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Application of a model for detection of food waste, applied within a school canteen, allows to make different assessments on critical points encountered in the service. The detection system can complete the HACCP path and provide useful guidance for official control Services, involved in food safety.

This paper describes the criteria and methodologies that have been used for the planning of microbiological checks on food in the context of the wider plan of Integrated Controls (PRIC) Lazio Region as set by Regulation 882/2004 (EC).

Health is defined by WHO, as a “state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, not just absence of disease.” So it needs not simply treat but also prevent, inform, and promote healthy behaviors. From here the importance of putting into practice all possible strategies for prevention from age lowest. The purpose of this work is just to describe the project “Food and Culture”, between the IZSLT and and the Municipality of Ariccia in order to promote nutrition education in the family from the boys.

The present study reports a case of food fraud occurred in the Lazio region. Using the Isoelectrofocusing we revealed the substitution of tub-gurnard, with the less valuable commercial fish, pangasius.

The evaluation of the first year of the three-year Regional Integrated Plan of Controls has highlighted some problems that does not allow, in some cases, to perform risk assessments to different production processes. Evidence of these concerns has allowed to analyze the corrective actions to be applied in order to make the plan appropiate for the purposes intended by the EC.

The purpose of the collaborative study of seven Istituti Zooprofilattici is the harmonization of the documentation, of methods and investigations and assessment criteria for the development of the activities previewed from HACCP in catering. Many authors have highlighted some problems that does not allow, in some cases, to perform risk assessments to different production processes. The main critical aspect emerged during the meetings is the difficulty of comparing data between the different structures involved because they lack uniform categorization of the many types of recipes resulting in considerable difficulty in identified microbiological limits of acceptability for themselves. Therefore it was decided to make a careful survey in order to propose a categorization of most-used recipes.

In Italy, food-borne outbreaks of opisthorchiasis have occurred since 2003, all of them originating from some lakes in Central Italy where the only European liver fluke, Opisthorchis felineus (Rivolta, 1884) is endemic. The aim of the present study is to investigate the factors that may facilitate the life cycle of O. felineus in the area of Bolsena Lake, the knowledge of the local population about opisthorchiasis, and preventative healthcare measures. We performed a descriptive observational study through the submission of questionnaires to three target populations: fishermen who fish exclusively in Bolsena Lake, restaurateurs whose businesses are close to the lake and general population living in the province of Viterbo. Results showed hazardous behaviours and eating habits in the three target populations, as well as a poor knowledge of opisthorchiasis and preventative healthcare measures.

Semisoft cheese made from raw sheep's milk is traditionally and economically important in southern Europe. However, raw milk cheese is also a known vehicle of human listeriosis and contamination of sheep cheese with Listeria monocytogenes has been reported. In the present study, we have developed and applied a quantitative risk assessment model, based on available evidence and challenge testing, to estimate risk of invasive listeriosis due to consumption of an artisanal sheep cheese made with raw milk collected from a single flock in central Italy. In the model, contamination of milk may originate from the farm environment or from mastitic animals, with potential growth of the pathogen in bulk milk and during cheese ripening. Based on the 48-day challenge test of a local semisoft raw sheep's milk cheese we found limited growth only during the initial phase of ripening (24 hours) and no growth or limited decline during the following ripening period. In our simulation, in the baseline scenario, 2.2% of cheese servings are estimated to have at least 1 colony forming unit (CFU) per gram. Of these, 15.1% would be above the current E.U. limit of 100 CFU/g (5.2% would exceed 1,000 CFU/g). Risk of invasive listeriosis per random serving is estimated in the 10 -12 range (mean) for healthy adults, and in the 10 -10 range (mean) for vulnerable populations. When small flocks (10-36 animals) are combined with the presence of a sheep with undetected subclinical mastitis, risk of listeriosis increases and such flocks may represent a public health risk., (© 2016 The Authors Risk Analysis published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society for Risk Analysis.)

In recent years, the incidence of foodborne diseases caused by Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) has increased globally. For this reason, within the specific regional control plan for the detection of STEC in food products in Italy, the presence of STEC in unpasteurised milk cheeses was investigated. In total, 203 samples obtained from March 2011 to December 2013 were analysed, with two standard methods (ISO 16654:2001 and ISO 13136:2012). Two strains of E. coli O157 were isolated (2/161, 1.2%) but did not carry any virulence-associated genes and 22 stx -positive samples (22/146, 15.1%) were detected in enrichment cultures, mostly from ovine cheeses. Only two strains isolated from different ovine cheeses carried stx gene and none of these was eae -positive. This study confirms the presence of stx -positive E. coli and suggests that this type of food cannot be excluded as a potential vehicle of STEC.

In January 2013, 3 strains of Listeria monocytogenes isolated from one mother and her newborn and a second infant arrived at the Institute for Experimental Veterinary Medicine of Latium and Tuscany. At the same time the Local Health Unit Rome B sampled at retail a smoked salmon that was suspected to be involved in the transmission of the disease. The sample was tested for the presence of L. monocytogenes (UNI EN ISO 11290: 2005 part 1 and 2). Laboratory investigations have shown that all 3 strains isolated from patients belonged to serotype 4b of two different clusters (cluster B for the isolates from mother and child and cluster A to that obtained from another baby), so no epidemiological link was demonstrated in the human cases. The tests conducted on smoked salmon have shown the presence of L. monocytogenes serotype 1/2a. Therefore, no correlation has been demonstrated between the reported cases of listeriosis and the food analyzed.

In managing risks associated with the human consumption of honey, all sectors of the production chain must be considered, including the primary production phase. Although the introduction of the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) system has not been made compulsory for purposes of quality and safety control in farming operations, European legislation makes many references to the key role of primary production in food safety management and the HACCP system has been indicated as the preferred tool to ensure that consumers are provided with safe foods. This article describes a systematic HACCP-based approach to identifying, preventing and controlling food safety hazards occurring in primary apicultural production. This approach serves as a useful tool for beekeepers, food business operators, veterinary advisors, and for Food and Veterinary Official Control Bodies in their planning and conducting of audits and for establishing priorities for the evaluation of training programmes in the apicultural sector.