This paper is a comparative survey of the National Food Safety Systems (NFSS) of the European Union (EU) Member-States (MS) and the Central EU level. The main organizational structures of the NFSS, their legal frameworks, their responsibilities, their experiences, and challenges relating to food safety are discussed. Growing concerns about food safety have led the EU itself, its MS and non-EU countries, which are EU trade-partners, to review and modify their food safety systems. Our study suggests that the EU and 22 out of 27 Member States (MS) have reorganized their NFSS by establishing a single food safety authority or a similar organization on the national or central level. In addition, the study analyzes different approaches towards the establishment of such agencies. Areas where marked differences in approaches were seen included the division of responsibilities for risk assessment (RA), risk management (RM), and risk communication (RC). We found that in 12 Member States, all three areas of activity (RA, RM, and RC) are kept together, whereas in 10 Member States, risk management is functionally or institutionally separate from risk assessment and risk communication. No single ideal model for others to follow for the organization of a food safety authority was observed; however, revised NFSS, either in EU member states or at the EU central level, may be more effective from the previous arrangements, because they provide central supervision, give priority to food control programs, and maintain comprehensive risk analysis as part of their activities.

Natural polyphenols, ferulic acid (FA) and hesperetin (Hp) were tested for their Fe3+-reducing power, using the TPTZ methodology, as a first step to rank them according to their antioxidant potential. Ranking also included quercetin (Qt), a very well-studied natural, polyphenolic antioxidant, and ascorbic acid (AA). All phenolics considered were also tested in binary mixtures with AA, to illustrate possible mixture effects. By employing a simple linear regression approach, combinations of AA / Qt and AA / Hp were shown to result in antagonistic effects, whereas in mixtures of AA / FA, synergism was observed. To thoroughly investigate the role of the relative concentrations of the antioxidants, a 3×3 factorial design was implemented. This approach enabled the recording of the response (reducing power) upon simultaneous variation of concentrations of both antioxidants in the mixtures, and revealed only antagonism for every combination tested. It is proposed that in similar investigations factorial designs need to be implemented for reliable prediction of the antioxidant response(s) within appropriate limits. This is particularly crucial for antioxidants that are destined to be added in food matrices, where maximal antioxidant protection is always sought.

Nowadays, food production has the challenging mission to encourage the growth of the rural economy assuring long term sustainability of their natural resources. The qualification of human resources and the generation of new knowledge are the main pillars that give sustainability to agribusiness. Animal protein production is one of the branches of the agribusiness sector. Swine production is recognized as an activity of high pollution potential, producing a large quantity of waste. This study aimed to identify the activities developed in partnership among academic, research and extension institutes in a midsize company of the agribusiness sector, more specifically a swine farm (São Roque Farm) in its sustainable restructuring. An exploratory and quantitative research was developed, which comprehended literature reviews, data collection and analysis of documents from the São Roque Farm. It was considered the period that includes the beginning of the sustainable restructuring of the property (2003) until December 2011. During the analysis of the Sustainable Restructuring Project, special attention was given to the readjustment of the wastewater treatment system and to the energy management and carbon credits, being innovative and pilot projects in the state of Santa Catarina. For this purpose, technologies and knowledge are being developed and applied in treatment of three routes: gaseous, liquid and solid. This pilot project allowed the development of applied studies at undergraduate, masters and PhD level and the main results achieved are the improvement of understanding and the achievement of technical and financial benefits by connecting agribusiness, academia and government research institutions.

The effects of organic material and biofilm formation on the efficacy of Suma Tab D4 chlorine tablets and Suma Bac D10 quaternary ammonium compound (QAC) against Listeria monocytogenes was determined in suspension and on stainless steel and polystyrene surfaces according to standard disinfectant test methodology. Exposure to 200 and 740 mg L-1 QAC and to 150 mg L-1 active chlorine resulted in a > 5.0 log10 CFU mL-1 and > 5.0 log10 CFU/coupon reduction of six L. monocytogenes strains within one minute, in suspension tests, and on stainless steel surfaces, respectively. Additionally, there was a reduction by as much as 5 log10 CFU/coupon or 5 log10 CFU/well of reference strains EGDe and Scott A biofilms within five minutes on stainless steel and polystyrene surfaces. Organic material, added as bovine serum albumin at 0.3% (w/v) completely prevented the inactivation of L. monocytogenes in 150 mg L-1 chlorine, while reductions of only 0.6 +- 0.1 log10 CFU mL-1 were recorded in the presence of UHT milk at 3% (v/v). In contrast, reductions of 5 log10 CFU mL-1 were recorded within one minute on exposure to 740 mg L-1 QAC in the presence of 0.3% (w/v) bovine serum albumin and within two minutes in the presence of 20 % (v/v) UHT milk. Although Suma D4 chlorine tablets and Suma Bac D10 QAC are effective listericidal agents at recommended concentrations, Suma Tab D4 chlorine efficacy against L. monocytogenes is impaired by the presence of low concentrations of organic material, while Suma Bac D10 QAC maintains its listericidal activity in high organic loads.