods. Due to secretion of several different enzymes, Bacillus species are widely used in the fermentation industry and in production of the majority of microbial industrial enzymes worldwide. Due to their ability to produce spores Bacillus FEBRUARY 2009 | FOOD PROTECTION TRENDS 85

Food Protection Trends - February 2009

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