The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has reported that ten Closure Orders were served on food businesses during the month of September for breaches of food safety legislation, pursuant to the FSAI Act, 1998 and EC (Official Control of Foodstuffs) Regulations, 2010. The Enforcement Orders were issued by the environmental health officers in the Health Service Executive.
Commenting today, Dr Pamela Byrne, Chief Executive said that the FSAI was now in a position to make available the full details of the Orders served on food businesses.
“The FSAI has been publishing the names of food businesses served Enforcement Orders for over a decade. Our systems and processes now enable us to provide additional information which is in line with our objective to increase transparency as a regulator and to raise food safety and hygiene standards in food businesses. Enforcement Orders were served on food businesses only when a serious risk to consumer health has been established or where there are a number of ongoing serious breaches of food legislation. We believe this initiative will help to dispel any misinformation regarding the reasons why Enforcement Orders are served and will also let other food businesses know some of the things to avoid in their premises.”
“There were ten Closure Orders served on food businesses in September and common non-compliance are filthy conditions and poor hygiene. Some of the specific reasons the Orders were served this month include evidence of rodent infestation; failure to maintain temperatures of foodstuffs; filthy conditions with aged dirt and debris; unsuitable food storage facilities; evidence of extensive cockroach infestation; and raw chicken stored on a dirty floor,” concludes Dr Byrne.  

Institute of Food Sciences and Technologyhttp://tinyurl.com/y8tlb9hg

Eating a Mediterranean diet may protect people from some of the harm of long-term exposure to air pollution, and reduce their risk of dying from heart attacks, stroke and other causes of death, according to new research.

For the broccoli haters of the world, researchers may have more bad news: the vegetable may also help promote a healthy gut.
In a study, when mice ate broccoli with their regular diet, they were better able to tolerate digestive issues similar to symptoms of leaky gut and colitis than mice that were not placed on a broccoli-supplemented diet, according to Gary Perdew, the John T. and Paige S. Smith Professor in Agricultural Sciences, Penn State. He added that other vegetables, like brussels sprouts and cauliflower, may also have similar gut health properties.
“There are a lot of reasons we want to explore helping with gastrointestinal health and one reason is if you have problems, like a leaky gut, and start to suffer inflammation, that may then lead to other conditions, like arthritis and heart disease,” said Perdew. “Keeping your gut healthy and making sure you have good barrier functions so you’re not getting this leaky effect would be really big.”
Good intestinal barrier function means that the gastrointestinal tract is helping protect the intestines from toxins and harmful microorganisms, while allowing nutrients to pass into the system, he said.
According to Perdew, the key to the process may be a receptor in the gut called aryl hydrocarbon receptor, or AHR. The receptor helps the body regulate its reaction to certain environmental contaminants, as well as triggers other responses to toxin exposure.
The researchers suggest that cruciferous vegetables — such as broccoli, brussels sprouts and cabbage — contain an organic chemical compound called indole glucosinolates, which breaks down into other compounds, including indolocarbazole-ICZ-in the stomach.
When ICZ binds to and activates the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) in the intestinal lining, it aids in maintaining a healthy balance in the gut flora and immune surveillance, and enhances host barrier function, according to the researchers. This may help prevent diseases, such as various cancers and Crohn’s Disease, caused by inflammation in the lining of the gut.

ScienceDailyhttp://tinyurl.com/y7kc2ma6