Weekly releases (1997–2007) - Volume 6, Issue 36, 05 September 2002

'Friends and Foes' was the subject of Food Micro 2002, the 18th symposium of the International Committee on Food Microbiology and Hygiene (ICFMH), held in Lillehammer, Norway, from 18 to 23 August 2002. The conference highlighted the message that food associated micro-organisms can be our friends, as in fermented foods; or our enemies, as in spoilage or causing foodborne infections. MATFORSK, the Norwegian Food Research Institute (http://www.matforsk.no/), hosted the event in which over 300 scientists from the medical, veterinary, surveillance, epidemiological, and quality assurance of the food chain fields took part. Review articles for the symposium have been published in a special issue of International Journal of Food Microbiology (1).

Two recent studies from France have added to the evidence that hand disinfection with alcohol- or alcohol based solutions is an essential component of infection control. The first addresses hand hygiene on the wards and the second in the operating theatre. These are quite different scenarios.