Learn innovative ways to mitigate the threat of Listeria at the Listeria Detection & Control Workshop | May 31–June 1, 2016 | St. Paul, MN | LEARN MOREWaiting days for test sample results can be the difference between keeping consumers safe and allowing contaminated food to enter the supply chain. I recently spoke with Mark Byrne, president and CEO of start-up ProteoSense, about his company’s portable pathogen detection system, which can find foodborne pathogens in food and environmental samples in 15 minutes or less, with no incubation required. Licensed from Ohio State University, the technology, called RapidScan, has unique sensor technology that provides a sensitive and specific assay with very low noise to enable a direct measurement of the presence of a pathogen.
When I asked Mark what effect he thought this technology would have on the food industry, he said: “I think the effect is going to be very profound. First of all, anytime you can give management information quickly, it changes their ability to respond, to take action.”
The technology has the potential to help companies deliver food to consumers safer and faster, and with less waste. Samples can be tested at various parts of the food supply chain, from in the field to final packaging.
RapidScan has been demonstrated for Salmonella, and ProteoSense is working on a Listeria assay. If all goes as planned, we can expect to see the product on the market in 2017. Watch my discussion with Mark to learn more about this innovative technology and how it could help you mitigate risks in your supply chain.
From Michael Taylor’s selfie to debating food safety culture and throwing (foam) tomatoes, there were many memorable moments from the 2015 Food Safety Consortium.
Gina Nicholson-Kramer, RS/REHS is the Executive Director of Savour Food Safety International, where she specializes in assisting companies in developing long-term food safety culture and behavior change programs, starting with the top to the front-line employee. She also specializes in internal and external food safety communication plans during times of crisis for food companies. She has developed a mentorship program for food safety professionals, coaching them how to build a program that is a profit center not a cost center for their company. Nicholson-Kramer works with companies on new products and technologies from ideation to commercialization. Formerly the global director of retail food services for NSF International, she oversaw NSF’s team of retail food safety experts for third-party auditing, consulting and technical services for major global retail brands such as Sodexo, HMS Host, T.G.I. Friday’s and Jack in the Box.
As an owner and operator of her own organic bakery, to Manager of Public Health Promotions and a Registered Sanitarian at the Columbus Public Health Department, to her role as Senior Manager of Food Safety & Quality at The Kroger Co., Gina Nicholson-Kramer has spread her knowledge and innovative approach of food safety to organizations small and large.
Nicholson-Kramer is an active member of several food safety committees, including The Ohio State University Environmental Health Sciences Advisory Board, STOP Foodborne Illness Chairperson of the Board of Directors, as well as several committees with the Conference for Food Protection, and the International Association for Food Protection (she is chair of the Retail Foodservice PDG). She attended Ohio-based Ashland University where she obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Human Biology. She is also a Registered Sanitarian in the state of Ohio and a Registered Environmental Health Specialist through the National Environmental Health Association.