Know your Enemy: Part I- Florida's Most Common Foodborne Infections

“With Food Safety In Mind”
By Roy E. Costa, R.S., M.S. Division Manager for HACCP Compliance and Training SemcoLABS


When it comes to food safety, it is "us against them". "Us" being the food safety professionals and "them" being the microbes that frequently invade and infest our food supply. As in any conflict, the side that has the best intelligence can gain the upper hand. That is why it is critical to know our opponents, their habitats, needs for growth, and survival tactics.
During my twenty-one years as a government sanitarian I investigated over 100 foodborne illness outbreaks. In most cases it was impossible to determine the causative agent. Though we are at a disadvantage in this sense, what is clear is that there are actually only a handful of bacteria, virus and parasites that cause the majority of confirmed foodborne illness outbreaks. These first articles will lay the groundwork for preventing the most common foodborne illnesses in Florida.


New Technology for Moisture:

DIRECT METHODS

Moisture Analyzers

Foods can be heated and dried and then weighed to determine moisture content. Dry powder and pastes that might be difficult to analyze otherwise, work well in this application.

Microwave Moisture Analyzer

µWave®
The µWave® system a DSC product. Lists for $13,000. The new µWave® microwave moisture/solids analyzer features a newly developed applicator, which ensures equal and thorough heating of the sample. In addition, the magnetic field sensor allows high moisture content to be measured 4 to 6 times faster than other microwave systems. The analyzer features 0.1 mg accuracy, which is the same as an analytical balance requiring less sample and shorter analysis times. Menu-driven operation in plain English allows user-friendly operation. Up to 90 user-designed programs can be stored allowing different samples to be tested without reprogramming. It has a built-in printer and built-in RS232 interface (specifications). Daniel Banayan of DSC notes that “this unit is especially well suited to dry foods with lower moisture content”.

Moisture Balance 2500.00-6500.00
DSC HFT-2000m (Moisture Analyzer)
Another DSC product, The DSC HFT-2000m Moisture Analyzer is the full featured, compact moisture analyzer for every budget! Perfect for environmental, quality control, food and beverage, chemical, pharmaceutical industries, and more, this fast, rugged analyzer gives you the flexibility you need and the accuracy you require for moisture determinations. The DSC HFT-2000m combines state-of-the-art heating with highly accurate weighing technology to deliver a faster, more precise method of moisture analysis