Plan uses integrated collaborative approach to meet demands of a global economy to protect American consumers

November 6, 2007 — /FDA News/ — WASHINGTON, DC — U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Mike Leavitt today announced a comprehensive initiative by the Food and Drug Administration designed to bolster efforts to better protect the nation’s food supply.

The Food Protection Plan proposes the use of science and a risk-based approach to ensure the safety of domestic and imported foods eaten by American consumers.

“America’s food supply is among the safest in the world, and we enjoy unprecedented choice and convenience in filling the cupboard. Yet, we face new challenges to meet both the changing demands of a global economy and consumers’ expectations,” Secretary Leavitt says. “This Food Protection Plan will implement a strategy of prevention, intervention, and response to build safety into every step of the food supply chain.”

HHS Deputy Secretary Tevi Troy and FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach, M.D., presented the Food Protection Plan at a press conference in Washington, D.C.

“FDA must keep pace with this transformation so that the safety of the nation’s food supply remains second to none,” says Commissioner von Eschenbach. “The Food Protection Plan calls for effective action before an outbreak occurs.”

The Food Protection Plan, which focuses on both domestic and imported food, complements the Import Safety Action Plan delivered by Secretary Leavitt to the President earlier today that recommends how the U.S. can improve the safety of all imported products. This year, $2 trillion worth of goods will be imported into the U.S., and experts predict that amount will triple by 2015. The Import Safety Action Plan lays out a road map with short- and long-term recommendations to enhance product safety at every step of the import life cycle. Taken together, the two plans will improve efforts by the public and private sector to enhance the safety of a wide array of products used by American consumers.

Advances in food production technology, rapid methods of food distribution, and globalization have transformed supermarket shelves and restaurant menus, broadened the tastes of consumers, and challenged the existing food protection framework.

“Although our agency clearly needs to maintain and enhance its response capacity, the primary goal is to prevent contaminated food from ever reaching the consumer,” says von Eschenbach. The plan is premised on preventing harm before it can occur, intervening at key points in the food production system, and responding immediately when problems are identified. Within these three overarching areas of protection, the plan contains a number of action steps as well as a set of legislative proposals. Taken together, these efforts will provide a food protection framework that ensures that the U.S. food supply remains safe.

To strengthen its efforts to prevent contamination, FDA plans to strengthen support of food industry efforts to build safety into products manufactured either domestically or imported. The FDA will work with industry, state, local, and foreign governments to identify vulnerabilities and will look to industry to mitigate those vulnerabilities, using effective methods such as preventive controls.

The plan’s intervention element emphasizes focusing inspections and sampling based on risk at the manufacturer and processor level, for both domestic and imported products, that will help verify the preventive controls. This approach is complemented by targeted, risk-based inspections at the points where foreign food products enter the United States, including ports.

The plan calls for enhancing FDA’s information systems related to both domestic and imported foods to better respond to food safety threats and communicate during an emergency. The Food Protection Plan’s three core elements — prevention, intervention, and response — incorporate four cross-cutting principles for comprehensive food protection along the entire production chain:

• Focus on risks over a product’s life cycle from production to consumption.
• Target resources to achieve greatest risk reduction.
• Use interventions that address both food safety (unintentional contamination) and food defense (deliberate contamination).
• Use science and employ modern technology, including enhanced information technology systems.

The Food Protection Plan is available at www.fda.gov/oc/initiatives/advance/food/plan.html.

October 31, 2007 — /ASHRAE News/ — ATLANTA, GA — To ensure design and construction of the most efficient and comfortable buildings possible, ASHRAE is working to provide its technical guidance to all members of the building team.

Input on guidance needed from ASHRAE to best serve contractors and design build firms is sought in a forum at ASHRAE’s 2008 Winter Meeting, “Missing the Bus: What is ASHRAE Not Doing for the Contractor?” It takes place from 12:15-1:15 p.m. on Jan. 22, Javits Convention Center.

“ASHRAE isn’t looking to reinvent the wheel on training documentation targeted to contractors and design-build firms but instead to work with existing organizations to market a more comprehensive suite of training information for contractors,” Jim Fields, chair of ASHRAE’s task group on HVAC contractors and design-build firms, says. “One of our primary goals is to see how we can make existing products, such as standards and design guides, more user-friendly for contractors.”

ASHRAE formed its task group earlier this year. Fields says more active involvement with contractors and design-build firms will help strengthen the level of understanding between design engineers and these other disciplines.

For more information about the ASHRAE meeting, Jan. 19-23, at the New York Hilton, visit www.ashrae.org/newyork.

Held with the ASHRAE Winter Meeting is the ASHRAE co-sponsored International Air-Conditioning, Heating, Refrigerating
Exposition, Jan. 22-24, at Javits Convention Center. For more information, visit www.ahrexpo.com.

About ASHRAE
ASHRAE, founded in 1894, is an international organization of 55,000 persons. ASHRAE fulfills its mission of advancing heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration to serve humanity and promote a sustainable world through research, standards writing, publishing and continuing education.

October 31, 2007 — /IEST News/ — ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL — A newly revised Recommended Practice (RP) from the Institute of Environmental Sciences and Technology (IEST) outlines a procedure for production testing of ultra-low penetration air (ULPA) filters for particle penetration and pressure drop.

IEST-RP-CC007.2: Testing ULPA Filters describes the equipment, aerosol properties, processes, and calculations for using particle counters to determine filter efficiency. The penetration range of the procedure is 0.001 percent to 0.0001 percent. The RP provides guidelines for constructing a suitable test duct and sampling system as well as test criteria for quantifying penetration using test aerosol particles in the size range of 0.1 to 0.2 microns. The methodology may also be applied for particle-counter testing of filters outside the efficiency and particle size range covered in the document.

This edition of the RP includes two new appendixes, “Considerations for Specific Media Types” and “Particle Detection and Particle Size Distribution,” as well as updates to appendixes covering factors influencing measured penetration and recommended calibration intervals.

For more information or to order IEST-RP-CC007.2, visit www.iest.org or call IEST at (847) 981-0100.

About IEST
Founded in 1953, IEST is an international technical society of engineers, scientists, and educators that serves its members and the industries they represent (simulating, testing, controlling, and teaching the environments of earth and space) through education and the development of recommended practices and standards. IEST is an ANSI-accredited standards-developing organization; secretariat of ISO/TC 209 Cleanrooms and associated controlled environments; administrator of the ANSI-accredited US TAG to ISO/TC 209; administrator of the ANSI-accredited US TAG to ISO/TC 142 Cleaning equipment for air and other gases; and a founding member of the ANSI-accredited US TAG to ISO/TC 229 Nanotechnologies.

November 1, 2007 — /PRNewswire/ — GREENEVILLE, TN — A new technology known as ActivePure (RCI), developed by Tennessee-based EcoQuest International, has been proven in peer-reviewed, published university laboratory studies to reduce methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) on inoculated surfaces.

Recent outbreaks of MRSA in many school districts have had school administrators and parents concerned.

Based on NASA research, ActivePure (RCI) has been proven in laboratory testing at Kansas State University to reduce MRSA by more than 99 percent in 24 hours on surface areas. This has enormous implications for reducing exposure to infection-causing germs.

“ActivePure safely inactivates germs in the environment 24 hours a day, without sprays or wipes, the same way it happens in nature,” says EcoQuest Founder Mike Jackson. “And it’s convenient. One of our systems called the ecobox is about the size of a toaster,” says Jackson. “You can move it all around the environment.”

Testing also proved that the units reduce other bacteria, viruses, yeast, mold, and fungi on surfaces by up to 99 percent. Products using ActivePure (RCI) have been installed in schools, day cares, nursing homes, and restaurants. This technology is also available to consumers.

“The use of ActivePure can reduce exposure by inactivating a majority of harmful bacteria, viruses and mold from surfaces in the protected area,” says Dr. James Marsden, Regents Distinguished Professor at Kansas State University and a lead researcher involved with the testing.

“In combination with good hygiene practices, such as handwashing, a reduction in bacteria and viruses on environmental surfaces could reduce the risk of infections,” says Marsden.

For more information on products featuring ActivePure (RCI), and a copy of the Kansas State University study, visit www.ActivePure.com.

About EcoQuest International
EcoQuest International is the developer of ActivePure-equipped “Certified Space” indoor environment and water purification systems. EcoQuest’s technology recreates natural processes to clean indoor environments in more than five million homes and businesses around the globe. Based in Greeneville, TN, EcoQuest employs more than 450 people.

Source: EcoQuest International

November 1, 2007 — /Prime Newswire/ — LOS ANGELES, CA — Universal Detection Technology, a developer and provider of early-warning monitoring technologies to protect people from bioterrorism and radiological weapons, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with EMME Consulting. The MOU lays out the framework for UDT and EMME Consulting to jointly test their technologies at hospital and school environments for detection and decontamination of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, five percent of the some 368,600 patients treated in U.S. hospitals for MRSA in 2005 died. Also, according to a recent report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, MRSA is responsible for more than 94,000 serious infections and nearly 19,000 deaths each year. Recent reports also indicate the spread of MRSA in schools throughout the country.

“Some hospitals are taking more aggressive steps in combating MRSA by testing all patients for MRSA,” says Mr. Amir Ettehadieh, UDTT’s director of research and development. “We expect our partnership with EMME, a firm with strong connections with hospitals in metropolitan Detroit, to give us an opportunity to test our microbial monitor in a hospital setting,” he adds.

For more information please visit www.udetection.com or e-mail [email protected].

About Universal Detection Technology
Universal Detection Technology is a developer of monitoring technologies, including bioterrorism detection devices. The company on its own and with development partners is positioned to capitalize on opportunities related to Homeland Security. For example, the company, in cooperation with NASA, has developed a bio-terror “smoke” detector that detects certain biohazard substances.

Source: Universal Detection Technology

October 30, 2007 — WARNER ROBINS, GA — Clean Control Corp., manufacturer of the Earth Choice(TM) cleaning product line, has announced that significant orders were taken at the annual ISSA/ Interclean North America Show held in Orlando, FL, last week for its Germ Control 24(TM) product, a revolutionary disinfectant containing PURE Bioscience’s patented silver dihydrogen citrate (SDC). New users of the product will include several universities, schools, state prison systems, professional sports organizations, and national health care distribution companies, as well as two major catalog companies.

“ISSA was a phenomenal event this year, and Germ Control 24 was definitely the hit of the show,” states Stephen Davison, president, Clean Control Corp. “We were incredibly pleased with the demand for SDC — a surprisingly gentle product with superior disinfecting power when it comes to combating staph/MRSA as well as other human pathogens. It’s gratifying to be able to provide a product with such confidence and see its uptake in the marketplace.

“With all the recent media attention focused on the increasing rate of staph/MRSA infections, Germ Control 24 not only offers unparalleled efficacy and is EPA rated Category IV, it offers unprecedented 24-hour residual protection against standard indicator bacteria. Perhaps most importantly, though, it does not promote bacterial resistance. It is truly a best-of-breed product to protect against bacteria, viru, and fungus.”

Clean Control’s Germ Control 24 is a private label brand of PURE Bioscience’s SDC-based disinfectant and is available to consumers nationwide at a leading home improvement retailer.

SDC is an electrolytically generated source of stabilized ionic silver. As a platform technology, SDC is distinguished from competitors in the marketplace because of its superior efficacy, low toxicity, and the inability of bacteria to form a resistance to it. The first new disinfectant active to be registered by the EPA in more than 30 years, SDC-based products are antiviral, antifungal and antibacterial, including 24-hour residual protection against standard indicator bacteria and a 2-minute kill claim on MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) and VRE (vancomycin resistant Enterococcus faecium). Moreover, SDC-based disinfectants are odorless, colorless, non-corrosive, non-flammable, and compatible with other disinfecting cleaning chemicals.

About Clean Control Corp.
Founded in 1980, Clean Control Corp. currently manufactures many cleaning solutions, including OdoBan, The Original Odor Eliminator since 1980. Clean Control Corp. is a premier manufacturer of high-quality cleaning products for household, institutional, and commercial use worldwide. For additional information visit the company’s web site: www.cleancontrol.com

About PURE Bioscience
PURE Bioscience develops and markets technology-based bioscience products that provide solutions to numerous global health challenges, including staph (MRSA). PURE’s proprietary high efficacy/low toxicity bioscience technologies, including its SDC-based antimicrobials, represent innovative advances in diverse markets and lead today’s global trend toward industry and consumer use of “green” products while providing competitive advantages in efficacy and safety. Patented SDC is an electrolytically generated source of stabilized ionic silver, which formulates well with other compounds. As a platform technology, SDC is distinguished from competitors in the marketplace because of its superior efficacy, reduced toxicity, and the inability of bacteria to form a resistance to it. PURE is headquartered in El Cajon, CA (San Diego metropolitan area). Additional information on PURE is available at www.purebio.com.

October 30, 2007 — /PRNewswire/ — DENVER, CO — Electric H2O, Inc. (EH2O), a global supplier of environmentally sound water treatment technologies and services, announced today it has received new orders for its patented ED 2000 energy and water saving system from the pharmaceutical and HVAC industries in the United States.

The ED 2000 has proven its ability to realize energy and water savings in a multitude of applications as evidenced by its global installed base including agricultural, chemical, commercial, health care, hospitality, power, and steel facilities.

George Kast, CEO, states, “The need and desire of all industries to become more efficient in energy and water use are positively impacting our growth. We are working closely with our customers and teaming partners to capitalize on the benefits of more efficient use of our natural resources.”

About Electric H2O
Electric H2O, Inc. (EH2O) is a global supplier of physical, non chemical water treatment technologies and services to the HVAC, industrial, and agricultural markets. EH2O’s energy and water saving technologies include the patented ED 2000 and ED 2000 PLUS systems, which provide superior scale, microbiological, and corrosion control in process waters without the use of toxic chemicals. EH2O also provides a complete line of filtration products that can be utilized independently or combined with the ED 2000 to provide a comprehensive water treatment system. For over 10 years, EH2O’s technologies have been successfully used in hundreds of applications worldwide. EH2O is a subsidiary of Global Water Technologies, Inc.
www.ed2000.net

About Global Water Technologies
Global Water Technologies, Inc. is a “CleanTech” water treatment and services company with “clearly” innovative technologies, focused on the energy, power, oil and gas, process, HVAC, and municipal markets. Through its subsidiaries, Electric H2O, Inc. and Watergy Produced Water Solutions, Inc., the company utilizes its proprietary technologies and services programs to increase operating efficiencies and reduce water usage through comprehensive water management solutions. GWT has an established client base of over 500 customers in more than 25 countries worldwide. GWT’s products treat over 10 billion gallons of water per day.
www.gwtr.com

Source: Global Water Technologies, Inc.

October 30, 2007 — /PRNewswire/ — NEW YORK, NY and MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA — ICBS Limited today announced the acquisition of 30 percent interest in Bacteria Bank Ltd.

Bacteria Bank Ltd., is a biomedical company that owns more than ten thousand cryogenically stored bacteria for use in medical research, located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The company is headed by Dr. Karl Weiss, a world-renowned bacteriologist.

Dr. Karl Weiss is a microbiologist and infectious diseases specialist at Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital in Montreal. He is also associate clinical professor at the Faculty of Medicine at University of Montreal and the director of pharmacological research at Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital. He is also an associate member of the division of infectious diseases at the Jewish General Hospital in Montreal and an adjunct-professor of medicine at McGill University.

Bacteria bank has a unique collection of more than 10,000 frozen bacteria, which can be used for many different purposes.

1. Susceptibility testing of potentially promising antimicrobial agents developed by biotech companies or researchers in universities.
2. Susceptibility testing of new antibiotics against specific and emerging pathogens such as MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphyloccocus aureus) and VRE (vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus).
3. Susceptibility testing against a wide array of gram-negative agents (E. coli, salmonella, shigella, and other gastrointestinal pathogens responsible for million of deaths every year in the world).
4. Susceptibility testing of new agents against Streptococcus pneumoniae responsible for the majority of sinusitis, otitis media, pneumonia, and some forms of bronchitis. In North America only, there are over 300 million of antibiotic prescriptions in the outpatients setting, and S. pneumoniae is the number one target overall by far.
5. Bacteria useful for the development of newly designed genetically derived products (human and animal hormones, growth factors, cytokines…)
6. Bacteria useful for teaching purposes (pharmaceutical companies, universities, and medical schools).

Speaking from the corporate head office in Montreal, Garth McIntosh, president and CEO of ICBS, says, “This acquisition will further strengthen our position in the biomedical industry.” ICBS also owns 100 percent of Canadian Bio Med Systems Ltd. McIntosh further states, “I want to thank all of our shareholders that have supported us in the past year, we are working very hard to make this a profitable year for all. Thank you all for your encouragement and support.”
www.bacteriabank.com

Source: INTER CANADIAN BUSINESS SERVICE

October 29, 2007 — /PRNewswire/ — NORTHBROOK, IL — Due to fast-growing global demand for specially formulated coatings that provide antimicrobial, anti-fingerprint, and easy-to-clean characteristics to enhance the performance, aesthetics, and durability of metal products and surfaces, Horizon Business Group has announced the creation of Sureshield Coatings Co.

This spin-off company will allow consumers and manufacturers to easily identify with the Sureshield(R) brand, which has been established to market the advantages of the company’s industry-leading portfolio of more than 150 antimicrobial, anti-fingerprint, and easy-to-clean coatings for metal.

With this spin-off, Sureshield Coatings Co. is launching a comprehensive website (www.sureshieldcoatings.com) that provides a unique, tailored experience to different types of users, including manufacturers, building designers, and facility managers, and consumers.

As the leading developer of coatings that inhibit the growth of odor and stain-causing bacteria, molds, mildews, and fungi on the coating, Sureshield Coatings Co. (a member of Horizon Business Group) offers a comprehensive selection of powder, liquid, and coil coating options that are designed to be easily integrated onto any consumer or commercial metal product. From concept to product launch to maintenance and program expansion, Sureshield provides complementary technical, regulatory, and marketing guidance that makes using these “value added” coatings simple, affordable, and straightforward.

“Many major manufacturers already recognize the value of upgrading their product offering to include easy-to-use coatings that resist unsightly fingerprints, make cleaning stainless steel and other metals easier and address user and industry concerns regarding microorganisms that cause odors and stains,” says Sureshield Coating Co.’s president Michael Jacobs. “We work closely with market leaders in many different industries to help them incorporate Sureshield coatings as a low-cost, high-benefits addition to their global product lines.”

Sureshield is available in clear, solid, and transparent colors, which are designed to resist fingerprints for the life of the product, making it ideal for major and small appliances, computer products, food service equipment, office products, office and health care furniture, medical products, HVAC and air handling equipment, commercial laundry equipment, plumbing fixtures, lab equipment, and doors and windows. In addition, Sureshield coatings can be pre- or post-applied to any type of metal to keep metal surfaces looking cleaner and easier to clean. This makes Sureshield ideal for use in residences, restaurants, hotels, bus or train stations, airports, stadiums, office buildings, laboratories, hospitals, and other facilities.

About Sureshield Coatings Co.
Headquartered at 1808 Holste Road, Northbrook, IL 60062 USA, Sureshield Coatings Co. maintains production in multiple facilities in the U.S., Europe, and Asia, to provide more than 150 advanced coating formulas to address metal manufacturers’, industry, and consumers’ concerns related to odor and stain-causing microorganisms, fingerprints, and cleanability. As a member company of Horizon Business Group, Sureshield Coatings Co. offers complementary technical, marketing, and regulatory services that make it easy and cost-efficient for clients worldwide to streamline implementation of in-demand antimicrobial, anti-fingerprint, and easy-to-clean coatings for metals.
www.sureshieldcoatings.com

*Sureshield is formulated with antimicrobials to help suppress the growth of odor and stain-causing microorganisms on the coating. Sureshield is not intended as a substitute for good hygiene or to prevent foodborne or infectious illnesses.

Source: Sureshield Coatings Co.