Diet Contributes Significantly to the Body Burden of PBDEs in the General U.S. Population

BACKGROUND. Exposure of the U.S. population to polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) is thought to be via exposure to dust and diet. However, little work has been done to empirically link body burdens of these compounds to either route of exposure. OBJECTIVES. The primary goal of this research was to evaluate the dietary contribution to PBDE body burdens in the United States by linking serum levels to food intake. METHODS. We used two dietary instruments-a 24-hr food recall (24FR) and a 1-year food frequency questionnaire (FFQ)-to examine food intake among participants of the 2003-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. We regressed serum concentrations of five PBDEs (BDE congeners 28, 47, 99, 100, and 153) and their sum (ΣPBDE) against diet variables while adjusting for age, sex, race/ethnicity, income, and body mass index. RESULTS. ΣPBDE serum concentrations among vegetarians were 23% (p = 0.006) and 27% (p = 0.009) lower than among omnivores for 24FR and 1-year FFQ, respectively. Serum levels of five PBDE congeners were associated with consumption of poultry fat: Low, medium, and high intake corresponded to geometric mean ΣPBDE concentrations of 40.6, 41.9, and 48.3 ng/g lipid, respectively (p = 0.0005). We observed similar trends for red meat fat, which were statistically significant for BDE-100 and BDE-153. No association was observed between serum PBDEs and consumption of dairy or fish. Results were similar for both dietary instruments but were more robust using 24FR. CONCLUSIONS. Intake of contaminated poultry and red meat contributes significantly to PBDE body burdens in the United States.National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (R01ES015829, T32ES014562

Scientific Opinion on the evaluation of the safety in use of Yohimbe (Pausinystalia yohimbe (K. Schum.) Pierre ex Beille)

The Panel on Food Additives and Nutrient Sources added to Food provides a scientific opinion evaluating the safety in use of yohimbe bark and its preparations originating from Yohimbe (Pausinystalia yohimbe (K. Schum.) Pierre ex Beille when used in food, e.g. in food supplements. The bark of the plant contains a number of indole alkaloids of biological relevance and preparations of yohimbe bark have been traditionally used as general tonic, performance enhancer and as an aphrodisiac. Food supplements containing yohimbe bark preparations are available nowadays, especially via internet retail. Yohimbine, the major alkaloid of yohimbe bark and raubasine, another alkaloid occurring in lower concentrations in the bark, are used as active ingredients in a number of medicinal products for which adverse effects are described. The Panel reviewed the available scientific data on a possible association between the intake of yohimbe bark and its preparations and potential harmful effects on health. When those data were not available, priority was given to yohimbine, as the only alkaloid for which occurrence had been shown and quantified in food supplements containing yohimbe bark. The Panel concluded that the chemical and toxicological characterisation of yohimbe bark and its preparations for use in food are not adequate to conclude on their safety as ingredients of food, e.g. in food supplements. Thus the Panel could not provide advice on a daily intake of yohimbe bark and its preparations that do not give rise to concerns about harmful effects to health. An estimation of exposure to yohimbine from food supplements was performed showing that theoretical maximum daily intake may exceed the maximum approved daily dose of yohimbine from use as a medicinal product

Cucumber fermentation organisms

A collection of sequences from isolates derived from cucumber fermentation

Predictive Microbiology Information Portal (PMIP)

PMIP provides access to predictive models for foodborne pathogens, relevant regulatory policies and guidelines, and microbial data related to pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms in food products. The models in the Predictive Microbiology Information Portal are mainly from the Pathogen Modeling Program (PMP) of the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) - Eastern Regional Research Center (ERRC) , and currently 15 models are in the portal. The main sources of rules/regulations are links to the USDA - Food Safety and Inspection Service and Food and Drug Administration websites. The microbial growth data are from Combase, which contains about 65,000 data points. It is a relational database that is jointly developed and maintained by the Food Research Institute of UK, USDA-ARS, and the Center of Excellence for Food Safety, Australia. The portal provides a searchable function that the users can use to obtain specific information that is of interest to them. The tutorial provides brief instructions and examples on how to navigate the portal and retrieve necessary information. The PMIP links users to numerous and diverse resources associated with models (PMP), databases (ComBase) , regulatory requirements, and food safety principles. Resources in this dataset:Resource Title: Predictive Microbiology Information Portal (PMIP) Web Site. File Name: Web Page, url: https://portal.errc.ars.usda.gov/ </ul

Transcriptome of lifestages of Acheta domesticus

In order to develop genetic resources for the improvement of insects as food, we sequenced transcripts from life stages of the house cricket, Acheta domesticus. A draft transcriptome was assembled from more than 138 million sequences obtained from embryos, one day hatchlings, three nymph stages, and male and female adults. The draft transcriptome assembly contained 46,741 contigs, and more than half (27,641) were similar to sequences at NCBI (e value 1,000) levels mostly were from adult males and one day hatchlings. There were 80 differentially expressed genes common to all life stages (significant at 99.99% C.I.), with some increased during early development, and others expressed at higher levels in later stages. An enrichment analysis of gene ontology terms from each life stage or sex demonstrated genes that were important to biological processes in cricket development. We characterized transcripts that may be important in future studies of genetically modified crickets for improved food production, including those involved in RNA interference, and those encoding prolixin and hexamerin 1. The data represent an important first step in our efforts to provide genetically improved crickets for human consumption and livestock feed

UV-B Monitoring Climatological and Research Network Program - Mead, United States Department of Agriculture

The UV-B Monitoring and Research Program operates a national network of solar irradiance monitoring stations equipped with instruments which provide measurements to meet the needs of both agricultural and atmospheric researchers. Two of the instruments deployed in the network are unique since they provide the important and useful direct component of solar irradiance without the expense and complexity of a solar tracker. Instrumentation includes: - Ultraviolet Multifilter Rotating Shadowband Radiometer: Direct, Total Horizontal, and Diffuse UV Irradiance at nominal 300, 305, 311, 317, 325, 332 and 368 nano-meter wavelengths - Photosynthetically Active Radiation Sensor: 400 - 700 nano-meter wavelengths - Broadband UVB-1 Pyranometer: (280-320 nm, erythemal weighted for skin damage) - Multifilter Rotating Shadowband Radiometer: Direct, Total Horizontal and Diffuse Visible Irradiance at nominal 415, 500, 615, 673, 870, 940 nano-meter wavelengths, plus one unfiltered (open) silicon photodiode of 300-1040 nm. - Barometric Pressure Sensor - Air Temperature and Relative Humidity Sensor - Downward Looking Photometer - UV-A biometer All instruments have on-board data logging capability. Measurements are provided as 3-minute averages, aggregated from 15/20 second readings of each instruments' raw output voltage. Resources in this dataset:Resource Title: GeoData catalog record. File Name: Web Page, url: https://geodata.nal.usda.gov/geonetwork/srv/eng/catalog.search#/metadata/Mead_eaa_2015_March_30_1215 </ul

UV-B Monitoring Climatological and Research Network Program - Agronomy Center for Research and Education, United States Department of Agriculture

The UV-B Monitoring and Research Program operates a national network of solar irradiance monitoring stations equipped with instruments which provide measurements to meet the needs of both agricultural and atmospheric researchers. Two of the instruments deployed in the network are unique since they provide the important and useful direct component of solar irradiance without the expense and complexity of a solar tracker. Instrumentation includes: - Ultraviolet Multifilter Rotating Shadowband Radiometer: Direct, Total Horizontal, and Diffuse UV Irradiance at nominal 300, 305, 311, 317, 325, 332 and 368 nano-meter wavelengths - Photosynthetically Active Radiation Sensor: 400 - 700 nano-meter wavelengths - Broadband UVB-1 Pyranometer: (280-320 nm, erythemal weighted for skin damage) - Multifilter Rotating Shadowband Radiometer: Direct, Total Horizontal and Diffuse Visible Irradiance at nominal 415, 500, 615, 673, 870, 940 nano-meter wavelengths, plus one unfiltered (open) silicon photodiode of 300-1040 nm. - Barometric Pressure Sensor - Air Temperature and Relative Humidity Sensor - Downward Looking Photometer - UV-A biometer All instruments have on-board data logging capability. Measurements are provided as 3-minute averages, aggregated from 15/20 second readings of each instruments' raw output voltage. Resources in this dataset:Resource Title: GeoData catalog record. File Name: Web Page, url: https://geodata.nal.usda.gov/geonetwork/srv/eng/catalog.search#/metadata/AgronomyCenter_eaa_2015_March_30_1213 </ul

Degeneration of aflatoxin gene clusters in Aspergillus flavus from Africa and North America.

Aspergillus flavus is the primary causal agent of food and feed contamination with the toxic fungal metabolites aflatoxins. Aflatoxin-producing potential of A. flavus varies among genotypes and among vegetative compatibility groups (VCGs). The genes involved in aflatoxin biosynthesis are clustered together in a highly conserved order. Gene deletion and presence of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in aflatoxin biosynthesis genes is often associated with inability to produce toxin by members of Aspergillus section Flavi. In order to identify mechanisms of atoxigenicity and understand degeneration of aflatoxin gene clusters in atoxigenic genotypes, aflatoxin gene clusters from 35 A. flavus genotypes from North America, West Africa and East Africa were sequenced and analyzed. Inability of some genotypes to produce aflatoxin resulted from the absence of the necessary biosynthetic genes, whereas in other genotypes, atoxigenicity originated from the degeneration through SNP formation. Comparative analysis of aflatoxin gene cluster leading to the degeneration should provide further insight into the mechanism of atoxigenicity in A. flavus and thus contribute to the diagnosis and monitoring of the biocontrol genotypes applied in the field