Posts Tagged: safety

UC food-safety specialist tests biosensors to ensure safe produce

 

Ahmed El-Moghazy joined UC Agriculture and Natural Resources as a UC Cooperative Extension food safety specialist in February and is based at UC Riverside. Food safety, according to El-Moghazy, are measures that ensure food is free from harmful contaminants, prevent foodborne illnesses and is safe to eat. El-Moghazy is responsible for assisting California farmers and food processing facilities to enhance food safety practices by training appropriate personnel and addressing food-safety issues on their farms.

As the principal investigator for the 2-SAFE Lab at UC Riverside, El-Moghazy is investigating the accuracy and applicability of point-of-use biosensor technology. The small, lightweight and easy-to-use sensor can be used while out in the field or in a packing house to test contamination of liquids such as irrigation and washing water or solids like food samples.

Testing for foodborne pathogens traditionally takes two to three days and the process can be costly. The biosensor technology that El-Moghazy is using is inexpensive and can provide results within one work shift, which allows businesses that grow fresh produce to confirm the safety of their products before sending them to the market.

The alternative, selling contaminated food to consumers, is not only detrimental to human health, but can ruin the reputation of businesses, making way for unanticipated costs associated with recalling contaminated products and regulatory consequences including fines and sanctions. 

El-Moghazy is also developing the next generation of antimicrobial surface coatings and materials that can rapidly control the foodborne pathogens and hinder the transfer of harmful bacteria from contaminated food to non-contaminated food.

El-Moghazy is optimistic that his research can safeguard public health, reduce the burden of foodborne illness and protect the integrity of businesses. Although El-Moghazy serves the entire state, he is dedicating a large part of his needs assessment and efforts in Southern California where high-value specialty crops such as avocados and citrus are grown.

"Did you know that one in every six Americans get sick from eating food contaminated with a foodborne pathogen?" asked El-Moghazy. Understanding the fatality of foodborne illnesses, El-Moghazy believes that increasing awareness through education is an essential aspect of his role. "It's true, but not many people realize this, or that 40% of foodborne illnesses stem from fresh produce."

To protect consumers, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration requires farms with a certain level of annual sales (adjusted for inflation) of fruits and vegetables typically consumed raw to have one employee who has completed an FDA-approved Produce Safety Rule Grower Training.

In addition to certified trainings, El-Moghazy offers technical assistance to ensure growers comply before and after inspections, as well as resources for several topics including produce safety, agriculture water, flooding, soil amendments, worker health, hygiene and training and postharvest handling and sanitation. He can also assist in developing food-safety plans and other general farm food-safety protocols. His technical expertise covers all aspects of food production and supply including irrigation water quality, hygiene of harvesting tools and transportation.

Before joining ANR, El-Moghazy completed two years as a visiting scholar in the UC Davis Biological and Agricultural Engineering department before continuing as a postdoctoral fellow in the UC Davis Food Science and Technology department for 5 years. Much of his work was rooted in the development of biosensors and antimicrobial materials for food safety. While in Davis, he collaborated with local farms and food processing companies on food safety research and extension.

El-Moghazy earned a Ph.D. studying developmental biosensors for food safety applications to detect pesticides residues from a joint program offered by University of Perpignan in France and Alexandria University in Egypt. He also earned a master's degree in developmental biobased fungicides and a bachelor's in agriculture science from Alexandria University. Finally, he completed a fellowship at the Institute of Plant Protection, Szent Istvan University in Hungary, where he studied how to extend shelf-life of fresh produce using biomaterials.

El-Moghazy is based at UC Riverside in the Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology. He can be reached at aelmogha@ucr.edu or  (951) 827-0257.

Chris Jakober named Risk and Safety Director

Chris Jakober has joined UC ANR as Director of Risk & Safety Services. In this role, Chris will lead ANR's programs and teams for Environmental Health & Safety and Risk Management, reporting to Director of Facilities Planning and Management Brian Oatman.

Chris completed his bachelor's degree in chemistry at Oklahoma State University, where he studied land application of wastewater treatment residuals for nitrogen and phosphorus runoff mitigation and an in-vitro procedure to determine bioavailability of heavy metals from ingestion of contaminated soils. In 2001, further educational pursuits brought him to California, where he completed his doctoral work at UC Davis in agricultural and environmental chemistry, measuring carbonyls in motor vehicle exhaust.

His professional experiences include air-quality consulting on novel dust mitigation at Owens Lake for Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, air quality research for the California Air Resources Board (e.g. regulating ozone emissions from indoor air cleaners, area source greenhouse-gas emissions verification, and health exposure risk assessment for environmental justice communities), and environmental health and safety in support of research at UC Davis.

Chris is based at the UC ANR building in Davis and can be reached at cjakober@ucanr.edu and (530) 756-1046. 

Please join me in welcoming him.

Brian Oatman
Director, Facilities Planning & Management

Home Landscaping for Fire Safety

Living with the threat of wildfire is an unfortunate fact of life for Californians. While we cannot control wildfire, we can help minimize its destruction by practicing fire safe strategies which harden the landscape by reducing the vulnerability of your home and property to wildfire.
In recent years, we have seen many fires that have affected homes that are not even close to an open space. A single spark which is called a firebrand or flying ember can travel miles in the wind making us all vulnerable.

Hardening the landscape
Creating a beautiful and functional landscape as well as a fire adapted property can be accomplished using the concept of Defensible Zones. Your property can be viewed as 3 defensible zones and when done properly, it makes your home and property less prone to fire. In these zones, we look for places to prevent ignition, slow fire down, and improve firefighter access.

The Zones are:
Zone 0: Ignition Zone
0-5 feet from home.
Zone 1: Firebreak Zone
5-30 feet from home.
Zone 2: Reduced Fuel Zone
30-100 feet from home or to your property line.

Zone 0: Ignition Zone: 0–5 feet
This zone is the most important one. The first 5 feet from your home are critical to the safety of your home and family. Those 5 feet should be clear of anything that will burn. This includes plants, shrubs, overhanging trees, and mulch. Remove all flammable hazards that are within this critical zone including stacks of wood, propane tanks, wooden chairs, benches, dead vegetation, leaves or cobwebs under the eaves or in rain gutters, and wooden fences. It is important to eliminate any material that could be ignited by a flying ember. Also make sure to remove tree branches that overhang the roof.

Zone 1: Firebreak Zone: 5–30 feet
In this zone, the primary goal is to stop a fire from spreading. We want to use space (separation) to create areas that “break” or slow the path of any fire. Hedges and wooden fences are of special concern, as they can channel flames toward the house. Strategically created space between shrubs, trees, plants, and anything else that might burn will create a fuel break that will make it harder for flames to spread on the ground from plant to plant and to your home. Prune and thin, remove plants and separate layers of vegetation, for example by removing lower tree branches, so that a fire cannot “ladder”, or climb up shrubs to trees to your home/roof. Incorporate fire-safe hardscape materials throughout this area like stone, gravel, cement, metal fences, water features and pathways.

Zone 2: Reduced Fuel Zone 30–100 feet
We want to REDUCE THE FUEL in this zone all the way around your home. Fuel is anything that will burn including dead vegetation, downed branches, overgrown areas, low hanging trees, flammable plants and wooden fencing. Keeping this area clear of dead material and adding hardscape will eliminate fuel and help stop fire from spreading across your property. It will also help improve firefighter access to your property.
For more information on defensible space:
https://ucanr.edu/sites/fire/Preparedness/Landscaping/DefensibleSpace/

How to Start: Develop a Strategy for each zone
• Identify problem areas
• Minimize slope risk
• Target plants for removal
• Add plants that are fire resistant
• Plant in an island format
• Make liberal use of hardscaping (rocks, cement, gravel, rock walls, boulders, etc.)
• Include irrigation to keep plants and trees from becoming unsafe

Slope:
In a hilly area, fire will travel faster and flames will shoot higher, therefore it is important to add 10 feet of additional space between trees for every 10% increase in slope. This additional space can help keep the fire from laddering from tree to tree up the hill.

Use Fire Resistant Plants:
The most important thing is to plant the right plant in the right place. This maxim is true for growing conditions and also for fire safety. Remember that all plants can burn so placement is the most important factor. Fire resistant plants share the following characteristics:
Leaves: High moisture content, fleshy and large or coarse like you see in succulents and cactus.
Trees: Deciduous: their thin moist leaves shrivel up when there is fire or extreme heat so don't help ladder into the canopy. Also look for trees and shrubs that have an open and airy structure, allowing for more air circulation and are less likely to harbor dead organic material at the center. Drought tolerant or native to California are the best options.

Remove Flammable Plants and Weeds
Here are good clues for identifying Fire PRONE plants:
Leaves: low moisture content/dry, small, fine or needle like cypress and juniper
Oils: Aromatic, resinous like rosemary and eucalyptus. Decorative hedges and large plants, such as bamboo and conifers including cedars and firs.
Trees: plants that produce a lot of debris increase fire danger. Eucalyptus trees have bark that is loose or papery which creates a lot of debris making these trees very dangerous.
Weeds: All weeds that are higher than 3” are highly flammable and need to be removed.
For more information on fire safe planting: https://ucanr.edu/sites/fire/Preparedness/Landscaping/Plant_choice/

Mulch:
Mulch plays an important role in your landscapes. Besides looking great it provides many benefits:
• water retention,
• soil temperature control
• weed inhibition
• helps prevent soil erosion
BUT…mulch can be highly combustible material in your landscape. The bigger and heavier the pieces the better. But remember it all burns. It is important NOT to have any flammable mulch within 5 feet of your house and other structures.

See more mulch information about mulch and flammability at this link:
https://ucanr.edu/sites/fire/Preparedness/Landscaping/Mulch/

Maintenance: The final element in a fire safe landscape
Be diligent in your maintenance habits in order to keep your property firesafe as follows:
Ongoing:
• Remove weeds, dead plants, leaves and branches.
• Remove vines from trees and fences.
• Compost or remove all debris.
Annually:
• Thin vegetation and cut weeds to 3.”
• Cut back woody plants.
• Ensure sufficient space between shrubs, house and trees.
Every few years:
• Cut back vines, groundcovers.
• Prune tree branches to 10' above ground and above roof.
See more information on maintenance here: https://ucanr.edu/sites/fire/Preparedness/Landscaping/Trees/

Community resources: Firewise: National Fire Protection Association
Firewise is a nationally recognized program for bringing homeowners together to improve the safety of the neighborhood. They offer guidelines, training, and certification.
More information on Firewise here:
https://www.nfpa.org/Education-and-Research/Wildfire/Firewise-USA

In addition to landscaping for fire safety, it is critical that you think about how you can make your home and other structures on your property less susceptible to fire. This is a good chart/source for things to think about:
https://ucanr.edu/sites/hdnmastergardeners/files/357133.pdf

 

 

Help Desk of the UC Master Gardeners of Contra Costa County (PDS)

COVID-19 guidelines change

On Jan. 9, 2024, the California Department of Public Health updated its COVID-19 Isolation Guidance, Testing Guidance, and the State Public Health Officer Order.

The updates impact Cal/OSHA's COVID-19 Prevention Non-Emergency Regulations and the requirements related to isolating positive cases and testing of close contacts. To ensure that we maintain a safe workplace and safe ANR programming, and comply with public health and occupational safety requirements, all ANR employees must still follow these guidelines. 

The updated Quarantine, Isolation, and Return to Work Guidelines and Quarantine, Isolation, and Return to Work Summary Chart can be found on the ANR Environmental Health & Safety website.

Based on the changes to the guidelines by Cal/OSHA and CDPH, UC ANR will adjust and implement the new guidelines for COVID-19, as follows:

If you test positive for COVID-19:

• Report your COVID-19 test or symptoms to the UC ANR COVID-19 safety team at https://ucanr.edu/covidscreening
• Stay home if you have COVID-19 symptoms.
• You may return to working in-person when all of the following are true:
  1. More than 24 hours have passed since the onset of symptoms, 
  2. You have no fever without the use of fever-reducing medications, 
  3. Symptoms are mild and improving.
• If you have symptoms other than fever, you may voluntarily isolate until symptoms improve or until after Day 10. Day 0 is the symptom onset or positive test day.
• If symptoms are severe, if you are at high risk of serious disease, or have questions concerning care, contact your healthcare provider.
• Wear a well-fitting mask around others through Day 10 after the start of symptoms or testing positive. You may remove your mask sooner than 10 days if you have two sequential negative tests at least one day apart.
• A negative test is not required for return to work.

 If you had close contact with someone with COVID-19:

• Wear a well-fitting mask or respirator around others (at your worksite, indoors, in vehicles, in the field when working near others, etc.) for at least 10 days after exposure.
• Monitor yourself for COVID-19 symptoms. If you develop new symptoms, testing is recommended.
• If you are at a higher risk of severe disease or if you've had contact with someone at higher risk of severe disease, testing is recommended.
• You may still voluntarily get tested after the exposure.
• If you test positive, follow the guidelines for testing positive.

The definition of “Close Contact” remains the same.

Close Contact definition: Close Contact occurs through proximity and duration of exposure. Someone who shared the same indoor airspace with an infected person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period is considered Close Contact. Spaces that are separated by floor-to-ceiling walls (e.g., offices, suites, rooms, waiting areas, bathrooms, or break or eating areas that are separated by floor-to-ceiling walls) must be considered distinct indoor airspaces. 

In large indoor spaces greater than 400,000 cubic feet per floor (such as open-floor-plan offices, arenas or large meeting spaces, warehouses, large retail stores, or manufacturing/processing facilities), close contact is defined as being within 6 feet of the infected person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period during the confirmed case's infectious period.

Exception: if you or the Close Contact were wearing a respirator or an N95 mask at the time of interaction.

For more information on the updated guidelines by Cal/OSHA, visit:

• COVID-19 – What Employers Need to Know - Fact Sheet: https://www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/coronavirus/Non-Emergency-regs-summary.pdf
• COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions: https://www.dir.ca.gov/DOSH/Coronavirus/Covid-19-NE-Reg-FAQs.html

 

 

Equipment sanitation survey (broomrape and other pests/pathogens)

A group of crop pest management and food safety researchers across the U.S. is currently gathering grower and ag industry information on field equipment sanitation practices with the ultimate goal of designing research to address needs of the...

SCRI Sanitation QR slides-UCD

SCRI Sanitation QR slides-UCD2

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