RISK ASSESSMENT-CHEESE

Risk Assessment-Cheese

[Name of the Institute]

Risk Assessment-Cheese

Introduction

Despite the fact that the production of milk and dairy products is limited in Greece, direct disposal of dairy effluents into soil and water recipients without any treatment consists a major environmental threat. Dairy effluents are a mixture of organic matter, nitrogen, phosphorus and bacteria. They are characterized by high biological oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) concentrations, nutrients, carbohydrates, proteins and fats. The treatment of these effluents has always been a concern of industrialists, for the protection of the environment. Biochemical processes through which biomass is transformed to energy, are a way to treat wastewaters of high organic content such as cheese whey and anaerobic treatment has been accepted as an effective mean of treatment for high strength wastewaters (Frewer, 2004, 1193).

In current study, cheese whey processed through an anaerobic fermentation system for hydrogen production in the laboratory of Biochemical Engineering and Environmental Technology in the Department of Chemical Engineering of University of Patras, was tested for toxicity. That treatment results in the reduction of BOD and COD concentrations and the production of biogases (H2 and CO2). The toxicity of the treated effluents was estimated, by using zebrafish embryos (Danio rerio) and macroinvertebrates (Daphnia magna and Thamnocephalus platyurus) in the form of microbiotests, Thamnotoxkit F and Daphtoxkit FTM magna. Microbiotests are test-kits which contain the preserved bioindicator, experimental vessels, and reagents (Janssen et al. 2000). The goals of this study were: to evaluate the acute toxicity of treated dairy effluents after anaerobic fermentation, using zebrafish embryos and two microbiotests, to relate the physicochemical characteristics of the effluents with their toxicity effects on the test organisms and to investigate the effectiveness of this specific treatment in the reduction of the effluent's toxicity.

Literature Review

Food security and risk, as defined by the World Food Summit of 1996, is “when people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life.” Usually, the concept of food security includes both physical and economic access to food that meets people's dietary needs and preferences. Cities employ various strategies to ensure that their populations are food secure, including supporting urban agriculture, food banks and other charities that feed people, and the elimination of food deserts by supporting food retailers in communities that lack sources of healthy food (Van, 2007, 1580).

A cross-sectional study was carried out at the “CAP-Rambla” primary care center serving a population of 170,000 inhabitants, in Terrassa, Barcelona (Spain). All patients over 18 years of age treated with diltiazem or verapamil who were consecutively visited by his/her general practitioner or cardiologist were eligible. Patients were included if they were actually taking diltiazem or verapamil and using regular doses during at least the last 6 months. The presence of at least 16 permanent teeth, with a minimum of 10 anterior teeth was required. Patients who had periodontal treatment within the 6 months prior to the initiation of the study, patients with concomitant systemic disorders known to affect the gums ...