U.S. food safety annual report recommended

Last week two articles came out about the Produce Safety Project (PSP), an initiative of the Pew Charitable Trusts at Georgetown University, recommending an annual food safety report as well as looking at European food safety reforms to make the U.S. system more effective. Here are brief summaries and links to the articles:

FoodBusinessNews.net reported that the PSP has issued a report recommending the publication of an annual report that tracks foodborne pathogens in humans, animals and feed. The report would be a joint project between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture and analyze surveillance data on human foodborne illness and pathogen contamination in domestic and imported animals, food and feed.

“Not only will an analysis give us a consolidated examination of the current state of affairs throughout the country, it will also require our food safety agencies to gather, organize and analyze data in a consistent and timely manner,” said Michael Batz, head of Food Safety Programs, Emerging Pathogens Institute at the University of Florida, Gainesville, and co-author of the report.

Read the full report here


US review gleans ideas from European food safety reforms

FoodProductionDaily.com reported that a US review has looked to some of the most effective European food safety systems for ideas on how to make the American system more effective. Researchers from the Emerging Pathogens Institute at the University of Florida, J. Glenn Morris, director of the institute, and Michael Batz, head of Food Safety Programs, examined changes in approaches to food safety in Denmark, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom over the past decade.

The report, released by the Produce Safety Project, concentrated on reforms in the three European countries that are well-respected for their food safety systems, and where reforms have been based on developing strong scientific analysis and risk assessment of food safety efforts. Researchers found that European reporting of food safety issues has become increasingly centralized and the European Union now releases annual reports detailing foodborne illness across the 27 member states, a system that could also be used effectively in the U.S.

Read more here

In the News: Beef Safety & E. coli

Walmart recently announced that it will implement additional beef safety measures designed to further protect their customers against foodborne illnesses. The new process controls standards and goals are additions to a food safety program that already requires ground beef suppliers to test for E.coli O157:H7 and achieve prevention-based certification against one of the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) internationally recognized standards.

“In light of recent beef recalls, we determined it was prudent to require an additional layer of protection for our customers,” said Vice President for Food Safety Frank Yiannas.

Read more here

In other E. coli news, Food Safety News reported on May 3, 2010 that investigators were slow to name the E.coli strain source in the latest outbreak. The outbreak appears to have claimed victims in three states, New York, Ohio, and Michigan. Public health officials in those states say laboratory work has confirmed 15 cases with another 32 suspected.

Click here to read more

What are your thoughts... should more grocery stores take Walmart's lead and require food safety measures? Are authorities working quickly enough when outbreaks occur?

Latest in Food Tradeshows

Idaho Technology recently participated in two industry tradeshows: Food Safety Summit was held in Washington, DC April 12-14 and United Fresh was held in Las Vegas April 20-22. We were able to debut our new booth and new Idaho Technology logo and tagline.

United Fresh 2010 had a dedicated area focused exclusively on food safety solutions for growers to retailers and offered attendees a unique Food Safety Demo Center. The center displayed food safety products, innovations and solutions, and the latest in food safety regulatory activities. Idaho Technology was thrilled to be a part of this event and showcase our real-time PCR instrument the R.A.P.I.D.® LT Food Security System with kits for testing Salmonella, Listeria and E.coli O157:H7.

The 12th Annual Food Safety Summit featured a full program of intensive educational seminars, industry and government keynote speakers, workshops, networking events and a large trade show exhibition. This year the Summit addressed the challenges of the Global Food Community. Idaho Technology participated as an exhibitor and also presented our poster on:

	Development of High Volume Reagent Kits for Idaho Technology’s R.A.P.I.D.® LT Food Security System to Increase Sample Throughput

To see the poster and all Idaho Technology posters please click here

Meat Safety and Accountability Act introduced

On March 26, 2010 MeatPoultry.com published an article on Senator Jon Tester's efforts in introducing the Meat Safety and Accountability Act. This proposed legislation is designed to have the U.S. Food Safety and Inspection Service implement a program to trace contaminated meat back to the original source of contamination. In addition, the bill also seeks to improve testing at meat suppliers and individual meat processors in the case of an outbreak.

According to Senator Tester, “this bill puts more common sense and fairness into the equation as our food travels through the supply chain to the kitchen table. This bill will make our food safer to eat by ramping up accountability. And it will help small meat processors in rural America that too often get blamed for contamination that didn’t begin with them.”

The Meat Safety and Accountability Act will next go to the Senate Agriculture Committee. Read more at: http://tinyurl.com/yg9tqzk

F.S.I.S. seeks comments on enhancing food safety

Thought I'd pass along this article written by Eric Schroeder and posted 3/25/2010 in FoodBusinessNews.net:

WASHINGTON — The Food Safety and Inspection Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture is seeking comments until May 24 on proposed measures to enhance food safety.

“One year ago the president called on government to do more to ensure our food is safe, and we are working aggressively every day to improve the food safety system in the United States,” said Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. “The steps we are announcing today will help prevent foodborne illness as well as speed our response when illnesses occur — two goals of the Food Safety Working Group.”

The F.S.I.S. said the new proposed rule would require regulated establishments adhere to three things: 1) Promptly notify F.S.I.S. if any unsafe, unwholesome or misbranded meat or poultry product has entered commerce; 2) Prepare and maintain current procedures for the recall of meat and poultry products produced and shipped by the establishment; and 3) Document each reassessment of the establishment’s process control plans or Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) plans.

Comments regarding the adopted regulations must be received by May 24 through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov, or by mail to: Docket Clerk, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service, Room 2-2127, George Washington Carver Center, 5601 Sunnyside Avenue, Mailstop 5474, Beltsville, MD 20705-5474. All submissions received through the Federal eRulemaking Portal or by mail must reference the Food Safety and Inspection Service and include the docket number “FSIS-2008-0025.”

http://tinyurl.com/yeap5aq

More or Less Food Safety Regulation?

A recent article in Food Safety News by Andy Weisbecker poses this question... More or less food safety regulation? We know the rumblings on outbreaks and food safety issues are growing. Over the past weeks, a few news stories have highlighted the distinctions between two different legislative approaches to address the issue of food safety. The impetus is accordingly growing across the country to get the pending FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, which would give the FDA more authority and money, finally passed and enacted into law.

The American public seems to be in favor of more legislation. The article states that not only is the number of Americans concerned about outbreaks of illness linked to contaminated food increasing, the concern is also growing about the capacity of our existing food safety system to ensure our well being. A September 2009 survey among likely voters across the nation found that about 9 in 10 support the federal government adopting additional food safety measures and overall, 58 percent of voters were worried about bacterial contamination of the food supply--with about a third saying they worry "a great deal." The survey showed that American voters overwhelmingly believed the federal government should be responsible for protecting the food supply, and that the voters supported new measures to ensure it has the authority and capacity to do so.

However, opponents argue that this proposed legislation favors an industrial agricultural system, and that local food systems provide significant food safety benefits. In both Wyoming and Florida, state legislatures are considering bills to lessen the regulation of local "cottage" foods, with their proponents arguing at least in part that this approach would increase food safety.

What do you think? Is more or less better?

To read the full story and understand both sides of the issue, click here.

Foodborne Illnesses in U.S. Cost $152B Annually

An article today in Business Week by Steven Reinberg states that foodborne illnesses cost the United States an estimated $152 billion each year in health-related expenses.

"These costs are significantly more than previous official estimates, and it demonstrates the serious burden that food-borne illness places on society," Sandra Eskin, director of the Food Safety Campaign at the Pew Charitable Trusts in Washington, D.C., said during a Tuesday press conference.

These health-related costs include physician services, hospital services, medicines and also quality-of-life losses, such as deaths, pain, suffering and disability.

According to federal statistics, it is estimated that each year 76 million Americans are sickened by contaminated food, with 5,000 of these illnesses becoming fatal.

Illnesses from well recognized pathogens play the largest role. For example, costs related to campylobacter exceed $18.8 billion annually; costs linked to salmonella are estimated at $14.6 billion; and costs related to listeria are $8.8 billion, according to the report.

And the majority of these foodborne illnesses are caused by produce, which are regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Thirty-nine percent of E. coli outbreaks were due to produce regulated by the FDA.

It is hoped that the report will spur Congress to pass food safety legislation to strengthen the FDA's food safety efforts and give the agency more authority over the foods it regulates and more funding to make the food supply safer.

Please click here to read the full article.