Environmental Public Health Journal 2019 | BCIT Institutional Repository

Environmental Public Health Journal 2019

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Prevelance of Listeria in produce
Background: Fruits, vegetables, and ready to eat processed produce are vulnerable to bacteria contamination during production, harvesting, transportation, packaging, and distribution. Agencies like the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulate and create legislative policies to ensure the food is safe for public consumption. When a product does not meet CFIA or FDA regulations or if the product is tested positive to biological, chemical, or physical contamination the product will be recalled. The main objective of this study is to determine if Listeria monocytogenes recalls in produce have increased over the last ten years. Listeria is a food-borne pathogen that is often overlooked and underreported. The diagnosis of Listeriosis can be difficult because symptoms can take up to 70 days to surface. Despite this, it is responsible for 41% of food-borne deaths in Canada. Methods: To determine if Listeria has increased over the last ten years, food recalls were collected from the CFIA, FDA, Food and Safety Inspection Service (FSIS), and Health Canada websites and recorded in Microsoft Excel. All food recalls were counted and analyzed using a one-tailed T-Test conducted in NCSS. Results: The study concluded that produce recalls due to the pathogen Listeria have increased by 60% over the last ten years. During the years of 2016 to 2018 the top pathogen responsible for food recalls was Listeria followed by the pathogens Salmonella and Escherichia coli. The study also concluded that total food recalls during the years of 2016 to 2018 was 45% higher than ten years ago. Conclusion: The results of this study could indicate that there is a need to increase traceability by obtaining produce through approved sources. This could allow for stricter policies, programs, and legislation regarding the use of irrigation water during production and identify breakdowns in sanitation procedures during processing and distribution., Peer reviewed, Peer-reviewed article, Published, Project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Bachelor of Technology in Environmental Health, British Columbia Institute of Technology, 2019., Health Canada, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, recalls, food recalls, Salmonella, E. coli, Escherichia coli, CFIA, FDA, FSIS
So you think you can cook pot?
Background: With regulations on additional cannabis products including edibles being in the works, Canada is faced with a new layer of food safety challenges as the public becomes increasingly curious about adding cannabis into their diets. Knowledge in both food safety and edible safety is essential to prevent health hazards associated with edible cannabis products. Methods: An online self-administered survey was conducted on a British Columbia population. In addition to demographic data which also included cannabis usage, participants answered two knowledge tests on food safety and edible safety, respectively. The surveys were analyzed for differences in test scores between demographic groups. Results: Users of cannabis edibles have significantly higher knowledge in edible safety than non-users. This was not affected by the purpose or frequency of edible use. A slight positive correlation (0.18) between food safety knowledge and edible safety knowledge suggested the two topic areas to be mutually beneficial. In contrary, knowledge in food safety was not significantly different across all demographic groups. Conclusions: Non-users of cannabis edibles are more at risk of health hazards related to ingestion of cannabis edibles due to lower knowledge in this subject matter and eagerness to experience cannabis products after their legalization. Therefore, there is a need for education programs to help familiarize the public with these products. It is also recommended for the public to strengthen general food safety knowledge because all of it also applies when making edibles., Peer reviewed, Peer-reviewed article, Published, Project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Bachelor of Technology in Environmental Health, British Columbia Institute of Technology, 2019., Legalization, Cannabis, Edibles, Food safety, Knowledge, THC
A study of radon concentration in homes in the Sea to Sky corridor and the North Shore of Vancouver British Columbia
Background: Radon is odourless and colourless gas. It is the second leading cause of lung cancer and can only be found through testing. A radon potential map released in 2012 and highlighted various areas of British Columbia which were high in radon. This study focused on testing for radon gas in houses within the Sea to Sky Corridor and North Shore, areas noted to be high in radon. Methods: This study was conducted by reaching out to participants who lived within these areas. Radon test kits were distributed, and patrons were instructed to keep these kits on the lowest level of the home for at least 91 days. After the 91-day period, the radon test kits were collected and sent to a lab for further results. Results: The lab results were analysed with NCSS Data Analysis software. Three statistical tests were conducted looking at the different areas, types of foundation and if the houses tested are below the recommended average. Two of the two sample T tests were not significant, and the one sample T test came back significant. Conclusion: The two-sample t test (comparison against the two areas) showed that radon did not have equal concentrations. The same can be said with the two sample t tests against foundation types (slab on grade and crawl space). All samples were then compared against the recommend limit set by Health Canada (200 Bq/3), and was concluded that they were all below this limit., Peer reviewed, Peer-reviewed article, Published, Project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Bachelor of Technology in Environmental Health, British Columbia Institute of Technology, 2019., North Shore, Radon, Radon gas, Vancouver, Sea to Sky

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