A single DNA aptamer functions as a biosensor for ricin

Protecting Animal and Human Health and the Nation’s Food Supply through Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory Testing

DR. R. E. SHADE'S evening discourse at the British Association, delivered on September 3, came well within the category of scientific contributions bearing upon social welfare, for it demonstrated the physical possibility of greatly increasing the nation's home-grown food supply, and incidentally of improving soil fertility and of helping to put the much-suffering farmer upon his financial feet. A conspicuous feature of recent agricultural progress has been the recognition of grass as a crop, and how by good management and the use of scientific methods of grass conservation, the productivity of pastures can be immensely increased. 'Early researches on grass as a food for stock were largely confined to hay, and though this form of 'bottled sunshine' is unlikely ever to disappear, the nutrients in grass can be best conserved either as ensilage or as artificially dried grass. No system of cultivating grassland can be adequate unless it takes cognizance of the reaction between the pasture herbage and the grazing animal, for by controlling the time and intensity of grazing or cutting, by judicious manuring, and by timely cultivations, a succession of palatable and nutritious herbage can be maintained throughout the grazing season, and this season can be extended at both ends, that is, in spring and in autumn. The re-discovery by Prof. T. B. Wood and Dr. H. E. Woodman of the high feeding value of leafy, young grass, and the breeding of leafy and highly nutritious strains of indigenous grasses by Prof. R. G. Stapledon and his co-workers at Aberystwyth, have opened up a vista of great possibilities for home agriculture and national food supply.

This study assessed the perceptions of Kentucky consumers regarding the safety of the nation's food supply. Data were collected through a telephone survey of 728 respondents. Overall, most consumers were very or somewhat confident in the nation's food supply. Significant differences were noted among consumers based on age, gender and household income. The most likely locations for food safety problems were identified as food processing plants, followed by restaurants. Respondents that were most confident in the nation's food supply believed food poisoning occurred less frequently than those who were not confident in the food supply. Those consumers who were very confident and somewhat confident in the food supply had a significantly different perception of health risks in food from germs, pesticide residues and preservatives than those who had no confidence in the food supply. Respondents with someone in the household working in the foodservice industry were not significantly different in their confidence of the nation's food supply, or in their opinion of where food safety problems occur, than those who did not. Implications for the foodservice and hospitality industry are discussed.

Evaluation of an In Vitro Bioassay for the Detection of Purified Ricin and Castor Bean in Beverages and Liquid Food Matrices

Ricin is a lethal protein toxin derived from the castor bean plant. Given its notorious history as a biowarfare agent and homicidal weapon, ricin has been classified as a category B bioterrorism agent. Current ricin detection methods based on immunoassays lack the required sensitivity and specificity for many homeland security surveillance applications. Importantly, many conventional antibody-based methodologies are unable to distinguish ricin from RCA 120, a nontoxic protein also found in the castor bean plant. Single domain antibodies (sdAbs), which are recombinantly derived from immunized llamas, are known to have high affinities for ricin A or B chains and low cross-reactivity with RCA 120. Herein, we demonstrate the use of silicon photonic microring resonators for antibody affinity profiling and one-step ricin detection at concentrations down to 300 pM using a 15 min, label-free assay format. These sdAbs were also simultaneously compared with a commercial anti-RCA IgG antibody in a multicapture agent, single target immunoassay using arrays of microrings, which allowed direct comparison of sensitivity and specificity. A selected sdAb was also found to exhibit outstanding specificity against another biotoxin, saporin, which has mechanism of action similar to ricin. Given the rapidity, scalability, and multiplexing capability of this silicon-based technology, this work represents a step toward using microring resonator arrays for the sensitive and specific detection of biowarfare agents.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in April announced a series of new measures to phase out all petroleum‐based synthetic dyes from the nation's food supply — a significant milestone in the administration's broader initiative to Make America Healthy Again.

IN the fifteenth Benjamin WTard Richardson Lecture which was delivered on November 10 before the Royal Sanitary Institute, Dr. Gerald Leighton, late Medical Officer of the Department of Health for Scotland, stated that from the public health point of view three conditions are required for the proper supervision of the nation's food supply. In the first place, there must be a concentration and collection at certain centres of large quantities of the food material, so that there may be adequate inspection. Although the necessity of this condition was recognized more than forty years ago by the United States Department of Agriculture, which established a well-regulated system of slaughter houses, Great Britain has been very slow in adopting the system of public abattoirs, the need of which was so strongly urged by Benjamin Ward Richardson himself. The second condition necessary for effective supervision is the supply of a sufficient number of highly trained inspectors. Great progress has been made in this respect during the last twenty years, training for students as meat inspectors being provided by veterinary colleges, some universities and other educational bodies. Lastly, a uniformity of system and practice is essential. The inspectors should be trained to work on a uniform system and to a uniform standard instead of, as in the old days, each inspector being a law to himself. Dr. Leighton then dwelt on the desirability of securing and adopting the most rapid, skilled and humane methods of slaughtering all kinds of animals for human food, a topic which formed part of the life work of Richardson. In conclusion, he expressed the view that in the progress of the supervision of a nation's food, the introduction of legal standards, as in most European countries, America and various parts of the Empire, for the majority of foods is the most important step for future development.

A novel sensing scheme is exemplified through the detection of ricin B-chain (RBC) in water and liquid food matrices: surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) coupled with an N-acetyl-galactosamine glycopolymer capture layer. The sensing scheme’s detection limit was well below that of the predicted oral exposure limit. Theoretical predictions of the normal Raman spectrum of the glycomonomer give insight into polymer–RBC intermolecular interactions.

Chapter 7 - Cold Plasma Interactions With Food Constituents in Liquid and Solid Food Matrices

NTIL recently, increasing the Nation's food supply to meet war needs has been regarded almost entirely as a production problem. The focal point for securing increased food production has been the farm. Truly, the farmer who plants and harvests a bushel of potatoes or wheat is the cornerstone of the physical process of production. Yet the size of our food supply is not entirely dependent on production. After the farmer produces food, the amount that reaches the consumer depends on the care taken in marketing and using it. Thus, maintaining a bushel of potatoes in sound condition after production may be considered equally as productive as the production of the potatoes. Every bushel of potatoes conserved that otherwise might be spoiled adds to the food supply of the Nation. The 1943 food program anticipated a production increase of about three percent over 1942 production. This anticipated increase may be contrasted with the amount of food waste that ordinarily occurs after production. Such waste has been variously estimated at from 5 to 40 percent of production,1 depending on the commodity in question. The Nutrition and Food Conservation Branch, Food Distribution Administration, estimates the over-all food wastage at 20-30 percent of all food production.2 If any part of this waste is saved, an addition to the Nation's food supply has been made. The Food Distribution Administration is conducting campaigns to encourage consumers and handlers of food to reduce food waste to a minimum. Its program includes, among other activities, the dissemination of educational material on food conservation by way of

Journal of the Society of Chemical IndustryVolume 52, Issue 31 p. 637-640 Article How science can help to improve the Nation's food supply—meat† I. Hammond, I. HammondSearch for more papers by this author I. Hammond, I. HammondSearch for more papers by this author First published: 4 August 1933 https://doi.org/10.1002/jctb.5000523104Citations: 3 † Read at the Food Groupp session, during the Annual General Meeting of the Society in Newcastle, 1933. AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume52, Issue314 August 1933Pages 637-640 RelatedInformation

Micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) in liquid food: From occurrence, health risks and migration mechanisms to AI-enabled analytical and circular solutions.

Laccase from Trametes versicolor was immobilized on TiO2 nanoparticles; the nanocomposites obtained were used for the removal of bisphenol A (BPA) in a liquid food matrix. To achieve a high enzymatic stability over a wide pH range and at temperatures above 50 °C, the nanocomposite structures were prepared by both physical adsorption and covalent linking of the enzyme onto the nanometric support. All the nanocomposite structures retained 40% of their enzymatic activity after 60 days of storage. Proof-of-concept experiments in aqueous media using the nanocomposites resulted on a > 60% BPA removal after 48 h and showed that BPA was depleted within 5 days. The nanocomposites were tested in canned liquid food samples; the removal reached 93.3% within 24 h using the physically adsorbed laccase. For the covalently linked enzyme, maximum BPA removal was 91.3%. The formation of BPA dimers and trimers was observed in all the assays. Food samples with sugar and protein contents above 3 and 4 mg mL−1 showed an inhibitory effect on the enzymatic activity.

Awareness of the health risks from foodborne disease has increased over the past 10 years. Although the Nation's food supply remains among the safest in the world, widely publicized outbreaks of foodborne illness caused by such sources as Escherichia coli (E. coli) 0157:H7 in hamburger, Listeria monocytogenes in hot dogs, and Salmonella in poultry and eggs have raised the public's concerns about risks from microbial pathogens in food. The Federal Government and the private sector have responded with a variety of efforts to protect and enhance the safety of the foods we eat. This article reviews the important events in food safety of the last decade and looks ahead at new efforts to reduce microbial contamination of foods.

Chapter 7 - Methods to detect MCPD and glycidyl esters in complex food matrices