FDA

FDA Publishes Public Dashboard from Reportable Food Registry for Easier Analysis of Agency Data

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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FDA

FDA has published an interactive Reportable Food Registry (RFR) Data Dashboard to provide faster access to better data about hazards and dangerous food products. Called FDA-TRACK, the new RFR will be published annually, and contains 10 years of data (from September 2009–2019), encompassing 28 commodities and 20 food safety hazards. Users can interact with data points in an effort to obtain customized information. They can also change the graphs and charts, and view trends based on commodities, hazards and time frames.

The interactive dashboard provides more “access and transparency with state and local partners who use the data to better [their] workplan and determine how to target their own sampling assignments to concerns that are more common in their area, allows industry to educate themselves on trends and identify areas were additional good manufacturing practices and preventive controls could better prevent future outbreaks or contamination in their products; and offers a robust data set to researchers and others who are interested in studying the safety of our food system,” according to a CFSAN update.

The RFR was established by Congress to help FDA more effectively track patterns of food and feed adulteration. “Overall, this will be a more efficient, less resource-intensive process for FDA to provide data,” the agency stated.

When a company uncovers a food product that is hazardous, it must submit an RFR to the FDA using the electronic portal. This year the agency will launch a project that allows companies to export RFR data from their own business systems or from third party applications directly into the portal.

Kroger Ground Beef, recall

14 Tons of Ground Beef Recalled Due to Possible E. Coli Contamination

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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Kroger Ground Beef, recall

Following third-party lab testing that revealed a positive E. coli O157:H7 sample, Oregon-based Interstate Meat Dist, Inc. is recalling 28,356 pounds of ground beef products. The products were shipped to retail locations in Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming, according to a USDA FSIS announcement, and have bear establishment number “EST. 965” inside the USDA mark of inspection.

“The issue was reported to FSIS after a retail package of ground beef was purchased and submitted to a third-party laboratory for microbiological analysis and the sample tested positive for E. coli O157:H7. FSIS conducted an assessment of the third-party laboratory’s accreditation and methodologies and determined the results were actionable.” – FSIS, USDA

The USDA posted images of labels and product details related to the Class I recall, which have been distributed to Wal-Mart, WinCo, Kroger and Albertsons.

Recall

FDA Continues Investigation of Listeria Outbreak in Packaged Salad

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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Recall

— UPDATE — January 12, 2022

Dole Fresh Vegetables, Inc. has now issued a voluntary recall of Dole-branded and private label packaged salads processed at its Springfield, OH (product ID lot code “W” and “Best if Used By” date December 22, 2021–January 9, 2022) and Soledad, CA production facilities containing iceberg lettuce.

–END UPDATE —

The FDA and CDC are investigating a multistate outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes illnesses linked to Fresh Express Packaged Salad and Dole Packaged Salad.

Last month Dole Fresh Vegetables issued a voluntary recall for salads processed at its facilities in Bessemer City, NC and Yuma, AZ due to the health risk. The company also temporarily suspended operations at both facilities. The brand names in which the salads were sold under include Dole, Kroger, Lidl, Little Salad Bar, Marketside, Naturally Better, Nature’s Promise and Simply Nature. The products have “Best if Used By” dates between November 30, 2021 and January 8, 2022.

The agencies’ investigation of Fresh Express Packaged Salad resulted in the company stopping production at its Streamwood, IL facility. It also initiated a recall of certain varieties of its branded and private-label salads that were produced at this facility.

The FDA’s investigation into the Listeria monocytogenes outbreak linked to both Dole and Fresh Express is ongoing. Thus far, no deaths linked to the outbreak have been reported.

Recall

Coca Cola Recalls Minute Maid, Coca Cola and Sprite Drinks Due to Foreign Matter Contamination

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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Recall

The Coca Cola Company has recalled specific Minute Maid Berry Punch, Fruit Punch and Lemonade products, along with certain Coca Cola 12-ounce cans and Sprite 12-ounce cans. Thus far the voluntary recall has not been posted on FDA’s website but reports indicate that the Minute Maid products could be contaminated with metal pieces. The products were distributed in Connecticut, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Maine and Virginia. The Coca Cola products were reportedly distributed to Southeastern states.

Register to attend the complimentary Food Safety Hazard Series: Physical Hazards | Thursday, December 16 at 12 pm ET.

Neogen, 3M

3M Combines Food Safety Business with Neogen, Creates $9.3 Billion Company

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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Neogen, 3M

Today 3M and Neogen announced a definitive agreement that will combine 3M’s food safety business with Neogen to create a company worth $9.3 billion. “This combination will enhance Neogen’s position in this new era of food security, equipping us with an expanded product line that enables us to capitalize on our growing footprint, reaching more customers, more often, while continuing our track record of strong and consistent growth,” said John Adent, president and CEO of Neogen in a press release. “The heightened global focus on food security, sustainability and supply chain solutions around the world presents exciting opportunities for Neogen to be positioned as an innovative leader at the forefront of the growth and digitization of the industry. We’re excited to welcome 3M’s Food Safety employees to the Neogen team, and we’re looking forward to demonstrating the immense benefits of this combination to our customers, employees and shareholders.” Its financial strength will also give the company the ability to further invest in R&D capabilities, innovation and data-driven analytics.

The combined company will be led by Adent and Neogen’s current management team. The company’s board will increase by two independent members as designated by 3M at closing. Subject to approval by Neogen shareholders and regulatory approvals, the transaction is anticipated to close by the end of Q3 2022.

FDA

FDA’s Foodborne Outbreak Response Improvement Plan Seeks to Expedite Investigations

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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FDA

Today FDA released a plan to help the agency and its partners improve the “speed, effectiveness, coordination and communication” of investigations surrounding foodborne illness outbreaks.

“We know that the 21st century has brought new challenges in identifying, investigating and controlling outbreaks of foodborne disease, but it has also brought new tools to meet those challenges,” stated Frank Yiannas, FDA Deputy Commissioner for Food Policy and Response, and Stic Harris, D.V.M. director of the FDA’s Coordinated Outbreak Response and Evaluation Network in an agency news release. “We also recognize that today’s U.S. food system is large and decentralized, with a broad array of widely distributed products, which we must adapt to in order to help ensure the safety of these products. That is why we are taking steps through this improvement plan to evolve our outbreak investigations to meet modern-day needs using the most modern-day tools available. Our investigations must be faster, more streamlined and more effective to identify, pinpoint and remove contaminated food from the market and identify root-cause factors in the food system to prevent similar outbreaks in the future.”

The Foodborne Outbreak Response Improvement Plan targets four areas that, if improved, will have the greatest effect on foodborne illness outbreaks:

  • Tech-enabled product traceback: Being smarter about using digital technology, regularly, to streamline traceback investigations
  • Root-cause investigations: Adapting and strengthening procedures for conducting root-cause investigations
  • Working with the CDC, USDA’s FSIS and other partners to improve the analysis and distribution of outbreak data (including identifying recurring, emerging and persistent strains of pathogens)
  • Enhancing performance measures across the agency’s food programs to enable better evaluation of the timeless and effectiveness of outbreak and regulatory investigation activities

In addition to this improvement plan, the agency also released “An Independent Review of FDA’s Foodborne Outbreak Response Processes”, which was contracted with the University of Minnesota’s School of Public Health. The independent report played an important role in the development of FDA’s improvement plan.

Tim Cser, Millipore

Enter the New Era of Media Preparation

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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Tim Cser, Millipore

Q: What are the current challenges with media preparation?
Tim Cser: Dehydrated culture media has been around since the mid-1800’s. Louis Pasteur is widely credited with creating the first media of yeast, ash, candy sugar and ammonium salts. In fact, Merck/MilliporeSigma has the first patent on culture media in 1885! This same idea has been a backbone of microbiology since its inception. However, getting the culture media into a usable format has always had its challenges. Ubiquitous around the globe, culture media is the simplest, most cost-effective way to grow and study microbes. Some media, like Tryptic Soy Broth (TSB), is already formulated and ready to weigh, mix and autoclave. Other media require raw materials to be mixed together from scratch, requiring quite a bit of time and man hours. Weighing the media requires a calibrated balance, scoops, storage, a mixing hotplate, an autoclave, Erlenmeyer flasks, bottles, etc… a classic media kitchen. In addition, weighing the powder can be a messy process, creating dust inhalation concerns. MilliporeSigma helps solve some of that with our granulated media (think sugar vs flour) that produces at least 70% less dust and is much easier to weigh and pour. Each step requires human interaction from weighing to removing it from the autoclave. Then, once it’s ready to be used, often times it needs to be re-heated to a higher temperature.

Q: How does the ReadyStream system address those challenges?
Cser: The ReadyStream® instrument streamlines the media preparation process by eliminating the need for an autoclave, balance, glassware, hotplate, etc. The sterile granulated media comes in a vacuum-sealed, irradiated pouch that gets hydrated and heated at the same time. The ReadyStream® uses sterile, filtered water to rehydrate the media, creating a ready to use broth in about 30 minutes. Once the media is fully dissolved and ready to be dispensed, it can then be ready within minutes over the course of 5 days allowing the lab flexibility with sample preparation. The ReadyStream® impacts the entire media preparation process by eliminating weighing (in a hood), hotplate mixing, autoclaving, cooling, handling hot glass, pre-heating before use, bottle washing and more. The ReadyStream saves the lab significant time and money in addition to power and resources. There is nothing else on the market that creates a pre-heated, sterile medium stored at room temperature, ready to use at a moment’s notice. The ReadyStream® has modernized the media preparation process.

For more information or to schedule a live demo, visit www.SigmaAldrich.com/ReadyStream or email NABioMFMSupport@MilliporeSigma.com for an exclusive sneak peak of the instrument!

Content Sponsored By:

MilliporeSigma

FDA

FDA Wants to Change Agricultural Water Requirements in Produce Safety Rule

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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FDA

After years of foodborne illness outbreaks that have been suspected to originate in pre-harvest agricultural water, FDA is proposing changes to the FSMA Produce Safety Rule. The proposed rule would revise subpart E, changing certain pre-harvest agricultural water requirements for covered produce other than sprouts.

“There have been far too many foodborne illness outbreaks possibly linked to pre-harvest agricultural water in recent years, including water coming from lands nearby produce farms. As a federal government agency charged with protecting public health, the FDA is committed to implementing effective modern, science-based measures designed to prevent these outbreaks from occurring in the future,” said Frank Yiannas, FDA Deputy Commissioner for Food Policy and Response in an agency update. “The proposed rule is the latest action taken by the FDA to continue working towards implementation of key provisions of FSMA. If finalized, we’re confident this proposal would result in fewer outbreaks in the U.S. related to produce, protecting public health and saving lives. This proposed rule is a monumental step towards further improving the safety of the fruits and vegetables Americans serve their families every day, and the FDA looks forward to engaging with stakeholders on the proposed changes.”

Under the proposed rule, farms would be required to conduct yearly systems-based agricultural water assessments to assess and guide measures that would reduce risks related to pre-harvest agricultural water. According to the FDA, the assessment would consist of evaluating the water system, agricultural water use practices, crop characteristics, environmental conditions, potential impacts on source water by activities conducted on adjacent and nearby land.

With the current agricultural water compliance dates for covered produce other than sprouts set to begin in January 2022, the FDA plans to exercise enforcement discretion for those requirements while also proposing another rule that extends the compliance dates for all agricultural water requirements under the Produce Safety Rule.

The full details of the FSMA Proposed Rule on Agricultural Water are available on FDA’s website.

FDA

FDA Publishes Long-Awaited Final Rule on Lab Accreditation

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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FDA

At long last FDA has issued its final rule for Laboratory Accreditation for Analyses of Foods (LAAF). The FSMA rule establishes a lab accreditation program for testing food in certain situations and applies only to accredited bodies and food testing labs that opt to participate in the program; these ABs and labs must fulfill certain eligibility requirements.

“The establishment of the LAAF program will improve the FDA’s capacity to protect U.S. consumers from unsafe food by improving the accuracy and reliability of certain food testing through the uniformity of standards and enhanced oversight of participating laboratories,” CFSAN states in a news release.

According to CFSAN, the LAAF will apply to testing that is:

  • “to support removal of a food from an import alert through successful consecutive testing requirements;
  • to support admission of an imported food detained at the border because it is or appears to be in violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act;
  • required by existing FDA food safety regulations, when applied to address an identified or suspected food safety problem (i.e., certain tests of shell eggs, sprouts, and bottled drinking water);
  • required by a directed food laboratory order, a new procedure being implemented in this final rule that will allow the FDA to require use of a LAAF-accredited laboratory to address an identified or suspected food safety problem in certain, rare circumstances; and
  • conducted in connection with certain administrative processes such as testing submitted in connection with an appeal of an administrative detention order.”

The final rule will be published on the Federal Register on December 3.

Recall

Q3 Food Recalls Drop More than 10%, 2021 Could See Lowest Recall Levels in a Decade

By Maria Fontanazza
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Recall

FDA food recalls fell more than 11% and USDA recalls increased by just one recall in Q3. If this decreased activity continues, 2021 food recalls could fall to their lowest levels in more than a decade.

The drop in recalls is good news, but food companies remain challenged in maintaining and implementing effective employee training. “Health and safety risks related to the coronavirus, combined with labor shortages, mean that companies must double down on training, communication, and accountability, particularly in cases where employees have never worked in food manufacturing,” according to Sedgwick’s Q3 update on U.S. recalls. “All the right protocols and procedures can be in place, but without a skilled workforce and commitment to continuous improvement, no number of written policies and procedures will prove effective. Companies and their quality and safety teams must be ready, willing, and able to embrace new technologies and evolve with new regulatory guidance as the industry innovates.”

FDA Recalls: Notable Numbers (Q3 2021)

  • Recall activity dropped from 106 recalls in Q2 to 94 recalls (11.3% decline)
  • Prepared foods and produce were top categories for recalls, with 13 events each
  • Recalls affected 2.4 million units, a nearly 70% drop from Q2 (7.9 million units)
  • 33% of recalls were Class I
  • Undeclared allergens was leading cause of recall, with milk being the main cause
  • Bacterial contamination came in second for amount of recalls at 25, followed by quality concerns at 11 recalls

USDA Recalls: Notable Numbers (Q3 2021)

  • Recalls increased from 12 to 13 events (quarter-over-quarter)
  • Number of pounds increased from 207,000 pounds to 10.7 million pounds (due to a single recall of ready-to-eat poultry products that affected almost 9 million pounds)
  • Bacterial contamination was the top cause of recalls—Listeria, Salmonella, and E.coli were the named pathogens of concern
  • Eight recalls were due to undeclared allergens
  • Poultry products the most impacted product category

In November alone, there were nine recalls as a result of foreign matter contamination. Learn more about the strategies companies should implement to prevent and detect foreign materials during Food Safety Tech’s upcoming virtual event, “Food Safety Hazards: Physical Hazards”. | Thursday, December 16 at 12 pm ET.