Global Food Safety: Keeping Food Safe from Farm to Table

The American Academy of Microbiology has released its newest colloquium
report, “Global Food Safety: Keeping Food Safe from Farm to Table.” We
think this report may be of interest to the members of the Ontario Food
Protection Association.

The American Academy of Microbiology announces the release of its newest
colloquium report, “Global Food Safety: Keeping Food Safe from Farm to
Table.” The report, based on a colloquium convened by the Academy in 2009,
reviews the current state of affairs in microbiological food safety around
the world. It is extremely challenging to know how many people are made
sick by food, which foods are at fault, which pathogens are most widespread
or dangerous, and where those pathogens entered the food production system.
In such a situation, where should research, prevention and education
efforts be directed? In this report, each step in our complicated food
production and supply system is described, highlighting key points of
vulnerability, and making it clear that providing safe food is a shared
responsibility.

The press release is below. AAM colloquia reports are effective tools for
education and research. “Global Food Safety: Keeping Food Safe from Farm to
Table,” as well as all other colloquia reports published by the Academy,
are available online in their entirety at
http://academy.asm.org/colloquia

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Global Food Safety: Keeping Food Safe from Farm to Table

Washington, DC – November 2, 2010 – Food safety problems can arise at any
of multiple stages of food production, and illnesses that result from them
are frequently not detected or reported, according to a new report from the
American Academy of Microbiology.

The report, “Global Food Safety: Keeping Food Safe from Farm to Table,” is
based on a colloquium convened by the Academy in 2009. Colloquium
participants with expertise in microbiology, public health, food science,
and economics reviewed the current state of affairs in microbiological food
safety around the world.

The path from food production to consumption is increasingly complicated.
Each plate of food may contain ingredients from many countries—each of
which may have passed through different processing facilities, and may have
been handled by wholesalers, retailers, and multiple transportation
companies before finally reaching the consumer’s shelf or refrigerator. No
single agency regulates all of the steps in this process.

Each link in the food safety chain would benefit from further research and
new technologies—specific examples of which are detailed in this report.
Regulations that promote good agricultural and manufacturing practices
would not only help decrease lapses in food safety, but would make it
easier to trace problems back to their inception.

Consumer education is also an important component of food safety.
Consumers are often unaware of safe food handling practices, especially as
new food products are introduced. Because consumer-caused foodborne
illnesses are often not recognized as such, much less systematically
reported, an important barrier to reducing their incidence is inadequate
knowledge of which foods, agents, and practices pose the greatest risk.

It is very difficult to know how many people are made sick by food, which
foods are at fault, which pathogens are most widespread or dangerous, and
where those pathogens entered the food production system. In such a
situation, where should research, prevention and education efforts be
directed? In this report, each step in our complicated food production and
supply system is described, highlighting key points of vulnerability and
making it clear that providing safe food is a shared responsibility
.
Food safety is complex, and a perfectly safe food supply is an unrealistic
goal. However, as this report explains, there are opportunities for
improving food safety at each step of the production and consumption
process and many areas where further research could help identify and
quantify risks and generate solutions. The report also identifies food
safety vulnerabilities that might be addressed through investments in new
technologies or more effective education.

A full copy of the report and further recommendations can be found on the
Academy website at
http://academy.asm.org/images/stories/documents/Global_Food_Safety.pdf.
# # #

The American Academy of Microbiology is the honorific leadership group of
the American Society of Microbiology. The mission of the Academy is to
recognize scientific excellence, as well as foster knowledge and
understanding in the microbiological sciences. A full list of Academy
colloquia reports can be found at http://academy.asm.org/colloquia. For
more information about the American Society for Microbiology, contact
Barbara Hyde at 202-942-9206 or visit http://www.asm.org.

Cleaning & Sanitation Seminar (for Foods of Plant Origin)

Effective food plant sanitation is essential for the production of safe, high quality food. This seminar will equip you with knowledge required to meet the daily challenges of cleaning and sanitation in your foods of plant origin production facility.

The seminar includes a full day of foods of plant origin focused presentations, take-home resource materials and lunch. In addition, a mini trade show featuring a number of industry suppliers will be held prior to the formal presentations and during the lunch hour. Ministry representatives from the Food Safety and Traceabilty Initiative funding program will also be present to answer questions.


The agenda includes:
• An introduction to spoilage and pathogenic bacteria, biofilm and pests that compromise food
safety and quality
• Wash water sanitation strategies
• The principles of sanitary design
• Developing a cleaning and sanitation program
• Verification of cleaning effectiveness
• An industry speaker

Who should attend:
• Facility owners/managers
• Food Safety Coordinators and their food safety teams
• Quality Control/Quality Assurance Managers and their teams
• Sanitation/Maintenance Managers and their teams
• Anyone advising the foods of plant origin industry

When: Tuesday, February 2, 2010 @ 9:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Doors open at 8:30 a.m.

Where: Ontario Science Centre 770 Don Mills Road Toronto, ON M3C 1T3 (416) 696-1000

Direction: www.ontariosciencecentre.ca/directions/default.asp

On-site Parking:
Parking is free for those arriving before 8:45 a.m. After that, it’s only $4.00 with mention that you’re attending the OMAFRA seminar.

To register or for additional information:
Agricultural Information Contact Centre
Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs
1 Stone Road West, 4NE,
Guelph, Ontario N1G 4Y2
Telephone: 1-877-424-1300
Fax: 519 826-3442
E-mail: ag.info.omafra@ontario.ca

A&M’s Acuff tells Ontario better HACCP, not more inspectors, for food safety

18.nov.09
Ontario Farmer
Jim Romahn
MISSISSAUGA –- Food inspection needs to become more science based, Dr. Gary Acuff, a food microbiologist from the Department of Animal Science at Texas A&M told the 51st annual meeting of the Ontario Food Protection Association here recently.
He said much of what’s being done, such as increasing the number of federal meat inspectors in packing plants, isn’t doing much to improve the safety of the food supply.
Nor is much of the sampling and testing done by companies and government inspectors, he said.
What works is close attention to the processes in the packing plants, he said. That’s what the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points programs are supposed to do.
Acuff said it’s neither practical nor possible to eliminate food poisonings by testing foods at processing plants.
Not every package or patty heading for sale can be tested, and even if a sample was drawn from every one, harmful bacteria might still slip through.
So, for example, a New York company that was testing the hamburger patties it was making every 15 minutes missed serious E. coli 0157:H7 contamination that resulted in two deaths and 28 sick people.
The company had to recall 546,000 pounds of ground beef, Acuff said.
It thought it was doing a great job on food safety, he said.
“They were testing probably more than anybody else in the industry,” Acuff said, and both the beef trimmings coming in and the meat patties going out.
“They were devastated they didn’t detect it,” he said of the E. coli that poisoned people.
What this plant needs is a much more rigorous HACCP program.
“If you can’t prove with your HACCP program that you have a safe product, then you don’t have a good HACCP program,” he said.
He did not comment on any of the Canadian on-farm food-safety programs that claim they are based on HACCP principles.
Acuff said that the New York ground beef processor likely can’t prove its products are safe without using irradiation, yet the public is unlikely to accept irradiated meat.
That leaves temperature controls as the main alternative.
Acuff said his team at Texas A&M wanted to try tight controls so fresh beef could be delivered to customers in Japan. They got grudging approval from a beef-packing plant to slow down the slaughter operation for their trial which involved greater care in removing the hide and guts and keeping the surroundings clean.
They turned off the fans so there would be less bacteria swirling in the air, the staff donned gloves and increased the frequency of sanitizing knives.
However, the whole project came to a screeching halt when the federal meat inspector pointed to condensation that was forming on the ceiling.
Acuff said that condensation was irrelevant to food safety, yet an inspector working with rules based on traditions stopped the project.
That, he suggested, is what’s wrong with much of today’s meat inspection system. Every time there’s an outbreak of food poisoning traced to meat, the public demands more inspectors, more testing and stricter enforcement, he said.
That’s precisely the government and company response to the Listeria monocytogenes outbreak at Maple Leaf Foods two years ago. Acuff said what’s required is a science-based examination of the process, and a risk-based regulatory system.
But the public is wary of any changes in the regulatory inspection system, he said.
There is a strong reaction to science underway across North America, he said, and people are embracing traditions and old ways of doing things – raw milk, organics, raw vegetables, etc.
He said people are just as likely to believe testimonials as science-based systems, such as letters to the editor extolling the virtues of raw milk from people who say they no longer suffer allergies or need antibiotics.
He showed a picture of a poster advertising a raw milk symposium in Toronto featuring “from production to consumption.”
“Consumption is what we used to call tuberculosis,” he said, and showed a number of reports of cases where people have been sickened by drinking raw milk and eating cheddar cheeses made from raw milk.
Dr. Scott Weese of Ontario Veterinary College at the University of Guelph outlined what’s been learned so far about Clostridium difficile in beef cattle, hogs, sheep and poultry and possible links to serious human illnesses and deaths.
In a nutshell, he said much remains to be determined, but it is clear that this stubborn bacteria is almost everywhere, including in many cattle and hogs and even in vegetables and drinking water.
But what degree of risk that poses to the health of people has been difficult to determine. What might be possible is that people get this bacteria, don’t get sick, but spores develop a stick around in their digestive system for weeks or months.
If and when those spores develop at a time when the person is vulnerable, or some condition is right for the bacteria to greatly multiply and produce toxins, the person can become deadly ill, Weese speculated.

The 2010 Food Safety Summit will take place April 12 - 14, 2010 at the Washington DC Convention Center. It will provide educational programming, networking receptions and a valuable exhibition hall for industry professionals who are charged with the protection of our food supply chain. Those professionals include personnel from the processing, retail/food service, academia, government sectors and more. For more information visit their web site: http://www.foodsafetysummit.com/

OFPA Past President Honours (click for bigger format)

Gail (Evans) Seed resigns as Executive Director of the OFPA

It is with mixed emotions that the Executive of the OFPA announces the resignation of Gail (Evans) Seed as the Executive Director (a post she has held for six years). We are pleased for Gail that she is now pursuing other exciting career interests but her hard work and dedication as Executive Director will be sadly missed. We hope that everyone will join us in wishing Gail the very best as she starts another chapter in her career. Please be sure to wish Gail well at our annual meeting on November 18th, as this will be one of Gail’s last formal activities as our Executive Director.
With this change comes a new opportunity. The OFPA is now in search of a new Executive Director to carry on the great work that Gail has done. If you or someone you know is interested in learning more about the position or applying, please contact one of the following:

Mike Cassidy
mike.cassidy@ontario.ca
Judy Greig
Judy_Greig@phac-aspc.gc.ca
Joseph Odumeru
Joseph.Odumeru@ontario.ca
Paul Baxter
paulbaxter@sympatico.ca

Applications for the position must be received by Friday, Oct. 9th, 2009.