No abstract

The study presents evidence in support of the bacterial theory associated with the toxicity of Pyrodinium bahamense var. compressum. Bacterial endosymbionts from Philippine P. bahamense var. compressum strain Pbc MZRVA 042595 were isolated and identified via 16S rDNA sequence analysis. Taxonomic diversity of the identified culturable intracellular microbiota associated with Philippine P. bahamense var. compressum was established to be limited to the Phyla Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Firmicutes. Major endosymbionts identified included Moraxella spp., Erythrobacter spp., and Bacillus spp., whereas Pseudomonas putida, Micrococcus spp., and Dietzia maris were identified as minor isolates. All identified strains except D. maris, P. putida, and Micrococcus spp. were shown to contain either saxitoxin or neo saxitoxin or both at levels < or =73 ng/10(7) bacterial cells based on high-performance liquid chromatography analysis. Paralytic shellfish poisoning-like physiologic reactions in test animals used in the mouse assay were recorded for the endosymbionts except for P. putida. The study is the first to elucidate the possible contribution of bacterial endosymbionts in the toxicity of P. bahamense var. compressum isolated in the Philippines.

The study presented details about 60 reported Philippines foodborne outbreaks for the period of 1995–2004. It was established that meat‐containing dishes were the more common causes of the outbreaks evaluated, with spaghetti as the leading food vehicle. Common risk settings for the outbreaks were the food services of schools and workplaces. Salmonella and Vibrio spp. were cited as the primary causes of infections, while human intoxications involved staphylococcal enterotoxins, paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) toxins and histamine.

A survey on food safety knowledge and practices of streetfood vendors from a representative urban university campus in Quezon City, Philippines was done. A face-to-face interview was conducted using a standardized survey tool containing 70 questions, which included queries on demographics and food safety knowledge and practices of streetfood vendors. Topics on food safety assessment in both practices and knowledge included: health and personal hygiene, good manufacturing procedures, food contamination, waste management, and food legislation. The study found that among the 54 streetfood vendors surveyed, knowledge on food safety concepts was established particularly on topics that dealt with health and personal hygiene, food contamination and good manufacturing procedures. However, vendors were shown to be not too knowledgeable in terms of food legislation and waste management. A significant gap between knowledge and practice on these topics was established and it was primarily attributed to the tendencies of street food vendors to compromise food safety for financial issues. Confusion in food legislation was established in this test microcosm because the purveyor of food safety regulations was not the local government health unit but the business concession office of the campus administration. The provision of continuous food safety education, some financial assistance through social services affiliations, and basic water and waste management utilities were recommended to diminish the gap between knowledge and practices of safe streetfood vending in school campuses.

The use of different methods of heat shocking for green mussels was evaluated. These methods were heat treatment at 60 and 100°C either in a hot water bath, in watersaturated air or in dry heat. It was established that relaxation of the adductor muscles, which facilitates shucking, was quickest for the hot water bath treatment at both test temperatures. This treatment caused 100% of the mussels to be open at either 60 or 100°C in 3-5 and 0.33-1 min exposure times respectively. The sensory acceptability of all the heat-shocked mussel meats ranged from dislike slightly to like slightly. Generally, the increase in pH and water activity of the heat-treated mussels, relative to the untreated mussels, was not statistically significant at the 5% level of significance.