One of the oldest methods of food preservation is the reduction of water content in foods. Sun and fire drying, salting of animal flesh, and sugaring of fruit in prehistoric times simulated natural drying processes such as fruit drying on trees. Foods with a high water content, such as milk, meat, fruits, and vegetables, undergo rapid microbial deterioration. The concept of water activity (a-w) gives information about the availability to microbial growth and the stability of food. It is expressed in terms of vapor pressure generated by an aqueous system relative to that of pure water at the same temperature. Growth and survival of food spoilage organisms (bacteria, yeasts and molds) are a function of water activity and other environmental factors including temperature, pH, oxygen, and carbon dioxide concentration, and the presence of preservatives.

ADA supports the need for continued communication regarding food and water safety from government agencies and the food industry. The ADA also supports increased research regarding food and water safety issues, public education on food and water safety, legislative changes to ensure a safe and adequate food supply, and development of disease-resistant strains and alternative approaches to pest control.

A molecular epidemiology study of Salmonella serotype Enteritidis was carried out by ribotyping performed with a mixture of PstI and SphI (PS ribotyping), and randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) typing conducted with the OPB17 primer. A series, including 38 food and 25 water strains, which were epidemiologically unrelated and collected in Spain over 1985-1996, was differentiated into 20 PS ribotypes [discrimination index (DI) = 0.67], RAPD types (DI = 0.28), and by combining both methods into 23 genomic groups (DI = 0.76). With ribotyping data from the strains tested in this and in a previous work, including clinical and reference strains, a similarity dendrogram was traced and the subsequent branches and groupings were correlated with RAPD types, phage types and sources of origin. At a similarity level of 55%, a major cluster (grouping five subclusters and three single branches) and two minor clusters were revealed. Results supported the fact that organisms representing, at least, 40 genomic groups are currently circulating in Spain, but that only the organisms of five groups predominate and these fall into a single subcluster or lineage. Organisms of these five groups could be considered endemic, associated with food-borne human infections and, for epidemiological purposes, can be differentiated by phage typing. The most frequent phage types can be subdivided into genomic groups. Organisms of the prevalent genomic groups and several less frequent ones were mainly associated with poultry transmission and gastroenteritis as the major clinical forms, while organisms of another two frequent, groups were mainly associated with extra-intestinal infections, and organisms of four infrequent groups were only collected from sewage or environmental waters.

Recently, there has been a dramatic change in the field of terahertz (THz) technology. The recent advancements in the THz radiation sector considering generation, manipulation and detection have brought revolution in this field, which enable the integration of THz sensing systems into real-world. The THz technology presents detection techniques and various issues, while providing significant opportunities for sensing food and water contamination detection.Many researchers around the world have exploited the potential of invaluable new applications of THz sensing ranging from surveillance, healthcare and recently for food and water contamination detection. The microbial pollution in water and food is one the crucial issues with regard to the sanitary state for drinking water and daily consumption of food. To address this risk, the detection of microbial contamination is of utmost importance, since the consumption of insanitary or unhygienic food can lead to catastrophic illness.This paper presents a first-time review of the open literature covering the advances in the THz sensing for microbiological contamination of food and water, in addition to state-of-the-art in network architectures, applications and recent industrial developments. With unique superiority, the THz non-destructive detection technology in food inspection and water contamination detection is emerging as a new area of study. With the great progress, some important challenges and future research directions are presented within the field.

Contaminated water and food are major causes of malnutrition and mortality in the developing world, particularly among children. Infants are most vulnerable to diarrheal illnesses when introduced to fluids and foods as they are weaned from breastfeeding to a mixed diet. There is scant literature about the role of nutrition professionals in addressing this problem. Considerable progress has been made in identifying strategies to prevent diarrhea in children. Strategies include implementing low-technology methods of sanitizing water, emphasizing the benefits of breastfeeding, protecting prepared foods from unclean environments, and educating and motivating food preparers. Resolution of water and food safety problems requires a collaborative interdisciplinary approach among health professionals and involvement of community leaders. Dietetic professionals have the training to empower individuals and communities with skills to create a safe water and food environment.

Bactericidal activity of neutral electrolyzed water (NEW), quaternary ammonium (QUAT), and lactic acid‐based solutions was investigated using a manual spraying technique against Salmonella Typhimurium, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Campylobacter jejuni, Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus that were inoculated onto the surface of scarred polypropylene and wooden food cutting boards. Antimicrobial activity was also examined when using cutting boards in preparation of raw chopped beef, chicken tenders or salmon fillets. Viable counts of survivors were determined as log₁₀ CFU/100 cm² within 0 (untreated control), 1, 3, and 5 min of treatment at ambient temperature. Within the first minute of treatment, NEW and QUAT solutions caused more than 3 log₁₀ bacterial reductions on polypropylene surfaces whereas less than 3 log₁₀ reductions were achieved on wooden surfaces. After 5 min of treatment, more than 5 log₁₀ reductions were achieved for all bacterial strains inoculated onto polypropylene surfaces. Using NEW and QUAT solutions within 5 min reduced Gram‐negative bacteria by 4.58 to 4.85 log₁₀ compared to more than 5 log₁₀ reductions in Gram‐positive bacteria inoculated onto wooden surfaces. Lactic acid treatment was significantly less effective (P < 0.05) compared to NEW and QUAT treatments. A decline in antimicrobial effectiveness was observed (0.5 to <2 log₁₀ reductions were achieved within the first minute) when both cutting board types were used to prepare raw chopped beef, chicken tenders or salmon fillets.