[December News]

Letter to the Editor

Integrity the Only Obstacle to Global Quality Standards

Globalized audit practices are an interesting idea but a ludicrous concept without standardized regulatory compliance, quality grading and procedures. It is equivalent to performing maintenance on the plane after the crash.

You’re starting from a finish line that is out of control. The audit, no matter how well defined, is totally subjective. I have spoken to management at two of the most recognized auditing firms who confess (that auditors) “don’t even know how to inspect a distribution center.” The auditing business was based on food processing and most companies have tried to offer distribution audits based on their knowledge of processing. The production end of the business is critical and regulatory requirements are for the most part adequate. But, we would all benefit by remembering that the distributor performs what is in most cases the last inspection before the food hits your table.

In today’s business environment, the audit is first subjective, often manipulated and in some cases even forged. In my almost 30 years in this industry, I’ve witnessed the decline of integrity to the point where there are no ethics in the board room. The key to global uniformity is standardization, regulations, procedures, documentation and, most important, training. A confident, well-trained employee is your biggest asset.

Before any of this is feasible we must demand the return of ethics and honor to the management and owners. Dubious integrity is the only obstacle to global quality.
 
Catherine Brandhorst
Senior Vice President, Operations
Commercial Environmental Services
St. Augustine, Fla.

Mettler-Toledo Safeline Opens Expanded Product Test Lab

TAMPA, Fla. — Mettler-Toledo Safeline has opened an expanded Product Test Lab in its Tampa, Fla., headquarters. The lab is equipped with state-of-the-art metal detection and X-ray inspection equipment, and customers can visit for hands-on experience, a test of their products and to learn about the latest in product inspection technology.

Customers unable to visit are invited to submit their products for free testing and receive a complimentary, fully-documented test report. For more information, contact Safeline at 800/447-4439 or send the company an e-mail Safeline.Marketing@mt.com.

Food Technology Journey at Chicago Food Expo

CHICAGO — Food safety is a journey, not a destination. These words from presenter Gail Prince, retiree of Kroger Foods and self-described “dean of recalls,” provide an apt description of the jointly sponsored American Meat Institute/International Dairy Foods Association (AMI/IDFA) Worldwide Food Expo in Chicago.

The biennial food technology event featured nearly 40 educational sessions, three “super sessions” and 900 exhibiting companies during four days in October.

Attracting nearly standing-room only attendance, former White House Economic Policy Director and author Todd Buchholtz, discussed the challenges of today’s global “hyper competition” which, he said, has not only made the U.S. economic outlook difficult to predict but has changed the entire way of succeeding in business.

Additional seminars and sessions focused on meat- and dairy-specific issues and solutions as well as big-picture topics such as the global market, trends and challenges; production issues and solutions; crisis communication; sustainability; sanitation; HACCP; and federal agencies and regulatory updates.

One session was led by FDA/CFSAN Director, Office of Regulations, Policy and Social Science, Leslye M. Fraser, who discussed the center’s priority-setting plans in this era of decreasing budgets and increasing responsibilities, along with its mission to focus resources to meet the challenge of “accomplishing our mission in light of the growing number of public health issues.”

According to figures from event organizers, this year’s event hosted thousands of attendees from 100 countries, with the number of qualified buyers up slightly from the 2005 event. The next Worldwide Food Expo will take place in Chicago in 2009. — Lisa Lupo

Food Safety and Inspection Service Provides Update on Topps Meat Company Recall Investigation

WASHINGTON — A joint investigation between the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has identified a likely source of the multistate outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 infections linked to the Topps Meat Company.

On Oct. 25, the CFIA provided FSIS with PFGE patterns, or DNA fingerprints, from tests of beef trim from a Canadian firm, Ranchers Beef, Ltd. This firm provided trim to the Topps Meat Company. While the firm, which had been located in Balzac, Alberta, ceased operations on Aug. 15, 2007, some product remained in storage and was collected and tested by CFIA as part of the joint investigation of the Topps recall and as part of CFIA’s own investigation into 45 illnesses in Canada from E. coli O157:H7.

“We appreciate the assistance from our food safety partners in Canada. This piece of information helped us to determine a likely source of contaminated product which led to the September 29 Topps Meat Company expanded recall,” said Under Secretary for Food Safety Dr. Richard Raymond. “We have a long history of cooperation and collaboration with CFIA.”

Later in October, PulseNet provided verification to FSIS that this PFGE pattern matched those from patients who were ill and from positiszdve tests conducted by the New York Department of Health on product (both intact packages and open packages from patients’ homes) that was later recalled by the Topps Meat Company on Sept. 29.

PulseNet is the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) searchable database of all PFGE patterns from patients and food products in the U.S.

As of late October, CDC reported 40 illnesses under investigation in 8 states, with 21 known hospitalizations related to the recalled beef. This summer was the first time this rare PFGE pattern had been seen in North America.

As the result of the Topps Meat Company recall investigation, FSIS had delisted Ranchers Beef, Ltd. on Oct. 20, 2007. No product from that firm has been eligible to come into the U.S. since that date.

FSIS notified industry to hold all boneless beef manufacturing trim from Ranchers Beef, Ltd., or raw products produced in whole or in part from these products until the joint investigation is completed. The agency also issued a notice to inspection program personnel in the field to retain these products.

Non-Profit: Congress Must Build a Modern Food Safety System

WASHINGTON — Import legislation under consideration by the House Energy and Commerce Committee (H.R. 3610, the Food and Drug Import Safety Act) would be valuable, but would still only partially solve the food safety problems threatening Americans, according to a new white paper published by the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest. In it, CSPI reviews a dozen food safety bills being considered by Congress.

While the majority of bills introduced so far in Congress address import inspection and include mandatory recall authority and civil penalties, many do not include mandatory process controls and government-enforced performance standards for both domestic and imported foods. CSPI maintains that legislation should also address safety issues on American farms, provide for frequent inspection of FDA-regulated American food processors, and require greater traceability for foods that pose hazards.

“In a year with an unnerving number of huge outbreaks and recalls, we urge Congress to give consumers a full loaf when it comes to food safety,” said CSPI Food Safety Director Caroline Smith DeWaal. “Consumer confidence in the safety of foods has fallen dramatically and it will only be restored when Congress delivers top-to-bottom reform. We deserve a system that ensures all our food is safe to eat, whether it’s imported or domestic, animal or vegetable, or regulated by USDA or FDA. That would benefit both consumers and industry.”

CSPI outlined the essential elements that are needed to modernize food safety programs:

• Systems such as the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) should be mandatory for all food processors regulated by FDA.
• Government agencies should establish and enforce meaningful public-health based performance standards.
• Inspections of high-risk products should be frequent and intensive, and there should be a minimum inspection frequency for other foods, as currently required for drugs and medical device manufacturers. 
• Imported food should be produced under safety systems at least as strong as those in the U.S., and the FDA should begin certification of food safety programs and facilities in foreign countries.
• Enforcement should include mandatory recall authority, greater civil and criminal penalties, product traceback and detention, and whistleblower protection.

New, More-Efficient Medium Licensed for Detecting Campylobacter

A quicker, simpler way to distinguish between Campylobacter species has now been licensed for manufacture by two U.S. companies. The new culture medium called Campy-Cefex is specifically designed to detect and differentiate C. jejuni and C. coli mixtures of food-contaminating microbes. These two bacteria are important causes of foodborne illness.

Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Microbiologist Norman Stern, with the ARS Poultry Microbiological Safety Research Unit (PMSRU) in Athens, Ga., began developing the new medium in 1987. That’s when he traveled to Poland to work with researchers Boleslaw Wojton and Kris Kwiatek at the Veterinary Research Institute in Pulawy, Poland.

They worked cooperatively to characterize Campylobacter contamination in poultry. Previous media for detection of Campylobacter relied upon the use of new antibiotics that were unavailable in Poland. In developing the medium, Stern used the only two he had brought with him — cycloheximide and cefoperazone.

Surprisingly, the two compounds provided superior efficacy, not only for growing Campylobacter in a culture, but also for repressing the growth of most other microorganisms. The additional antibiotics previously employed with other Campylobacter media were not needed.

A patent for the Campy-Cefex culture medium was awarded in 1999 to Stern, with Wojton and Kwiatek listed as co-inventors. Now, licensing agreements to produce the new culture medium have been entered into with Becton Dickinson and Company, Franklin Lakes, N.J., and Neogen Corporation, Lansing, Mich.

Campy-Cefex selects for Campylobacter among competing flora in a sample, cultivating colonies that resemble tiny water droplets. From these, microbiologists can estimate the level of Campylobacter contamination in the sample.

PMSRU’s technical staff trained several U.S. Department of Agriculture regulatory agency employees in the use of the media and techniques for Campylobacter enumeration for research studies.

ARS is the USDA’s chief scientific research agency.

FSIS to Host Outreach Seminars for Small Plants

The Food Safety and Inspection Service will host a series of outreach seminars designed to assist small and very small plant owners and operators, running through April 2008.

Seminars will be held twice each day, from 10-11 a.m. and from 6-7 p.m. Dates and topics are as follows:

• Dec. 5 — This seminar will review FSIS guidelines for generic E. coli testing for process control verification in cattle, swine and poultry establishments. Sampling issues and how to achieve statistical process control in small and very small establishments also will be discussed.
• Jan. 23 — This seminar will provide descriptions of new food safety technologies that small and very small plants can use to control pathogens such as E. coli and Salmonella in meat and poultry slaughter operations. The focus will be on strategies that are novel, low-cost, practical and easy-to-implement.
• Feb. 20 — Representatives from the FSIS Labeling and Program Delivery Division will discuss the requirements of generic labeling of meat and poultry products and describe the types of information that is allowed and not allowed on generic labels.
• March 12 — This seminar will provide descriptions of new food safety technologies that small and very small plants can use to control pathogens such as Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat (RTE) meat and poultry products. The focus will be on strategies that are novel, low-cost, practical and easy-to-implement.
• April 16 — This seminar will emphasize methods that small and very small meat, poultry and egg products establishments can implement to ensure effective sanitation and safer products for consumers.

Online registration forms and more information about these seminars are available at www.fsis.usda.gov.

Multivac Chief Technical Officer Retires

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Multivac Chief Technical Officer Donald E. Smith has retired.

Smith joined Multivac in the mid-1970s as a service technician, a position from which he was able to draw tremendous insights into customer needs from both a technical and day-to-day business perspective. That knowledge would propel him to succeed in a number of positions at Multivac over the next three decades including regional sales manager, national sales manager, national service manager and director of sales administration.

Smith served as interim president of Multivac from 1997 to 1998, and took the role of chief technical officer in 2002.

“Throughout his career at Multivac, Don Smith has been a trusted resource and mentor to more people than we can count, and a solid leader in our organization” said Jan Erik Kuhlmann, Multivac’s president and CEO. “We thank Don for his distinguished service over his 30-year career with us and wish him all the best for a happy and healthy retirement.”

New SQF Online Database Tracks Supplier and Producer Audit Results Worldwide

ARLINGTON, Va. — Food retailers, wholesalers and restaurants will be able to review detailed supplier safety auditing and certification records online through a new alliance among the Safe Quality Food Institute (SQFI), Muddy Boots Software and Agentrics. SQFI, a division of the Food Marketing Institute (FMI), plans to launch this service in early 2008.

SQF field auditors will use the Muddy Boots Quickfire software to enter food safety audit results into a hand-held computer anywhere food is grown, processed or manufactured. They will transmit the data to a secure Agentrics online database, where food buyers can review auditing and certification records of suppliers in the SQF program.

SQF has issued more than 9,000 certificates to suppliers in more than 20 countries, verifying that they comply with the most stringent U.S. and international food safety standards and company buyer specifications.
Agentrics will administer the data-gathering system and provide multilingual technical and online management support. This automated system will ensure the information is current and available in real time.

“This alliance will equip SQF with a robust collection of food safety information about companies around the world,” said Jill Hollingsworth, FMI group vice president of food safety programs. “It offers buyers a quick and reliable means to identify suppliers with a strong commitment to providing safe food — certified by independent audits.

“Certified suppliers will receive increased exposure to current and potential customers,” Hollingsworth said. “Suppliers will be subjected to fewer audits as more buyers recognize that SQF certification satisfies all their safety requirements.”

“The FMI Safe Quality Food Program is uniquely positioned to support the industry’s drive to assess and ensure the safety of our food,” said Christopher Sellers, CEO of Agentrics, based in Alexandria, Va. “With these new tools in the hands of SQF auditors, the food industry will have greater confidence in its ability to ensure supplier compliance with these important standards.”

“Monitoring compliance with food safety standards rests on the ability to capture accurate and timely information,” said Jonathan Evans, managing director for Muddy Boots, headquartered in the United Kingdom. “SQF auditors will soon have a powerful resource to support their efforts to gather important data and communicate it to food buyers.”

The SQF Program goes beyond a simple audit, ensuring that suppliers observe best practices in food safety and quality management. Only those certification companies accredited by international organizations such as the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) can conduct SQF audits. The program is endorsed by the Global Food Safety Initiative, an international consortium of food safety experts and companies.

Food Companies Find 'Speed of Recall' Top Challenge

MILWAUKEE, Wis. — According to a recent survey by RedPrairie Corporation, 63 percent of participants felt their current QA and recall processes were “somewhat effective.” Speed of recall was chosen as the top challenge confronting U.S.-based food companies, and 39 percent of respondents felt the biggest recall communication gap occurs at the store-level.
 Other findings of the survey include:

• 44 percent said their products can be pulled off the shelf in a few days. Just 12 percent didn’t have a sense of how long it would take to pull their items from the store shelf, indicating a lack of control across the extended supply chain.
• 63 percent of respondents indicated they would like their recall technology linked to point-of-sale (POS) interfaces at stores, including POS systems that automatically shut off the recalled SKU at the register.
• While concern over safety of Chinese manufactured goods has dominated the recent press coverage on recalls, respondents to this survey had a mixed opinion on the safety of food and ingredients produced outside the U.S. Fifty-two percent indicated the safety of non-U.S. produced food items as excellent, very good or good, while 39 percent indicated it was not good, and 10 percent claimed they had “no visibility” into the safety of non-U.S. food items.
• Only 34 percent of companies have changed their recall processes in response to the recent rash of recalls. Thirty-two percent have changed their recall technology in the past few months. The survey found a wide range of technologies being used to manage and execute a recall.

“These results are consistent with what we see with many food retailers and grocers,” said Tom Kozenski, vice president of product strategy at RedPrairie. “Automation is the only way to really verify if recalled products have been pulled from the shelves in an efficient, accurate and timely manner. While there is work to be done to improve the management and execution of recalls in this country, the processes and technology exist to create a seamless communication flow throughout the food chain.” 

Clarification

The dateline on a story in the September/October issue of QA was incorrect. Hörmann Flexon LLC is based in Leetsdale, Pa. QA regrets this error.