U.S. Needs to Rework its “Byzantine Food Safety System”

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If anything is more complicated than our food, it’s our government’s system for checking its safety, describes an LA Times editorial, supporting the recent proposal to create a single, unified Food Safety Administration.

The job of keeping our food wholesome has become more difficult as food itself has become more complicated, as more processed foods include ingredients from many sources, making it hard to trace the origin of pathogens. For instance, a package of ground beef today is no longer put together by a butcher pushing a single hunk of meat through a grinder, but includes trimmings from many cattle and multiple slaughterhouses. Thus, even a small quantity of meat contaminated with E. coli has the potential to taint tremendous amounts of hamburger meat sent out across the country, describes an editorial in the LA Times.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, food poisoning sickens more than 80 million people a year in this country, killing 5,000, sending 325,000 to the hospital and, according to a 2012 study in the Journal of Food Protection, costing $14 billion — which doesn’t take into account the cost of lawsuits and recalls.

The LA Times article criticizes the “byzantine system” for ensuring food safety: “At least 15 agencies are involved, but sorting out the responsibilities of just the two main ones — the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Agriculture — is hard enough,” it describes, citing examples of frozen pizza (where the cheese is inspected by the USDA, while other ingredients and toppings by FDA), and eggs (USDA while responsible for eggs out of the shell — and for grading eggs in the shell for shape and uniformity, don’t fully take into account conditions of the egg product facilities).

Recently, based on recommendations, President Obama has proposed a unified Food Safety Administration within the Department of Health and Human Services, and the article describes this as a smarter, more efficient and effective way to protect American consumers.

Food Safety Agencies Introduce New Model to Better Identify Foodborne Illness Sources

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FDA, CDC and the USDA’s FSIS have jointly released a report on the new method for analyzing outbreak data to identify better foods that are responsible for illness related to four major foodborne bacteria.

Titled “Foodborne Illness Source Attribution Estimates forSalmonella, Escherichia coli O157 (E. coliO157), Listeria monocytogenes (Lm), and Campylobacter using Outbreak Surveillance Data,” the report was produced by the Interagency Food Safety Analytics Collaboration (IFSAC).

FSTNewsNewModelforOutbreaks For the new model, IFSAC analyzed data from nearly 1,000 outbreaks that occurred between 1998 and 2012, excluding those that involved multiple pathogens, those for which no food vehicle was identified, and those attributed to food containing multiple ingredients, to assess which categories of foods were most responsible for making people sick with Salmonella, E. coli O157, Listeria, and Campylobacter.

The pathogens were chosen because of the frequency or severity of the illnesses they cause, and because targeted interventions can have a significant impact in reducing them. Some of the findings include:

  • More than 80 percent of E. coli O157 illnesses were attributed to beef and vegetable row crops, such as leafy vegetables.
  • Salmonella illnesses were broadly attributed across food commodities, with 77 percent of illnesses related to seeded vegetables (such as tomatoes), eggs, fruits, chicken, beef, sprouts and pork.
  • Nearly 75 percent of Campylobacter illnesses were attributed to dairy (66 percent) and chicken (8 percent). Most of the dairy outbreaks used in the analysis were related to raw milk or cheese produced from raw milk, such as unpasteurized queso fresco.
  • More than 80 percent of Listeria illnesses were attributed to fruit (50 percent) and dairy (31 percent). Data were sparse for Listeria, and the estimate for fruit reflects the impact of a single large outbreak linked to cantaloupes in 2011.

The new model using data from the resulting 952 outbreaks differs from previous methods by using a categorization of foods updated to align with the regulatory framework of FDA and FSIS. The model focuses more on recent outbreaks by giving less weight to data from 1998 through 2007, and decreasing the bias that potentially results from very large outbreaks.

“This suggests interventions designed to reduce foodborne salmonellosis need to include a variety of approaches,” IFSAC’s report states. “For [Listeria monocytogenes], the limited number of outbreaks and wide credibility intervals dictate caution in interpreting the attribution percentages for fruit and dairy,” the report notes.

The report also noted that “Lm outbreaks have been frequently linked to the Dairy category, specifically with the consumption of soft cheeses by pregnant women and persons with weakened immune systems. Although the wide credibility interval for the Fruit category substantially limits interpretation, the analysis does suggest vigilance in seeking unrecognized sources of outbreaks and illnesses in this food category.”

Top Reasons for Warning Letters

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Drug residues, inadequate food safety and HACCP programs for seafood, and nutrition content mislabeling were leading causes of FDA issuing recent warning letters.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sent warnings to three beef producers, one pork producer, a seafood processor and a biscuit manufacturer in its latest round of warning letters.

Some of the beef producers and dairy farms received warning letters for drug residues found in their meat:

  • Oak Hill Farms of Seward, PA, received a warning letter for selling a bob veal calf in July 2014, testing of which revealed neomycin, a drug that has no acceptable tolerance level.
  • Schneider Dairy of Westphalia, MI, was found to have sold a dairy cow for slaughter in February 2014 that contained more than 10 times the tolerance level for for desfuroylceftiofur, marker residue for the drug ceftiofur. FDA also found that the dairy failed to maintain complete drug treatment records and lacked clear directions from its veterinary clinic on using the drug.
  • Stonegate Farms, sold a cow for slaughter in July 2014 that was found to have 13 times the tolerable level of penicillin in its kidneys and nearly 100 times the tolerable level of sulfadimethoxine in its liver. That dairy also failed to maintain complete treatment records of its cattle, according to FDA.
  • Poeppelman Pork of Yorkshire, OH, was also found to have sold an animal for slaughter with excessive levels of drugs in its tissues. In February 2014, the pork producer allegedly sold a pig for slaughter that was found to have penicillin in its kidneys. FDA’s letter noted there is no tolerance level of penicillin in swine.

Yamahide Shokuhin, a seafood processor and exporter in Miki-shi, Japan, was cited for having inadequate HACCP plans. The company was also found to have “significant deviations” from requirements, including a number of incomplete food safety plans for its dried shaved bonito product.

NP Foods Ltd., headquartered in Riga, Latvia, was cited for having several wafer and biscuit products that were mislabeled, all related to incomplete nutritional information. The company also failed to include the common or usual name of the foods on the labels in English.

In each letter, FDA requested that the companies provide written responses detailing steps taken to bring the facilities into compliance with food-safety laws and regulations, to correct violations cited in the letters, and to prevent their recurrence. The companies are given 15 working days from receipt to outline specific steps they have taken to come into compliance with the law.

Putting Food Safety on the Clock

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A new hand-washing device, the SaniTimer, helps ensure bacteria-free hands and clean food.

A new award-winning device attaches easily to any standard hand washing sink faucet to ensure your staff rinse, lather and wash their hands for the full 20 seconds recommended by the CDC and taught in food handlers and health code courses nationwide to avoid the spread of harmful bacteria.

SaniTimerThe SaniTimer® automatically begins a 30-second countdown — the extra 10 seconds account for an individual’s preferred hand-wash prep — shown on an easy-to-read LED display as soon as the water is turned on. At the end of the cycle, the SaniTimer beeps to alert the hand washing user and resets itself to 30 seconds for the next member. The device works with pedal sinks as well as hands-free sinks for ease of installment and operation with your existing system.

The SaniTimer is a simple and straight forward, yet very effective tool in food service as statistics show that improper hand hygiene timing could account for up to 84 percent of food poisoning in food service establishments. The truth is as infectious as the negative results of poor hand hygiene and your employees, customers, and staff should know that this is a priority for you in your establishment.

Zachary Eddy, the inventor and patent holder is a professional chef of over 15 years and worked in countless commercial kitchens around the country and was constantly a witness to poor hand hygiene standards. “Food service staff have a lot on their plate but this is one step they can’t afford to overlook and is crucial to a quality product and experience. There has to be an effortless way to make sure health code regulations actually get adhered to each and every time to stop the spread of bacteria,” says Eddy.

The SaniTimer is the most effective and low-cost way to raise hand hygiene compliance and awareness in your facility today, period! When it comes to quality control, clean hands should be at the top of the list and the SaniTimer creates a great habit in a professional setting.

For more information, visit www.SaniTimer.com.

PerkinElmer Launches New Software for Rapid Detection of Food Adulterants

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Adulterant Screen™ software pairs with PerkinElmer’s advanced FT-IR spectroscopy instruments for single-step screening and analysis of food authenticity and nutritional components.

PerkinElmerAdulterantScreenPerkinElmer Inc., a global leader focused on improving the health and safety of people and the environment, today announced the launch of its Adulterant Screen™ software. This automated solution can help food industry professionals evaluate the integrity of food ingredients to guard against existing and potential food adulteration threats.

Adulterant Screen software, when paired with PerkinElmer’s Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) and Near Infrared (NIR) spectroscopy instruments, creates a unique, combined hardware and software system that can confirm authenticity and perform nutritional analysis in a single step.

“Food quality professionals face an increasing number of risks related to their ingredients which need to be continually screened for known contaminants as well as unknown contaminants that may be unsafe substitutions,” said Jon DiVincenzo, President, Environmental Health, PerkinElmer. “We are committed to delivering advanced detection solutions to help our global customers address increasingly complex industry regulations related to food quality control and safety in the supply chain.”

Adulterant Screen software performs rapid, targeted and non-targeted screening for several types of adulterants. Its customized set-up enables fast, effective implementation without lengthy calibrations. Its simple and intuitive green light/red light, “pass/fail” results system enables easy implementation, regardless of the knowledge level of its users. Click here for more information on the Adulterant Screen software.

PerkinElmer also offers the DairyGuard™ milk powder analyzer, a near infrared (NIR) spectrometer specifically developed for food suppliers and manufacturers. The DairyGuard analyzer is the only system available that tests for unknown adulterants as well as known compounds.

USDA Approves Browning-Resistant GM Apples

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The agency has described that the GE apples are “unlikely to pose a plant pest risk to agriculture and other plants in the United States and that “deregulation is not likely to have a significant impact on the human environment.”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has decided to approve new types of apples that have been genetically modified to not brown soon after after being cut. The company that has developed the Arctic Granny and Arctic Golden varieties – Okanagan Specialty Fruits Inc. – is currently engaging in a voluntary food safety assessment consultation with the Food and Drug Administration regarding the varieties.

According to USDA, the decision to deregulate the apples and allow them to be commercially planted after assessments showed that “the GE apples are unlikely to pose a plant pest risk to agriculture and other plants in the United States” and that “deregulation is not likely to have a significant impact on the human environment.”

According to the company, Arctic apples will age, turn brown and rot like any other fruit, but produce less of the substance that causes browning. So when the apples are sliced or bruised, the fruit’s flesh retains its original color longer instead of turning brown.

Consumer groups opposed to genetically modified foods have indicated their disapproval of USDA’s decision. “Pre-sliced apples are a frequently recalled food product,” noted the Center for Food Safety. “Once the whole fruit is sliced, it has an increased risk of exposure to pathogens. Since browning is a sign that apples are no longer fresh, ‘masking’ this natural signal could lead people to consume contaminated apples.”

These groups are also concerned about the lack of standardized labeling for genetically modified crops and their processed forms. The Environmental Working Groups said that the approval of Arctic apples “underscores the need for a transparent and consistent national labeling standard.”

USDA’s announcement came the day after Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) reintroduced legislation to label genetically engineered food.

Eating Organic Produce Lowers Pesticide Exposure

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A recent study, published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, concluded that we consume fewer pesticides when we eat organic foods compared to their conventionally grown counterparts.

University of Washington’s Cynthia Curl and her fellow authors surveyed nearly 4,500 people about what they eat. They combined this information with average residue levels in those items from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Pesticide Data Program to estimate their intake of organophosphate pesticides (OPs). Organophosphates are a group of manufactured chemicals that are the most widely used insecticides today but are not allowed for use in organic farming.

Symptoms of sudden poisoning by organophosphates include headache, dizziness, weakness, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting, salivation, watery eyes and small pupils. Severe symptoms include seizures, slow pulse, difficulty breathing and coma.

Long-term exposure to organophosphates can cause confusion, anxiety, loss of memory, loss of appetite, disorientation, depression and personality changes. After exposure, people can also develop nervous system problems such as muscle weakness and numbness and tingling of the hands and feet, and some studies in adults and children have linked organophosphate exposure to lymphoma and leukemia.

In their study, Curl and her team also collected urine samples from 720 people to test for dialkylphosphate (DAP) metabolites — common byproducts of the body metabolizing most OPs. DAP concentrations supported the estimated pesticide exposure, and the researchers also found that the 240 participants who said they ate more organic produce had “significantly lower” DAP concentrations.

This isn’t the first study relating to chemical residues and food consumption, but it is the first to include information on organic food consumption habits. “The food composition — chemical residue method described in the present study may prove useful in future epidemiological studies of long-term dietary OP exposure, particularly if paired with information on organic food consumption, which may modify the observed exposure-response relationship,” the authors wrote. “As concern grows regarding potential effects of low-level OP exposures, the need increases for more sophisticated exposure assessment methods.”

Jennifer McEntire Joins GMA as VP of Science Operations

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McEntire currently serves as The Acheson Group’s vice president and chief science officer, focusing on supply chain risks and mitigation in the changing regulatory landscape and global food safety system.

The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) has announced that Jennifer Cleveland McEntire will take over as the organization’s new vice president of science operations beginning March 3rd.

McEntire currently serves as The Acheson Group’s vice president and chief science officer, focusing on supply chain risks and mitigation in the changing regulatory landscape and global food safety system. Before then, she was a senior staff scientist and director and science and technology projects with the Institute of Food Technologists. This work allowed her to partner with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

“Product safety is the number one priority for GMA and its member companies, and Jennifer’s appointment is part of our continued commitment to strengthen our world class food safety practice,” says Leon Bruner, GMA’s chief science officer. “Her considerable expertise and experience will no doubt strengthen our scientific and technical capabilities as well.”

McEntire earned her Bachelor of Science (magna cum laude) in food science from the University of Delaware. This was followed by a Doctor of Philosophy from Rutgers University where she was also a USDA National Needs Fellow in Food Safety. Her academic research focused on Listeria monocytogenes.

“It is an honor and pleasure to join GMA, whose accomplishments and leadership in food safety are widely recognized,” McEntire said. “I look forward to working with my colleagues at GMA and its member companies to further strengthen the safety of our food supply chain, both here at home and abroad.”

Canadian Poultry Products Recalled for Lack of Import Inspection

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The products subject to recall bear the establishment number “Canada 591”. These products were shipped to retail locations in Washington.

Sunrise Poultry Processors of Lethbridge, Alberta, is recalling approximately 2,705 pounds of poultry products that were not presented at the U.S. point of entry for inspection, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.

The following poultry items, produced on Feb. 2, 2015, are subject to recall:

  • 40-lb. bulk cases of “Sunrise Poultry CHICKEN THIGHS.”
  • 25-lb. cases of “Sunrise Poultry CHICKEN THIGHS BONELESS.”
  • 25-lb. cases of “Sunrise Poultry BONELESS CHICKEN BREAST.”
  • 2.5-lb. cases of “Sunrise Poultry CHICKEN WHOLE FRYER.”
  • 4-lb. cases of “Sunrise Poultry CHICKEN WHOLE FRYER.”
  • 3.25 to 3.75-lb. cases of “Sunrise Poultry CHICKEN WHOLE FRYER.”

The products subject to recall bear the establishment number “Canada 591”. These products were shipped to retail locations in Washington.

The problem was discovered when the import facility reported to FSIS that product with an estimated date of arrival of Feb. 4, 2015, had not been received at that location.

FSIS and the company have received no reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of these products. Anyone concerned about a reaction should contact a healthcare provider.

Neogen Responds to Cumin and Spice Blend Contamination Involving Peanut

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The company has announced that its comprehensive line of food allergen tests includes quantitative and screening test kits that can quickly and accurately detect peanut and almond allergens in cumin and spice blends.

In response to recent recalls of products containing cumin found to be contaminated with peanuts and almonds, Neogen has announced that its comprehensive line of food allergen tests includes quantitative and screening test kits that can quickly and accurately detect peanut and almond allergens in cumin and spice blends.

Neogen’s AOAC-approved Veratox® for Peanut Allergen has been validated to detect and fully quantify peanut residues in cumin in about 30 minutes, with minimal training and equipment. Neogen also offers its Alert® for Peanut Allergen, which screens samples at 5 parts per million (ppm), and is based on the same technology of its Veratox test. The company offers the same options to test samples for the presence of almonds. In addition, the Reveal® for Peanut Allergen test kit is an effective screening tool for the presence of peanut residues in these sample types.

For companies that prefer not to do their own on-site testing, Neogen also offers a rapid laboratory testing service at its locations in Lansing, Mich., and Ayr, Scotland.

“Both food allergic consumers and food producers rely on the accurate labeling of food products to protect themselves from the consequences of the accidental ingestion of food allergens,” said Tony Lupo, Neogen’s Director of Technical Services. “Testing that we have done with numerous raw ingredient and finished product samples containing cumin have detected the presence of peanuts, in high levels in some cases. Tests can protect businesses in the food value chain — and their consumers.”

Neogen’s tests detect both the nut and residual protein remaining in shell components of peanuts and almonds.

Neogen has created a special website where processors, producers and test labs can go for further information, including a new white paper on contaminated cumin. The address is www.neogen.com/CuminResponse. On the site you will find information on contacting Neogen to speak to a specialist, and be able to download our new white paper, our allergen supplier checklist, and our Food Allergen Control Handbook.

Neogen’s food allergen testing products have been developed in close cooperation with the University of Nebraska’s Food Allergy Research and Resource Program (FARRP). FARRP is a food industry and university partnership that was formed to provide research and resource tools to the food industry. It is the leader in training and educating the industry on allergen awareness.

Neogen Corporation develops and markets products dedicated to food and animal safety. The company’s Food Safety Division markets dehydrated culture media, and diagnostic test kits to detect foodborne bacteria, natural toxins, food allergens, drug residues, plant diseases and sanitation concerns. Neogen’s Animal Safety Division is a leader in the development of animal genomics along with the manufacturing and distribution of a variety of animal healthcare products, including diagnostics, pharmaceuticals, veterinary instruments, wound care and disinfectants.