Select Committee on Agriculture Fourth Report


ANNEX

GLOSSARY

Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food (ACMSF): a non-statutory Committee advising Ministers on the risks to humans of micro-organisms which are used or can occur in food. The Committee also offers advice on exercising powers under the Food Safety Act 1990

Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes (ACNFP): a non-statutory Committee providing Ministers with advice on the irradiation of foodstuffs, and the manufacture of novel foods including genetically-modified foods and foods produced by novel processes

bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE): a degenerative brain disorder affecting cattle, one of the family of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. A number of scientific theories have been advanced regarding BSE's origins, including the contamination of cattle feed with infective agents derived from sheep carcasses, but precise causes are unknown

Campylobacter spp.: a bacterial species which is the most common source of food poisoning incidence in humans in the UK. The principal livestock reservoir for this species is poultry, although infectious outbreaks have been associated with milk and with contaminated water. The Campylobacter group consists of 17 strains whose transmissibility to humans is little understood

ciprofloxacin: an antibiotic for controlling infectious intestinal diseases in humans

Clostridium botulinum: a strain (q.v.) of the Clostridium bacteria producing a potent toxin which can cause fatalities in humans

coccidiostat: an antibiotic for controlling intestinal parasites found principally in poultry

Cryptosporidium parvum: a parasitic micro-organism which can potentially act as a vector of disease in humans

E.coli O157:H7 (commonly abbreviated to E.coli O157): A strain (q.v.) of the bacterium Escherichia coli. While many strains of E.coli cause no adverse health problems for humans or animals, E.coli O157 is highly virulent and often toxin-producing. It is the predominant cause of verocytotoxin (q.v.) poisoning in humans, sometimes resulting in haemolytic uraemic syndrome (q.v) and in extreme cases death. The major livestock reservoirs for this bacteria are cattle and sheep

EHO: Environmental Health Officer. A local authority official responsible for enforcing food hygiene legislation, among other responsibilities

eurofloxacin: one of the fluoroquinolone (q.v.)-derived antibiotics

fluoroquinolone: a type of antibiotic used prophylactically in poultry feedingstuffs to enhance growth

Food Advisory Committee: a non-statutory Committee advising Ministers on the labelling, composition and chemical safety of food

haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS): a clinical condition characterised in humans by anaemia and kidney failure, which can be caused by E.coli O157 food poisoning

HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points): a structured approach to identifying food safety problems within individual food businesses, and to controlling these problems

Hygiene Assessment System: a system instituted by the Meat Hygiene Service (q.v.) for assessing the cleanliness of abattoirs. On the basis of abattoir inspections made by MHS staff using the Hygiene Assessment System, abattoirs are assigned an individual Hygiene Assessment Score

infectious intestinal disease(IID): any disease affecting humans and characterised by nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. Such diseases are often but not always foodborne

Listeria monocytogenes: a strain (q.v.) of the bacterial species Listeria found in soft cheeses and chilled meat products such as pâtés, among other foods, and a cause of infectious intestinal disease (q.v.) in humans. In pregnant women, it is possible for L. monocytogenes to be passed from mother to child or in extreme cases for the bacteria to cause miscarriage

Meat Hygiene Service (MHS): An Executive Agency of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food with among other duties responsibility for carrying out meat hygiene inspections at abattoirs and meat cutting plants

new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (nvCJD): a degenerative brain disorder in humans, invariably fatal, and analogous to BSE (q.v.) with which it has been linked

outbreak: two or more cases of illness linked to a common cause, affecting members of more than one family or residents of an institution

pathogen: any micro-organism causing disease

Pennington Group: An Expert Group chaired by Professor Hugh Pennington set up by the previous Government on 28 November 1996 to investigate the infectious outbreak of E.coli O157 in central Scotland. The Pennington Group was convened from December 1996 until March 1997, and submitted its final Report in April of that year

Pesticides Safety Directorate (PSD): An Executive Agency of the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food with among other duties responsibility for licensing all pesticides used in the UK

Public Health Laboratory Service (PHLS): An organisation providing microbiological services to assist health and local authorities in the investigation of outbreaks (q.v.) of infection, as well as clinical diagnostic services to NHS Trusts and General Practitioners

Salmonella spp.: a bacterial species consisting of over 200 strains (q.v.). and causing infectious intestinal disease (q.v.) in livestock (principally poultry) and in humans. Salmonella enteritidis PT4 is still the most common form of Salmonella infection in humans, but Salmonella typhimurium DT104, the second most common strain, is emerging as a more significant problem because of its resistance to certain antibiotics

strain: a population of bacteria within a species or sub-species identified by typing (q.v.)

typing: any scientific method used to distinguish between closely related micro-organisms

verocytotoxin: a poisonous substance produced by the bacteria E.coli O157

Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD): An Executive Agency of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food with among other duties responsibility for the licensing of veterinary medicines

VTEC: verocytotoxin (q.v.)-producing E.coli. E.coli O157:H7 is the form of VTEC most commonly associated with food poisoning

zoonosis: an animal disease transmissible to humans


 
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Prepared 29 April 1998