Increase in consumption of fresh cut produce over the past decade has resulted in a rise in incidents of food borne outbreaks due to pathogens. Conventional techniques of sanitizing washes may not be effective since the organic matter released from the fresh produce use up the free chlorine thus reducing the sanitizing potential of wash water just when it is needed most and a heat treatment step to kill pathogens cannot be applied if the purpose is to consume fresh produce. Electron beam (e-beam) irradiation was used to treat cut cantaloupe, cut roma tomatoes, baby spinach, romaine lettuce which were surface inoculated with a cocktail of Salmonella and E. coli O157:H7. Results showed that irradiation reduced Salmonella and E. coli O157:H7 significantly with increasing doses at 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, and 1.0 kGy. The D10-value for Salmonella on irradiated cut cantaloupe, cut roma tomatoes, baby spinach, and romaine lettuce was found to be 0.71 kGy, 0.64 kGy, 0.19 kGy, and 0.23 kGy respectively. The D10-value for E. coli O157:H7 on the produce listed above was found to be 0.73 kGy, 0.54 kGy, 0.18 kGy, and 0.20 kGy respectively. Low dose e-beam irradiation was found to be an excellent tool for ensuring the reduction of spoilage organisms and extending shelf life in cut cantaloupe, cut roma tomatoes, baby spinach, romaine lettuce, strawberries, and green onion. The produce were tested for 12 days of storage for aerobic plate count, yeast and mold, lactic bacteria, color, texture, and respiration rate as a function of irradiation doses 0, 1, 3, and 5 kGy. Aerobic plate counts, yeast counts, and lactic acid bacteria were reduced appreciably at all doses tested on all commodities. Molds did not grow on any samples including control for cut cantaloupe, cut tomatoes, and green onion but for the other commodities, mold was reduced at the same rate as yeasts and vegetative bacteria. Lactic acid bacteria were reduced at all doses while the reduction was highest with 5 kGy in all commodities. When irradiated with 5 kGy, during storage, strawberries, spinach, and green onion displayed wet, soggy and mushy appearance, romaine lettuce leaves were wilted, had a translucent midrib and brown pigmentation. E-beam irradiation increased respiration rate for all samples on day 0 compared to non-irradiated control irrespective of the commodity type and the effect was dose dependent. Firmness reduced appreciably for cut roma tomatoes, baby spinach, strawberries, romaine lettuce, and green onion with increasing doses. Cut cantaloupe was low in firmness but the effect was not dose dependent. Irradiation at low doses is a promising tool to reduce pathogens and enhance keeping quality of cut cantaloupe, cut tomatoes, baby spinach, romaine lettuce, strawberries, and green onion. Irradiation is to be implemented as part of an overall HACCP plan and is not meant to replace existing control measures.

Dans ma recherche, je réalise une étude de deux cas cliniques d’enfants, âgés de 9-10 ans qui vivent, l’un dans le non dit de la maladie et l’autre dans le secret de la maladie. Ma problématique est celle-ci : Comment l’enfant infecté vivant dans le non-dit et le secret de la maladie vit cette angoisse de mort dans sa famille ? Comment il se représente sa famille, d’autant plus qu’il vit entre deux cultures. Les outils utilisés sont les dessins, le D 10, les génogrammes et les entretretiens. Je postule, d’une part que selon qu’il sait ou non le nom de sa maladie, l’enfant s’organisera différemment pour se défendre contre cette angoisse de mort. D’autre part, je postule que cette angoisse de mort induit chez ces deux enfants une perturbation de la représentation de la famille. Ce car ces deux enfants, de part leur origine, vivent entre deux cultures et cela génère entre autre des conflits culturels. Mes analyses ont montré, premièrement que l’enfant vivant dans le non dit montre une régression pour se défendre contre l’angoisse de mort. Deuxièmement, l’enfant vivant dans le secret utilise énormément les constructions imaginaires pour se défendre contre l’angoisse de mort. Troisièmement, les conflits familiaux et culturels qui sont présents par le jeu des transmissions, le déni de la maladie et l’omniprésence du secret cristallisent les problèmes. / During my research, I have the conducted a study on two children’s clinical cases, children aged 9-10, one living in a world where no one will speak about the illness and for the other in a world where the illness is a secret. My study is based on the following questions: How is the child infected by the virus, in both cases on the non spoken world and the secret world, living the anguish of death within their families ? How is that translated into the way they live within the family, particularly because they live between two cultures. Tools used are: drawing, D10, genograms and interviews. I propose that, depending whether or not he knows the name of his illness, the child will handle himself differently as he finds a way to defend against the anguish and anxiety of death. I also propose that living with this anguish of death will lead to a disruption in the way they live within their families. Based upon their different origins, the roots of these children living between two cultures, this can already generate differences and cultural conflicts. My analysis shows, first of all that the child living in the unspoken presents a regression in his fight against the anguish of death. Secondly, the child living in the secret builds many imaginary situations in order to fight this worry and anguish of death. Thirdly, the family and cultural conflicts present here by the game of transmissions, the denial of the illness and the omnipresence of the secret, crystallize the problems.