Tag Archives: USDA

Lab grown meat

“Real” Beef: It May Not Be What’s For Dinner Anymore

By Maria Fontanazza
No Comments
Lab grown meat

As the consumer craze over plant-based meat continues, cell-cultured meat is next on the list of alternatives to “real meat”. There are several factors driving this market, including increased demand for meat as the world’s population grows and becomes more affluent, and the concern that if more sustainable solutions are not implemented, there won’t be enough protein to feed the world’s population by 2050, according to Paul Mozdziak, professor at NC State University. Mozdziak, who presented his perspective on cell-cultured meat during the IAFP Annual Meeting last month, has been working in the cell-cultured meat space for 25 years. It’s not a new concept, he pointed out, but sustainability issues, concerns over the efficiency of the animal industry (i.e., the biological limits of animals), along with a waning enthusiasm in eating animals have sparked even more interest in animal technologies during the past few years.

Animal cell culture technology involves a controlled growth of animal cells from livestock, poultry, fish or other animals, their subsequent differentiation into various cells types, and their collection and processing into food, according to Roberta Wagner, assistant administrator, Office of Policy and Program Development at FSIS, USDA. Wagner shared the regulatory perspective on this emerging segment at IAFP. And although the session in which Wagner and Mozdziak spoke was titled, “Is Cell-cultured Meat Really Meat?”, neither of them answered this question. Rather, they discussed the status of the sector and the challenges ahead.

Scale Up

“The technology has been around,” said Mozdziak. “The issue is getting it to scale and myogenic to actually produce product.” Muscle cells want to attach to something. The process of making cultured meat involves isolating cells, getting them to grow in suspension and transferring them to a bioreactor to grow. In order to create a fully formed muscle, the cells needs to attach to a scaffold and differentiate, he explained. The bioreactor facilitates a sterile environment, but when scaling up, the challenge is the unknowns (which could introduce food safety issues) during downstream processing. “Once it’s out of the bioreactor and in a non-sterile environment, there are a variety of ways it can be contaminated,” said Mozdziak.

The production process could be cost prohibitive as well. “Currently, serum-based media cost $25 a liter; serum-free is $104 a liter. How much lower can we go from that?” said Mozdziak. “A kilo of turkey at ALDI is $6… therefore the media costs would have to be below $12 a liter for this to ever be profitable.”

How Will It Be Regulated?

In October 2018, FSIS and FDA held a joint public meeting to discuss the use of cell culture technology to develop products derived from livestock and poultry. The agencies also started talking about what regulatory oversight might look like. In March of this year the USDA and FDA reached a formal agreement on joint framework for regulating cell-cultured meat and poultry products. FDA will regulate the extraction of cells from live animals and jurisdiction will be transferred to FSIS during the cell harvest stage, and FSIS will oversee production and labeling. “The agreement roughly mirrors our jurisdiction of both agencies for traditionally produced livestock,” said Wagner. She added that regarding FSIS authority over cell-cultured products, the agency does not expect there will be a need for additional legislation nor will there be new regulation to inspect the products (Establishments that harvest cells or process the cells must comply with sanitation, HACCP and any other applicable FSIS regulations). Labeling for cell-cultured meat and poultry products must be approved.

Wagner noted two major challenges ahead in the federal regulation of cell-cultured meat. “We’ve received very little information about the process and technology being developed or used by cell-cultured meat and poultry manufacturers,” she said. “If industry doesn’t share such information, there could be a delay in review of products.” She added that the agency is encouraging industry to come forward sooner than later with this information. The second big challenge involves research and science gaps—more is needed to understand the risks.

So, is cell-cultured meat really meat? “Before we can answer that, someone needs to actually have a product,” said Mozdziak. He believes industry will get there in creating marketable cell-cultured meat, but there is no telling how long it will take.

Recall

Smoked Sausage Links and Organic Poultry Products Recalls Due to Foreign Matter Contamination

By Food Safety Tech Staff
No Comments
Recall

Last week USDA announced two Class I recalls involving possible foreign matter contamination. Perdue Foods, LLC has recalled about 31,703 pounds of certain ready-to-eat chicken products that may be contaminated with bone material. The products, which were shipped nationwide and include plastic trays of Simply Smart Organics Breaded Chicken Breast Tenders (gluten free and whole grain), and Chef Quik Breaded Chicken Tenders Boneless Tender Shaped Chicken Breast Patties with Rib Meat were produced on March 21. The full list of products is on the FSIS website and have the establishment number “EST. P-369” inside the USDA mark of inspection. Thus far there have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions following consumption of these products.

Johnsville, LLC has recalled nearly 95,400 pounds of its ready-to-eat jalapeno cheddar smoked sausage products after a consumer complaint involving green hard plastic in the product. The 14-oz packages of the product were shipped both nationwide and internationally, were produced on March 12 and 13, and have the establishment number “EST. 34224” inside the USDA mark of inspection. Thus far there have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions following consumption of these products.

magnifying glass

FDA, USDA Formally Agree to Regulate Human Food Made from Cells of Livestock and Poultry

By Food Safety Tech Staff
No Comments
magnifying glass

Today FSIS and FDA announced a formal agreement regarding the regulatory oversight of human food products derived from the cell lines of livestock and poultry. The agencies will jointly oversee regulation of these cell-cultured products to ensure both safe production as well as accurate labeling.

The agreement involves a joint regulatory framework in which the FDA will manage cell collection, cell banks, and cell growth and differentiation. During the cell harvest stage, FDA will transition oversight to FSIS and from there, FSIS will oversee production and labeling of the human food products that are derived from the cells of livestock and poultry.

“We recognize that our stakeholders want clarity on how we will move forward with a regulatory regime to ensure the safety and proper labeling of these cell-cultured human food products while continuing to encourage innovation,” said FDA Deputy Commissioner for Food Policy and Response Frank Yiannas in a USDA press release.

USDA Logo

Secretary of Agriculture Perdue Names Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety

By Food Safety Tech Staff
No Comments
USDA Logo

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue has named Mindy Brashears, Ph.D. as deputy undersecretary for food safety, a position that does not require confirmation by the Senate. She has also been re-nominated for the role of under secretary for food safety, a more senior role that requires Senate confirmation, by President Trump. The President’s initial nomination of Brashears expired in early January and was resubmitted to the Senate in the 116th Congress.

“I want to thank these three for their patience, as their professional lives have been placed on hold for months during their nomination process. Now, they will get to work right away on behalf of the American people,” stated Perdue in a USDA news release. The other folks Perdue is referring to are Naomi Earp, nominated as deputy assistant secretary for civil rights and Scott Hutchins, nominated for deputy undersecretary for research, education and economics—both of whom were also nominated for higher roles that require Senate confirmation. “I urge the Senate to act on their new nominations as quickly as possible, so we can have them in the positions for which they were intended in the first place.”

Brashears is a professor of food safety and public health, as well as the director of the International Center for Food Industry Excellence at Texas Tech University. Her research program aims to improve food safety standards that enhance public health. Some of her work has resulted in the commercialization of a pre-harvest feed additive that can reduce E. coli and Salmonella in cattle. Other credentials include leading international research teams in Mexico and Central and South America with the goal of improving food safety and security, along with establishing sustainable agriculture in impoverished regions.

Alert

How the Government Shutdown Affects Food Safety

By Food Safety Tech Staff
No Comments
Alert

–UPDATE —January 9, 2019 – Today FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D. gave an update about food inspections in the context of the government shutdown. He chose Twitter to deliver his statement. He said FDA is expanding the scope of food safety surveillance inspections that are occurring during the shutdown to ensure that high-risk food facilities are address (31% of domestic inspections are high risk). He added that the agency continues to conduct all foreign food inspections.

“We assess risk based on an overall, cross-cutting risk profile. The primary factors contributing to a facility’s risk profile include: the type of food, the manufacturing process, and the compliance history of the facility. Commodities deemed high risk include, but aren’t limited to: modified atmosphere packaged products; acidified and low acid canned foods; seafood; custard filled bakery products; dairy products including soft, semi-soft, soft ripened cheese and cheese products, unpasteurized juices; sprouts ready-to-eat; fresh fruits and vegetables and processed fruits and vegetables; spices; shell eggs; sandwiches; prepared salads; infant formula; and medical foods.” – Scott Gottlieb, M.D., FDA

–END UPDATE–

As the third-longest government shutdown in U.S. history continues, businesses across industries are concerned about what resources are available.

At FDA, “All our work is important, but only some of our work is permitted to continue during a lapse in funding,” according to an agency statement. This work includes any activities that are considered “mission critical”:

  • Maintaining core functions that handle and respond to foodborne illness outbreaks
  • High-risk food recalls
  • Screening foods imported into the United States
  • The pursuit of civil and/or criminal investigations when the agency believes that the public health is at risk

At USDA, FSIS will continue much of its food safety activities Field inspection of meat, poultry and egg products will continue, as well as regulatory enforcement and product testing in labs. The agency will also continue its enforcement and food safety surveillance and investigations, which includes recall initiation, traceback/traceforward investigations.

“The agency must ensure adequate senior level management and coordination of the agency’s public health responsibilities during a shutdown. Excepted activities include responding to intentional and unintentional food safety events. A small number of individuals will support these activities for the duration of the shutdown, while others will be available on call if such an event occurs, including recall staff, scientists; recall communication specialists, significant incident specialists.” – USDA

In addition USDA/FSIS personnel at the agency’s three field labs are considered “excepted” during the shutdown. A full breakdown of FSIS activities that will continue are available on the USDA’s website.

Alert

Drug-Resistant Salmonella in Raw Turkey Products: 90 Ill

By Food Safety Tech Staff
No Comments
Alert

Today USDA’s FSIS issued an update about a multistate outbreak of multidrug-resistant Salmonella Reading illnesses that have been linked to raw turkey products. Thus far 90 people in 26 states have been infected with the strain. Forty people have been hospitalized, and no deaths have been reported.

A single source of the outbreak has yet to be identified. However, the CDC states that this strain of Salmonella is present in live turkeys and many types of raw turkey products, so “it might be widespread in the turkey industry”.

“33 isolates from ill people and 49 isolates from food and animal samples contained genes for resistance to all or some of the following antibiotics: ampicillin, streptomycin, sulfamethoxazole, tetracycline, gentamicin, and kanamycin. Testing of four outbreak isolates using standard antibiotic susceptibility testing by CDC’s National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS) laboratory confirmed these results. This resistance likely will not affect the choice of antibiotic used to treat most people since these antibiotics are not normally used to treat Salmonella infections.” – CDC

The illnesses began on November 20, 2017 to June 29, 2018. Officials are using PulseNet to identify illnesses that might be part of the outbreak.

3M Molecular detection system

USDA FSIS Awards 3M Food Safety with Contract for Pathogen Testing

No Comments
3M Molecular detection system
3M Molecular detection system
3M Molecular detection system

USDA FSIS has awarded a contract to 3M Food Safety for its pathogen detection instruments and kits. 3M’s molecular detection system will be the primary method used by the agency to detect Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes and E. coli O157. The technology combines isothermal DNA amplification and bioluminescence detection for a fast, accurate and simple solution that also tackles some of the constraints of PCR methods. Users can concurrently run up to 96 different tests for many organisms across food and environmental samples.

Recall

Johnsonville Recalls Nearly 110,000 Pounds of Smoked Pork Sausage

By Food Safety Tech Staff
No Comments
Recall

Yesterday the USDA announced a Class I recall of Johnsonville’s smoked pork sausage products due to contamination with extraneous materials. The company received three consumer complaints of pieces of hard, green plastic in the sausage. The 14-oz plastic packages contain six pieces of Jalapeno Cheddar Smoked Sausage and were produced on January 4 and shipped to locations nationwide.

The recall affects about 109,603 pounds of product.

Thus far there have been no reports of adverse reactions or illnesses as a result of the contamination. Consumers who have purchased the products are urged to throw away the sausages or to return them to the place of purchase.

Recall

FDA Food Recalls Up Nearly 93% Since 2012

By Food Safety Tech Staff
1 Comment
Recall

Over the past five years, the food and beverage industry has seen a big increase in the units recalled—a 92.7% spike in FDA recalls and an 83.4% increase in recalled pounds by USDA since 2012, according to Stericycle’s quarterly recall index. The firm cites technological advances in food testing, factory farming and more automation in food production as the main contributors to the high numbers.

During Q4 2017, bacterial contamination and undeclared allergens led the pack in food recall causes. According to Stericycle, back in 2012, about 28% of FDA food recalls were a result of bacterial contamination, while undeclared allergens accounted for 35% of pounds of food recalled by USDA. During Q4 2017, 44% of food recalls (based on units) were from bacterial contamination, followed by undeclared allergens (31%), mislabeling (13%), and quality (10%). Among the top categories for recalls were prepared foods (20%, nuts and seeds (16%), produce (15%) and baked goods (12%). In addition, nearly 50% of the USDA recalled pounds were a result of lack of inspection.

USDA Logo

USDA PDP Report: Farmers Doing a Good Job Complying with Regulations

By Food Safety Tech Staff
No Comments
USDA Logo

Fruit and vegetable farmers are doing an “impressive” job of complying with the laws and regulations related to pesticide use in production, according to the USDA’s annual Pesticide Data Program (PDP) report. Based on data from 2016, the report found that more than 99% of samples had pesticide residues that were “well below” the EPA’s established tolerances, and more than 23% had no detectable residues. Less than half-a-percent of samples (0.46%) had residues that exceeded the EPA established tolerance.

To compile the PDP report, surveys were conducted in 2016 on several foods, including eggs, milk, and fresh and processed fruit and vegetables. The report contains data from more than 10,000 samples collected throughout the United States.

A release from the Alliance for Food and Farming states that the U.S. food supply is one of the safest in the world, yet: “Activists groups often manipulate the findings from the USDA PDP report taking the very positive results and somehow turning them into something negative. This tactic has been used routinely for 20-plus years to create a so-called ‘dirty dozen’ list, which has been repeatedly discredited by scientists.”