NATIONAL CENTER FOR ELECTRON BEAM RESEARCH -FOOD SAFETY

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: COMPLETE
• Funding Source: SPECIAL GRANT
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 0221614
• Grant No.: 2010-34503-20759
• Cumulative Award Amt.: $64,216.00
• Proposal No.: 2010-01618
• Project Start Date: Sep 1, 2010
• Project End Date: Aug 31, 2012
• Grant Year: 2010
• Program Code: [VJ]- Food Safety, TX

Recipient Organization
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
750 AGRONOMY RD STE 2701
COLLEGE STATION,TX 77843-0001

Performing Department
Poultry Science

Non Technical Summary
The overall objective of this proposal is to support the activities at the National Center for Electron Beam Research (NCEBR) and the Center for Food Safety at Texas A&M University. The NCEBR serves as an un-biased venue for academic, government, and industry scientists to carry out strategic electronic pasteurization and sterilization research using electron beam (E-beam) and X-rays. The Center for Food Safety at Texas A&M University is involved in a variety of projects aimed at promoting food safety. The NCEBR is a one-of-a-kind research facility with E-beam and X-ray capability on the Texas A&M University campus in College Station, Texas. This Special Research grant application is aimed at synergizing the activities of the two centers to make a significant impact on the safety of fresh cut produce in the United States. The E-Beam Center will focus its activities at expanding the research and development of food irradiation technologies. The Center for Food Safety will focus on understanding pathogen (Salmonella) survival and persistence in and on peppers.

Animal Health Component

70%

Research Effort Categories

Basic

10%

Applied

70%

Developmental

20%

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
501	1430	1100	50%
712	1461	1101	50%

Knowledge Area
501 - New and Improved Food Processing Technologies; 712 - Protect Food from Contamination by Pathogenic Microorganisms, Parasites, and Naturally Occurring Toxins;

Subject Of Investigation
1430 - Greens and leafy vegetables; 1461 - Peppers;

Field Of Science
1101 - Virology; 1100 - Bacteriology;

Keywords

electron beam

e-beam

food safety

salmonella

peppers

norovirus

spinach

lettuce

Goals / Objectives
The National Center for Electron Beam Research (NCEBR) at Texas A&M University is a one-of-a-kind facility anywhere in the world, serving as an un-paralleled platform for academic, government, and industry scientists to carry out strategic electronic pasteurization and sterilization research using electron beam (E-beam) and X-rays. The Center for Food Safety Center at Texas A&M University is involved in projects aimed at promoting food safety. Funds from this USDA Special Grants application will allow the following: 1. The E-Beam Center will provide E-Beam and X-ray electronic pasteurization resource for researchers from academia, government, and industry from around the United States. 2. The E-Beam Center will identify the E-Beam and X-ray based inactivation kinetics of Norovirus (using murine norovirus as a surrogate) on spinach and lettuce. 3. The Center for Food Safety will determine the ability of Salmonella Saintpaul or a cocktail of Salmonella spp. isolates to survive and grow in jalapeno, serrano, and bell pepper extracts. 4. The Center for Food Safety will study the effect of temperature on the ability of Salmonella Saintpaul or a cocktail of Salmonella spp. isolates to survive and grow on the surface of jalapeno serrano and bell peppers. 5. The E-Beam Center will train graduate students in using E-Beam and X-ray for food safety, whereas the Center for Food Safety will train graduate students on methods for improving the safety of fresh produce. 6. The E-Beam Center will partner with investigators from academia, industry and government agencies to secure additional resources for research, teaching, and outreach activities. Peer-reviewed publications, meeting abstracts and presentations, and obtaining additional resources for further advancement of the activities will be used as indicators of success and relevancy of the proposed project.

Project Methods
Goal 1. The concept is that the National Center for Electron Beam Research at Texas A&M University given its one of a kind equipment and instrument infrastructure will act as a focal point for research, education, training and outreach activities related to the electronic pasteurization and its applications to foods, fresh produce, agricultural products as well as other materials. Goal 2: The focus of these studies will be to advance our current understanding of the susceptibility of a key enteric virus such as Norovirus on fresh produce. Since human noroviruses cannot be cultured readily in the laboratory, murine norovirus will be used as the surrogate. In addition to determining the inactivation kinetics, studies will also be performed to determine whether sensory attributes of the produce are affected at doses required to achieve virus inactivation. Goal 3. The focus of these studies will be to understand the potential for different types of peppers to sustain or support the growth of Salmonella spp. or to show antimicrobial activity against Salmonella spp. strains. The effect of all components of the pepper, without interference of the background microbiota will be tested by inoculating Salmonella spp. in sterile pepper homogenates. In case that the autoclave processing of the pepper homogenates might inactivate any growth promoting factor present in the peppers, non-autoclaved extracts will also be prepared and filter sterilized to test the growth and survival of Salmonella spp. in comparison with the growth/survival in the homogenates. Inoculum levels of 3-4 log CFU/ml will be used to enable the detection of subtle changes in populations regardless of whether the fate of the organism is to grow or to decrease. Goal 4. The focus of this objective is to understand how temperature in the field, during transportation and refrigerated storage will influence Salmonella spp. survival and growth on peppers. Goal 5. A key focus of the proposed activities is the training of graduate students to address the contemporary issues facing the nation in terms of food safety. A graduate level course will be offered in fall 2010 or spring 2011. This lecture laboratory course will deal with microbial responses to ionizing radiation, determining the inactivation kinetics of specific pathogens to E-beam and x-ray and dose-mapping of food products for E-beam and X-ray irradiation. Goal 6. The resources of the Center will be leveraged to secure additional funding from private, federal and state sources to pursue research and outreach activities. The Center will actively seek out researchers from across the United States and overseas to promote the use of the Center's facilities and infrastructure and advance the field of electronic pasteurization. The Center will continue to seek to establish itself as a credible and reliable resource to various government agencies, including the international community. The Center will team with outreach and educational professionals in making sure that the science and the technology is effectively communicated to the society at large.

Progress 09/01/10 to 08/31/12

Outputs
OUTPUTS: A number of outputs were generated during this project. These included peer-reviewed publications, conference abstracts, articles for newsletters, hands-on workshop, invited presentations, volunteered presentations, and poster presentations PARTICIPANTS: Suresh D. Pillai (Texas A&M University) Alejandro Castillo (Texas A&M University) Palmy Jesudhasan (Texas A&M University) Chandni Nair (Texas A&M University) Charlotte Rambo (Texas A&M University) Alexis Reed (Texas A&M University) Bianca Smith (Texas A&M University) Carolina Corkill (Texas A&M University) Victor Ugaz (Texas A&M University) Carlos Bogran (Texas A&M University) Arul Jayaraman (Texas A&M University) Rosemary Walzem (Texas A&M University) Christine Alvarado (Texas A&M University) Zahra Mohammed (Texas A&M University) Ayoola Onafowokan (Texas A&M University) US Academic Collaborators Kristina Mena (UT School of Public Health, Houston) Robert Reimers (Tulane University) Kumar Venkitnarayanan (Univ of Connecticut) Private Industry Collaborators David Brown (Mevex Corp, Canada) Carl Eichenberger (L3 Pulse Sciences) Gerardo Meave (Avanti MediClear, Mexico) Zane Russell (ProduClear, USA) Bo Ritz (ProduClear, USA) Gerald Seidl (Headworks, USA) Michele LaNoue (Headworks, USA) US Government Agencies Mike Kogut (USDA-ARS) Allen Byrd (USDA-ARS) Jackson mcreynolds (USDA-ARS) Kenneth Gennovese (USDA-ARS) Paul Gadh (USDA-APHIS) International Collaborators Marisa Mazari (UNAM, Mexico City) Ana Espinosa (UNAM Mexico City) Rene Arredondo (UNAM, Mexico City) David Byron (IAEA, Austria) Ana Mercado (University of El Callao, Peru) Three week-long international workshops were organized in 2010, 2011 and 2012. A total of 42 participants from Asia, Africa, N. America, S. America, Europe, and Australia have attended these workshops TARGET AUDIENCES: The target audience for this project has been 1. graduate students. The objective was to to develop a pool of skilled individuals in the US to maintain technological superiority. The efforts have included formal classroom lectures, formal laboratory courses, scientific tours, experiential research and development training 2. private industry. The objective was to deliver science based knowledge to decision makers in the food and agribusiness industry to adopt this technology. The efforts have included formal technical workshops, scientific tours, hands-on laboratory practicum and web-based delivery and formal presentations 3. Investors. The objective was to deliver science-based knowledge to empower the investor community with knowledge on how to capitalize on this technology to develop sustainable businesses. The efforts have included hands-on technical workshops, presentations, scientific tours and strategic and technical consulting PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
This project had 2 key goals (1) publish data on the inactivation kinetics of key foodborne bacterial pathogens when exposed to Electron Beam (E-beam) irradiation and (2) develop a strategy to assist in the commercialization of this technology for the food and allied industries. Refrigerated ground beef (80% lean) samples were inoculated with a cocktail of 5 different Salmonella serovars. Samples were exposed to target doses of 2.0 to 4.0 kGy. The D10 value was determined to be 0.437 kGy, with a 5-log reduction dose achievable at 2.19 kGy. These studies provide evidence that commercial fresh ground beef E-Beam irradiation should be performed at a minimum dose of 2.2 kGy to achieve a 5-log reduction of Salmonella spp. Lettuce and spinach samples were inoculated with poliovirus and rotavirus and exposed to defined E-Beam doses that are currently approved by the FDA. If a serving (~ 14 g) of lettuce was contaminated with 10 PFU of poliovirus and treated with E-Beam irradiation, a dose of 3 kGy will reduce the risk of infection from greater than 2 in 10 persons to approximately 6 in 100 persons. If a serving (~ 0.8 g) size of spinach is contaminated with 10 PFU of rotavirus, a dose of 3 kGy will reduce infection risks from greater than 3 in 10 persons to approximately 5 in 100 persons. Overall, the results documented the susceptibility of enteric viruses (poliovirus and rotavirus) on fresh produce to E-Beam irradiation and reduction of enteric virus associated health risks on fresh produce with the use of E-Beam irradiation. Inactivation of hepatitis A virus (HAV) and a human norovirus (NoV) surrogate, murine norovirus-1 (MNV-1) in Eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica) by E-beam irradiation showed that the dose required to reduce the MNV and HAV titer by 90% (D10 value) in whole oysters was 4.05 (SD� 0.63) and 4.83 (SD� 0.08) kGy, respectively. If a serving of 12 raw oysters was contaminated with 105 PFU, a 5 kGy treatment would achieve a 12% reduction in NoV infections, and 16% reduction in HAV infections. If the serving size contained only 102 PFU, a 5 kGy treatment would achieve a 26% and 91% reduction of NoV and HAV infection risks respectively. The study showed that norovirus and hepatitis A virus are susceptible to E-Beam irradiation but E-beam processing of raw oysters at current FDA approved doses can reduce but not completely eliminate the risk of viral illness. There is commercial interest in this technology. We have performed dose-mapping studies for an oyster grower and others to assist them in adopting this technology for food safety and quality applications. In addition, US investors in collaboration with Mexican investors are building the first E-Beam irradiation facility in Mexico. This project is in collaboration with the National Center for Electron Beam Research. This project has already resulted in the generation of at least 1 new job in Texas; and a Texas based company (ProduClear, Inc) has been created to develop E-Beam sterilization and pasteurization solutions for spices and produce. This initiative has led to the creation of at least two new jobs in Texas and a few more are anticipated.

Publications

• Kogut, M.H., McReynolds, J.L., He, H., Genovese, K.J., Jesudhasan, P.R., Davidson, M.A., Cepeda, M.A., Pillai, S.D. Electron-beam Irradiation Inactivation of Salmonella: Effects on Innate Immunity and Induction of Protection Against Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium Challenge of Chickens (2012) Procedia in Vaccinology, 6, pp. 47-63.
• Espinosa, A.C., Jesudhasan, P., Arredondo, R., Cepeda, M., Mazari-Hiriart, M., Mena, K.D., Pillai, S.D. Quantifying the reduction in potential health risks by determining the sensitivity of poliovirus type 1 chat strain and rotavirus SA-11 to electron beam irradiation of iceberg lettuce and spinach (2012) Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 78 (4), pp. 988-993.
• Mueller, M.T., Lee, S., Kloba, A., Hellmer, R., Kumar, N., Eaton, M., Rambo, C., Pillai, S.Large area radiation source for water and wastewater treatment (2011) Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering, 8029, art. no. 80290J,
• Pillai, S.D. Food irradiation in the United States: Empowering food industry decision makers (2010) Transactions of the American Nuclear Society, 102, pp. 24-25.
• Pillai, S.D (2012). Pathogen contamination of dog chew toys. In: Case studies in food safety and quality management: Lessons from real-life situations (Ed. J. Hoorfar) Woodhead Publishing, Cambridge, UK.
• Reed, A.L., and S.D. Pillai (2012). E-Beam based ionizing radiation technology for municipal biosolid treatment. In: Solids Processing Design and Management Manual. (ed J. Smith). Water Environment Federation, Alexandria, VA
• Pillai, S.D. (2011) Empowering billions with food safety and food security In: In Food & Agriculture, Thematic Volume- International Conference on Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy-2009 (Eds. Arun Sharma & S.F. DSouza)
• Nair, C., D. Prince, C. Rambo, and S.D. Pillai (2010). Contemporary Issues in Food Safety. In: Comprehensive Food Fermentation Food Biotechnology. A. Pandey, , C. Larroche, R. Soccol, E. Gnansounou, and P. Nigam (eds). AsiaTech Publishers, New Delhi.
• Pillai, S.D., and K. McElhany (2011). Status of irradiated foods in the USA. SafeFood, 6: 1-10.

Progress 09/01/10 to 08/31/11

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Electron Beam Technology. World Bank-International Finance Corporation, Mexico City. October, 2011 (presentation) Trends and new technologies for sterilization processes. Tijuana Medical Cluster, Tijuana, Mexico. October, 2011 (presentation) Combined E-Beam-Chemical Oxidant (EChO) technology for treating organic pollutants in municipal wastewater: cost-benefit and business model development. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Coordinated Research program Group meeting. Vienna, Austria. May, 2011 (presentation) Water issues: separating reality from fantasy. Food Safety Conference, Austin, Texas. May Building on the CONACYT-Texas A&M University agreement to advance research collaboration and development. Texas A&M University-CONACYT Research Symposium. March, 2011 Electron Beam & X-Ray Irradiation Technologies. Sanaria Corp. Rockville, MD. March, 2011 Global Food Safety Reality-Today. Global Food Safety Conference. London, UK. February, 2011 Electron beam technology for the development of irradiated vaccines for animal protection. Obihiro Agricultural University, Obihiro, Japan. January, 2011 PARTICIPANTS: Suresh D. Pillai (Principal Investigator) Palmy R. Jesudhasan (Assoc. Research Scientist) Katherine McElhany (Research Assistant) Chandni Nair (graduate student) Charlotte Rambo (graduate student) Mickey Speakmon (Facility Manager) A week-long hands-on workshop was held on the TAMU campus in April 2011 to disseminate the technology to attendees who attended from around 5 continents. TARGET AUDIENCES: Graduate students, end-users, private industry, food industry professionals, investment community, international agency personnel, federal agency personnel PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.

Impacts
This project was a significant success. The activities that were performed during this project period as it relates to E-Beam research was primarily responsible for the private industry to invest in an E-Beam facility worth over US $10 million in Tijuana, Mexico. Investments in the United States are slated to begin in 2012.

Publications

• No publications reported this period