Food Safety and Food Security in the CANAMEX Trade Corridor

Background: Food security and safety are becoming major concerns worldwide. Providing food security and safety in hospitals is particularly challenging since their populations are diverse in dietary and nutritional requirements and more vulnerable to foodborne illnesses. The aim of this research is to promote hospital sustainability by addressing food security and food safety. Method: This study uses a quantitative method with a bibliometric study approach. This research has 212 articles from the Scopus database. All the documents were collected simultaneously in August 2022. The selected article encompassed the years from 2017 to 2021, including document type, publication stage, source type, language, and subject area. The data was analyzed using VOSviewer and NVivo analytical tools. Results: The results of the studies on food security and safety increased from 2017-2022 with current trends in hospital sustainability, food waste, and waste management in food. Our study has identified four clusters: hospital food services, hospital sustainability, nutrition, and food safety. Food security is positively correlated with assessment, challenges, measurement, status, and sustainability (Pearson correlation score is 1). Disease control, proper waste management, and environmental health are all associated with food safety (Pearson correlation score ±0.79-0.64). Conclusion: Food safety and security are critical to achieve hospital sustainability, therefore awareness-raising efforts must continue. It is recommended that hospital stakeholders, food service providers; public and private sectors adopt policies and guidelines to disseminate information on food safety and security concerning hospital sustainability.

Preventive Strategy Against Infectious Diarrhea—A Holistic Approach

Utilizing state hazardous materials transportation data in hazardous analysis

Safety is one of the most important factors in human nutrition. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has developed a special protocol on food security, according to which the availability of food to all is considered a factor in food security. The FAO's main focus in this protocol is on distribution security. This protocol also provides tips on food safety. On the other hand, the Halal standard, using the teachings of Islam, considers food security and safety as an important indicator for all humans. Since man is a multidimensional being from the point of view of Islam and has body, mind, soul and spirit, so food safety and security from the prespective these dimensions can provide a higher quality index for halal food, than the FAO’s food security program. The halal nutrition system does not view the food itself as the end product of nutrition, but also considers the production chain to consumption and its aspects, so the consumer as one of the important pillars of the food chain could have the necessary food justice and security, and this matter is only achievable through upholding the justice in distribution of sufficient and quality food. In the present article, the proposed indicators of halal food safety and security are compared with the FAO World Food Safety Program, and the quantitative and qualitative differences between food safety and security factors in both programs are judged.

Defending the Safety of the Global Food System: Advances in Food Security and Safety H. Alpas, T. Kiymaz.- Food Safety System in Croatia M. Miskulin et al.- Bioactive Compounds of Georgian National Food: Determination of Antioxidant Activity E. Kvesitadze et al.- Eco-Friendly Food Processing: 21st Century Challenges, M. Brncic.- Reach Regulation - A Prerequisite for Health and Environmental Safety: Lithuanian Case J. Staniskis et al.- Evolution, Efficiency and Challenges of Environmental Management in Bulgarian Agriculture H. Bachev.- Environmental Security and its Economical Aspect G.Kharlamova.- Sustainable Strategies of Phytoremediation of the Sites Polluted with Obsolete Pesticides L. Moklyachuk et al.- Innovative Method for Utilization of Wastewater for Security and Safety in Rural Areas H. Obarska-Pempkowiak et al.- Three Stage Biotechnology for the Rehabilitation of Soils Polluted with Explosives G. Kvesitadze.- Transfer of Radionuclides to Crops, Foodstuff Contamination and Application of Countermeasures G. Arapis.- Sustainability of Mining Waste in Basin Bor, Serbia Z.S. Markovic.- Electrolyzer for Production of Environmentally Safe Functional Aqueous Solutions: Analysis of Mass Transfer in Annulus E.N. Gnatko et al.- Electrochemical Incineration of Some Phenolic Compounds and MTBE A. Velichenko et al.- The Status of Research on Constructed Wetlands P. Kuschk et al.- Effects of Hurricane Katrina on Land Cover within the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in Mississippi, USA E. Evans et al.- Protecting and Improving Water Quality in Vojvodina V. Radovic.- Public Health Risks and Economic Impact of Counterfeit Medicines B. Ramjiawan et al.- Patients Practice and Knowledge of Pharmaceuticals Disposal: Example from Some Rural Areas of Croatia K. Vitale et al.- Endemic (Balkan) Nephropathy - A Disease Caused by Aristolochic ACID B. Jelekovic et al.- Catastrophe Medicine and Environmental Security: The Dietary Grape Polyphenol Concentrate Enoant as Functional Food in Prevention and Treatment V.I. Mizin, Y.A. Ogay.- Thinner Exposure and Memory and Learning Deficits V. Nedzvetskii et al.- Environmental and Drug Induced Renal Damage the Way to Protect S. Babiy et al.- Conservation of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants in Croatia Z. Satovic et al.

Food safety and food security can impact the quality of human life, and these two aspects are interrelated alongside many influencing external factors. Global stressors such as climate change, recent pandemic, and geopolitical tensions have demonstrated tangible impacts on food security and safety. Food and food system innovation is a key strategy towards feeding the world in a more sustainable and climate-resilient manner. This paper highlights the use of a science-based risk assessment and management in Singapore’s food safety system, specifically in the integration of exposure assessment approaches to support evidence-based food safety risk analysis and decision-making. The use of complementary top-down and bottom-up exposure assessment approaches through the market monitoring programme, total diet study and human biomonitoring forms a comprehensive integrated exposure assessment strategy which can ultimately inform policy and measures in ensuring and securing a supply of safe food. The discussion on such application for chemical food safety in Singapore offers additional insights into the synergistic inter-relationships contributing to the exposure assessment associated with chemicals in food.

Acute Respiratory Infections in a Recently Arrived Traveler to Your Part of the World*

Fatality Risks on the Road and in Space

The purpose of this discussion panel is to present the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) human factors research needs to the larger human factors research community. The DOT Human Factors Coordinating Committee (HFCC) serves as a multi-modal team with government-wide liaisons to promote human factors and to address crosscutting human factors issues in transportation. HFCC regularly conducts a survey of the DOT modal agencies and other federal agencies with a transportation focus (e.g., the National Transportation Safety Board) to identify cross-cutting DOT research needs. In this panel, the results of a recent survey will be presented with a discussion of how each modal agency is addressing these human factors areas of interest. Additionally, HFCC representatives from five modal agencies will review their current research efforts, discuss their anticipated future research needs, and address questions from the audience.

Access to safe, nutritious, and sufficient food is essential to ensure food and nutrition security and healthy lives for all. Secure access to nutritious food ensures healthy eating habits, economic growth, and stability in an economy. However, food insecurity and malnutrition persist globally. In Ghana, more than half of food-insecure people reside in the Northern ecological zones of the country. Moreover, Ghana lacks a systematic food security monitoring system to track food insecurity among vulnerable populations. This study reviewed existing evidence on the current situation and changes related to food production, trade, safety, and consumption in Ghana, as part of the process to develop food-based dietary guidelines for the country. The literature review included peer-reviewed articles published from 2010 – 2020 in Ghana to document household-level food production, consumption, and safety issues. In addition, food disappearance data (from 2010 to 2018) from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations was analysed. Means and compound annual growth rates were calculated for each food item included. The results showed that per capita food production was higher than per capita consumption in all the food categories studied, except for vegetables, and fish and fishery products. Food consumption was centred on a few priority staple crops such as cassava, maize, rice, and yams, with less consideration given to underutilised foods such as akokono (palm weevil larvae). Food imports exceeded food exports in all food categories except 1) cocoa beans and products, 2) root crops and tubers, 3) oil-bearing crops and nuts, and 4) fruits and products. Fruit and vegetable consumption in Ghana has been declining since 2013. There was also a rise in the import and consumption of processed foods, especially tomato paste, sugars, and alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. Food safety issues included microbial contamination, aflatoxin contamination, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in smoked fish, mercury in fish, pesticide and heavy metal residues in vegetables and fruits, and food adulteration. The evidence synthesized from this study will be useful to inform the development of food-based dietary guidelines for Ghana. Key words: Food, production, trade, consumption, food security, safety, Ghana

This study aims to develop and test a methodological approach to assess the system of food quality and safety in the COVID-19 pandemic. To achieve the study objectives, a multi-country research project was implemented with 425 enterprises from Russia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, and Belarus. The application of the developed methodological approach resulted in comparable assessments of the various criteria of the food safety and quality assurance system in supply chains. This makes it possible to implement continuous monitoring of the state of the food safety and quality assurance system in the enterprises. In addition, the study identified critical weaknesses in the safety system, including a very low level of assessment by enterprises of the impact of WHO advisory protocols. This greatly increases the risks associated with food safety in the COVID-19 pandemic. Urgent action is required to increase the confidence of food supply chain actors in WHO recommendations and national food safety and quality protocols. The conducted assessments showed that a significant proportion of enterprises did not implement a food safety system. One out of five of the respondents claimed to have implemented safety systems at an enterprise in accordance with the standards recognized by the Global Food Safety Initiative. Only 2% declared the introduction of HACCP at an enterprise, which is logical given the high mistrust of WHO recommendations. The proposed approach can be used in the real sector of the economy to monitor the food safety and quality assurance system in the supply chain at the regional, sectoral and national levels.

When President Obama signed the FDA [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] Food Safety Modernization Act1 into law on 4 January 2011, it marked the farthest-reaching changes to the U.S. food safety system in more than 70 years. Crafted in light of concern over foodborne disease outbreaks and perceived underinvestment in food-inspection capacity,2 the law combines a mandate for more FDA inspections with authority to respond quickly to illness outbreaks. The bill fundamentally restructures the way FDA monitors the food supply,” says Caroline Smith DeWaal, director of food safety at the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest. “FDA’s oversight role is greatly enhanced.” The agency also has enhanced authority over imported processors, a growing source of the U.S. food supply. She notes the law sets new standards for on-farm production, particularly certain high-risk fruits and vegetables.3 The FDA shares responsibility for food safety with U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which handles poultry, meat, and certain egg products. On the other hand, the law doesn’t mark a huge change in direction overall. Robert Buchanan, director of the Center for Food Safety and Security Systems at the University of Maryland, explains that the new law gives FDA “some additional powers for when the industry isn’t doing what it’s supposed to be doing.” These include setting limits on key food pathogens, better surveillance, and more capacity for inspections and investigations following illness reports. The bill lays out a combination of producer performance standards and government inspections designed to ensure those standards are upheld. It sets a goal of “not fewer than 4,000 field staff members in fiscal year 2011 to carry out food-related activities,” according to FDA spokesman Douglas Karas. Last year’s budget allowed for about 2,800 full-time staff for field activities related to food, supplemented by other staff. Despite the law’s call for more inspectors and more frequent inspections, with the new Republican Congress vowing to slash federal budgets, Buchanan says, “Frankly, USDA and FDA will be lucky to keep the number of inspectors they already have. It’s a real concern.” The FDA declined interview requests, saying it’s still studying the new law and exploring partnerships with other agencies and watchdog groups. The new law leaves it to industry to decide which technologies to use to track outbreaks and manage tracking data. “Frequent shopper” cards used by grocery stores to track customers’ preferences may help. Some stores’ cards track food lot numbers, and they have led to recalls in some cases, according to David Goldman, assistant administrator for the Office of Public Health Science at the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service. Some experts expect what the Washington Post called “a small gold rush” among tech companies anticipating a growing market in new food-tracking technologies.4 The California-based company YottaMark, Inc., for example, markets the HarvestMark system, which lets consumers scan produce labels using an iPhone app or type in tracking numbers online to learn precisely where the produce was grown and when it was harvested. HarvestMark is currently used by 200 companies. Will the new law reform the system? Time will tell. “This is always going to be an evolving activity,” Buchanan says. “But do I think this law is going to have a big impact? Yes. Huge.”

<div class="htmlview paragraph">This is an assessment of United States High Speed Guided Transit (HSGT) systems policy, vision, goals, and magnetic levitation development and commercialization technology; as affected by the new United States National Energy Strategy. It includes a brief review of the key aspects and assumptions which formed the basis for the US National Energy Strategy scenario, and the tactics proposed to implement a National Maglev transit network by the target year 2015 (<span class="xref">1</span>)<sup><span class="xref">1</span></sup>.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">It is followed by a historical review of past magnetic levitation vehicle developments, a review of the present status of Maglev trains, and an outline of future (EMA) Electro Magnetic Attraction levitation for speeds under 400 km/h; (SC) Super Conductive (EDR) Electro Dynamic Repulsion levitation for subsonic speeds approaching 900 km/h; and, an introduction to the (MPW) Magnetic Potential Well levitation effect as developed by Kozoriz (<span class="xref">2</span>) in 1976, also see (<span class="xref">39</span>).</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">Magnetic levitation transit technology has been under development in America since the US Congress passed the 1965 High Speed Guided Transit Act (HSGT)(<span class="xref">3</span>) which authorized the Department of Transportation (DOT) to fund HSGT projects. Since then, this technology has been an ongoing terrestrial transit development in Europe and Japan; and, later in the USSR for non terrestrial applications, such as a new method for docking space craft in earth orbit, and now for an USSR terrestrial Maglev transit application.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">Consequently, prototype Maglev trains are now considered ready for introduction into intercity commercial service, and ultimately in subsonic applications up to 900 km/h. In America, new initial steps were taken in 1989 by the US DOT, in a one year assessment of United States transportation policy and system needs for the future, under Secretary for DOT, Mr. Samuel K. Skinner (<span class="xref">4</span>)(<span class="xref">5</span>). US DOT transportation policy recommendations were made to the Office of the President of the United States in May 1990; and, followed by the so-called National Maglev Initiative sponsored by the US DOT Federal Railroad Administration in early 1991.</div>

Commercial motor vehicles are mandated to display a valid U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) identification number on the side of the vehicle. Automatic recognition of USDOT numbers is of interest to government agencies for the efficient enforcement and management of the commercial trucks. Near infrared (NIR) cameras installed on the side of the road, to capture an image of an incoming truck, can capture USDOT images without distracting the drivers. In this paper, we propose a computer vision based method for recognizing USDOT numbers using an NIR camera system directed at the side of the commercial vehicles. The developed method consists of two stages; first, we localize the USDOT tag in the captured image using the deformable part model (DPM). Next, we train a convolutional neural network (CNN) using street-view house number (SVHN) dataset1 and sweep the trained classifier across the localized region. Based on the calculated scores, we infer the digits and their locations using a probabilistic inference method based on Hidden Markov Models (HMM). The most likely digit sequence is determined by applying the Viterbi algorithm. A data set of 1549 images was collected on a public roadway and is used to perform the experiments.

This study examined the perception of food safety and the food purchasing behavior of university students from Jeonnam area. For the survey, 295 students (126 male students and 169 female students), participated in and answered a questionnaire. The food purchasing decision was made dominantly by ‘taste’ and ‘food safety (19.3%). On the other hand, 78.6% of respondents answered that food safety is important. Food safety information was obtained through the media (45.1%) and the Internet (44.7%). The major causes of food safety incidents were a ‘lack of awareness about food safety’ (33.7%) and ‘lack of responsibility’ (29.3%). Confidence in national food safety policy had a low score (2.86). The items of ‘I can trust the national food safety management’ and ‘having established scientific and reasonable food safety standards’ scored 3.09 and 3.08, respectively, whereas ‘food safety system is well established’ was 2.75 , which was relatively low. The reliability of food companies was 3.06, which is a normal level. The highest score was 3.97 ‘check expiration date’ and 3.82 ‘check food package’ in the students’ food safety attitude when purchasing food. The overall results can be applied to establish reliable food safety education for consumers as well as robust food safety policies for food industry. In addition, increasing responsibility on food safety for the food industry should be encouraged and monitored by government.