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Features

Tamper-evident packaging
could foil terrorists

[JUNE 14, 2003]  The recent discovery of ricin, a toxin from castor beans, in London has raised concern that terrorists could contaminate food at either the point of manufacture or after it's been put out for consumption in grocery stores and restaurants, but tamper-evident packaging in use today means terrorists would have a difficult time contaminating large numbers of food packages.

"Tamper-evident packaging has been in use since the drug-tampering scares in the early 1980s," said Scott Morris, an expert on food packaging at the University of Illinois.

"Although tamper-evident seals are not required on foodstuffs, the food industry already has a high level of tamper evidence on most products."

Morris says that tamper-evident packaging includes such things as twist-locks, ring pulls, pop-tops, shrink seals and blister-packs. They are commonly used in food packaging, not only because they provide evidence of tampering, but also because they keep foods fresh.

"Consumers usually know enough to look for overt signs of tampering, and they know that they should avoid products with an open seal," he said. "No seal is completely foolproof, but they work reasonably well as a first line of defense."

Other products, such as cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and cleaning agents, could also be used to infect or poison people, and there is already concern about diluted and counterfeit pharmaceuticals in the United States.

"The Food and Drug Administration is investigating better ways of protecting the food supply, and recently it issued new voluntary guidelines for food producers, processors, transporters and retailers. Food plants are also making security a primary concern," said Morris.

Another comforting fact is that the food industry is capable of doing large-scale recalls very efficiently because of its experience with food-poisoning cases.

"Such recalls are now done almost pre-emptively. If there is an outbreak, the food industry aggressively tracks down the rest of the product and gets it off the shelves very quickly," he said.

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Morris has been working with the U of I Bioacoustics Lab in the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology to image food seals and determine how large a defect in a seal must be to become a contamination problem. The research was prompted by the military's concern about the safety of food in their MRE (meal ready-to-eat) packages.

"The technologies to make tamper evidence even more secure are there if people are willing to pay for them," Morris said, "but consumer or governmental demand that would prompt industry to make new investments in more secure technologies isn't there yet."

Morris says right now people are getting the level of security that they're willing to pay for.

"More security would require significant changes at the production, distribution and retail facilities. This would be a huge and expensive task. Look at the way the airlines scan and search purses and briefcases at the airport. Would shoppers put up with that level of inconvenience when they enter a grocery store?" asked Morris.

If people start getting nervous about the food supply, however, Morris believes they may be willing to pay extra for a more restrictive packaging. He notes that this packaging would also be more difficult for the end user to open. And, no doubt, the product would end up costing more too.

"If someone wants to tamper with a product badly enough, they will find a way to do it. But I believe we can make it more difficult, and that's what we're trying to do."

[University of Illinois news release]

Health Matters

A monthly feature from  Logan County Health Department

Health officials advise mosquito control and personal protection

[MAY 19, 2003]  As you know, mosquito season is upon us again. Last year, West Nile virus, which can be transmitted by mosquitoes, was prevalent in Illinois. Although we don't know what 2003 will bring, it is always best to be prepared.

First of all, no amount of larvaciding or adult mosquito fogging will kill all mosquito larva or adult mosquitoes. It can have a tremendous impact, but it is only one way to help eliminate the mosquito population. Each person must do his or her part. Since mosquitoes need only a small amount of water for breeding, look to your own back yard.

*Remove or empty water in old tires, tin cans, buckets, drums, flower pots or bird baths

*Empty plastic wading pools at least once a week and store indoors when not in use. Also, swimming pools that are not used should be covered or drained during the mosquito season.

*Change the water in bird baths and plant pots at least once a week.

*Level the ground around your house so water can drain away and not collect in low-lying areas.

*If you have an ornamental water garden, stock it with mosquito-eating fish such as minnows, "mosquito fish" or goldfish. They eat mosquito larva.

*Keep weeds and tall grass cut short; adult mosquitoes look for these shady places to rest during the hot daylight hours.

*Small impoundments of water may be treated with "Bti," a bacterial insecticide. Many hardware stores carry doughnut-shaped Bti briquets (Mosquito Dunks) for this purpose.

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Since we will not eradicate the mosquito, we must also be responsible about personal protection. You can protect yourself by:

*Avoiding places and times when mosquitoes bite. This is usually just before and after sunset and just before dawn. Each species has its own peak period of biting.

*Be sure doors and screens are tight-fitting and in good repair.

*Check to see that your mosquito repellent contains DEET (N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide)

Generally, repellents with a concentration of 25 percent to 35 percent DEET work best on adults; use lower concentrations of 10 percent or less for children between the ages of 2 and 12. Do not use on infants.

For more information, go to http://www.idph.state.il.us/envhealth/wnv.htm and http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/
index.htm.

You may also contact the Logan County Health Department at (217) 735-2317.

[Logan County Health Department news release]

Red Cross

West Nile Virus

West Nile virus links

LDN articles

• Local authorities watching WNV

Federal websites

• CDC WNV home page

State websites

• State WNV website

• Protect your home against mosquitoes
• State surveillance site
• Logan County surveillance site

Honors & Awards

• Logan County Health Department presents awards

Announcements

CICBC blood drives monthly at paramedics' building

Blood supplies across the nation are critical. In some areas, there is less than a one-day supply. Fortunately, thanks to the dedicated donors in central Illinois, these tremendous shortages have not yet touched our hospitals. However, the blood supply is a resource that must be renewed. Every three seconds someone needs a blood transfusion of some kind. To accommodate this constant usage, community members must continually help replenish the supply. Since a donor can donate whole blood only every eight weeks, Central Illinois Community Blood Center needs community members to come forward and help with this lifesaving effort.

Central Illinois Community Blood Center provides all of the blood and blood products for 12 area hospitals, including those in Lincoln, Hopedale and Springfield. No other organization provides blood in these hospitals. CICBC is a community-based blood center whose mission is to provide a safe and adequate blood supply for patients in local hospitals in a cost-effective manner.

When you donate blood through CICBC, you help to keep a safe and adequate blood supply for your community. You also help keep local medical costs under control.

Regularly scheduled blood drives are on the first Monday of each month (except Labor Day) at the Logan County Paramedic Association building, 1300 N. Postville Road. (See schedule.) Please help by donating blood.

CICBC also provides other services for the communities served, such as therapeutic phlebotomy at no charge for patients with hereditary hemochromatosis.

For more information, call Terry Bell at 753-1530.

[CICBC press release]

• July 2, 1-7 p.m., at Lincoln Christian Church, 204 N. McLean

• July 7, noon-6 p.m., at Logan County Paramedic Association building

• July 15, hours and location to be announced

• Aug. 4, noon-6 p.m., at Logan County Paramedic Association building

• Sept. 8, noon-6 p.m., at Logan County Paramedic Association building

• Sept. 24, hours and location to be announced

• Oct. 6, noon-6 p.m., at Logan County Paramedic Association building

• Nov. 3, noon-6 p.m., at Logan County Paramedic Association building

• Nov. 12, hours and location to be announced

• Dec. 1, noon-6 p.m., at Logan County Paramedic Association building

The Rural Health Partnership has announced the schedule for its mobile health unit for 2002.

For more information on the mobile health unit schedule and services, contact Dayle Eldredge at (217) 732-2161, Ext. 409.

Community resource list

This family resource list to save and use is provided by the Healthy Communities Partnership and the Healthy Families Task Force, 732-2161, Ext. 409.         

(updated 2-15-02)

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