英国食品标准局：应对食物中毒的新策略

    食品伙伴网导读：英国于2010年7月21日推出了一项研究策略，以解决食物中毒最常见的原因。
    
    英国主要的食品安全研究公共资助者已经联手发布协调策略，以调查食物中的弯曲杆菌。这是这些组织第一次为解决这个问题而达成共同的目标。最新的数字表明，商店出售的65%的生鸡中存在弯曲杆菌污染，虽然妥善烹制可将鸡肉中的细菌杀死，但这仍是英格兰和威尔士每年它是超过30万起食物中毒和15,000起住院治疗病例的罪魁祸首。

    专家们一致认为，这个问题没有单一的解决方法，新战略的目标是确定一个机制，可以大大减少在食物链中弯曲杆菌的水平，以及减少人类疾病的发病率。新战略包括：

• 研究，以了解当前的感染发生率，当前的粮食和农业的做法和潜在的干预策略
• 对弯曲杆菌生物学及动物宿主进行研究
• 开发新的工具和诊断技术（例如田间对弯曲杆菌的快速检测）
  
  图为弯曲杆菌的照片

原文导读：
Wednesday 21 July 2010


A new research strategy to tackle the most common cause of food poisoning in the UK has been launched today.

The UK’s main public funders of food safety research have joined together to publish a co-ordinated strategy to investigate the food bug campylobacter. This is the first time these organisations have agreed to a common set of objectives to tackle the problem.

The Food Standards Agency, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the Northern Ireland Department for Agriculture and Rural Development and the Scottish Government have all agreed to support the strategy. The Agency, BBSRC, Defra and the Scottish Government are also all partners in the recently launched, multi-agency Global Food Security programme, in which research underpinning the provision of safe food has been identified as a priority.

The most recent figures suggest that 65% of raw shop-bought chicken is contaminated with campylobacter. Although cooking chicken properly will kill the bug, it is responsible for more than 300,000 cases of food poisoning and 15,000 hospitalisations a year in England and Wales.

Experts agree that there is no single solution to this problem, but the new strategy aims to identify a range of mechanisms that could significantly reduce the levels of campylobacter in the food chain and reduce the incidence of human disease. The new strategy includes:

• research to understand current infection incidences, current food and farming practices and potential intervention strategies
• studies of the biology of campylobacter and the animal hosts
• the development of new tools and diagnostic techniques (for example, feasibility of developing a rapid on-farm test for campylobacter)

A number of different delivery mechanisms, coordinated by all the funders, will be used to implement this strategy. The first calls for research are already in progress, with a further call expected later in the year. The strategy is focussed on coordinating existing spend on campylobacter research and does not involve the commitment of new money.

Liz Redmond, veterinary director and head of food hygiene policy at the Food Standards Agency, said: 'There is no one magic bullet to solve the problem of campylobacter, but a better understanding of the science will allow us to work out which combination of solutions are best for the UK.

'This is the first time such a multi-agency research strategy has been agreed, with clear joined-up objectives aimed at delivering a more coherent evidence base targeting better food security.

'The campylobacter reduction programme will be underpinned by research around the organism itself and the effect it has on its host, coupled with developing a better knowledge of the impact of various potential interventions. We look forward to working with all our partners and the food industry to make this strategy a success.'

Professor Douglas Kell, BBSRC Chief Executive, said: 'Ensuring food security for everyone is not just about putting more food on plates. The food we eat needs to be as safe as we can make it and the prevalence of campylobacter demonstrates the challenge we face. By working together with these partners we can deploy all the relevant parts of the UK's world-class research base to minimise the impact of campylobacter.'